Denerstein: Thrice upon a time

An ogre's growing pains spring to the fore in 'Shrek the Third'

Robert Denerstein, Rocky Mountain News

Friday, May 18, 2007

Is it good to be the king? Not if you happen to be an ogre named Shrek.

In Shrek the Third, the world's favorite ogre goes out of his way to avoid becoming a royal. Although Shreked-out audiences may decide that this third edition lacks the exhilarating novelty of the first or the nonstop humor of the second, it's equally true that Shrek remains one of Hollywood's cherished franchises.

Shrek the Third continues the series with a tale in which Shrek - the most famous ogre in the contemporary world - insists that the simple life is best. Why bother with the pomp of court, particularly if it interferes with one's ability to be freely flatulent?

And to further complicate Shrek's life, he receives unsettling news. His beloved Fiona (Cameron Diaz) is pregnant. A baby-shy Shrek (Mike Myers) understands how much work raising an ogre can be. He's freaked about the prospect of becoming a father.

Shrek's reluctant foray into the world of adult responsibility begins when he's forced to consider taking over the Kingdom of Far Far Away: The Frog King Harold (John Cleese) has taken ill and is on the verge of departing this animated world.

The movie purposefully and comically extends the king's death scene, a goof on every actor who ever hammed it up on a deathbed.

Untempted by power, Shrek wants only to return to his forest hovel with his bride. Fortunately, the unambitious Shrek learns that Fiona's cousin Artie (Justin Timberlake) might also be a rightful heir to the throne. Artie attends high school in a distant land where he's something of a goat for the other students. Shrek finds him and tries to persuade the boy that he'll love ruling Far Far Away.

Of course, there's competition for the job. Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) also wants to take the royal reins. He'll stop at nothing to land the prize, and he enlists a variety of villains to help with his foul plan.

The movie brings back both Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) and, at one point, even has them switch bodies.

That's fun, and there's also an exuberant sequence in which Fiona gathers her princess colleagues - everyone from Sleeping Beauty to Snow White - for a major attack on Charming's forces.

Directors Chris Miller and Raman Hui don't belabor the visual wit, although there's enough of it to keep adults happy, even if the fairy-tale characters spill onto the screen with an abundance that's a little less enjoyable than in previous editions.

I suppose it's no surprise that Shrek the Third remains a technical wonder. The clarity of the animation proves dazzling, the voice work probably beats that of any other animated feature, and the writers never allow the script to become totally witless.

Call Shrek the Third an amusing - if not consistently brilliant - edition of a series that has yet to show signs that it needs to call it quits, and even if it did, it wouldn't stop the Shrek train from rolling happily onward.

Shrek the Third

More from the Shrek folks

• Grade:B

• Rated:PG

• Running time:90 minutes

Finding their voices

When she was cast as Princess Fiona, Cameron Diaz envisioned laugh-filled sessions working alongside Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy. Instead, she spent a few days in a studio with a microphone, storyboard and a director, recording her lines alone. The stories behind the Shrek voices:

• Mike Myers

Chris Farley was originally the voice of Shrek, but he died in 1997 in the middle of production. His lines had to be re-recorded by fellow SNL alum Myers. He then recorded the lines yet again when he decided Shrek should have a Scottish accent, a move that cost the studio $1 million to $4 million to rework the animation.

• Eddie Murphy

Murphy was reportedly paid $10 million for a few days' voice work for Shrek 2.

• Antonio Banderas

He also provides the Puss in Boots' voice in both the Spanish and Latin American versions, switching between a strong Andalusian accent and a Castilian accent respectively.

• Cameron Diaz

The scene where Princess Fiona burps in the first Shrek was written only after Diaz burped after drinking some Coke during a recording session. That's also a real Diaz burp in Shrek 2's dinner party sequence.

• Justin Timberlake

Most suspect Timberlake got the role through ex-flame Cameron Diaz. But director Chris Miller says he first thought of Timberlake for the role after seeing his guest appearance on Saturday Night Live. "Justin has a certain charm. He is a very natural comedian," the director said.

• Rupert Everett

In his tell-all book Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins, Everett says Shrek represented a welcomed departure from the limiting gay roles that Hollywood keeps pushing his way. "It was a cartoon world and I had become part of it," he writes. "Out of the blue, Jeffrey Katzenberg offered me the voice of Prince Charming in Shrek 2, a role I would never get in a live action film."

• Julie Andrews and John Cleese

While most cast members recorded their lines separately all over the globe (for Shrek 3, Rupert Everett recorded in Hong Kong, Berlin, Los Angeles and London) Cleese and Andrews recorded most of their dialogue in the same studio at the same time.