Shrek the Third

This article is about the film. For the video game, see Shrek the Third (video game).

Shrek the Third
File:Shrek the third ver2.jpg Movie poster featuring Shrek as a King
Directed by	Chris Miller Raman Hui (co-director)
Written by	Screenplay: Jeffrey Price Peter S. Seaman Chris Miller Aron Warner Story: Andrew Adamson Book: William Steig
Produced by	Aron Warner
Starring	Mike Myers Eddie Murphy Cameron Diaz Antonio Banderas Rupert Everett Julie Andrews Eric Idle John Cleese Justin Timberlake
Edited by	Michael Andrews
Music by	Harry Gregson-Williams
Distributed by	DreamWorks Distribution through: Paramount Pictures (U.S., Canada, Australia, Brazil, France, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, UK theatrical & worldwide DVD) Universal Pictures (Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Russia, Spain and Switzerland theatrical) United International Pictures (Theatrical distribution in all other areas, directly and through various affiliates)
Release dates	May 18, 2007 (U.S.) June 7, 2007 (Australia) June 29, 2007 (UK, Ireland)
Running time	92 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	US$60 million
Box office	United States: $322,719,944 Worldwide: $798,958,162

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

It was produced with the working title of Shrek 3, the name being changed to avoid potential confusion with Shrek 3-D. Like the first two Shrek films, the movie is significantly based on fairy tale themes. It was nominated for Best Animated Movie at the Kids' Choice Awards 2008.

Plot

King Harold (voiced by John Cleese) falls ill and his ogre son-in-law Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers) and daughter Princess Fiona (voiced by Cameron Diaz) are next in line to be 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 (voiced by Justin Timberlake). After a mournful funeral, Shrek sets out on a quest to bring back the new king, along with Donkey (voiced by Eddie Murphy) and Puss in Boots (voiced by Antonio Banderas). As they're sailing off, Fiona runs to the dock and announces to Shrek that she is pregnant and he is going to be a father. Shocked, Shrek begins to have nightmares about his future children 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 at the bottom of the high school food chain. He is constantly showered with insults, used as a punching bag by the school Jousting Team, led by the obnoxious Lancelot du Lac (voiced by John Krasinski), and cruelly scorned by Guinevere (Latifa Ouaou), the girl he had always loved.

At the school pep rally Shrek tells him he's going to be the new king of Far Far Away. 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, Merlin (voiced by Eric Idle).

Meanwhile, a revenge-lusted Prince Charming (voiced by Rupert Everett) has gone to the Poison Apple Bar, where he encounters a slew of fairy tale villains including Captain Hook (voiced by Ian McShane), the Evil Queen (voiced by Susanne Blakeslee), a Cyclops (voiced by Mark Valley), Rumpelstiltskin (voiced by Conrad Vernon), Mabel the Ugly Stepsister (voiced by talk show host Regis Philbin), the Headless Horseman (Conrad Vernon), Stromboli the Puppet Master (Chris Miller), and an assortment of outlaws, black knights, pirates, ents, and witches. Although they initially despise Charming, he persuades them to join him in a fight for their "happily ever after". 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 the kingdom and pillage for a time before attacking the castle, disrupting Fiona's celebrating of becoming a mother. They capture all of Shrek's fairy tale friends: Gingerbread Man (also voiced by Conrad Vernon), Pinocchio (voiced by Cody Cameron), The Big Bad Wolf (voiced by Aron Warner), and The Three Little Pigs (also voiced by Cameron), Dragon, and Donkey and Dragon's children. Fiona and Lilian (Julie Andrews) try to escape through an underground passage, along with Doris the Ugly Stepsister (voiced by Larry King), Cinderella (voiced by Amy Sedaris), Snow White (voiced by Amy Poehler), Sleeping Beauty (voiced by Cheri Oteri) and Rapunzel (voiced by 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 Prince 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 becoming not good at rehearsing and is also not good at mock battles, killing two faux Shrek 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 this and runs away. 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 so Charming wouldn't kill him. 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, Princess 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 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 him with his sword. Shrek blocks the blow and appears to take it in his own chest, leading Charming to believe he's won; but Charming missed, and the sword is lodged harmlessly under Shrek's arm. Shrek informs Charming that he needs to keep looking for his own happily ever after, because he's not giving up his own. As Shrek pushes Charming aside, Dragon slyly knocks over Rapunzel's tower, which lands on Charming, killing him (although he could have been under the castle window when it fell). Charming's crown is sent rolling across the stage by the impact and is caught by Artie (a reference to Lord Farquaad's being eaten by Dragon at the end of the first movie). 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.

As Far Far Away is left in the capable hands of young Artie, the movie ends as Shrek retires with Fiona to their swamp a few months later, becoming the parents of ogre triplets.

Cast

Main characters

• Mike Myers as Shrek
• Eddie Murphy as Donkey
• Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona
• Crystal Judd as Princess Lucy
• Antonio Banderas as Puss in Boots'
• Justin Timberlake as Arthur Pendragon
• Rupert Everett as Prince Charming
• Julie Andrews as Queen Lillian

