Shrek the Third

So it's true... Things really started to go downhill with Shrek in the third film. And not only with Shrek, but with the whole of the fairy tale kingdom. I have to say that out of all the ideas the creators came up with this time, I really liked only two: the king's funeral and the cat's view of the donkey. Otherwise, all the humor disappeared, as did all the magical atmosphere, and I was disappointed by the stupid wizard Merlin, dubbed by Eric Idle, not to mention the kids and Arthur. That’s too bad. (18/09/2012)

You cannot enter the same river twice. But perhaps on the third attempt, you will successfully, albeit stumblingly, ford it. Andrew Adamson is gone, replaced by a team of screenwriters who believe in themselves to a noticeably lesser extent than their predecessors, but I consider both to be positives. Not that references to popular culture have completely disappeared, this flaw persists at the expense of storytelling, but the story, despite various clichés or variations of familiar plots, races forward at a surprisingly brisk pace. Donkey still teeters on the edge of humor and obnoxiousness, Puss in Boots is the ideal partner, Fiona a devoted wife, and Shrek somehow still comes along unwillingly. And to my surprise, I am entertained by all of it. 70% (31/01/2008)

No fun. And if a family comedy isn’t fun, what’s it good for? The jokes are either lame or stolen from past episodes (kitty eyes). And what happened to the real Shrek? Just a poor caricature of past episodes is all that’s left. I’m all for character development, but not in the wrong direction. The only ones I was actually pleased with were the dronkeys. On the level, I don’t want a part 4. (14/10/2007)

Shrek didn't deserve such a brutal tarnishing of his reputation. Everything that was so brilliant the first two episodes is here unbelievably mechanical, stilted and unfunny, the story is silly and unexpectedly boring, and Prince Charming is one of the least likeable characters ever to appear in an animated film. The old friends may have stayed on and tried hard to keep the story afloat, but not even a real first-class actor can resurrect a bad film, let alone computer-generated, albeit extremely likeable, characters. I suffered through it once, I never want to see it again. 40% (27/02/2013)

This is definitely the least successful part of the whole series, which unnecessarily focuses too much on how Shrek is supposed to become a father, that it's only talked about, but the real finale is missing and it's overall resolved too simply. Too simply for it to actually be a key theme. The jokes are weak, there is a minimum of references to other movies, and it doesn't play well with the fairy tale realm either. It's simply just a need to squeeze the wallets of the viewers. (24/06/2015)