Shrek the Third fails to live up to the expectations of the kiddie-bopper crowd in many ways. Sure it's still quite funny, but the laughs no longer come from the main characters, the trend began in the second film and now the Shrek series is entirely about how funny you can make the extras. The other detrimental factor is its inability to supply a decent plot that doesn't feature redone bits from the last two films.
In the fairy tale land of Far Far Away, the king has died, leaving Fiona and Shrek as the next in line for royal property. But then again, they're ogres... not much of a PR dream come true there. The factor of ogre-dom, combined with Shrek's overwhelming sense of insecurity, lead him to pursue alternative persons to fill in the role of king. Luckily, as the king died, one of his many last words was the name of the sole option besides Shrek, "Arthur". Enter Arthur (of Avalon fame) who is nothing but a weak "loser," constantly the target of the school bullies. Shrek whisks him away (to quite a few objections I might add) and journeys back to his kingdom.
Unfortunately, while he was away, all of the fairy tale villains decided to stage a hilarious coup under the command of the spited Prince Charming searching for his "Happily Ever After". The scenes with the villains are perhaps the funniest in the entire film. When the villain soldiers barge into a room to find a tea-party being held by the traditional Shrek extras I couldn't help but laugh... rather out of control as well. Pinocchio's method for escaping lying is a classic skit taken to an absurdly long though funny extreme. Try to count all the "not"s.
Luckily for Mike Myers, these movies require very little of him dramatically -- since Shrek is Mike Myers plus a big green CGI body. We all know how much he enjoys his Scottish accent as he's used it countless times in films like So I Married an Axe Murderer, Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me, and once again in all the Shrek films. Don't get me wrong he's a very talented actor when it comes to comedy; I'd just like to see him do something with a little more substance that relies less on the audiences guaranteed by prequels.
Cameron Diaz, like Mike Myers, is given an almost inconsequential role in comparison to the likes of Antonio Banderas, Eddie Murphy, and the other extras. Her character has no other role than to be the strong female character who challenges Shrek's concept of himself with her announcement of pregnancy. No other purpose. Her bra-burning scene in the prison is a remarkably top-shelf feminism reference. But Shrek has always managed to add a little humor too hot for the tykes.
Eddie and Antonio's roles from the previous film haven't changed... at all. Their characters still bicker and offer crucial pieces of advice to Shrek when the writers have decided he's too stupid to exist without any help.
Even if I wasn't happy with the voice acting (Justin Timberlake as Arthur... I know his voice is his specialty but geez) the writing in crucial bits of humor couldn't be better. "Oh no, he's got a piano!" I love the involvement of Captain Hook in Shrek the Third. Hook gets a large number of the best jokes. When he screams "I'll get you, Peter Pan!" at a little child, he's rebuked with a subtle "His name's Johnny." I love the great line references from past movies. One such moment is Snow White's baby shower gift to Fiona. Precious. Finally, in the humor department, I was pleased to see a reference to Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles and the use of the fog horn. Can anyone say "Shrek, you just got royally *fooooonk*"?
But here we get to my complaint. The factor that ruins the entire movie. The first Shrek was a genius splicing of fairy tales into a creative movie that both children and adults could enjoy. Multi-generational. Shrek 2 still kept a good portion of the multi-generational appeal, but added a few extra key voices to keep things interesting. But Shrek the Third just blows the entire series to hell, funny or bland. When they make the babies of Donkey and the Dragon into named entities and when they create triplets for Shrek and Fiona, you know there's only one thing on the minds of the producers: merchandise. Sure, there's always been this opportunity, but for Shrek the Third they created a plot to capitalize upon it. For that, I'm disgusted. I lose all faith in a franchise when it turns to that.
"Shrek the Third" opens May 18, 2007 and is rated PG. Adventure, Animation, Children & Family, Comedy. Directed by Chris Miller, Raman Hui. Written by Jeffrey Price, Peter S. Seaman, Chris Miller, Aron Warner, Andrew Adamson (story), William. Starring Antonio Banderas, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, Eric Idle, John Cleese, Julie Andrews, Justin Timberlake, Mike Myers, Rupert Everett.
