Shrek the Third

After taming a dragon, rescuing a princess and thwarting an evil fairy godmother, everyone’s favorite ogre returns in the latest installment of the immensely popular Shrek franchise. When we last saw Shrek (voice of Mike Myers), he had just won the respects of his in-laws and settled down to live happily ever after in the castle with his wife, Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz). But as Shrek the Third opens, we see that life in the royal family has not suited him comfortably, as displayed through a series of nonsensical slapstick sequences in which Shrek sinks ships, ruins ancient tapestry and causes general mayhem. When King Harold (John Cleese) dies unexpectedly, Shrek is in line to become King but can't bear the thought of assuming the crown so he quickly embarks on a quest to find a replacement heir. A replacement King isn't the only problem on Shrek's mind, he also has to come to terms with the responsibility of his own impending fatherhood.

Shrek and his two trusty sidekicks, Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss In Boots (Antonio Banderas), set sail for a distant land in search of a prodigal son to wear the crown. When they arrive at a medieval high school community, they find Arthur (Justin Timberlake). He's the man who would be king if only he wasn't a wimpy teenager who insists on being called Artie. Meanwhile, the dastardly Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) capitalizes on Shrek's absence by organizing an attack on the kingdom.

Some of the prerelease buzz for Shrek the Third has pegged the film as a lackluster sequel in a tired franchise but after seeing the film, such reports seem grossly exaggerated. In fact, I think this latest film is even funnier and more exciting than Shrek 2 "” a film that relied too heavily on throwaway sight gags and minor pop culture chuckles. This is not to say that Shrek the Third doesn't display a few signs of wear: Pinocchio going through the not lying shtick again is about as fresh as Dr. Evil still doing the "shh" routine in Goldmember. Overall though, it's a remarkably resilient franchise that still showcases masses of comic ingenuity. Consider the scene in which Shrek walks past the high school pep band and they break out into a brass rendition of Smash Mouth's "All Star," a sly and creative way to reference the opening credits of the first film.

Perhaps the reason I am able to enjoy Shrek the Third so much stems from never loving Shrek the first enough to be disappointed by a sequel. My problem with the Shrek series has always been the same: too many dirty, adult jokes for an animated family film. I guess I'm a puritan but I like my family films to be as sanitary as possible and to instill strong morals upon its young viewers.

It's not that I want animated films to be dumbed down; I've loved almost every single Pixar film because the studio has the formula down pact for incorporating grown-up (not adult) humor into its family films. I've always taken offense to the bawdy sex jokes that are littered throughout the Shrek films but have taken slight comfort in their thin veils. More troubling are the two drug references we get in Shrek the Third. As funny as a Fast Times at Ridgemont High parody might be, it's completely unsuitable in this context. Even more egregious is Donkey going through a magic spell-induced transportation and gleefully exclaiming, "I haven't had a trip like that since college!"

In spite of my moralistic reservations, I can't deny the fun I had watching the film because of its stellar filmmaking and its talented voice acting. Murphy, Banderas and Everett represent just about the finest possible work in terms of celebrity comedic voice acting; their performances are so skilled it's enough to suggest there should be a separate Oscar category for voiceover work. Even more exceptional is the filmmakers' close attention to the cinematography. Their ability to use formalist cliché's from live-action movies in order to create humor and excitement is what really distinguishes the Shrek series from other animated features. It's a technique that's been present right from the beginning: Shrek outrunning the Dragon fire in slow motion, the hilarious shot/reverse-shot extreme close-up exchange between Shrek and Donkey before storming the castle. It's this precise craftsmanship utilized in groundbreaking ways that makes this franchise so worthy of continuation.

Speaking of groundbreaking, what other animated children's film would have the insight to score the film with source music that ranges from indie/alt rock to a Pat Benetar cover to Led Zeppelin? Although, the lack of a standout song with the potential to become a standout hit along the lines of Smash Mouth's cover of "I'm a Believer" or Counting Crows' "Accidentally in Love" does provide a case for Shrek the Third being more hurried than the previous films. But even if the series is showing slight signs of age it doesn't bother me. I'm perfectly content to keep watching these vibrantly jocund Shrek films as long as Dreamworks is willing to keep producing them.

Movie Grade: B

Synopsis:

When Shrek 3 opens, Shrek and Fiona are having to take on the duties of being the active king and queen of Far, Far Away. When we left him, the King was quite literally croaking. They’re not very comfortable in these roles, so the King says to them, “If you can find the heir to the throne and bring him back, the Kingdom will be in good hands, then you can return to swamp and live your lives.” Which is what they want to do. Shrek, Donkey and Puss go to the far side of the Kingdom

of Far, Far Away where young “Artie”, who is the nephew of Queen Lilian, is about to graduate school. Artie turns out to be young King Arthur and Shrek and Donkey and Puss have to convince this extremely rebellious young man, voiced by Justin Timberlake, to come back and assume the throne. Along the way, Shrek invents the Round Table, chivalry. Donkey is the Lady in the Lake with the sword. Meanwhile, back at the Kingdom of Far, Far Away, Prince Charming decides that it’s time for a coup d’etat. “The cat’s away. He will play” So Fiona organizes all of the princesses into the underground Resistance movement, who are trying to hold things together until Shrek, Donkey, Puss and young King Arthur return.