Not Quite Ogrelicious

When his new father-in-law falls ill, Shrek (voiced again by Mike Myers) is looked at as the heir to the land of Far, Far Away.

Not one to give up his beloved swamp, Shrek recruits his friends Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) to install the rebellious Artie (Justin Timberlake) as the new king, while Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) rallies a band of royal girlfriends to fend off a coup d'état by the jilted Prince Charming (Rupert Everett).

That is the basic plot of Shrek the Third, the well-meaning part three of the ogre-with-a-heart-of-gold movies.

I was pleasantly surprised by 2001’s original, and although I didn’t care for 2004’s Shrek 2 (hurray for Puss in Boots, by the way), I kept my hopes up for this one.

I wouldn’t say I was disappointed, but I would say there’s only so much left you can do with these characters. I appreciate that Shrek is growing as the audience is growing – he’s coming to terms with imminent parenthood this time around – but what’s next? Shrek: The Golden Years? I don’t want to see an aged ogre crack fart jokes.

However, I wouldn’t mind seeing more of the Princess Posse (which includes Amy Sedaris’ Cinderella and Amy Poehler’s Snow White). Those gals were too funny.

My Rating **1/2

Photo: DreamWorks Animation.