Film Review

04 July 2009 17:03 BST

Shrek the Third

Directed by Chris Miller and Raman Hui, out now in cinemas, starring Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy and Antonio Banderas, running time 92 minutes.

In a nutshell…

Not quite third time lucky.

What's it all about?

Not familiar with the Shrek series? It goes: ogre meets princess. Princess realises he's her true love and reveals she's an ogre too. Mouthy sidekicks Donkey and Puss in Boots muck about and help to defeat evil royalty who think Shrek's a bit weird. They get their comeuppance. Happy ever after.

Until now, of course. After Princess Fiona's dad - a frog voiced by John Cleese - croaks it (that pun couldn't be avoided), Shrek is asked to become king of Far, Far Away. However, he chickens out, leaving teenage nerd Artie (voiced by Justin Timberlake) to fulfil his duty as the only other heir.

But it's not that simple, for long-time nemesis Prince Charming rallies his fairytale troops into action and takes over, provoking Shrek's gang to try and oust him from the throne.

In the midst of all this, Princess Fiona announces she's expecting a baby Shrek, prompting him to get more than a little freaked out.

Who's in it?

Voicing characters can go really well - with the series' favourites being Eddie Murphy's trash-talking mule and Banderas' husky-toned Puss.

However, Diaz does little more than give the film big-name status, while Shrek's Scottish accent, provided by Mike Myers, has become a bizarre American hybrid since the first movie and often sounds a bit strained.

Newbies to the cast include the aforementioned Timberlake, Eric Idle and Ian McShane - or antique-wielding investigator Lovejoy for those who don't watch HBO series Deadwood.

As an example…

Donkey: [seeing Shrek naked in bed] Aahh! You know, you really need to get yourself a pair of jammies!

Donkey: Alright people, let's do this thing. Go Team Dynamite!
Pinocchio: But I thought we agreed we'd go by the name Team Super-cool.
Gingerbread Man: As I recall, it was Team Awesome.
Wolf: I voted for Team Alpha Wolf Squadron.
Donkey: Alright, alright, alright. From henceforth, we're all to be known as Team Alpha Super Awesome Cool Dynamite Wolf Squadron.

Likelihood of a trip to the Oscars

The first Shrek won an Oscar for best animated feature, but this instalment will probably fall short of the mark - while the animation itself is fantastic, that's simply not enough given the influx of cartoon films around, such as Pixar's forthcoming Ratatouille and this summer's The Simpsons Movie.

However, it's likely to win a few teen-centric gongs e.g. Fox's Teen Choice Awards.

What the others say

"Another summer threequel, another case of slipping standards." Dan Jolin, Empire

So is it any good?

Can a fat green ogre be funny third time around? The answer is no. But Donkey and Puss can, providing hilarious moments in an otherwise flat movie, giving no justice to its predecessors which were smart, witty and littered with pop references.

While Shrek himself and the duller-than-dull Princess Fiona are unimpressive and the plot is fairly non-existent, there are some moments of genius - mostly involving the Gingerbread Man - which lift the flick from the stereotypical sequel doldrums.

It's also obvious that a new director has come on board, replacing Andrew Adamson who clearly took his imagination and style with him after the first two. They had flair, fab songs and clever parodies, while this movie lacks that magic touch - there's not even the group karaoke scene over the credits which made Shrek and its follow-up even more loveable.

Shrek the Third evokes an odd response. It's worth watching if you fancy an easy watch with a few laughs. But you might be disappointed, because it could have been great and instead proves that all these sequels (Caribbean pirates, Fantastic Fours and bespectacled boy wizards take note) are simply not good enough.

5/10

Isabel Plumbly

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