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Shrek 3: the Third
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Theatrical release poster
General information
Title

Shrek 3: the Third

Length

92 minutes

Release Date

March 31, 2007 (US)

Release on DVD

May 24, 2008 (US)

Genre

Fantasy/adventure/comedy

Production information
Directed by

Chris Miller
Raman Hui

Produced by

Aron Warner
Andrew Adamson
Denise Nolan Cascino

Starring

Mike Myers
Justin Timberlake
Eddie Murphy
Antonio Banderas
Cameron Diaz

Preceded by: Succeeded by:
Shrek 2 Shrek 3: the Third Shrek Forever After

Shrek the Third also known as Shrek 3 is a 2007 DreamWorks animated film, and the third and penultimate film in the Shrek franchise, following Shrek and Shrek 2. It was produced by DreamWorks Animation, and distributed by Paramount Pictures, and was released in U.S. theaters on May 18, 2007 (exactly 6 years after the first Shrek).

Plot[]

After defeating the evil Fairy Godmother from the previous movie, King Harold the frog (John Cleese) falls fatally sick as frog, so Shrek (Mike Myers) and Fiona (Cameron Diaz) are next in line to be the new King and Queen of Far Far Away. Shrek declines, insisting that an ogre as king is a bad idea and that there has to be someone else for the job. With his final few breaths, the king tells Shrek that there is one other heir who can become the new King of Far Far Away: his nephew, Arthur Pendragon (Justin Timberlake). After a mournful funeral, Shrek sets out on a quest to bring back the new king, along with Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas). As they're sailing off, Fiona runs to the dock and tells Shrek that she is pregnant. Shocked, Shrek begins to have nightmares about his future children while on the journey to find Arthur.

The trio's journey soon leads them to Worcestershire Academy, an elite boarding school, where they discover that Arthur ("Artie", as he prefers to be called) is a scrawny 16-year old underachiever picked on by virtually everyone, from the cool kids down to the retainer-wearing Dungeons and Dragons geeks. Far removed from the courageous legend his name evokes, Artie stands literally at the bottom of the high school food chain. He is constantly used as a punching bag by the school Jousting Team, led by the obnoxious Sir Lancelot (John Krasinski), and cruelly scorned by Guinevere (Latifa Ouaou), the Valley Girl-like school "Queen Bee."

At the school pep rally, Shrek finds Artie and tells him that he's the new king of Far Far Away. Encouraged by his new title, Artie then delivers a heartfelt speech, berating all the high school students (particularly Lancelot and the jousting team), and professing his undying love to Guinevere, but Shrek stops him, stating, "You just overdid it." Later, on board Shrek's ship, Artie is only too excited to be on his way to the throne, until Donkey and Puss inadvertently scare him by talking about responsibilities of being king. Panicked, Artie tries to take control of the ship and ends up crashing it on an island where they meet Artie's retired wizard teacher, Mr. Merlin (Eric Idle).

Meanwhile, a revenge-lusted Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) has gone to the Poison Apple, where he encounters a slew of fairy tale villains including Captain Hook (Ian McShane), The Evil Queen (Susanne Blakeslee), A Cyclops (Mark Valley), Rumpelstiltskin (Conrad Vernon), Mabel (Regis Philbin), The Headless Horseman (Conrad Vernon), The Puppet Master (Chris Miller), The Talking Trees' Steve and Ed, and an assortment of outlaws, black knights, pirates, gnomes, and witches. Although they initially despise Charming, he persuades them to join him in a fight for their "happily ever after" and avenge the Fairy Godmother's death. The villains feel their side of the story has never been told and now is the time to do it.

Charming and the other villains invade Far Far Away and attack the castle, disrupting Fiona's celebrating of becoming a mother. They capture all of Shrek's fairy tale friends: Gingy (Conrad Vernon), Pinocchio (Cody Cameron), The Big Bad Wolf (Aron Warner), The Three Little Pigs (Cody Cameron), Dragon, and the Dronkeys'. Fiona and Queen Lillian (Julie Andrews) try to escape through an underground passage, along with Doris (Larry King), Cinderella (Amy Sedaris), Snow White (Amy Poehler), Sleeping Beauty (Cheri Oteri) and Rapunzel (Maya Rudolph); the ladies are captured, however, when Rapunzel betrays them and leads them into a trap. They learn that she is in love with Charming, who plans to make her his queen once he claims the throne.

Captain Hook and some of his pirates track Shrek and company to Merlin's island, where they attempt to capture Shrek and kill the others. Shrek and Artie tag-team them effectively, however, and send the villains running, but not before Hook mentions Charming and the takeover of Far Far Away. Concerned for his wife and his future children, Shrek urges Artie to return to the safety of Worcestershire; Artie, however, has other ideas. He cons Merlin into coming out of retirement long enough to use his magic and send them all back to Far Far Away; the spell works, but accidentally causes Puss and Donkey to switch bodies because they were touching each other. They find that Charming is bent on revenge against Shrek for "stealing" his "happily ever after," and plans to kill Shrek in a play later that night. Charming's men arrive shortly, but another clever ruse by Artie tricks the knights into not taking them into custody. They then break into the castle, where play rehearsal and set design are in full swing, and where Charming is bad at rehearsing and mock battles, "killing" two faux Shreks in a row. In Charming's dressing room, Shrek menaces Charming, but Charming is able to summon his men, who burst in and take the four captive.

