By: debbie lynn elias
Thanks in large part to Walt Disney, I am and always will be a kid at heart. Weaned on the artistic wonders and vividly engaging kaleidoscope of animation, it is always a joy for me whenever new animated films are released. I think my wide-eyed-wonder and glee is paralleled only by that of my young movie shark nephews, Eddie and Tommy. A field once dominated by Disney magic, animation has spread its wings and taken flight as other studios and animators like Don Bluth, Pixar, Sony and Dreamworks, have tossed their paintbrushes (and CGI tools) into the ring, resulting in some extraordinary storytelling, new and exciting visual stimulation, levels of excellence that scream box office gold and films like “Shrek” that leave you wanting a second and even a third. A franchise started in 2001 for Dreamworks and which has raked in $1.4 billion in box office receipts and has sold over 90 million DVD’s to date, everyone’s favorite ogre is back with SHREK THE THIRD. Smart, witty and funny, SHREK THE THIRD is three times the fun of the first two films put together! When we last saw the big green guy, he had finally married his beloved Princess Fiona. And speaking of green, Fiona’s father, King Harold, had also been turned into a frog. Happy to spend his life rolling around in his favorite swamp outside the palace walls of the Kingdom of Far, Far Away, it never occurs to Shrek that by marrying a princess who is an only child, on the passing of the King, the crown must also be passed on. Sadly, King Harold falls ill and on his deathbed, croaks out his last wish – Shrek is to be King. Ohmigod! Shrek? A King? In Shrek’s own eyes, certainly not and he begs King Harold to hold on, at least long enough to name an alternate selection for the crown. As King Harold croaks, the final words are spoken – there is another; Fiona’s half-brother Arthur aka Artie.
As if this predicament isn’t enough for Shrek to handle, Fiona drops an even bigger bomb. She wants to have a little Shrek. Turning a sickly green at the thought of being King for the rest of his life, and not quite sure if he’s ready to be a father, too, Shrek determines there is only one thing to do. Find Artie and make him take the throne. So with his trusted and loyal friends Donkey and Puss-n-Boots by his side, they set out to find this teenager-who-might-be-king who they hear is a spoiled snobbish brat who wants to live off the family name. But what they eventually find is a young lad so insecure and unsure with such low self-esteem that he sees himself only as a loser and never as a king.
With a kingdom needing a king and a lonely wife waiting at home for her husband, things get a bit sticky when Prince Charming rears his ugly head. You remember him. Full of himself, in love with himself, in love with Fiona and hating Shrek because he married Fiona. Never having gotten over that whole pick-the-ugly-ogre-over-the-handsome prince thing, Charming has only one thing on his mind – revenge.
Turns out, after he lost Fiona, Charming went to try his hand at acting. Unfortunately, the old boy couldn’t make it at that either, even flopping at dinner theater. So if he can’t act, what can he do? He can take over a kingdom that needs a king.
Manipulating a bunch of low life bar flies by making grandiose promises of riches and power if he becomes king, he enlists their help. Knowing that he needs to stave off Shrek on his return, Charming gathers up Captain Hook, Cyclops, the Evil Dwarf, the Evil Trees, the Headless Horseman and an awfully familiar looking flying witch and Evil Queen and makes his move.
Not ones to sit idly by and wait for the men to return, Fiona and Queen Lillian round up their own posse of princesses to defend Far, Far Away against Charming and his gang. Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Cinderella and even Cindy’s ugly step-sisters, Doria and Mabel, soon find themselves kicking ass and taking names, at least until they get tossed into the dungeon. But never fear, because the Queen is here. With enough action to make Charlie’s Angels look like wet dish rags, Queen Lillian takes charge, head butting the prison wall to make an escape path. Adding more fuel to the fire is a pregnant princess with raging hormones. When will you men ever learn? Don’t mess with PMS or pregnancy!
Complete with magic acts, intentionally horrible off-key singing, dancing, drag queens, princesses, jousting, duels, Pinocchio, The Three Little Pigs, an evil queen myriad of fairytale characters we’ve all come to know and love throughout our lives, and even Merlin the Magician, the end result is simply magical.
Happily (as in ever after), all the principal actors from the first two films return to provide their own inimitable voicing to the characters. Mike Myers as Shrek, Eddie Murphy as Donkey, Cameron Diaz as Fiona, the always regal (and now kick-ass) Julie Andrews as Queen Lillian, John Cleese as King Harold, Antonio Banderas as the suave and debonair Puss In Boots and Rupert Everett as the over-the-top absolutely hysterical pompous Prince Charming. But, this go round we’ve got some new voices in the mix and none are more hilarious than Larry King and Regis Philbin as ugly step-sisters Doris and Mabel. These two are simply maddening and had me in stitches with side splitting laughter. Eric Idle also joins the mix as Merlin and Justin Timberlake as Artie.
Based on a story by Andrew Adamson, the cohesive team of screenwriters Jeff Price, Peter Seaman, John Zack and Howard Gould, together with directors Chris Miller and Raman Hui, pull off an impeccable feat. Thanks to rich, intimate texturing, there is not a single image, character or bit of dialogue that doesn’t lovingly harken to the most beloved fairytales of the ages. What I appreciate most about their effort is that the story and the effective use of characters and references is so lively and so compelling, that it will be extremely easy to get your children interested in reading (yes, picking up a book and reading) the original fairytales of famed creators authors such as the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson and Mother Goose.
Neither the characters nor the story stagnate and as with the chapters of a book, develop, progress and evolve with their individual life stories facing the same complexities, trials and tribulations, identity crises, moral dilemmas and daily events that we ourselves face – although not all of us have to worry about turning down a crown and a kingdom. The one underlying uplifting message though that continually resonates, and has throughout the franchise, is to believe in yourself, rely on yourself and you’ll be surprised at what you can do.
The icing on the cake is the animation. Taking the lead from art director Peter Zaslav, Guillaume Aretos’ production design and head character animator Tim Cheung, the humaness and humanity are breathtakingly expressive with meticulous detail paid to body movement and facial expression and reaction, all of which go to the human factors of understanding that permeate our society. The scenic shadings and texturings add a beauty all their own that only enhances the already masterful work of this team.
Be you young at heart or old in years, big or little, any color of the rainbow, male or female, or believe in “once upon a time. . .” or you just like green ogres like my nephew Tommy, there is something delightful for everyone. For SHREK THE THIRD, the third time’s a charm.
Cast of Voices
Shrek: Mike Myers
Donkey: Eddie Murphy
Princess Fiona; Cameron Diaz
Queen Lillian: Julie Andrews
King Harold: John Cleese
Puss in Boots: Antonio Banderas
Prince Charming: Rupert Everett
Directed by Chris Miller and Raman Hui. Written by Jeffrey Price, Peter Seaman, John Zack and Howard Gould based on a story by Andrew Adamson. Rated PG. (93 min)
