Okay, so maybe it's cheating to combine Shrek memes and "All Star" by Smash Mouth, but can you really have one without the other?
What I love about Shrek is that you can enjoy it on so many levels. It's like an onion. On the outside there is the very real enjoyment I have of watching nearly all the Shrek movies. On the second level, there is the enjoyment you get seeing it spoof so much about Disney movies and our culture. On the Shrek the Third level you can enjoy it as a time capsule to take you back to movie culture of the 2000s. And on the deepest level you realize the peak meme value of Shrek for all that he is.
Explaining Shrek's meme value is like explaining why the movie got so popular in the first place. It just works. In a world made up of squeaky clean family friendly movies, what really comes on top in an ugly green ogre who farts and burps a lot but deep down has a soft side. Shrek was somewhat of the first movie of its kind where it really appealed to everybody. It had toilet humor and Donkey for the kids, but it also has a lot of adult jokes that make it a shock it's PG. I think it's that combination that makes it perfect for memes.
And with Shrek of course came the song "All Star" by Smashmouth which was featured in the opening credits. "All Star" is a perfect meme for the same reason. Is it a good song? Is it a bad song? I don't really know. But it sure does have a lot of funk to it. Not the funk you're thinking of but the kind of funk you get from an award winning stinky cheese. It really is the meme song to conquer them all.
Shrek has been memed for so long at this point where it's hard to really tell where the genuine ends and the irony begins. But that's my generation in a nutshell, I suppose. But you can't deny that that when you see that ogre, your heart begins to fill with…love and life. Shrek and "All Star" memes are best unexplained, so I'll stop talking and just give you some great examples.
