Shrek the Third (2007)

Shrek the Third Review

Shrek the Third is a 2007 DreamWorks animated fantasy comedy film with the voice cast consisting of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas and Cameron Diaz. It is the third entry in the franchise and without a doubt the worst.

Fiona’s father tells Shrek upon his death that he is going to be the next heir to the throne unless he finds a boy named Arthur. Shrek sets out to find Arthur whereas Prince Charming plots to overthrow Shrek and become king. This is naturally a very mediocre storyline with rehashed story arks and conflicts seen from the previous installments. The journey and the emotional stuff thrown in for good measure are frankly boring and overly typical. The first act is a bit more entertaining, but it quickly goes downhill into expected and highly uninspired territory.

Frankly, I did enjoy some parts of this film and I do think that it is not that bad a film. It is mediocre, but not awful which I thought when I saw it for the first time but obviously changed my mind upon the second viewing. The humor is solid at times and I really laughed at certain moments. And it is overall entertaining to a degree and not a nuisance.

The characters are weak here and even the previously established characters fail at being memorable. Shrek and Fiona are both much less interesting in this flick because the babies plot ark, although a bit amusing, wears off pretty quickly and becomes a clichéd plot progression. Puss in Boots has more funny moments here than in the previous film, but Donkey isn’t as funny unfortunately. Both are mildly funny, but criminally underused. Queen Lillian has one funny scene but is otherwise boring as usual and Prince Charming is again a one-note character. Merlin was also typical and never particularly funny and the newly introduced character of Arthur “Artie” Pendragon is so typical and just boring as hell. He does have a couple of fine moments with Shrek, but he is still highly forgettable. The princesses are the highlights here with Cinderella, Rapunzel, Aurora and especially Snow White being very funny and a good parody of the Disney princesses, although too on-the-nose.

The acting is as usual really good, but of course overstuffed with celebrities. Justin Timberlake is interestingly enough really good in the role of Arthur and of course Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas and Mike Myers are once again the standouts. Everyone here admittedly does a fine job.

The animation in Shrek the Third wasn’t impressing, at least to me it wasn’t. Yes, it looks good with its lush colors and beautiful interiors. The character design is definitely good and it is overall pleasant to watch. However, the exteriors are weak as always and some scenes, especially in the nature, are really dated and just don’t hold up as much. They definitely do a much better job with the characters and interiors than with the outside world.

The humor was solid in my opinion. The princesses did make me laugh as did some of the other characters from time to time. But it was once again forced and too easy. Also the parodying got way out of hand in this one and the second half isn’t as funny as the first one. But because it is genuinely funny at certain moments, it is solid and that made the movie bearable.

The music is once again annoying in its use of modern songs, especially rock. But here at least the songs are cut and don’t last for too long which was refreshing. But the filmmakers once again struggle with this franchise in creating a really good score, they just use old stuff and are never creative whatsoever.

When comparing Shrek the Third with the other entries in the franchise, it is of course the worst. Both ‘Shrek‘ and ‘Shrek 2‘ are much, much better and even ‘Shrek Forever After‘ is a better movie. This one is definitely the most typical and most uncreative of the franchise. And it is also one of the worst films from DreamWorks animation, it lies at the bottom of the list, up there with ‘Madagascar‘.

It is a badly edited film and although rarely boring, it is still overlong and the script is lacking. The attention to detail is solid, but the world-building was better before. The acting is really good, but the character development isn’t on par with the previous installments. The score is also mediocre and the emotion is forced. The humor is genuinely good at times, but still too forced. And it definitely lacks a heart, something which its predecessors possessed, at least to some degree. And it also isn’t original whatsoever, it reuses some ideas and plot points from before and what is even worse is how frankly tired and forgettable it is. It is undoubtedly the worst part in the franchise. It is watchable and mildly entertaining and funny, but nothing more than that. There is nothing more to it. It is a basic, tired DreamWorks product with no soul and no heart.

Shrek the Third is without a doubt the worst entry in the franchise. It does have its moments, it is funny from time to time and it’s mildly entertaining, but it is still incredibly mediocre with such an uninspired and typical plot, weaker character development, very annoying music and animation that is good, but still nothing too remarkable. The acting is good, but everything else is lacking and it is above all a very forgettable movie that is one of the worst from DreamWorks Animation.

My Rating – 2.5

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      Interior & Exterior Stills from Shrek the Third

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