definite uptick in quality

Rating: 8/10 (7 July 2011)

As "Shrek Forever After" opens, the warmhearted ogre is suffering through a bit of a midlife crisis. Having been firmly ensconced in marital and domestic bliss for quite some time now, Shrek suddenly finds himself pining for the days when he could be a real, full-time ogre, roaming the countryside and terrorizing the general populace - instead of changing diapers, pushing strollers, and signing autographs for fans who remember those long-gone glory days when he could still strike fear into the hearts of men.
In the "be careful what you wish for/you don't know what you've got till it's gone" scenario that Josh Klausner and Darren Lemke have concocted for this fourth entry in the series, Shrek (Mike Myers) allows himself to be tricked into essentially signing his life away to the dastardly Rumpelstiltskin (the excellent Walt Dohrn) in exchange for a chance to once again become a full-fledged, undomesticated ogre for a day. We then get a new spin on "It's a Wonderful Life," as Shrek learns what the world would have been like had he never been born. He also has to get Fiona (Cameron Diaz) – the beautiful princess by day/ugly ogre by night who, in this alternate universe, is now the leader of a band of freedom-fighting ogres – to fall in love with him all over again.
Though a definite improvement over the drab and disappointing "Shrek the Third" from 2007, "Shrek Forever After," directed by Mike Mitchell, never quite achieves the level of cleverness and wit that the first two installments did – which is a high bar indeed for anyone in this business. Still, the mix of Fractured Fairy Tale revisionism, pop culture references and recognizable pop tunes remains a winning one for the most part, and there is just enough sentiment to lift our spirits without stranding us in a puddle of goo. Plus, all the great sidekicks are back, including Donkey (Eddie Murphy), Puss In Boots (Antonio Banderas), and Cookie (Craig Robinson), and the voice work and animation are, as always, first-rate. In fact the voice-over cast reads like a who's-who of well-known actors and performers: Julie Andrews, John Cleese, Jon Hamm ("Mad Men"), Jane Lynch ("Glee"), Kathy Griffin, Mary Kay Place, Meredith Vieira, Ryan Seacrest, Regis Philbin and Larry King. Not a bad little group that.