Shrek the Third
Rated PG for some crude humor, suggestive content and swashbuckling action.
reviewed by Christopher Lyon
It’s one of the hardest things in all of sports -- the three-peat. Very few teams can win it all three times in a row in any league. Turns out it’s just as tough for movie franchises. For every “LOTR:ROTK,” there’s a half a dozen “just okay” (or worse) third eps in movie trilogies. And in the month of thirds (May 2007), “Shrek the Third” proudly continues that tradition.
Story
Still in frog form, Princess Fiona’s (Cameron Diaz) dad King Harold (John the Cleese) croaks. On his deathbed, he tries to appoint Shrek (Mike Meyers) to the throne -- or the king’s distant high school-aged relative Arthur (Justin Timberlake) could take the job -- it’s up to Shrek. Shrek, Donkey (Eddie Murphy), and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) immediately set sail in search of young Artie.
But the pride-bruised Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) still wants the throne for himself and gathers an army of disposed, pouty fairy tale villains (Captain Hook, the Evil Queen from Snow White, the Headless Horseman, etc.) to help him storm Far Far Away and take it. That leaves a pregnant Fiona, her Queen Mum (Julie Andrews), Snow White (Amy Poehler), Cinderella (Amy Sedaris), and the rest of the Shrek gang (Pinocchio, the three little pigs and their wolf, the Gingerbread Man, etc.) to try to defend the realm until Shrek returns with the new king.
Meanwhile, Shrek finds Artie at a Middle Ages high school complete with a jousting team, valley-speak cheerleaders, and D&D nerds wearing retainers. Turns out Artie’s kind of a loser picked on by a jock named Lancelot and ignored by a girl named Gwen. In the end, Shrek and the boys will need a little help from a loony magic prof named Merlin (Eric Idle) to get them back home in time for the big showdown with Charming.
Verdict
When stacked up next to the hugely successful crowd-pleasers “Shrek” and “Shrek 2,” “Shrek the Third” is just okay. It provides some laughs, some cleverish spoofery, and some nice messages -- just a lot less of each than the first two outings. The big problems for me come in the meandering story and weaker characters. It’s as if directors Chris Miller and Raman Hui (and their writers) were aware they were covering much of the same territory, but weren’t quite sure what to do instead.
Meyers’ performance as Shrek is less hilariously ogre-ish and more fatherly, keeping with Shrek’s trepidations about becoming a new dad. The self-deluded Charming is probably the most fun to watch, and Timberlake is okay as young Artie. For pure entertainment’s sake, I could have used more of Donkey’s and Puss’s bickering/antics and less of Fiona’s girl-power team of princesses. In fact, the film may have been better with a lot less going on overall to create some room for more of the kind of jokes and spoofy asides that made the other Shreks so much fun.
Still, “Shrek the Third” is a pleasant 90 minutes -- and worth checking out for animation fans. It looks better than ever. The CG is another step clearer, crisper, and more fluid. Even the human characters -- always a challenge for digital animation -- are starting to look more, well, human in form and function. During several moments, I had to remind myself that the action was animated, not filmed. And the soundtrack still rocks with a few gems and several downright fun tunes sung by the cast.
This episode tones down the bathroom humor a bit and disguises a few instances of swearing and sexual/drug humor from the kids. And thankfully, it still has its heart in the right place with some sweet (if less pointed) positive messages.
Worldview
It’s tough to beat the first two Shrek films for clear, nearly counter-culture worldview ideas. In number one, we discovered along with Shrek that what’s inside matters a lot more than externals like skin color, bodily odor, and belly size -- no matter how pretty and perfect all those Disney heroines are. “Shrek 2” went so far as to show normal married love with its ups and downs -- and a man and wife who refused to break up even when it became clear that staying together would be very, very hard sometimes.
“Third’s” messages are less radical and will be familiar to anyone who has put in time in front of family-themed TV. Shrek and Artie both come to realize they must not be afraid to embrace their responsibilities, one as daddy, the other as king. And all the characters must come to grips with after-school special idea of being who you want to be no matter what others label you.
Hopefully, dads dragged to the film by their tots will have their big, green ogre ears tuned into the slightly preachy sermon: Don’t be afraid. Step up. Be there for your kids. It will be hard work, but it might be your most important job ever. Not to be there for your kids -- and not to train them to know and love God -- is sin. (Ephesians 6:4)
By the time the credits roll and the little ogres are dismantling everything in site, you get the idea Shrek will do just fine as a daddy. Who else would go slime sliding with his kids and love every minute of it?
Questions:
• Stock: Which is your favorite: Shrek 1, 2, or Third?
• What would be a good storyline for the inevitable “Shrek 4”?
• Funniest moment? Best song? Grossest gag?
• Quick: Name three third films in a trilogy as good as the previous two. Now name six third films that were a little disappointing. It’s a game!
• Are you afraid to own any of the responsibilities you’ve been given in life? Why can it be scary to step up and do what’s yours? How do you overcome that?
