SHREK THE THIRD

"I'm an Ogre"

With King Harold (Cleese) about to croak, Shrek (Myers) and Fiona (Diaz) are next in line to the throne of Far, Far Away but when the ailing Frog ruler tells the ogre that there is another heir, he sees this as his chance to get out of his duty and return to the swamp. As Shrek, Donkey (Murphy) and Puss-in-Boots (Banderas) head out to find Fiona's cousin Arthur (Timberlake), Prince Charming (Everett) gathers together an army of villains to take the throne that he thinks he deserves.

After finding true love and meeting and winning over Fiona's parents, Shrek faces two new challenges that will change his life forever but can he still keep this story magical?

The Shrek franchise made DreamWorks a real challenger to Disney for the Kings of Animation crown. Set in a realm were the characters from every fairy tale you can remember all live together in some kind of harmony. Pinocchio, the Three Pigs, the Gingerbread Man, the Blind Mice, Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Rapunzel are all here but the main characters in this story are ones that have become just as famous the ones that have entertained children for hundreds of years, Shrek, Princess Fiona and Donkey.

Mixing fairy tales with modern songs and current pop culture, the Shrek movies quickly became firm family favourites. The first two movies were all about fitting it. Shrek was the ultimate outcast, living alone in his swamp and mining his own business until the world finally catches him up. Saving a Princess, falling in love, getting married and then meeting her parents, the big green ogre has certainly come out his shell but he still doesn't think that he can truly fit in. The third movie sees him asked to take two huge steps, the first to become the new king of Far, Far Away and the second is becoming a father. Both of these fill him with dread because he is an ogre and this isn't what people expect of a big green monster. This again fits with the theme of all the Shrek movies, the fact that someone like him shouldn't be doing the things he does but if you put your mind to it or love something enough, you can achieve anything. This has been the same for three movies now and unfortunately a third time is a little too much.

How many more times can the audience hear Shrek declare 'I'm an ogre' or continually doubt himself? Again Donkey, Puss and Shrek go on a quest and return to save the day. Whilst the filmmakers might not want to change a winning formula, the fans and critics alike don't really want more of the same. The story does progress however. Fiona and Shrek have become accepted in Far, Far Away, Donkey and the Dragon have had children, Prince Charming his scraping a living performing dinner theatre and Puss is becoming a real ladies cat. Each of these plot points are fun and develop the characters, pushing them towards new adventures. This of course adds to the fun but it is the overly familiar narrative of the main story that makes 'Shrek the Third' not much of a progression.

With exceptional vocal performances from the brilliant and star-studded ensemble cast, 'Shrek the Third' is still a lot of fun but it is just more of the same. With a fourth movie on the way, we will hopefully see a more confident Shrek and one that doesn't continue to blame all of this problems on being an ogre.

Shrek's Guide to Parenthood - Donkey, Puss In Boots, Pinocchio and Gingy all offer their priceless parenting tips for Shrek & Fiona!
Meet the Cast & Behind-the-Scenes featurette
Lost Scenes of Shrek The Third
Tech of Shrek
Worcestershire Academy Yearbook - Take an interactive flip through Artie's yearbook. Meet 30 of his classmates and hear soundbites of yearbook quotes and dedications
DreamWorks Kids
Merlin's Magic Crystal Ball: Let Merlin answer all your deepest questions
DreamWorks Animation Video Jukebox: A collection of all your favorite DreamWorks songs
DVD-ROM: Shrek Shmash-Ups: Shrek's take on popular "mash-up" technology. Mix scenes from all three Shrek movies with music and more to create your own short film
DVD-ROM: Games including Eyeball Dropper Captain Shrek Gingy's Dreamz Long Leap the King Tickle Fight, printables (colouring pages x 6) and weblinks
Trailers: Including Bee Movie, Kung Fu Panda and the DWA Jukebox

Shrek

Shrek 2

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2007