Shrek the Third

Shrek the Third
Studio: Dreamworks
Rated: PG-13
Cast: Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz
Director: Raman Hui
WorkNameSort: Shrek the Third
Our Rating: 3.00
Shrek (Mike Myers) has done the unthinkable ‘ he’s gone soft. In the series’ first two installments, our hero was a cranky ogre who liked to fart and belch and threaten his closest friends. Now, Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss-in-Boots (Antonio Banderas) are trusted, less-antagonistic confidants, and Shrek’s complacent wife Fiona (Cameron Diaz) is pregnant with an ogre-baby and the giant green one is convinced he’ll be a lousy father. Shrek barely manages to raise his voice most of the time; when he does, it’s to Artie (Justin Timberlake) ‘ the wimpy orphaned heir to Fiona’s father’s throne with whom Shrek, an orphan himself, empathizes. The fact that Merlin (Eric Idle) has lost his marbles and babbles on about new-age healing is apropos, considering how toothless this once-barbed satire of fairy tales has become. Top it off with a climactic ending that wraps with a plea to villains like Captain Hook and the Headless Horseman to better fit into society without conflict, and you get the most boring Shrek yet. That doesn’t mean it’s not entertaining; it’s just disappointing when compared to its predecessors. Maybe in the next sequel, Shrek’ll buy a minivan.

This article appears in May 16-22, 2007.