Shrek the Third (2007)

Directors:

Chris Miller
Raman Hui (co-director)

Writers:

William Steig (book)
Andrew Adamson (story)
Jeffrey Price (screenplay) ...

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 | Prince | Puss In Boots | Donkey

Awards:

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

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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)
"Shrek 3" - Japan (English title)

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 Vaud) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | 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 | Canada:PG (Alberta/Ontario) | USA:PG (certificate #43447) | Taiwan:GP | South Africa:A (DVD rating) | South Africa:PG (theatrical rating) | Australia:PG

Company:

DreamWorks Animation

Trivia:

The music used when the Princesses attack the castle is Led Zeppelin's "The Immigrant Song" and Heart's "Barracuda." Led Zeppelin are very hesitant in use their songs for commercial purposes. The other film where this song appears is The School of Rock (2003). The soundtrack album, however, features a remake of "Barracuda" by Fergie.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene before the play sequence towards the end of the movie, the first shot is a wide shot showing the castle in the background with the path in front of it with Donkey, Puss, the Three Pigs, Pinocchio, Gingy and the Wolf just off to the right. The path is completely empty, and there is no sign of Artie in the shots of the path showing it behind the characters, yet seconds later, Artie suddenly appears on it.

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:

References Live and Let Die (1973)

Soundtrack:

Barracuda

Too many characters to love--and that's a bad thing. And the spark is gone.

I have been bouncing around for weeks in anticipation of this movie. As a huge fan of the first two movies, I was sure this one would not disappoint. But, oh, how wrong I was! While not as bad as many a film out there, this installment is yet a sad shadow of its series.

And it tries, it really did try. To its credit, there were several very clever scenes. The typical Snow White's gift with animals takes an awesome turn, and I can guarantee that you will never laugh harder at a death scene than the one of this movie. The animation? Top-notch.

I just guess effort doesn't always beat out sheer inspiration. A film with a few moments does not win against a good, simple movie.

The desire to produce a film merely ended up as a plot device to get Shrek and Fiona back to their beloved swamp. A long, boring plot device. With the passing of King Harold, Shrek and Fiona are heirs to the throne of Far, Far Away. Unfortunately, that does not interest them, so Shrek goes on a journey to bring back the next guy, a young Arthur "Artie" Pendragon. Heck, why not? Everyone loves a good Camelot infusion, and Artie is as flawed and as likable as you could want. Unfortunately, he is only one character in a cheesy madhouse of minor characters and cameos. In the effort to get everyone their screen time, that whole plot gets lost in the background.

Which normally wouldn't be a problem. After all, the original movie did not have the most complex of plots. What it had was a few incredible characters. The second movie added a few more, but still kept it delightfully manageable. This time, it seemed that the powers that be assumed we already knew everything about Shrek, Donkey, Puss, and the rest of the bunch that we really didn't need to see them. Hey, let's bring in one more characters for the audience, but refuse to give them time to get to know them! Poor, pathetic lack of character development.

So back to the plot. The few times that came around, it was pretty much a tacky, forced attempt to create some pseudo father/son relationship between Shrek and Artie. Good intentions, but no cigar. Maybe if we had more time... But we don't, so let's just wrap it up with a few corny lines about understanding and rising to the occasion. Yeah, we got that the first time around, and without any of the verbal commentary.

On top of that, this film misses that inexplicable spark of the first two installments. I'm sorry, but I just didn't feel it. Just as a lukewarm attempt of continuing the series and aiming at a five-year old audience.

Sorry. Not my favorite of the series by any means, leaving me to wonder how a sequel to films of such genius as "Shrek" and "Shrek 2" could make something so average?