Thanks for all the comments and ratings. I'm trying to find time to read/rate the mass of your new r...
Thanks for all the comments and ratings. I'm trying to find time to read/rate the mass of your new reviews too - I've been a bit busy lately so please bear with me!
Member since:31.05.2007
Reviews:17
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BACKGROUND
I'm not the world's biggest Shrek fan, although I have seen both of the previous instalments in the Dreamworks franchise. The first sticks in my mind for the at times hilarious interplay between Shrek and Donkey, but the second I confess I have virtually no memory of.
When Mrs Nobby invited me along to a special preview showing organised by her company on June 26th, I went along (a) to please Mrs Nobby (b) because it was free and (c) because I had nothing better to do. In short, I wasn't too interested in the film, and I wasn't really expecting much, despite the success of the franchise and the undoubtedly star-studded cast.
So the fact I spent pretty much the whole film giggling like a big kid was a bit of a shock!
THE FILM **!! SPOILER AHEAD SO PLEASE SKIP ON IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW THE PLOT!!**
The film starts with Prince Charming performing a play about rescuing a fair maiden from a tower guarded by a mock-up Shrek (sound familiar?). After much heckling from the audience and a calamity on stage, Charming exits stage left to his 'dressing room', vowing to the memory of his fairy godmother that he will take his rightful place as heir to the kingdom of Far Far Away (the land in which much of the three films is set).
The scene then moves to Shrek and Fiona, standing in at various events (including a calamitous ship launch and a painful knighthood) as Fiona's dad Harold, the Frog King, is about to erm, croak (sorry, couldn't resist). Shrek soon realises that he is not the ogre for the job of king, and begs Harold to tell him of the existence of another heir. With his last ribbet before he finally hops off, the
frog king announces that there is another heir, and his name is Arthur.
Shrek, Donkey and Puss in Boots then set sail for Worcestershire, the boarding school where Arthur lives. As they set off, Princess Fiona calls to her ogre to tell him he is going to be a dad.
Upon arrival at Worcestershire the happy crew find Arthur is not a strong, noble man as they had hoped, but in fact a loner and the victim of much bullying, even at the hands of the school geeks. Despite this, Shrek convinces him to travel to Far Far Away to assume his place on the throne. All is going well until Puss in Boots begins to speak of the dangers of ruling, prompting Arthur (Artie to his friends) to attempt to turn the ship around. Disaster ensues when Shrek and Artie crash the ship into rocks, destroying their only way home.
Meanwhile, back in Far Far Away, Charming has assembled a group of witches, tree men, thieves and other famous baddies such as Hook. They carry out an airborne assault on the castle, taking over Far Far Away, but Princess Fiona, her mother Queen Lillian, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and a Transvestite Ugly Sister manage to escape. But not for long, as the treacherous Rapunzel leads them into a trap, becoming Charming's future queen in the process.
Charming is keen to find and destroy Shrek, and wheedles a confession of his whereabouts from one of the German pigs. Off go Hook and some other baddies to track Shrek down.
Meanwhile, Shrek, Donkey, Puss in Boots and Arthur stumble upon Merlin, known to Artie as the old magic teacher from Worcestershire who retired due to a nervous breakdown (his magic is just a tad wonky). While searching their souls at Merlins insistence, along come Hook and Co. Shrek however fights them off, and after much begging by Artie, Merlin agrees to use his magic to transport them back to Far Far Away. Something goes wrong in the mix here, as when they materialise Donkey and Puss in Boots has somehow swapped bodies.
Shrek is determined to find and rescue Fiona, first seeking out Charming. However, our heroes are outnumbered and soon captured - with the exception of Arty, who is mocked by Shrek and sulks off.
Fiona and Co now have the job of turning from damsels in distress into rescuers, as Charming plans to kill Shrek in front of the whole kingdom as part of a play to be performed that night. And it looks like this is going to happen, until the daring ladies crash the party. In yet another twist, Charming shows his cunning and the would-be rescuers are also defeated.
It looks like curtains for Shrek, until Artie arrives, appealing to the better nature of the baddies and eventually persuading them to lay down arms. He then crowns himself to much cheering and applause.
The story wraps up with Princess Fiona and Shrek back in their hovel in the swamp and proud parents of three (strangely cute) little Shreks.
Oh, and Merlin arrives to swap Donkey and Puss back… sort of!
CHARACTERS
Shrek - voiced by Mike Myers Myers again delivers a great voice performance throughout, particularly for me the parts where he is dreaming. 5/5
Princess Fiona - voiced by Cameron Diaz Funny lines but a smaller part than in the previous films. Good none the less! 4/5
Donkey - voiced by Eddie Murphy Hilarious throughout, a great foil for the miserable Shrek and the slightly sex-mad Puss in Boots. 4/5
Puss in Boots - voiced by Antonio Banderas Banderas just edges the others as the star here for me - his dock side chat up lines in particular are enormously funny. 5/5
Artie - voiced by Justin Timberlake Among these heavyweights of the big screen, I'd expected the Snake to be a bit out of his depth, but he does a cracking job of the little boy lost role, in particular his hilarious interchange with Merlin. 4.5/5
Prince Charming - voiced by Rupert Everett Everett does desperation and guile to perfection. Good job! 4.5/5
King Harold - voiced by John Cleese His final scene is very, very funny and had the whole audience laughing. Classic Cleese (sort of). 4.5/5
Queen Lillian - voiced by Julie Andrews Our Lillian turns out to be a bit of a nutter, and Queen Julie does a great job of it! 4/5
Merlin - voiced by Eric Idle Just brilliant, python-esque comedy. 5/5
Hook - voiced by Ian McShane Better known as a star of the small screen, McShane has had a couple of notable outings as a baddie on the big screen and does a good job of giving life to Peter Pan's nemesis with some good one liners. 4/5
SOUNDTRACK
Building on a theme from the others, Shrek the Third uses music brilliantly to highlight the situation. I particularly enjoyed the use of the 'wrong' music in the 'wrong' place to add a layer of humour above the visual and spoken gags. Clever stuff, and some good tunes too, including Live and Let Die (yes, the Bond theme by Wings!), Barracuda (the Fergie version), a bit of Zeppelin, some Macy Gray and a couple of tunes by the Eels. The original music too is fun, with a good song each for Charming and Donkey.
VISUALS
It's a very good looking film - we've all seen what can be done in animation studios now, and this is as good as I've seen elsewhere. Although the references to other films which I liked so much about the original Shrek are gone (who can forget human-form Fiona's Matrix-esque kung-fu?), the story as a stand along is conveyed very nicely by the images. Particularly good bits for me include the hoard of flying witches and the tree men. Nothing too fancy though!
WOULD I RECOMMEND IT?
Indeed I would!
The audience in the showing I saw was very mixed. Although clearly a film for youngsters, there's jokes a-plenty here for all ages, from some basic slapstick through double entendre and farce to (fairly) complex pathos. So if you've kids, a first date or simply nothing else to do, drag yourself along and allow yourself to be drawn in by the rest of the audience. Remember that laughter is not only infectious but also the best medicine!
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Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Jun 27th, 2007
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