Not bad, but I liked the first two better. This one is more for kids.

Rating: 7/10 (7 June 2007)

Shrek the Third returns to the original formula of subverting fairy tale stereotypes and lampooning fairytale archetypes by crossing them with modern day values.
And it works, just like in the first two movies.
The gags were funny, the animation was again crisp and smooth, the voice actors did a great job, (yes, even Justin Timberlake) and the jokes all have fairly decent timing.
The problem was, the movie was kind of all over the place. In the movie, I counted no less than 4 different subplots, and I felt that in the end, they couldn't figure out how to tie it all together, which caused the ending to be very mickey mouse-ish and somewhat contrived.
We had - shrek's impending fatherhood - arthur's blatant insecurity and social awkwardness - the princesses' defying their damsel in distress archetype - egomaniac prince's transparent plot for vengeance - donkey and puss in boots' new appreciation for each other
that's all good and well, individually. But the problem was this made the movie lack a definitive focus in plot, and since all the characters were having their big revelation and character development happen near the end of the movie, we're not quite sure who the main hero was supposed to be.
I got the distinct feeling that the writers had that problem too, as the role of the hero was now not just shared by say, Shrek and Donkey (first movie) or Shrek/donkey/Fiona/puss-n-boots (boots), but now shrek-donkey-Fiona-puss'n'boots-arthur-AND-princesses. And by the last confrontation, the writers realized that they can't make any one of them the hero that saves the day, so they had them all jump in, just to be instantly trumped by all the villains who jump on stage to take them. But then, by this point, the stakes were stacked so high that there was really no way for the situation to be realistically resolved without this movie edging into some physical violence and stepping into potentially PG-13 zones. So Arthur jumps in, delivers a passionate speech, and suddenly ALL of the villains melt and disarm.
A little too "Saved by the Bell" for me.
Bottom line: This is a good "for kids" movie, since it tries to deliver a positive message in a very explicit, if almost over the top manner. However, the more sophisticated tone and writing of the first two movies were removed from this one as a result of it. And to me, that makes this movie fall more in line with a lot of Disney movies.