Took the kids to see Shrek the Third today. Eh. You can tell that Dreamworks Animation is looking it as "product" now than "art." I mean, it was cute and funny--plenty of jokes and slapstick to keep both parents and kids yukking it up--but it was sloppy. The big plot motivator is that Shrek is trying to convince a young Arthur Pendragon, aka "Artie", to become king of Far Far Away so Shrek won't have to do it himself. Only there are no funny riffs on Arthurian mythos. Merlin's there for a bit, voiced by Eric Idle, but his character draws laughs from being a burned-out new-age hippie rather than Camelot. One of the reasons the first Shrek was so good is that it took fairy tales and ran all the classic elements through the wringer. The second one got away from this approach, lampooning Hollywood narcissism instead. It wasn't inspired, but it was coherent and funny. This third one doesn't even manage that--Artie's big speech at the end is so cliche that I kept waiting for the punch line. Except that there wasn't one.
Don't fight the crowds to see this one in theaters. Add it to your NetFlix queue and watch the original instead.
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