Shrek the Third
Shrek the Third is easily the weakest of the 3 Shrek movies, but the talented DreamWorks animation team have still managed to cram in enough laughs and clever visual gags to keep audiences smiling for the film’s brisk 92-minute running time.
In fact it’s largely the gags and well choreographed action sequences that keep Shrek the Third afloat, compensating for a very limp storyline.
This time around Shrek (Mike Myers) is faced with the possibility of becoming both a father and king of Far Far Away, when all he wants to do is retreat to his uncomplicated existence in the swamp. The only solution is to seek out Arthur “Artie” Pendragon (Justin Timberlake), an awkward teenager who is the only other legitimate heir to the throne – and resident punching bag at his cleverly imagined fairy tale high school.
With Shrek, Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) away on their quest, a vengeful Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) attempts to seize control of Far Far Away, with assorted fairytale villains to back him up. It’s up to Fiona (Cameron Diaz), leading the Three Little Pigs, Gingerbread Man, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and Snow White, to fight back.
The interaction of Fiona and the 3 bitchy princesses is actually one of the film’s highlights. In fact, after a while you’d much rather follow their adventures than return to Shrek’s story arc, which is bogged down by Artie’s “My father hates me” teenage angst. In one particularly hilarious sequence, DreamWorks seems to be deliberately flirting with a lawsuit from Disney, by blatantly spoofing Snow White’s animal magnetism in the 1937 Disney classic.
Then, of course, there’s the comic duo of Donkey and Puss in Boots, who can always be relied on for laughs – even if Puss is clearly overtaking Donkey as the more amusing of the two sidekicks, with his spot-on cat mannerisms.
In the end, Shrek the Third is a stunningly animated film that doesn’t aim to be anything more than a likeable family comedy, albeit with a twisted sense of humour. It’s just unfortunate that it’s also one of those utterly forgettable popcorn flicks that will have completely vacated your mind 10 minutes after you leave the cinema.
In fact it’s largely the gags and well choreographed action sequences that keep Shrek the Third afloat, compensating for a very limp storyline.
This time around Shrek (Mike Myers) is faced with the possibility of becoming both a father and king of Far Far Away, when all he wants to do is retreat to his uncomplicated existence in the swamp. The only solution is to seek out Arthur “Artie” Pendragon (Justin Timberlake), an awkward teenager who is the only other legitimate heir to the throne – and resident punching bag at his cleverly imagined fairy tale high school.
With Shrek, Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) away on their quest, a vengeful Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) attempts to seize control of Far Far Away, with assorted fairytale villains to back him up. It’s up to Fiona (Cameron Diaz), leading the Three Little Pigs, Gingerbread Man, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and Snow White, to fight back.
The interaction of Fiona and the 3 bitchy princesses is actually one of the film’s highlights. In fact, after a while you’d much rather follow their adventures than return to Shrek’s story arc, which is bogged down by Artie’s “My father hates me” teenage angst. In one particularly hilarious sequence, DreamWorks seems to be deliberately flirting with a lawsuit from Disney, by blatantly spoofing Snow White’s animal magnetism in the 1937 Disney classic.
Then, of course, there’s the comic duo of Donkey and Puss in Boots, who can always be relied on for laughs – even if Puss is clearly overtaking Donkey as the more amusing of the two sidekicks, with his spot-on cat mannerisms.
In the end, Shrek the Third is a stunningly animated film that doesn’t aim to be anything more than a likeable family comedy, albeit with a twisted sense of humour. It’s just unfortunate that it’s also one of those utterly forgettable popcorn flicks that will have completely vacated your mind 10 minutes after you leave the cinema.
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