Other characters

See also: List of fairy tale characters in Shrek

• Eric Idle as Merlin
• Conrad Vernon as Gingerbread Man, Rumpelstiltskin, the Headless Horseman, and Gollum
• Cody Cameron as Pinocchio, the Three Little Pigs, Ogre Triplets , and Bohort
• Jonathan Ross (UK)/Larry King (US) as Doris the Ugly Stepsister
• Christopher Knights as The Three Blind Mice
• Amy Poehler as Snow White
• Maya Rudolph as Rapunzel
• Megan Hilty as Snow White (Singing Voice)
• Amy Sedaris as Cinderella
• Aron Warner as Big Bad Wolf
• Cheri Oteri as Sleeping Beauty and Actress
• Ian McShane as Captain Hook
• Susanne Blakeslee as Wicked Queen
• Seth Rogen as Ship Captain
• Kari Wahlgren as Old Lady
• John Cleese as King Harold
• Jim Cummings as Shrek (ADR work)
• Maurice LaMarche as Donkey (ADR work)
• David Kyle as Puss in Boots (ADR work)
• Samantha Bond as Princess Fiona (ADR work)
• Simon Callow as Artie (ADR work)
• John Lithgow as Lord Farquaad (seen in a flashback by Gingerbread Man)
• John Krasinski as Lancelot
• Regis Philbin as Mabel the Ugly Stepsister

Release dates

Region	Release date
United States	May 18, 2007
Australia	June 7, 2007
Philippines	June 11, 2007
Turkey	June 15, 2007
Hong Kong	June 28, 2007
Ireland	June 29, 2007
United Kingdom

Reception

Critical reception to Shrek the Third since its release has been mixed to negative. On Rotten Tomatoes, it currently garners a 41% rating from critics and a 49% from users. Critical reaction was much more negative than that of the first two films in the series. David Ansen wrote that his problem with the film was that, "its slightly snarky wit is aimed almost entirely at parents... this one never touched my heart or got under my skin. It's a movie at war with itself: a kiddie movie that doesn't really want to be one." The film yielded some positive reviews from writers such as A. O. Scott from The New York Times who believed that the movie "seems at once more energetic and more relaxed [than its predecessors], less desperate to prove its cleverness and therefore to some extent, smarter." The Times newspaper also rated it 2 out of 5.

Despite these criticisms, Shrek the Third, which opened in 4,122 North American cinemas on May 18, 2007, grossed a total of US$121,629,270 in its first weekend, the best opening weekend ever for an animated film, and third best overall. As of February 2009, Shrek the Third has grossed $322.7 million in the United States and $476.2 million overseas, bringing its cumulative total to $798.9 million. Shrek The Third was the fourth highest grossing film worldwide in 2007, only behind Spider Man 3, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. It was also the second-highest grossing movie in the United States in that year, behind Spider-Man 3. In addition, it was the highest-grossing animated movie worldwide of 2007, and the second-highest grossing film into Shrek film series. Compared to its predecessors, the film also had an unusually short box office lifespan; Shrek the Third spent only 12 weeks in theaters, while Shrek and Shrek 2 were in release for 29 and 21 weeks, respectively.

In addition, the film won the 2007 People's Choice Award for "Favorite Family Film".

Soundtrack

Main articles: Shrek the Third: The Motion Picture Soundtrack and Shrek the Third: Original Motion Picture Score

Sequels

Peter Zaslav said in an interview that the Christmas special Shrek the Halls will pick up from where Shrek the Third left off. The film will also be followed by another sequel, Shrek Forever After which will be released in theatres on May 21, 2010. In an interview with Antonio Banderas, a spin-off film entitled Puss in Boots: The Story of an Ogre Killer (to be released in 2011), was confirmed. The spin-off will take place between Shrek Forever After and Shrek 5, with the latter final film Shrek 5 being set for release in 2013.

Home video release

File:Shrekthethird hddvd.jpg

Shrek the Third HD DVD retail packaging

The film was released on both DVD and HD DVD on November 13, 2007. The DVD was released in separate pan and scan and 1.78:1 widescreen formats (being the first DreamWorks Animation film to be reformatted from its original ratio of 1.85:1 to 1.78:1). The HD DVD and DVD special features include several deleted scenes, features, trailers, commentary, music videos, and exclusively on the HD DVD version, some web enabled and HDi Interactive Format features such as a special trivia track, a movie guide, and an interactive coloring book which can be downloaded as of street date.

The film and special features on the HD DVD version were presented in 1.78:1 widescreen high definition 1080p and feature a Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 audio soundtrack.

In addition, this film was released on Blu-ray Disc on September 16, 2008.

Merchandise

Main article: Shrek the Third (video game)

Many toys, games, books, clothes and other products have made their way to stores. For the first time, a Princess Fiona doll has been released, featured an Ogre face mask, and "Kung Fu" Leg action. Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Rapunzel and Snow White Dolls will also become available.

A video game based on the film has been released for the Wii, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation Portable, PC, and Nintendo DS.

In May 2007, Shrek The Third was made into a mobile video game, developed by Gameloft.

Homage to Monty Python

In the beginning of the film, in Prince Charming's dinner theater, coconuts are used for horse's hoof beats. This same technique was used in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which also starred John Cleese and Eric Idle. Idle claims to be considering suing the producers of Shrek for the unauthorised use of this gag, while the producers claim they were honoring Idle and Cleese by putting the part in.

Grassroots marketing effort

Adult Swim comedy team Tim and Eric were such big fans of the first two Shrek films that they decided to independently promote Shrek 3 in a series of internet videos as well as appearances on television and radio in order to encourage people to really get out and see the movie. In publicity appearances, when asked about their television series Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, they resisted discussing it altogether because they didn't want to take the focus away from Shrek 3. They apparently wanted to make sure people did not wait for the DVD or TV releases and instead to support Shrek 3 on its opening weekend, to maximize box office revenue.

See also

• List of animated feature films
• List of computer-animated films

External links

• Official website
• Template:Bcdb title
• Shrek the Third at AllMovie
• Shrek the Third at IMDb
• Shrek the Third at Metacritic
• Shrek the Third at Rotten Tomatoes
• BBC's The Film Programme interviews Shrek 3's composer Harry Gregson-Williams