Shrek The Third

Year: 2007
Director: Chris Miller & Raman Hui
Voice cast: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Rupert Everett, Eric Idle, Justin Timberlake

Man, we sure have a lot of sequels this year. This one is about the lovable green ogre called Shrek. One wonders how many more tales they can cook up about him, his wife Fiona, the talking donkey and the lovable cat.

Shrek The Third begins with Shrek sitting in for his father in-law, King Harold who is ill, and not doing a good job with the royal duties. When King Harold dies, Shrek is given the opportunity to claim the throne. He refuses however, preferring a simpler life in his favourite swamp. So the only way he can get himself out of this predicament is to find Fiona's cousin, Arthur (that's King Arthur to most of us) to take the throne.

And so, off goes Shrek, Donkey and Puss In Boots to find Artie and bring him back. Once they find him however, they learn he's not exactly leadership material, and worst of all he's not excited about being King. But that's not all. The jilted Prince Charming from the previous film vows revenge and plots to take over Far Far Away with the help of an army of fairy tale villains. It's up to Fiona and her fairy tale damsels to defend their home. Can Shrek make it back in time to set things right?

Now the question is, is it any good? I'll have to say, just average. Sure, the voice cast do splendidly, and the many jibes taken at pop culture is still present. For example, the teenagers at Artie's school talk like modern day American kids. Haha. But taken as a whole, the film doesn't have enough to make it memorable.

The camaraderie between Shrek, Donkey & Puss is still hilarious, and enough chemistry still lingers between them, but whatever they tried this time around just didn't stand out. It's like they have run out of fresh ideas. Some of the supporting characters, like Sleeping Beauty, Pinocchio and Merlin are no doubt funny. But they can't do enough to make you feel like you haven't seen something like this before somewhere.

I hope they won't try making another one. Three is good. (3.5/5)