Charming prepares to kill Artie, believing he's the next king. To save Artie's life, Shrek tells Charming that Artie was just a fool to take his place as King of Far Far Away. Charming believes Shrek and decides not to kill him. Artie, who had just been growing to trust Shrek, is crushed by his words and runs away, not realizing that Shrek only said what he said as a ruse to save Artie's life. Donkey and Puss are thrown into the tower with Fiona and the other ladies, where Fiona is growing frustrated with the other princesses and their lack of initiative. Queen Lilian soon grows fed up, and successfully smashes the stone wall of the prison by head-butting the walls. While the women launch a rescue mission for Shrek, who is being held captive elsewhere, Donkey and Puss work to free Gingy, Pinocchio, the wolf and pigs, Dragon, and the Dronkeys. As they prepare to enter the castle and join the ladies, they encounter Artie, and Puss and Donkey explain to him that Shrek lied to protect him, reminding him that Charming was about to kill him and Shrek saved him at the last minute. Artie seems hesitant to believe them.

As the kingdom watches, Charming stages a theatrical performance in which he heroically rides to the rescue of Rapunzel in a (fake) tower and sings, somewhat badly. To Charming's profound annoyance, the chained Shrek wins the audience's support by ridiculing his singing and acting. Just as Charming is about to kill Shrek, Fiona and her friends, along with Puss, Donkey and the Fairy Tale characters, leap onto the stage to confront the villains. It goes awry, however, as the villains largely outnumber the heroes and take them prisoner again. In the nick of time, Artie arrives and convinces the villains to stop and turn over a new leaf, proving himself to possess effective leadership skills. He says something that Shrek told him when they were sitting around a fire at Merlin's island- "Just because some people treat you like a villain, an ogre, or just some loser, it doesn't mean you are one. The thing that matters most is what you think of yourself. If there's something you really want or someone you really want to be, then the only one standing in your way is you." The villains drop their weapons and release their captives.

Charming, furious at having been thwarted, lunges for Artie with his sword. Shrek manages to break out of the chains, blocks the blow and appears to take it in his own chest, leading Charming to believe he's won; but fortunately Charming missed, and the sword is lodged harmlessly under Shrek's arm. Charming says that he was supposed to live happily ever after, but Shrek informs Charming that he needs to keep looking, because he's not giving up his own. As Shrek pushes Charming aside, Dragon slyly knocks over Rapunzel's model tower, Charming is presumably killed when the tower lands on him as he fearfully utters his last words ("Mommy?"). Charming's crown is sent rolling across the stage by the impact and is caught by Artie. Shrek tells him that the throne is his if he wants it, but it is his decision to make. Artie lifts the crown toward the audience, who cheer him loudly, then sets it on his own head. While the kingdom celebrates their new monarch, Merlin appears and restores Puss and Donkey to their proper bodies, though their tails were temporarily mismatched.

A few months later, Shrek and Fiona returns to their swamp, where they become the parents of ogre triplets (later named Farkle, Fergus, and Felicia, as revealed in Shrek the Third's sequel, Shrek Forever After), coping with parenthood with the help of Donkey, Puss, Dragon and Lillian.

Cast[]

Shrek the Third - Title Screen

Additional Voices[]

Production[]

After the successful release of Shrek 2, three sequels were announced on May 2004 by then-DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffery Katzenberg. "Shrek 3 and 4 are going to reveal other unanswered questions and, finally, in the last chapter, we will understand how Shrek came to be in that swamp, when we meet him in the first movie."

Acclaimed screenwriters Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman (best known for Who Framed Roger Rabbit and How the Grinch Stole Christmas) were hired to write the film's screenplay. Andrew Adamson was originally planning to return to direct, but due to his commitment to the Narnia films, he would only be involved as an executive producer. Despite the complications, he still gave advice on the film's production every four months. Shrek 2's head of story, Chris Miller, would be the film's director, joined by supervising animator, Raman Hui.

Various plot points and ideas were scrapped throughout the production- including the initial idea of Shrek causing the Arthurian legends to form in a "Forrest Gump-type fashion." Elements including a quest for Arthur's diploma, demons being a part of the gang of villains, and multiple sight gags were removed to lighten the film's weight in content. This was done in order to shift more focus onto Shrek's arc of becoming a father, and using his relationship with Arthur to further challenge his anxieties. Characters including Guinevere were also demoted to minor cameos, with pre-established ones given much less to do.

