funny in places... dull in others.

Rating: 5/10 (29 June 2007)

This third Shrek movie, finds the character on a quest (with Donkey and Puss of course) to bring home the nephew of the late frog-king, to be the new king of Far, Far Away Land. Meanwhile, Prince Charming is plotting a take-over with the help of some fairy-tale villains, and it's up to Fiona and the fairy-tale princesses to try and stop him....and at the same time, Shrek has found out he's about to become a father....
The first Shrek movie was very funny. The second had some great moments, but also benefited from the addition new characters into the mix. This time however, the movie suffers as the new characters don't really add anything to story. Justin Timberlake as Artie, the boy to be king, just lacks conviction in his voice performance. Eric Idle does get a bit of humour out of his eccentric wizard character. But the other new characters don't really register. However the regulars from 1 and 2 do well, but special mention to John Cleese for his dying king scene. It's one of the funniest moments of the movie.
The jokes too aren't as funny. Whereas the first 2 had moments both children and adults could laugh at, this feels like it's more aimed towards adults in regards the sub-plot of Fiona and Shrek becoming parents. This may end up boring to some children, and with the exception of some funny bits at the start I don't think there is enough in the rest of the movie to interest them.
Having said that, there are some good moments contained here. The scene of the Gingerbread Man's life flashing before his eyes is imaginative, and the scene of Pinocchio trying to answer the questions of Prince Charming while trying not to tell a lie is amusing.
But for me the main problem of the movie is that the character of Shrek feels sidelined at times. Even during the climax of the movie I feel he's not being involved enough, but then I did think the ending a little bit too sentimental.
But maybe I'm too harsh.
In a summer of sequels (or three-quels!) It's not the worst. Sadly though that's not much of a recommendation.