Toon Talk - From the Other Side: Shrek the Third
Page 2 of 3
(c) Dreamworks
The big green ogre found box office and Oscar gold his first time out with Shrek in 2001, followed by even greater bounty three years later with Shrek 2, now the biggest money-making animated film of all time. All that money inevitably brings us to Shrek the Third, now in theaters.
Ushered onto screens this past weekend amidst a flurry of hype and merchandise tie-ins, DreamWorks Animation’s flagship character returns with a little less bite, a little less grit - yes, this year’s ogre is a kinder, gentler model … all the better to sell more Happy Meals and Wal-Mart toys. Shrek isn’t so much a title any more as a brand and, like any fast food, you may enjoy it at the time, but you’ll feel guilty about it in the morning.
This latest fractured fairy tale begins (once upon a time) with Shrek and Fiona (once again voiced by Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz) as temporary monarchs of that ironic fantasyland, Far Far Away. Seems that Fiona’s father, King Harold (John Cleese), who you’ll remember was turned into a frog in the last movie, is dying, and when he croaks (sorry), his rightful heirs - that would be Princess Fiona and Prince Shrek - will take over the kingdom (why his wife, Queen Lillian - voiced by Julie Andrews - couldn’t do it is never addressed … so much for female empowerment).
Of course, Shrek - being a reclusive ogre and all - wants nothing to do with all that royalty stuff. So, along with faithful furry sidekicks Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas), he sets sail to retrieve Fiona’s long lost cousin Arthur to be the land’s “once and future king�?. Alas, this being the land of Shrek, Arthur turns out to be Artie (former N’Syncer Justin Timberlake), a pimply-faced teenager who’s Guinevere is of the Clueless set and who’s Lancelot (voiced Ashton Kutcher-esque-ly by The Office’s John Krasinski) is the high school bully.
Meanwhile, back in Far Far Away, Fiona’s would-be suitor (and thus the man who really-really would be king) Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) wants the throne for himself, so he enlists all sorts of fairy tale villains - including Captain Hook (Deadwood’s Ian McShane), the Headless Horseman and those talking trees from The Wizard of Oz - to help him in his misguided quest. He kidnaps Fiona, along with her girlfriends Cinderella (Strangers With Candy star Amy Sedaris), Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Rapunzel (voiced by a trio of Saturday Night Live ladies: Amy Poehler, Cheri Oteri and Maya Rudolph, respectively), lays siege to the land, and plots a deadly ambush - disguised, for no apparent reason, as an over-the-top, Andrew Lloyd Webber-style (I know, redundant) stage musical for his green-skinned nemesis.
Can Shrek convince Artie to be the new king without much help from a zoned-out Merlin (Cleese’s fellow Python Eric Idle) and/or a certain sword in the stone? Will he be able to rescue Fiona from the not-so-charming Charming? How many more pop culture references can DreamWorks throw at us? And how does the impending parenthood of our favorite ogre couple fit into all this (besides leading to a gazillion ogre baby stuffed animals and a Muppet Babies-type spin-off)?