Shrek the Third (2007) - DVD Review

Film:
DVD:

Written by: Jeffrey Price, Peter S. Seaman, Chris Miller & Aron Warner, based on the book by William Steig
Directed by: Chris Miller & Raman Hui
Starring: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Rupert Everett, Julie Andrews, Justin Timberlake

Features:

• Worcestershire Academy yearbook
• Big Green Goofs
• Lost Scenes
• Donkey Dance
• Meet the Cast
• Shrek's Guide to Parenthood
• Tech of Shrek

Released by: Paramount Home Video
Region: 1
Rating: PG
Anamorphic: Yes

My Advice: Catch it on cable.

Once upon a time, there was a loveable ogre couple named Shrek (Myers) and Fiona (Diaz). They were visiting a land called Far Far Away which was ruled by Fiona's father, King Harold the Frog. Now King Harold was very sick and Fiona and Shrek were temporarily helping out with the royal duties. But being ogres, their performance of said duties left something to be desired. When at last the King hopped off this mortal lily pad, Shrek realizes that this temporary duty could become permanent. Fortunately, there's another heir to the throne, Arthur (Timberlake), currently at Worcestershire Academy high school. So with his trusty sidekicks, Donkey (Murphy) and Puss in Boots (Banderas), Shrek goes to retrieve the king-to-be. Unfortunately, Artie is a bit of a dweeb and believes the burden of being king is too heavy for his adolescent shoulders. To make matters even worse, the erstwhile Prince Charming (Everett) has gathered the villains of the land to take over the kingdom. So who will get the happy ending?

You know when a franchise is in trouble once its razor sharp wit becomes blunted and its originality descends to recycling its past efforts. After watching Shrek 3, I do believe the magic wishing well is beginning to run dry. A glaring example is how Mike Myers lacks the energy to even keep the Scottish Shrek accent going throughout the movie. Shrek is the engine that keeps the story going and when he falters, the movie falters with it. Another problem is recycling of the main villain, Prince Charming. Don't get me wrong, Rupert Everett does a great job as the metrosexual royal but the character is too shallow to be the main antagonist. And if Prince Charming is shallow, Artie is practically two-dimensional. Artie is a typical teenage outcast. I don't want to watch a typical teenage outcast; I want to watch something interesting. And you'd think that Justin Timberlake would be good at using his voice to engage the audience, but you'd be wrong. His portrayal is as flat as the character. Even worse, there is no indication that Artie could be a king. I hate it when movies have a dweeb turn into a hero without any intervening steps. By sheer force of narrative causality, Artie rises to the challenge and gives a rousing monologue that makes all the fairy tale villains turn good. I'm guessing the only reason they didn't all join hands and sing "Kumbaya" is the filmmakers couldn't get the rights. All we get is a gigantic copout. It seems that the filmmakers made the classic mistake with animated and CGI features; they forget to make the script as attention-grabbing as the visuals.

The only special feature worth anything is "Lost Scenes" where you see the animators pitching their scene ideas with storyboards and acting out the scenes themselves. Not only are these entertaining to watch, they offer interesting glimpses into what could have happens in the movie. The rest of the features is pretty much shovelware. The 'Meet the Cast' and 'Tech of Shrek' are not very illuminating on their subjects. The rest was leftover bits that they stuck on the DVD to justify the expense. Seriously, do we need a music video with Donkey or a yearbook for Worcestershire Academy students we see for a few minutes? Considering the lack of quality of the extras, I'd just wait to see Shrek 3 on cable if you want to see it.

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