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 Film poster featuring Shrek as a King
Directed by	Chris Miller Raman Hui (co-director)
Written by	Jeffrey Price Peter S. Seaman Chris Miller Aron Warner Story: Andrew Adamson William Steig (Book)
Produced by	Aron Warner Andrew Adamson Denise Nolan Cascino
Starring	Mike Myers Cameron Diaz Eddie Murphy Antonio Banderas Rupert Everett Julie Andrews Eric Idle Justin Timberlake
Edited by	Joyce Arrastia Michael Andrews
Music by	Harry Gregson-Williams
Production companies	DreamWorks Animation Pacific Data Images
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	May 18, 2007 (2007-05-18)
Running time	93 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$160 million
Box office	$799 million

Shrek the Third, sometimes known as Shrek 3 or Shrek the 3rd, is a 2007 American 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. It was released in U.S. theaters on May 18, 2007 (exactly six years after the first film).

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 film is based on fairy tale themes. It was nominated for Best Animated Movie at the Kids' Choice Awards 2008.

Plot

King Harold (John Cleese) is dying and his ogre son-in-law Shrek (Mike Myers) and daughter Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) are next in line to be King and Queen of Far Far Away. Shrek insists that an ogre as king is a bad idea and that there has to be someone else for the job. Before dying, Harold tells Shrek that there is another heir: his nephew, Arthur Pendragon (Justin Timberlake). Shrek, Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) set out to retrieve Arthur. As they're sailing away, Fiona announces to Shrek that she is pregnant. Shrek begins having nightmares about his future children.

The trio journey 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 everyone.

At the school pep rally Shrek tells Artie he's going to be king of Far Far Away. Artie is excited until Donkey and Puss inadvertently scare him by talking about the responsibilities of being king while they're sailing home. Panicked, Artie tries to take control of the ship and crashes it on an island where they meet Artie's retired wizard teacher, Merlin (Eric Idle).

Meanwhile, a vengeful Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) has gone to the Poison Apple tavern, where he encounters fairy tale villains including Captain Hook (Ian McShane), the Evil Queen (Susanne Blakeslee), a Cyclops (Mark Valley), Rumpelstiltskin (Conrad Vernon), Mabel the Ugly Stepsister (talk show host Regis Philbin), the Headless Horseman (Conrad Vernon), Stromboli the Puppet Master (Chris Miller), and an assortment of outlaws, black knights, pirates, malevolent trees, and wicked witches. Although they initially despise Charming, he persuades them to fight for their "happily ever after".

Charming and the other villains invade the kingdom and attack the castle. They capture Gingerbread Man (Conrad Vernon), Pinocchio (Cody Cameron), The Big Bad Wolf (Aron Warner), and The Three Little Pigs (Cameron), Dragon, and Donkey and Dragon's children. Fiona and Lilian (Julie Andrews) try escaping along with Doris the Ugly Stepsister (Larry King), Cinderella (Amy Sedaris), Snow White (Amy Poehler), Sleeping Beauty (Cheri Oteri) and Rapunzel (Maya Rudolph); the ladies are captured when Rapunzel betrays them because she is in love with Charming.

Captain Hook and his pirates track Shrek and company to Merlin's island, where they attempt to capture Shrek and kill the others. Shrek and Artie send the villains running, but not before Hook mentions Charming and the takeover of Far Far Away. Concerned for his wife and future children, Shrek urges Artie to return to the safety of Worcestershire. However, Artie cons Merlin into coming out of retirement long enough to use his magic to send them all to Far Far Away; the spell works, but accidentally causes Puss and Donkey to switch bodies. They find Charming bent on revenge against Shrek for 'stealing' his "happily ever after," and learn that he plans to kill Shrek in a play that night. Charming's men arrive shortly, but Artie tricks the knights into not taking them into custody. They break into the castle during rehearsals for the play. In Charming's dressing room, Shrek menaces Charming but Charming summons his men, who 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 pawn to take his place as King of Far Far Away. Charming believes Shrek and decides not to kill Artie, who runs away. Donkey and Puss are imprisoned with Fiona and the other ladies, where Fiona grows frustrated with their lack of initiative. Queen Lilian smashes the stone wall of the prison by head butting the walls. While the women launch a rescue mission for Shrek, Donkey and Puss free Gingy, Pinocchio, the wolf and pigs, Dragon, and the Dronkeys. They encounter Artie, and Puss and Donkey explain to him that Shrek lied so Charming wouldn't kill him.

