Shrek = Going Downhill?

Rating: 6/10 (16 July 2007)

Shrek and Shrek 2 are one of Dreamworks' most successful animated films, and perhaps the only successful films to feature fairy tale elements combined with zany humor and a jar full of characters.
Is Shrek the Third the next installment that I hope it would be good? STT may be a true sequel but it feels like a re-telling story of Shrek 2 with new characters and elements. Basically, Shrek is now King after Fiona's father died. But the bad thing is, he doesn't want to be a king and decides to find a perfect one. As Fiona reveals Shrek that she is pregnant, Shrek can't stop thinking about raising children as his adventure sets.
The anti-heroic side? Prince Charming is going to take over Far Far Away after Shrek departs to find Arthur/Artie with a load of bad guys from various fairy tales. His goal is to execute Shrek to take over as the King.
The whole film is very clichéd I have to admit. The pacing is much like the second one without the ho-hum searching for the next king, so there's not much variety in it.
The humor is just like the other Shrek films. Pop culture infested jokes are in every scene including a number of inside jokes. Some may be good and some may be inspired. The Led Zeppelin bit was amusing but doesn't really suit the film. Funny how it is a brief cover of the Immigrant Song due to licensing issues. The weakest bit would be Shrek entertaining the audience as he tends to make non-graphic homosexual references to Charming's flamboyant image.
Voice work is top-notch and a large cast of famous actors and actresses reprise their roles such as Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy. Some other famed stars with brief voice work include Eric Idle and Seth Rogen.
The animation didn't age much, but a huge number of new environment settings did work out for the film.
Overall, The Third was a decent sequel at its best yet forgettable. We still get more sequels and I hope they would live up to the first and the second film.