Under the initial working title, Shrek 3, it was believed to be changed to avoid confusion with Shrek 3-D (the DVD release of Shrek 4-D). Miller later revealed the real reason behind the name change, claiming "we didn't want to just sort of title it like it was just a sequel. We wanted something to make it stand on its own, give it its own personality and really try to treat it as a chapter in Shrek's life." Despite the major change, select territories still promoted the film as Shrek 3, as seen on international McDonald's merchandise.

The film was originally set for release in November 2006 (and was even teased in the short-lived animated series, Father of the Pride), but was changed to a May 2007 release. Katzenberg stated that this was done to increase profitability of the franchise, citing massive revenue in the summer blockbuster season and holiday home video sales. Another DreamWorks Animation film, Flushed Away, would take this initial spot. This practice of a major Shrek release would continue for Shrek Forever After.

Sequels[]

Art director Peter Zaslav said in an interview that the Christmas special, Shrek the Halls, would pick up from where Shrek the Third left off. The film would also be followed by another sequel, Shrek Forever After, which was released on May 21, 2010. At the time, this was anticipated to be the last installment of the Shrek franchise. In an interview with Antonio Banderas, a spin-off film entitled Puss in Boots (which released in 2011), was confirmed. The spin-off was to take place between Shrek and Shrek 2, but due to concerns over continuity for Forever After, it would instead be set before the events of the original Shrek.

Songs[]

Songs Not Featured in the Soundtrack[]

Reception[]

The film received mixed to negative reviews from critics and audiences, in contrast to the critical acclaim of Shrek and Shrek 2. Criticism was directed towards its unfocused plot, misguided humor, underdeveloped new characters, and weak characterizations. It is considered the worst film in the series- and many people consider it as filler instead of a legitimate sequel. It's been agreed that the film didn't add anything substantial to the general lore or themes. Despite this, the film was a box office success, grossing over $813.4 million on a budget of $160 million. It is the second highest-grossing film of the series, under Shrek 2.

Controversy[]

Eric Idle (the voice of Merlin) threatened to sue DreamWorks because he considered the scene featuring the famous Monty Python coconut visual gag to be copyright infringement. The producers rebutted his claim, saying it was fair use and simply an homage to the troupe's works. Despite having his own rebuttal, Idle never went through with a lawsuit.

The Illinois Conservative Blog complained about the inclusion of Doris and Mabel, claiming that DreamWorks was trying to "desensitize" people to transgender representation- despite the characters never being confirmed or denied to be trans.

Trivia[]

  • The film was nominated for "Favorite Animated Movie" at the 2008 Kids' Choice Awards, but lost to Disney-Pixar's Ratatouille.
  • Shrek the Third omits many familiar elements and visuals from the previous two films.
    • It is the only Shrek film that doesn't start off with a storybook sequence.
    • It is the only film where Fiona is not shown as a human in any capacity.
    • It is the only film where Shrek doesn't roar.
    • It is the only film without a windmill.
    • Despite being directed by Chris Miller, his character the Magic Mirror does not appear in the film, making this the only Shrek movie to do so.
    • The Dragon's Keep doesn't physically appear beyond a set piece on the theater stage.
  • This film and Shrek Forever After are the only films where the main villain is alive at the end. While it has been debated if Charming survived at the end, he is seen in the Thriller audience.
  • This is the only film where we hear about Shrek's family, where Shrek mentions that his father had tried to eat him. His father's fate is unknown.
  • The scene where Prince Charming and the Fairy Tale villains invade Far Far Away somewhat alludes to real-life invasions such as the bombing of Pearl Harbor, as well as Germany invading Poland, along with the German Blitzkrieg.
    • The film version of Pearl Harbor was released the same year as the first Shrek film.
  • Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow) made a cameo in Gingy's flashback (which was a torture scene taken from the first film).
  • Justin Timberlake (Artie) and Cameron Diaz (Fiona) were both in Bad Teacher together.
    • The two were also in a relationship during the making of Shrek the Third.
  • Released the same year as St Trinian’s, also starring Rupert Everett.
  • Released the same year as Norbit, also featuring Eddie Murphy (Donkey).
  • Released the same year as Bordertown, also featuring Antonio Banderas.
  • Mike Myers (Shrek) and Justin Timberlake (Artie) were both in The Love Guru, also distributed by Paramount Pictures a year later.
  • This was the final Shrek film to be made by Pacific Data Images before their closure in 2015.
    • The final Shrek production from PDI was Shrek the Halls, released six months later.
  • The film served as a reunion between John Cleese and Eric Idle as they are the original members of the British comedy troupe, Monty Python.
    • Neither of their characters share screen-time, however.
  • During the high school band's brief instrumental musical performance of the song "All Star."
  • In the scene when Shrek breaks into the mascot contest searching for Arthur, someone can be heard yelling "Ti amiamo tutti, Shrek!", which is Italian for "We all love you, Shrek!", in the applauding crowd of students.

Gallery[]

Shrek the Third/Gallery

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