SHREK THE THIRD (Chris Miller and Raman Hui, 2007) **1/2

Rating: 6/10 (15 July 2007)

I had enjoyed the first Shrek film due to its novelty but was somewhat lukewarm towards the second; I'm even more so, then, with respect to this new entry. It's still eminently watchable for the gags, the in-jokes and the apparently unlimited possibilities of the CGI technique. The best new character is surely Eric Idle's accident-prone Merlin, while the most amusing sequences are those involving the Frog King's death and Shrek's nightmare about his upcoming parenthood. However, its gang of gung-ho fairy-tale heroines and the generally modern attitudes on display – to say nothing of the typically refurbished pop/rock songs on the soundtrack (including, of all things, Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song"!) – seem less intent on fulfilling the necessities of the plot than catering to potential box-office receipts!