Shrek the Third (2007)

Director: Chris Miller, Raman Hui

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. Princess Fiona, however, rallies a band of royal girlfriends to fend off a coup d’etat by the jilted Prince Charming.

I always believed ‘Shrek 3’ to be cartoonish and silly, and therefore put off watching it for a while. Partly true, this is indeed my least favorite in the series.

‘Shrek the Third’ is definitely aimed at a younger demographic, with not as funny and more childish humor. Still in the magnificent castle, Shrek and Fiona experience differences as a married couple. When tragedy strikes, Shrek and Donkey must go on a quest again – to find the King’s heir, Arthur. Puss in Boots is along for the ride, as well.

Prince Charming – who was originally supposed to rescue Fiona – is the antagonist, but I didn’t find him an interesting antagonist. Instead, I found him childish. ‘Shrek the Third’ is not as good as the previous films, although still fun in its own right – with an important message as well.

The finale with the stage production wasn’t really exciting, and would appeal more to a young audience. The franchise would actually work perfectly well by excluding ‘Shrek the Third’. It just wasn’t all that interesting and even Donkey wasn’t funny as usual.

Although earning much less than ‘Shrek 2’, ‘Shrek the Third’ was a box office success, earning $813 million on a $160 million budget.

Would I watch it again? I don’t think so.