The Bubble bursts ...

Rating: 6/10 (28 June 2007)

If I hadn't seen the first two movies I would have loved this. Problem is I have seen them, and I still enjoy getting pulled in by the plot, the characters, the gags, the effects when I seem them. So my expectations were high for part 3.
I'm afraid the spell was broken quite quickly ... part 3 is light on plot, on innovation, on gags, on, well, just about everything except characters. I kept waiting for it to catch light, but it never really did. I was quite bored after 20 minutes - same old gags, same old sets - how many scenes from Shrek 1 & 2 were reused? I got fed up counting. The good gags were few and far between.
And the cast, well, it seems they've just scooped up the entire cast from parts 1 and 2 and added some more, and there are just too many to keep up with. I was a bit suspicious the first time I saw part 2 to see many part 1 characters reappearing, but in the end it worked pretty well. Not so this time.
It also seems like they scooped up all the best bits to make the trailer - in fact, quite a few scenes seemed to have been created JUST for the trailer.
Some good moments though, but just not enough to make this a memorable film in its own right. And some of the animation is wonderful, and the subtleties of character animation (esp in faces) is perhaps the best of the 3 films, which is why it's a 6 not a 5.
Stop there, folks - you're great animators and story tellers, but it's time for a new project.