Review
Shrek the Third
- Director
- Raman Hui
- Chris Miller
- Year
- 2007
- Rating
- Reviewed by
- José Ruiloba a.k.a. Morris
- Review date
- Tuesday, June 19, 2007
As King Harold (voice of John Cleese) dies, Shrek (voice of Mike Myers) and Fiona (voice of Cameron Diaz) have to take his place as rulers of Far Far Away. But Shrek won’t have any of it, so he embarks on a quest with Donkey (voice of Eddie Murphy) and Puss in Boots (voice of Antonio Banderas) to find the other remaining heir, Artie (voice of Justin Timberlake), and give him the throne. Back home Prince Charming (voice of Rupert Everett) wants to take over the reign by enlisting the help of every outcast fairy tale villain.
Director Andrew Adamson stayed as executive producer this time around and gave the directing chair to Chris Miller and Raman Hui, a writer and animator respectively on the previous installments. The transition is notable only in the way that this entry is less successful, in a joke-per-minute way, to the other ones. Here the jokes don’t stop coming, although they’re hit-and-miss. New characters are introduced (mainly villains and a crazy Merlin) but they aren’t as successful as you might think. Merlin is annoying and the villains are given barely any screen time. And yes, all of our beloved characters are back, but as funny as they are, freshness is lacking.
There’s also nothing essentially wrong with the actual plot, although it is far too simple and straightforward for my taste. The movie flies by and barely anything has happened when suddenly we’re already into the climax. Besides, the writers believe that since we already love these characters we don’t need much in the name of heart. They just put them all in different situations and create a movie out of it. It seems as if the writers don’t know what else to do with the characters and thus have to resort to tired devices such as a change of identity between two of them.
Too much complaining is making it sound like the movie is a drag, but actually it isn’t. It’s light, frothy and occasionally very funny. Highlight sequences include the death of the King (!), a montage with Shrek doing kingly duties, almost anything involving the princesses (Snow White especially) and my favorite: tea with the Three Little Pigs and Pinocchio (in which the latter spits out a hilarious monologue).
The animation work is truly impressive. It continues to get better year after year and the detail here is breathtaking. As for other technical issues, I was disappointed with Harry Gregson-Williams’s score. Where is the trademark Shrek theme? And where is it especially when Puss comes up with his trademark move?
Voice work is very good, with Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy and Antonio Banderas highly comfortable in their well-known roles. Murphy is especially good, although Donkey doesn’t get that many shining moments. Newest addition Justin Timberlake does exactly as he’s required to. Other performers include Julie Andrews, John Cleese, Rupert Everett, Eric Idle, Larry King, Ian McShane, Cheri Oteri, Regis Philbin, Amy Poehler, Seth Rogen, Maya Rudolph, Amy Sedaris and many more.
“Look out! They got a piano!”
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Review
Shrek the Third
- Director
- Raman Hui
- Chris Miller
- Year
- 2007
- Rating
- Reviewed by
- Alejandro Legorreta a.k.a. Lego
- Review date
- Monday, June 25, 2007
Spider-Man 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, although flawed, have some exciting and funny moments. They have ups and downs, but at least in the end, they somehow hold up. Shrek the Third, on the other hand, is consistently tedious, predictable and monotonous.
The saga continues as Princess Fiona’s father, King Harold (voice by John Cleese), dies. Shrek (Mike Myers) and Fiona (Cameron Diaz) are next in line to take on the throne, but Shrek doesn’t have what it takes to become a king. So he embarks on a journey to find Artie (Justin Timberlake), who, I must assume, is King Harold and Queen Lillian’s (Julie Andrews) forgotten son. Now I really don’t think much of these monarchs as parents, as they locked up their daughter in a tower guarded by a dragon and sent his son to a boarding school in a town far from home and then forgot about him.
Anyway, in the meantime, Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) is preparing a comeback; he wants to be the ruler of Far Far Away at any cost. He recruits a group of fairytale villains, including Captain Hook, Cyclops and Rumplestiltskin and, while Shrek is gone, he invades and takes over the kingdom. Shrek finds Artie and brings him back to Far Far Away only to find out what Prince Charming has done. But Shrek doesn’t want to be the king nor does he want to fight Prince Charming for it. Then, in the lamest climax, Artie shows up and saves the day with a one liner. That is it.
After two good Shrek movies my expectations were high of course, but here everything happens without a bang. I was expecting the movie to become better as time went by, but when I realized, it was over and the bang had never come.
What had made the two previous films good, in this one is nowhere to be seen. The animation looks ordinary and lifeless, the songs just don’t fit and seem out of place, and the characters, otherwise funny and bright, seem adrift and uninterested. Shrek seems to have lost his personality and sharpness and, unfortunately, he shares credits with Artie, who might as well be the dullest and shallowest hero in the history of fairy tales and animated features. Not even Donkey (Eddie Murphy) or Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) can do something to bring back this movie to life. They had been memorable in the other two movies, but in this one they also look lost and dispassionate.
I know it must be a daunting task to come up with a fresh script for a sequel to two box-office hits. There are seven people with writing credits for Shrek the Third, not including William Steig for his book “Shrek!”, but it is evident that, in this case, writing by committee just doesn’t work. I hear there are plans for two more sequels, Shrek 4 and 5. They certainly will have to do a better job and I hope they find a formula to resuscitate what they’ve just unmercifully killed with Shrek the Third.
My six-year-old son loves the first two Shrek movies. He loved Spider-Man 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. He loves basically all animated features because he always finds something that draws his attention. Invariably, after watching a movie, he re-enacts his favorite scenes and recites memorable quotes over and over. His only comment after watching Shrek the Third? “Boring.” I totally agree with him.
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