Shrek the Third (2007)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Directors:

Chris Miller
Raman Hui (co-director)

Writers:

William Steig (book)
Andrew Adamson (story)

Release Date:

18 May 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

Tagline:

Who's ready for Thirds?

Plot:

When his new father-in-law, King Harold falls ill, Shrek 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 and Puss in Boots to install the rebellious Artie as the new king. Princess Fiona, however, rallies a band of royal girlfriends to fend off a coup d'etat by the jilted Prince Charming.

Plot Keywords:

King | Shrek | Donkey | Puss In Boots | Prince

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 4 wins & 12 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Fri. Nov. 20

8:00 PM

ABC

Cast

Mike Myers	...	Shrek (voice)
Eddie Murphy	...	Donkey (voice)
Cameron Diaz	...	Princess Fiona (voice)
Antonio Banderas	...	Puss in Boots (voice)
Julie Andrews	...	Queen (voice)
John Cleese	...	King (voice)
Rupert Everett	...	Prince Charming (voice)
Eric Idle	...	Merlin (voice)
Justin Timberlake	...	Artie (voice)
Susanne Blakeslee	...	Evil Queen (voice)
Cody Cameron	...	Pinocchio / Three Pigs (voice)
Larry King	...	Doris (voice)
Christopher Knights	...	Blind Mice / Heckler / Evil Tree #2 / Guard #2 (voice)
John Krasinski	...	Lancelot (voice)
Ian McShane	...	Captain Hook (voice)

Also Known As:

Shrek 3 (Singapore: English title) (USA) (working title)
The Third (USA) (promotional abbreviation)

MPAA:

Rated PG for some crude humor, suggestive content and swashbuckling action.

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Netherlands:AL | Ireland:G | Brazil:Livre | UK:U | Philippines:G | Singapore:PG | Finland:K-7 | Germany:o.Al. | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Argentina:Atp | Peru:PT | Portugal:M/6 (original version) | Malaysia:U | Portugal:M/4 (dubbed version) | South Korea:All | Sweden:Btl | Denmark:A | Norway:A | Canada:G (British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Hong Kong:I | USA:PG (certificate #43447) | Canada:PG (Alberta/Ontario) | Taiwan:GP | South Africa:A (DVD rating) | South Africa:PG (theatrical rating) | Australia:PG

Company:

DreamWorks Animation

Trivia:

WILHELM SCREAM: Heard during the commotion in the tavern.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the boat crashes on the rocks, Shrek, Donkey, Puss and Artie end up on a beach. In all the wide shots before and after Artie walks away, there is clearly nothing on the ground around Shrek. Moments later, when Donkey tells him he should change his tactics, Shrek picks up a piece of wood on his left that wasn't there before.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Prince Charming: Onward, Chauncey! To the highest room of the tallest tower, where my princess awaits rescue by the handsome Prince Charming!

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Jerry Maguire (1996)

Soundtrack:

That's What Friends Are For

The movie that rates itself: The Third.

Paul McCartney is a great songwriter. Let me just get that out of the way. But he isn't perfect. Take for example the song, "Live and Let Die", a song he wrote in the '70s for a Bond movie of the same name. The song is used briefly in Dreamworks' latest outing for everyone's favorite Scots ogre. In the song he actually wrote this line: "But if in this ever changing world in which we live in". "In which we live in"? Was he kidding? A great talent, but that is some lazy songwriting. I figure he was either exhausted, or under contract, as opposed to being inspired.

And that's the problem with this entire movie. The writing is simply not up to par. The story is loaded down with so many different elements that it is impossible to develop any of them. You can almost see the writers thinking, "Okay, now we've got a bunch of stuff for Shrek, Donkey, and Puss to do. Let's put in some stuff for Fiona and Lillian here..." The result is that there's a script, but no real story. And the dialog with some exceptions, is full of the clichés they so happily lampooned in earlier Shreks. The result comes across as a 3rd or 4th draft.

Andrew Adamson directed the previous two Shreks and has one of the writing credits here, but he did not direct it. I guess the franchise is so important now that it must be handled by two directors, neither of whom has Adamson's knack for timing. At various points in the evening, the pace was surprisingly ponderous.

It's not unpleasant, as movies go. It's just disappointing when such an average film continues a series of such good ones.