Movie Reviews for Shrek the Third (Widescreen Edition)

Shrek the Third (Widescreen Edition)

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Movie Reviews of Shrek the Third (Widescreen Edition)

Movie Review: My review of Shrek the Third.
Summary: 5 Stars

I bought Shrek for my two Grandchildren (two boys) from Amazon here in the UK. I also bought a copy of it from Amazon in the USA for my Grandchild out there (Two boys and one girl). Both families were thrilled to recieve it and really enjoy it - with the children they don't just watch it once they will be watching it again and again.

Thanking you Amazon for making it so easy for me to indulge the Grandchildren.

A.E.Cuss

Movie Review: I kept waiting for the good part
Summary: 2 Stars

Preface (containing spoilers on the first two movies in the series): This is the third film in the series. In Shrek (Two-Disc Special Edition), we met Shrek, an ogre, who wants his swamp back, and who must rescue Princess Fiona, locked in a tower and guarded by a dragon. Shrek is to bring Fiona back to Lord Farquaad, so that Farquaad can marry Fiona and become a king. Fate interferes, as Fiona has a hidden side to her that helps her fall in love with Shrek, instead of Farquaad. Meanwhile, Shrek's travel-companion, a talking donkey named "Donkey", also ends up falling in love, most unexpectedly. Lord Farquaad does not get his happily-ever-after, but everyone else does. In Shrek 2 (Widescreen Edition), the just-married Shrek and Fiona are summoned to the Kingdom of Far Far Away, to receive the blessing of the King and Queen of Far Far Away, a.k.a. Fiona's Mum and Dad. But, the King is unimpressed with his daughter's choice of husband, as Fiona was supposed to marry Prince Charming, the son of the Fairy Godmother, who helped the King in the past. The King hires a hit-man, Puss-in-Boots, to get rid of Shrek, but Puss ends up as Shrek's ally. In the end, Shrek wins Fiona's heart again, along with the blessing of the King (now a frog) and the Queen, much to the chagrin of Charming, not to mention the chagrin of the now-vaporized Fairy Godmother.

In this third movie, the Frog-King dies, leaving Shrek and Fiona in charge of the Kingdom of Far Far Away, except they do not want all the pomp, circumstance, and ritual of ruling the Kingdom. So, Shrek, Donkey, and Puss-in-Boots go off in search of the only other heir, geeky teen-age cousin Arthur ("Artie") who is in private school, busy being rejected and taunted by everyone. One would think Artie would want to escape that, but he proves to be a most reluctant heir, as he completely lacks confidence. Meanwhile, Prince Charming takes advantage of Shrek's absence, imprisons Fiona and the Queen, and revelaciously usurps the throne, with the aid of every downtrodden fairy-tale creature he can con. That leaves Shrek, Donkey, Puss, and Artie having to find their way back to Far Far Away, with the aid of Merlin, who has partially lost his magical touch, while Fiona, the Queen, and Fiona's non-treacherous friends, must break out of prison and begin to work on usurping Charming.

Why did I give this the two stars I gave it (spoiler be here)? The Queen's role in the prison break brought me a chuckle. When Merlin, voiced delightfully by Eric Idle, misfires with his magic, and Puss and Donkey both get back to Far Far Away, but in each other's bodies, there are some genuine laughs. I loved it when Puss (in Donkey's body) tried to disarm his attackers with his big-eyed kitty look, and it does not turn out as he planned. Doris, the ugly stepsister, voiced by Larry King, steals several scenes. Also, the computer-generated imagery continues the standard of excellence that was set by the first two movies.

Why did I give this only those two stars(spoiler be here)? Other than the scenes mentioned above, I kept waiting for the chance to smile or laugh, and waiting, and waiting . . . .

The musical magic of the first two movies was also not there. The death of the Frog-King took forever, and was tactless and borderline gruesome. Prince Charming, without the powerful backing of the Fairy Godmother, was nothing but a primping joke of a villain, that I could not see as a valid challenge to anyone. The Shrek-as-a-reluctant-potential-father story-line was okay, but just okay. There was no magic there. While Eric Idle imbued Merlin with a bit of comic magic, the role was too small and under-developed. Artie as a potential King? That was as much of a no-sale with me as was Charming as a viable, menacing usurper. That face-off had all the thrill of a boxing match between two lemmings.

What I think they should have done: Give Eric Idle (Merlin) a bigger role, tagging along with Shrek, Donkey, Puss, and Artie. Merlin could keep trying to help magically, and having it backfire, but not always. The Queen should have stepped forward to take the throne, but we would discover secrets about her past, possibly blurted out by Merlin or Doris. Artie could turn out to be a powerful wizard-in-the-making, who is unaware of his own powers. They could have brought in Gingy or Pinocchio to goad Artie into becoming more of what he could be.

I am sure there are a dozen other ways they could have injected more magic, and more fun, and more life into this limp story. Somebody needed to step forward and say, "Hey! We are doing a sequel to Shrek, not doing one more, fill-in-the-gap episode of a series already slated to be canceled!" Somebody needed to do something. But, somebody didn't.