Shrek the Third (2007)

Movie Info

Shrek and Fiona have new roles

Princess Fiona’s father has died and it appears that Shrek must become the new king of Far Far Away…but being a king isn’t in Shrek’s plans.  Setting off to find a potential heir named Arthur Pendragon, Shrek learns that he is going to be a father.  Fiona prepares for the birth with Shrek away but doesn’t realize that Prince Charming is plotting his revenge against Shrek.  Teaming with other villains, Charming plots to take the kingdom of Far Far Away for his very own.

Directed by Chris Miller and Raman Hui, Shrek the Third (or simply Shrek 3) continues the popular series of computer animated comedies.  Following Shrek 2 in 2004, the movie was met with mixed reviews but huge returns at the box office.

Shrek has fatherhood issues

I have never been a huge Shrek fan but Shrek the Third starts to feel really tired.  While I commend the innovative nature of the first two films (regardless if they aren’t my favorite), they showed a strong story and lots of laughs (some very forced)…with Shrek the Third, the laughs are few and far between.

Shrek doesn’t want to be royalty…again.  It feels pretty tired at this point that the ogre just wants to be the ogre.  The movie comes off as pretty fractured with the Prince Charming aspect, and the Arthur aspect never feeling completely developed.  The original film was an adventure and the second film had a lot of fun with Far Far Away and things like Puss in Boots.  What was nice about the two previous outings was that they took completely different paths…Shrek the Third just feels redundant.

Snow White and her evil animals

Visually, Shreks also don’t compare to films by Pixar.  The animation is too clean, too perfect and feels like animation.  The world doesn’t have much depth or feeling and it feels like one big set filled with plastic-y figures.  The design didn’t really change between the films, but it becomes more noticeable due to the weaker story…the visuals become more important and they just don’t stand up.

The happy family

The movie at least brings in some great voice actors.  The movie has all of the main returning players with Mike Myers as Shrek, Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona, Eddie Murphy as Donkey, and Antonio Banderas as Puss in Boots.  The movie also has Rupert Everett (Prince Charming), Julie Andrews (Queen Lillian), and John Cleese (King Harold) returning.  It adds Justin Timberlake as Arthur, Amy Poehler as Snow White, Maya Rudolph as Rapunzel, Amy Sedaris as Cinderella, Ian McShane as Captain Hook, John Krasinski as Lancelot, and Larry King as Doris the Ugly Stepsister.  I just wish they had been utilized in a better film.

The Shrek films kind of show a sharp decline with this film.  The first movie was very much an origin story and the second film really ramped up the parodies and stylized writing.  With the return of Prince Charming, the movie didn’t really develop any new direction.  The Shrek series ended in 2010 with the release of Shrek Forever After.

[easyazon-block align=”center” asin=”B0054JELUC” locale=”us”]

Related Links:

Shrek (2001)

Shrek 2 (2004)

Shrek Forever After (2010)

Shrek the Halls (2007)

Scared Shrekless (2010)

Puss in Boots (2011)