Shrek the Third

Shrek the Third *1/2

Directed by Chris Miller and Raman Hui
Written by Peter Seaman and Jeffrey Price

Starring:
Mike Myers as Shrek (voice)
Eddie Murphy as Donkey (voice)
Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona (voice)
Antonio Banderas as Puss In Boots (voice)
Julie Andrews as Queen Lillian (voice)
John Cleese as King Harold (voice)
Rupert Everett as Prince Charming (voice)
Eric Idle as Merlin (voice)
Justin Timberlake as Artie (voice)
Susan Blakeslee as Evil Queen (voice)
Cody Cameron as Pinocchio/Three Pigs/Ogre Baby/Bohort (voice)
Larry King as Doris (voice)
John Krasinski as Lancelot (voice)
Ian McShane as Captain Hook (voice)
Cheri Oteri as Sleeping Beauty/Actress (voice)
Regis Philbin as Mabel (voice)
Amy Poehler as Snow White (voice)
Seth Rogen as Ship Captain (voice)
Maya Rudolph as Rapunzel (voice)
Amy Sedaris as Cinderella (voice)
Aron Warner as Wolf (voice)

93 Minutes (Rated PG for some crude humor, suggestive content and swashbuckling action).
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I will be the first to say that I was somewhat tired with the "Shrek" series about halfway through the first film. While everybody was shouting praises and calling it one of the best animated films of all time, I was scratching my head and hoping that "Monsters Inc." would swipe the Oscar that year. I only gave it two stars. And then there was "Shrek 2," and I was a little optimistic about the whole deal. Sure enough, it was funnier than the original, but it still didn't have that boost that I needed. I gave it three stars, but I never did watch it again. And now there is "Shrek the Third," and at this point I've just had enough. What was a mediocre satire about fairytale stories has turned into this endless array of stupid jokes, most of them based on wordplay (for example at the bar it's the UnHappy Hour. Get it. UNhappy hour. . . .ha ha ha). And with the large box office intake that will inevitably follow, there will probably be a fourth "Shrek" film that I get the chance to watch. Shame since this is easily the worst in a so-so series.

"Shrek the Third" has the beloved ogre still married to Princess Fiona, and filling in for the King, who has fallen ill. When the King ends up dying of this illness, Shrek believes that he will have to be the one that takes over the throne, even though all he wants to do is return to his beloved swamp with the rats and the mud. He becomes joyous when he learns that there could be another heir in the form of Arthur. Shrek boards a boat with his companions Donkey and Puss In Boots, and heads off to find Arthur. The only problem is that right as he is pulling out of port his wife yells out those famous words: "I'm Pregnant!" Now Shrek is worried about being a father to something that will probably be made fun of its entire life, even though his friend Donkey has children who are part donkey, part dragon. To make matters worse, the jilted Prince Charming wishes to be the heir to the throne and ends up finding all of the misfit fairy tale creatures-The Wicked Witch, evil trees, The Evil Stepmother-to gang up and take over the castle in Far Far Away, finally getting their own happy ending. And when Shrek ends up finding Arthur, finding out he is the bullies punching bag, and scares him out of wanting to be king, he has much more than he's bargained for.

There are some funny moments placed in the film every now and then, but most of the better jokes are just recycled versions of past jokes. Antics with the Gingerbread Man and Pinocchio still reign supreme, while the constant gross humor from Shrek's bodily functions remain grimacing. And while the animation in "Shrek the Third" is anything by recycled, in fact the images just keep getting better and better, my problem with all of the Shrek films remain the same: they are just so boring. No matter how much they try to pack into it, I could never find anything interesting at all. I found my eyes slowing falling at times during the third film. There was also a large abundance of adult situations and jokes, and instead of there being an "over the head joke for the parents" every now and then, "Shrek the Third" is packed with dirty humor-starting right away with Shrek and Fiona waking up in bed together, Donkey lifting the sheets, and then finding Shrek's naked body underneath. It's a wonder why Fiona got pregnant.

Any charm from the characters in the first film is slowly diminishing. The Donkey isn't even funny anymore, and Eddie Murphy's singing voice from 'Shrek" one was somewhat humorous-here it is just annoying. And then flow of all of them is completely unoriginal, and now that Shrek is a father it's just going to be more flatulence jokes than the others, as well as situations that probably have been written many times before. The appeal from "Shrek" should die down after everybody watches the awful third installment, even though to me the series was dead in the water from the beginning. Sorry if "Shrek' isn't my forte, but I can't really see it gaining constant momentum until the end of time. And aside from a large gross at the box office, I can't see this being a popular favorite ever.