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Shrek the Third
Dreamworks
Directed By: Chris Miller, Raman Hui
Written By: Jeffery Price, Peter S. Seaman, Jon Zack
Produced By: Aron Warner
Starring: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas, Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, Julie Andrews, John Cleese, Rupert Everett, Eric Idle, Larry King
Review Date: July 2, 2007
Alex's Rating: D+
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The third installment of the Shrek series
and one of the highly anticipated summer "threequels,"
Shrek the Third was short on laughs, short on
character, and short on fun.
The third movie picks up shortly after the second
one left off in the kingdom of far far away where
Shrek and Fiona now inhabit. The sudden death of
Fiona's father, the king, leaves Shrek as the
unenthused heir to the throne. However, Shrek learns
that there is another heir - Fiona's cousin, a high
school student in a distant land. Shrek along with
his companions Donkey and Puss-in-Boots embark on a
journey to find this long lost cousin. Meanwhile,
the evil yet befuddled Prince Charming is out to
foil their plans and appoint himself king.
It's not an incredibly original plot, but for the
Shrek series it's more than enough. The thing
that's made the Shrek's so popular is their
ability to take simple plots and add creative characters,
spoofs on popular fairytales, and random pop culture
references to create an enjoyable movie experience.
However, this film was mostly devoid of the charm that
each of its predecessors possessed; instead it came across
forced and boring.
A big reason for the plainness was the effort put
forth by the vocal talents. This film featured the
same base of stars as voices - Mike Myers as Shrek,
Eddie Murphy as Donkey, Cameron Diaz as Fiona,
Antonio Banderas as Puss-in-Boots, as well as new
talents - Justin Timberlake as Artie, Eric Idle as
Merlin. With stars like this involved, it is not asking
too much to hope for something hilarious and
heartwarming.
Mike Myers and Justin Timberlake each put forth some
of the worst voice performances in animated film
history. Each character seemed completely devoid of
emotion or any kind of character depth whatsoever.
Despite the animators' best efforts, there was nothing
they could do to give these tired characters some life.
Eddie Murphy and Antonio Banderas played off each other
well, but without support from other characters their
efforts almost became
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annoying. Thank goodness for Eric
Idle as Merlin, who was a comedic light in a sea of
mediocrity every time his character was on the screen.
There were enough moments of fleeting humor that
children might find amusing, but I believe this is
another sad case of ambitious studio executives who
are banking on the name of a popular franchise just
to make a couple more million dollars. Sad world we
live in.
Bottom Line: Make the "threequels" end!
Memorable Quote: "Sorry, kid, I don't do that
stuff anymore. How about a hug? That's the best kind of
magic there is!" -- Merlin
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