Charming stages a musical theatrical performance in which he rides to rescue Rapunzel in a (fake) tower. The chained Shrek wins the audience's support by ridiculing Charming's acting. Just as Charming is about to kill Shrek, Princess Fiona and her friends, along with Puss, Donkey and the fairy tale characters confront the villains. However, the villains outnumber the heroes and regain control of the situation. Artie arrives and convinces the villains to turn over a new leaf.

Charming, furious at being thwarted, lunges for Artie with his sword. Shrek blocks the blow and Charming lunges at him. He informs Charming that he missed and that he needs to keep looking for his own happily ever after. As Shrek pushes Charming aside, Dragon knocks over Rapunzel's tower. Charming is killed when the tower lands him as he utters his last word (which is "Mommy"). With Charming dead, Shrek tells Artie that the throne is his if he wants it. Artie chooses to become king. While the kingdom celebrates, Merlin restores Puss and Donkey to their proper bodies, accidentally switching their tails. Shrek retires with Fiona to their swamp, becoming the parents of ogre triplets.

Cast

Main characters

• Mike Myers as Shrek: The main protagonist of the film. When King Harold dies, Shrek is forced to run the kingdom, at which point he sets out to find Artie.
• Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona: Shrek's wife. She tells Shrek that she's pregnant; at the end of the film, she and Shrek have triplets.
• Eddie Murphy as Donkey: Shrek's friendly but garrulous sidekick. He is currently the father of a group of "Dronkeys".
• Antonio Banderas as Puss in Boots: Another friend of Shrek and Donkey.
• Justin Timberlake as Arthur "Artie" Pendragon: The new heir to the throne after King Harold passes away and Shrek and Fiona refuse to be next in line.
• Rupert Everett as Prince Charming: The main antagonist of the film who wants to be king and seeks to avenge his mother's death by killing Shrek.
• Julie Andrews as Queen Lillian: Mother of Fiona. Although very caring, she is very good at martial arts, although in this film she hurts her head when trying to break down walls.
• John Cleese as King Harold: Father of Fiona. He makes a very brief appearance in his frog form, where he dies and names Arthur the heir to the throne.

Other characters

See also: List of fairy tale characters in Shrek

• Conrad Vernon as Gingerbread Man, Rumpelstiltskin
• Cody Cameron as Pinocchio, the Three Little Pigs, Ogre Triplets , and Bohort
• Jonathan Ross (UK)/Larry King (US) as Doris the Ugly Stepsister
• Eric Idle as Merlin: An eccentric ex-teacher at Worcestershire Academy.
• 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
• Jim Cummings as Shrek (ADR work)
• Maurice LaMarche as Donkey (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

Reception

Critical reaction to Shrek the Third was mixed to negative. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an overall 41% rating from critics and a 47% from users. David Ansen wrote that the film's "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 held that the film "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 film in the United States in that year, behind Spider-Man 3. In addition, it was the highest-grossing animated film worldwide of 2007, and the second-highest grossing film in the 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.

The film won the 2007 People's Choice Award for "Favorite Family Film".

Soundtrack

Main articles: List of Shrek songs and Shrek the Third: Original Motion Picture Score

Home media

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. It will be re-released on Blu-ray in the third quarter of 2010, this time in 3D.

DVD sales gathered revenue of $173,467,341 from about 11,580,101 units sold.

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.

Satirical marketing effort

Adult Swim comedy team Tim and Eric, annoyed by the volume of advertisement they had witnessed in the months approaching the release of the film, 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 see the film. 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.

Sequels

The thirty-minute Christmas special, Shrek the Halls picked up from where Shrek the Third left off, just as Peter Zaslav said it would in an interview. 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: Story of an Ogre Killer (to be released in 2011), was confirmed. The spin-off will take place after the final film Shrek Forever After.

See also

• 2007 in film
• Cinema of the United States
• 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