The law of diminishing returns is no more apparent than in
the movie world. A sequel, with rare exceptions, is worse
than the film it follows, and sequels of sequels fare even
worse.
Such is the case with "Shrek the Third." As a big fan of
the first "Shrek," I was let down by "Shrek 2," which seemed
pitched less to children than to smart-alecky adults. The
film was a commercial hit anyway.
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En Garde: Puss In Boots, from the new film 'Shrek
the Third.'
DreamWorks Photo |
It's likely that "Shrek the Third" will be a hit, too,
although the children in the audience for my press screening
didn't exactly look as if they were having the time of their
lives. It may not matter - the "Shrek" brand is so pervasive
that the quality of the films has become secondary to their
success. They are triumphs of merchandising, not
imagination.
In "Shrek the Third," the green ogre is in line to become
king of Far Far Away. Since this is the last thing he wants,
he sets out with Donkey and Puss In Boots to find the only
other heir to the throne - Artie, the long-lost cousin of
Shrek's pregnant wife, Fiona.
With a mixture of new songs and oldies (including Wings'
"Live and Let Die"), "Shrek the Third" tries to create an
aural environment that will go down well with both kids and
adults. The in-joke pop culture references are almost as
abundant as they were in "Shrek 2," and are not much better.
(The sign for the kingdom of Far Far Away is a duplicate of
the "Hollywood" sign in Los Angeles, and so on).
Maybe the filmmakers needed to insert these gags in order
to stay sane, but what about the rest of us?
There's another problem here. In the first "Shrek," the
life lessons were kept to a minimum. In "Shrek 2," the green
one became touchy-feely and his relationship to Fiona was
gooey. In the new film, Shrek has to learn to believe in
himself.
It's not that I object to animated characters having
human dimensions. It's just that the soporific uplift
provided by the last two "Shrek" movies is just as banal as
in any old live-action Hollywood drama. The imaginative
leaps in the animation are dragged down by the deadweight
storytelling. While it's true that, from a technical
standpoint, the "Shrek" movies continue to improve, it's
also true that technique isn't everything. Where's the
victory in showing off a new and improved green skin tone or
a more detailed blade of grass if the production itself is
blurry with the same old clichés?
Grade: C+
-Rated PG for some crude humor and suggestive content.