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.
Rumpelstiltskin tricks a mid-life crisis burdened Shrek into allowing himself to be erased from existence and cast in a dark alternate timeline where Rumpel rules supreme.
A mean lord exiles fairytale creatures to the swamp of a grumpy ogre, who must go on a quest and rescue a princess for the lord in order to get his land back.
Manny, Sid, and Diego discover that the ice age is coming to an end, and join everybody for a journey to higher ground. On the trip, they discover that Manny, in fact, is not the last of the woolly mammoths.
When Sid's attempt to adopt three dinosaur eggs gets him abducted by their real mother to an underground lost world, his friends attempt to rescue him.
The Madagascar animals fly back to New York City, but crash-land on an African nature reserve, where they meet others of their own kind, and Alex especially discovers his royal heritage as prince of a lion pride.
Manny, Diego, and Sid embark upon another adventure after their continent is set adrift. Using an iceberg as a ship, they encounter sea creatures and battle pirates as they explore a new world.
The Madagascar animals join a struggling European circus to get back to New York, but find themselves being pursued by a psychotic animal control officer.
The Dragon Warrior has to clash against the savage Tai Lung as China's fate hangs in the balance. However, the Dragon Warrior mantle is supposedly mistaken to be bestowed upon an obese panda who is a novice in martial arts.
When Fiona's father and King of Far Far Away passes away, the clumsy Shrek becomes the immediate successor of the throne. However, Shrek decides to find the legitimate heir Artie in a distant kingdom with his friends Donkey and Puss in Boots to be able return to his beloved house in the swamp with the pregnant Fiona. Meanwhile, the envious and ambitious Prince Charming joins the villains of the fairytales plotting a coup d'état to become the new king.Written by
Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The only film in the franchise to not have a "storybook" opening. See more »
Goofs
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. See more »
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!
See more »
Crazy Credits
The opening Dreamworks Animation logo is covered by clouds. See more »
Alternate Versions
In the TV version, the line "And you, my friend, are royally screwed" was replaced with a horn sound. See more »
Do You Remember Rock 'N' Roll Radio?
Written by Dee Dee Ramone (as Douglas Colvin), Johnny Ramone (as John Cummings) & Joey Ramone (as Jeff Hyman)
Performed by Ramones
Courtesy of Sire Records
By arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing See more »
There is good things and bad things about this movie, but I'd say that to its credit the main problem with it was unavoidable---it's the third in a series, and the main idea has been used twice already, is familiar to everyone, and the freshness of it is gone. For some franchises, the pain starts already in the second (Men in Black comes to mind, or Analyze That), when really nothing is added to an original (and initially surprising) premise, and it is merely milked for what it's worth, with usually sad results.
I don't think that was the case with Shrek 2, and neither is it with The Third---the writers still find enough interesting and original ideas to weave into the story, they use the old characters to good effect and add interesting new characters to provide some novelty. The dialog is up to the (high) standards of its two predecessors, and the animation is stunning.
All in all, even though it won't set new standards for animated features like the original Shrek might have, Shrek the Third is an entertaining movie that delivers what it promises---a good time with the titular hero and his friends (and family), nothing more, but also nothing less.
7 of 9 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
There is good things and bad things about this movie, but I'd say that to its credit the main problem with it was unavoidable---it's the third in a series, and the main idea has been used twice already, is familiar to everyone, and the freshness of it is gone. For some franchises, the pain starts already in the second (Men in Black comes to mind, or Analyze That), when really nothing is added to an original (and initially surprising) premise, and it is merely milked for what it's worth, with usually sad results.
I don't think that was the case with Shrek 2, and neither is it with The Third---the writers still find enough interesting and original ideas to weave into the story, they use the old characters to good effect and add interesting new characters to provide some novelty. The dialog is up to the (high) standards of its two predecessors, and the animation is stunning.
All in all, even though it won't set new standards for animated features like the original Shrek might have, Shrek the Third is an entertaining movie that delivers what it promises---a good time with the titular hero and his friends (and family), nothing more, but also nothing less.