If I could sum up Shrek the Third simply, it would be pleasant yet predictable. If you have seen the previous films, you pretty much know what to expect here, and your reaction is not going to change much. As for me, I've always been rather indifferent to the series. The films were okay to watch once, but not much more than that. Shrek the Third is more of the same, and quite frankly, the formula's starting to feel a bit stale. Maybe it's because the film seems afraid to truly break out and try something new. We don't really get to see anything new about Shrek's world, and the new characters introduced in this entry are pretty forgettable. Still, the old characters carry on their charm from before, and fans are sure to get what they came for.

As the frog King of Far Far Away (John Cleese) lies on his deathbed after a long bout with an illness, ogre couple Shrek (Mike Myers) and Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) are forced to stand in as the kingdom's rulers. Shrek is less than pleased with being a King, as he just wants to return to his beloved swamp home. When he learns that there is another living heir to the throne in another part of the world, he sets off on a journey with his animal sidekicks Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss 'n Boots (Antonio Banderas) to track down a young boy named Arthur (Justin Timberlake), and convince him to take the throne. As Shrek searches for a replacement king, the egotistical Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) is back at home, plotting revenge for the humiliation the ogre caused him in the last film. He gathers up all the local fairy tale villains, and organizes them to stage a hostile takeover of Far Far Away, with him as the ruler. With Shrek away, it's up to Fiona, her Queen mother (Julie Andrews) and fellow Princesses Snow White (Amy Poehler), Cinderella (Amy Sedaris) and Sleeping Beauty (Cheri Oteri) to fend off the invading forces.

The Shrek films have become famous (or infamous, depends on who you talk to) for its rapid-fire jokes, visual gags, and pop culture references. It may surprise some that Shrek the Third takes an almost leisurely approach compared to the others. The jokes don't fly quite as fast, and the music montages and pop culture humor are nowhere near as frequent. The film is heaviest with the reference humor during the sequence that Shrek and his traveling companions visit a medieval high school where Arthur is a student. The visual gags parodying high school comedies and teen cliches fly fast and furious here, with a couple clever gags scattered here and there. (I liked the anti-drug banner in the gymnasium that read "Just Say Nay".) The rest of the film is much more laid back, with characters facing their own personal problems, such as Shrek dealing with his feelings about parenthood (Fiona wants to have a baby), and Arthur trying to believe in himself enough to be King of Far Far Away after being treated as a loser all his life by his peers at school. Even motor-mouthed sidekick Donkey doesn't seem quite as lively as in previous installments, and is mainly content to stay in the background for many scenes. How audiences used to the fast-paced jokes of Shrek 1 and 2 will react to this, I'm not sure, but the audience I was in attendance with seemed to be enjoying it enough. That's because the movie gives them just enough of what they want so that those used to the old style can be happy, and those who found the previous fast-paced style too overwhelming can enjoy the story a little bit more.

Where Shrek the Third falls short is that aside from a slightly eased back tone, the movie is completely afraid to take chances. As I mentioned before, aside from Arthur's high school and a far off land where loopy wizard Merlin (Eric Idle) resides, we don't get to see anything new in Shrek's world that we haven't seen in the past two films. It would seem that director Chris Miller and the four or so writers credited to the screenplay were afraid to branch off too much, and stuck a little too heavily with tradition. The characters haven't changed that much, and while I'm sure fans will appreciate it, I'd like just a little bit more development to the characters, as they haven't seem to have changed that much since the ending of the first movie. And quite frankly, the new characters introduced in this installment just don't come across as being anything special. Arthur mainly exists as a plot device and a vehicle to deliver the film's preachy message about believing in yourself during the climax, so we never get too attached to him. Merlin shows promise when he's first introduced, but his role is mainly limited to being the cause of a joke where Donkey and Puss 'n Boots switch bodies. Finally, the fairy tale Princesses who battle alongside Fiona and her mother are seriously lacking in personality and memorable moments. The film seems to want to stick solely with the characters we've seen before, so the new characters are mainly given the short end of the stick.

That's not to say the film is not without its charms. It may mostly be the same old-same old, but the vocal performances by returning stars Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, and Antonio Banderas are just as likeable as they've ever been. And even if the new characters are not exactly memorable, they are expertly performed as well. Justin Timberlake continues to prove he has an actual shot with a real acting career in his performance as Arthur, as he is able to breathe life and sympathy into a mostly underwritten role. And former Monty Python members, John Cleese and Eric Idle, deliver some of the film's biggest laughs in their limited roles. Cleese's deathbed scene is an inspired little bit of lunacy, and I enjoyed the chorus at the funeral sequence. The film is also quite literally a wonder to look at. The attention to the settings and the characters is quite remarkable, with some wonderful small details in the characters' faces during close up shots. That's mainly why I was let down by the fact that this movie mainly sticks to places we've already seen. I want to see the artists get to design some new and fantastic places, as they obviously have the talent.
Shrek the Third is completely passable in just about every way, but not much more than that. This is a film franchise in desperate need of a shot of energy and inspiration. The novelty of seeing the Disney approach to fairy tales getting satirically skewered is growing thin, and the filmmakers have to learn to realize that. There are plenty of chances in the future to do just that, as not only is there a fourth film being planned, but a TV Christmas special appropriately titled Shrek the Halls is set to air at the end of the year. The Shrek films have always walked a fine line with me. I've wanted to love them, and often thought they held good ideas, but always came up short somehow. Shrek the Third continues that line, as I smiled a lot, but never enjoyed myself quite as much as I thought I should. One of these days, these guys are going to give the ogre the movie he deserves.

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