Shrek the Third [PG]

When the King of Far Far Away dies, Shrek is next in line for the throne, much to his dismay. Fortunately there is another heir, a teenage boy named Arthur. So, with the hope to bring Arthur to Far Far Away so he and Fiona can go and live in their swamp, Shrek journeys forth to find the boy and teach him a lesson or two. In the meantime, Prince Charming is plotting revenge and has enlisted the help of the most notorious villains to kidnap Fiona and the princesses of Far Far Away, forcing Shrek into a final showdown that could end in his death. 

And now the saga just gets silly. The first Shrek was clever and witty and refreshingly original. The second, Shrek 2, had that same flare and humour, with that added twist of “what if the fairytale ending wasn’t the right one?”. But Shrek the Third just became plain old silly. To be fair, there is plenty of wonderful comedic delights and witty treats of the script, but ultimately this chapter in the Shrek Saga was haphazardly put together, leaving a fair few holes in the whole thing. It still makes me laugh and I have it in the collection, but it’s definitely not my favourite. 

When the king of Far Far Away dies, Shrek is next in line for the throne, much to his dismay. Fortunately there is another heir, a teenage boy by the name of Arthur. So, with the hope of bringing Arthur to Far Far Away so he and Fiona can live happily ever after in their swamp, Shrek journeys forth to find the boy and teach him a lesson or two. In the meantime, Prince Charming is plotting revenge and has enlisted the help of the most notorious villains to kidnap Fiona and the princesses of Far Far Away, forcing Shrek into a final showdown that could end with his death. 

I think it is fair to say that this movie was all about the comedy; the three central themes being parenthood, feminism, and adolescence. Having exhausted the repertoire of fairytales and fables, Shrek the Third turns to having a crack at the Arthurian legends, and so we are introduced to many characters from T.H White’s The Once and Future King, this was the central foundation for the adolescent comedy. We also get to spend more time with the well known princesses: Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Snow White, and I have to admit that it was pretty cool seeing them burn their bras and going all feministic and Charlie’s Angels-ish. It’s always fun to see girls kicking arse. 

My only major annoyance with this movie is the fact that the morals of the story are really sloppily thrown in. The script spent more time focusing on elements that would make the audience laugh, rather than establishing a solid moral story, particularly that of the relationship between Shrek and Arthur. Aside from that, if you love the Shrek movies, of course you need to see this one. 

Featuring the voice talents of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Rupert Everett, Antonio Banderas, John Cleese, Julie Andrews, Justin Timberland and Eric Idle, Shrek the Third is a silly but fun family movie that’s packed with action, adventure, magic, fables, friendships, comedy, and memorable characters. By no means the sharpest pin in the cushion, but, for any Shrek fan, it’s worth having a look at.