When his new father in law king harold falls ill shrek is looked at as the heir to the land of far far away. Not one to give up his beloved swamp shrek recruits his friends donkey and puss in boots to install the rebellious artie as the new king. Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 08/19/2008 Starring: Voice Of Mike Meyers Eddie Murphy Run time: 92 minutes Rating: Pg

It's not easy being an ogre, but Shrek finds it doubly difficult for an ogre like himself to fill in for a king when his father-in-law King Harold of Far, Far Away falls ill in this third Shrek movie. Shrek's attempts to fulfill his kingly duties play like a blooper reel, with boat christenings and knighting ceremonies gone terribly wrong, and to say that Shrek (Mike Myers) is insecure about his new role is a gross understatement. When King Harold (John Cleese) passes away, Shrek sets out with Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss-in-Boots (Antonio Banderas) to find Arthur (Justin Timberlake), the only heir in line for the throne besides himself. Just as Shrek sets sail to find Artie (as Arthur is more commonly known), Fiona (Cameron Diaz) shocks Shrek with the news that she's pregnant. Soon after, Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) sends Captain Hook (Ian McShane) in pursuit of Shrek and imprisons Fiona and her fellow Princesses as part of his plan to install himself as King of Far, Far Away. Shrek finds an awkward Artie jousting with his high school classmate Lancelot (John Krasinski) and, while Artie is certainly no picture of kingliness, Shrek is determined to drag him back to Far, Far Away to assume the throne. Mishaps and comedy abound, including a spell gone wrong that locks Donkey and Puss-in-Boots inside one another's bodies. While Fiona and the other Princesses prove they're anything but helpless women, Artie and Shrek battle their own fears of inadequacy in a struggle to discover their own self-worth. In the end, Shrek, Artie, and Fiona each learn a lot about their individual strengths and what truly makes each of them happy. Of course, it's the pervasive humor and wit that make Shrek the Third so side-splittingly appealing. Rated PG for some crude and suggestive humor, but appropriate for most families with children ages 6 and older. --Tami Horiuchi

Beyond Shrek The Third

The Shrek Trilogy

The Soundtrack

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Stills from Shrek The Third (click for larger image)

Just like most movies series they can not keep the plot or story going. If each release to this series it just keeps getting worse. Shrek one is excellent and a classic, Sherk two is so so and Sherk three leave it at the store or rent it.

The Third Installment in The Shrek Franchise is Easily The Weakest of Them All. The Animation Might Be Better, But The Same Can't Be Said For The Story or The New Charecters. Though, I Do Have To Admit I Thought Puss and Donkey Switching Bodies Was Pretty Clever. But Other Than That, The Film Needed To Be Better.

The Special Features Include a Not So Great Worcestershine Academy Yearbook, Some Crazy Animation Goofs, Some Wierd Deleted Scenes, A Funny Dance Called The Donkey Dance by Donkey, A Cool Meet The Cast (Both The Old and New) Feature, A Funny Shrek's Guide To Parenthood (Which Diffrent Charecters Give Shrek Info on Parenthoo), an Interesting Tech of Shrek Feature, a Great Dreamworks Animation Jukebox (a Look at The Musical Moments in Over The Hedge, Shark Tale, Madagascar and More), and Great Previews for Bee Movie, Kung Fu Panda, Spiderwick Cronicles, Shrek 1 and 2, and Cholotte's Web.

Overall Ratings:
Movie-3/5
DVD-4/5

Some problems like Justin Tiberlakes character, the Princess characters, and the ending are lame but the fairy tale creatures provide plenty of laughs. And look out for two Pythons.

I just watched this movie today again for possibly the tenth time. Yes, I know, I got it for my grandchildren, but hey, it's a very interesting movie. Every time I see it I find something else that I missed the previous time. It's filled with loveable fanatasy characters, interesting problems, and humor. Okay, so you're an adult. So what? Just don't miss any of the Shrek movies. It will get your mind off the economy, right? All the Shrek movies are great. Note to self: (Research Dreamworks films to see what else is out there.)

This is where they officially 'jumped the shark' with his production. I remember Mike Myers having to go on tour to promote this film and not only did he seem to cringe trying to explain it or talk about, he very clearly seemed depressed about it.

Like so many others have said, the allure of the original film has long since vanished and leaves this current offering from Dreamworks as probably the worst movie they've ever made.

Recently, I realized how much my son loved the original Shrek movie when he kept bringing me the DVD case in the afternoon and pointing at the TV wanting to watch it. He laughed during the silly parts, clapped during and after the fight scenes and danced during all the songs. Twenty minutes into the third installment, he turned away, left the room and wanted nothing to do with it. I turned it off and he went back to coloring. About an hour later, out of curiosity, I put the original Shrek back in the DVD and he was stuck to it - once more - clapping, laughing and dancing until the very end where he danced to the 'Swamp Party Karaoke' scene.

I guess the message is this: Shrek isn't a played out concept at all. Shrek is very endearing and a lovable character. He always will be. I actually like Donkey the best. But the people in charge of this project forgot who this film was supposed to be targeted at and thus have been left with a real stinker.

The sad thing is that we will probably see Shrek 4 sometime soon, and they'll be trying to hammer home more of this adult-driven nonsense.