'Shrek the Third': A Mediocre Ogre

Upon the death of Far Far Away's king it appears the mud-loving Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers) and his wife Fiona (voiced by Cameron Diaz) are next in line to take the throne.  (That's right, no matriarchy here.)  The problem is Shrek doesn't want to rule.  He ends up on a search along with sidekicks Donkey (voiced by Eddie Murphy) and Puss in Boots (voiced by Antonio Banderas) for the only other living heir, Artie (voiced by Justin Timberlake).  Just before his departure, Shrek learns that he'll soon be a father and turns into a worrisome wreck.  Back in the kingdom, Prince Charming (voiced by Rupert Everett) has assembled a team of fairy tale villains including Captain Hook, Rumpelstiltskin, & the Cyclops.  Their evil take over begins after the capture of Fiona and her friends during her baby shower.  Now with Fiona locked up and Shrek away it looks like there might not be a happily ever after this time.

First off, let me just say the animation here was excellent.  Dreamworks continues to amaze in terms of visuals each and every time.  Aside from that and the fact I found Puss in Boots to be more likeable this time, I can't say too many good things about 'Shrek the Third'.  Yes, there was the occasional funny moment, but most of the good gags were shown in the trailers, so by the time I saw them in the film they weren't nearly as humorous.  Most of the jokes aren't even as fresh as the ones in the previous films.  I'm sorry, but noting how Merlin's robe doesn't quite cover everything certainly didn't have me rolling in my seat.

The funniest thing to me about the entire movie was the odd assortment of people that wrote it.  We've got a guy who did 'The Nutty Professor', one that worked on 'Wild Wild West', & another was apart of 'Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare'.  Not exactly a likely crew to be writing something for kids.  The other person that helped put together the screenplay is surprisingly the only one to have even sort of been a good choice.  He's the same guy who directed it; Chris Miller.  Most of your probably don't recognize that name so I'll have to refresh your memory.  "Although she lives with seven men, she's not easy."  Ringing a bell?  No?  Well that's a line from the first film said by Miller who then played the magic mirror.  Oh yes, I am serious.  The magic mirror.  Enough said.

Although, it's not entirely his fault that this film finishes as just okay and doesn't measure up to the previous.  He along with the other three writers share the blame equally.  There were too many new characters; with the main one being absolutely boring.  Donkey's personality was almost totally lost as his wise-cracking, soul-singing being was toned down and transformed into a caring and empathizing drone.  Then finally, since the jokes were unable to help move along the story this time, many scenes dragged along, most of the time never picking up until someone hurt themselves.  The film's tagline states, "The wait is ogre", but in reality this is one time where it won't hurt to wait until the DVD comes out to see it.

 
OVERALL RATING: 

Starring: Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas, & Rupert Everett Directed by: Chris Miller Written by: Chris Miller, Jeffrey Price, Peter Seaman (II), & Aron J. Warner Produced by: Andrew Adamson & John H. Williams Rated: PG for some crude humor, suggestive content, & swashbuckling action.

(click the play button to watch the trailer)