Number 3

Shrek 3! Strike Out!

Hardly a laugh, this movie leaves one painfully wondering ‘when forth art done’. Something to morn the passing of Halloween.

As a fan of the first two movies, we could have been sure this one would not disappoint. Alas alas, curses thy maker! While not as badly done as many a film out there, this installment is a sad shadow meant to be kept far far away.And it tries, too hard. Shrek was a reluctant father (Wouldn’t all of us be? Egads…) Puss was a furball with a rapier sharp tongue but hardly used his prick (despite the felines crowding him), and Donkey… well donkey did an Eddie Murphy (read braying annoying lame jokes with no connections to any fairy-tails, except for his trade with Pussy’s rear).

To its credit, there were several clever scenes. Snow White's gift with animals takes a twist, the princesses were better Mean Girls, I like Captain Hook, but the crooked was really Merlin, the kind, gay ole’ flasher. The animation? Top-notch. Nonetheless, effort doesn't beat out sheer inspiration. A film with a few moments does not fare thee well 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. (Unless the cast and kind were milking this cow for all it was worth… to its deathly trolls…)

Shrek and Fiona are unwilling heirs to the throne of Far, Far Away. Shrek finds his answer with Artie, King in kind to Harold (does that maketh nephew Arthur a toad?). Puss and Donkey accompanies Shrek to the land of the English sauce for the ‘Drip’ and Charming had a makeover, and takeover.

In the effort to get everyone their screen time, the whole plot got lost in the background. After all, the original movie did not have the most complex of plots. It had a few incredible but fun characters. The second movie added a few more, but kept the show delightfully manageable.

This time, 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. Poor, pathetic lack of character development.Lost it already? Back to the plot: The few times that came around, it was pretty much a tacky, forced attempt to create pseudo father/son relationship between Ogre Shrek and loser Artie. Good intentions, but no cigar. A few corny lines about understanding and rising to the occasion covers the plot to make King Artie.

This film misses that inexplicable spark of the first two installments. Just as a lukewarm attempt of continuing the series and aiming at a five-year old audience.