>Before I get to the plot, let me
say that If you are a rabid fan of Shrek, chances are you’ll enjoy *Shrek the
Third* for its continuation of the lives of the characters you’ve come to
love, and to introduce new ones to the mix. If you’re still at a loss as
to what makes the movies so popular, you’re not likely to find anything in this
third film to clue you in -- in fact, it may give you a headache. If
you’re somewhere in between (this is where I am), you’ll probably find this one
to be only sporadically amusing.
The story of “Shrek 3” is the
natural progression of Shrek’s life as an adult. Shrek and Fiona fell in love
and got married in the first film, then in the second movie, they met the
parents and got to know the in-laws. And now the next step for them is to
establish their own clan—despite Shrek’s protests that he would be a bad papa,
that baby ogres eat a lot, cry a lot, stink a lot, puke a lot…
It’s courtship, marriage, and
family. In the first film, Shrek didn’t think he was worthy of Fiona’s love; in
the second, he didn’t think he was worthy of being a husband, and now he
struggles with worthiness, because he’s afraid of being a king--and a father.
When Shrek married Fiona, the last
thing he wanted was to rule Far Far Away, but when his frogger-in-law, King
Harold, suddenly croaks, Shrek is quickly fitted for the crown. Now, unless the reluctant would-be king can find a suitable replacement, he’ll be royally
screwed for the rest of his days. As if Shrek didn’t have enough on his plate,
Princess Fiona has another little surprise on the way. With his head spinning
and his belly in knots, Shrek sets off on a quest to find the only other
possible heir to the throne, Fiona’s long-lost cousin Artie, an underachieving
medieval high schooler. While the ogre is away, his old nemesis Prince Charming
rears his handsome head and returns to the kingdom of Far Far Away with
redemption on his shallow little mind.
Shrek the Third *probably
marks the dividing line between whether you are watching because you are a
die-hard fan or you are just looking viewing the film for escapist
entertainment. The thought of a fourth *Shrek *film doesn’t really
give me any goose bumps, especially now that the main characters are no longer
growing in maturity or interesting developments, leaving the side characters
the burden of providing almost all of the humor.
Let’s face it, there are only so
many ogre jokes one can really do, and when you have a docile ogre like Shrek,
who has lost all of his ability to appear menacing, even trotting out an old
ogre joke is out of the question. The graphics and visuals were done
extremely well for the facial expressions. The problem is kids don’t get the
animation. They are kids!
Cast of Voices
Shrek (Mike Myers)
Donkey (Eddie Murphy)
Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz)
Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas)
Queen (Julie Andrews)
King (John Cleese)
Prince Charming (Rupert Everett)
Merlin (Eric Idle)
Artie (Justin Timberlake)