Director: Chris Miller and Raman Hui

Writer: Jeffrey Price, Peter Seaman and Jon Zack [based on the book Shrek by William Steig]

Composer: Harry Gregson-Williams

Featuring the voices of: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Justin Timberlake, Julie Andrews, John Cleese and Rupert Everett

Old King Harold of Far, Far Away is dying, and as husband to Princess Fiona, Shrek stands to become the new king. There’s one problem: The green ogre doesn’t want the crown. The solution: Find Artie, who, as Fiona’s cousin, is the only other possible heir to the throne. As Shrek, Donkey and Puss In Boots head off on the whirlwind adventure to find Artie, all is not what it seems. Prince Charming, who is still grieving the lose of his mother, plots a bitter revenge by assaulting the city of Far, Far Away with an army of fairytale villains. In the meantime, Shrek finds the fabled Artie, but he’s anything but kingly material. Calling for desperate measures, Shrek kidnaps Artie, so he can come back to Far, Far Away and claim his namesake, but the question remains: Will there be anything left to come back to?

The original “Shrek” was very much an unusual spin on a conventional fairytale. “Shrek 2” was a vision of what happens after “Happily Ever After.” And “Shrek the Third” is . well, nothing more than another fun visit to the land of fairytales. It never becomes more than a sequel; never more than attempting to recreate the fire of the original. The comedy was good. The acting was good. The story was good. But never great.

This film lacks originality. I know, a shocker coming from a sequel, but I really do mean that. “Shrek 2” took the foundations of its predecessor and enriched the world, giving us new locations, villains and the scene-stealing Puss In Boots. We do get Artie, and a brief but pointless visit to Artie’s school. So where were “Shrek the Third’s” new ideas, cities, villains or new anything? You surely can’t run out of fairytale characters. Was there no mockery left to be had? Had the Brothers Grimm written too few stories? No. I would guess that the creators wanted to recapture the greatness of the original, and not tread on any new, and therefore dangerous, territory in the process.

The most sinful choice was having Prince Charming as the villain. As my least favorite character from “Shrek 2,” I wasn’t too glad that he received an even bigger part in “Shrek the Third.” He wasn’t funny before and he’s not funny now. This is a fairytale movie, so you’d think by the third one we might get a wicked witch as the main antagonist. Shrek movies are supposed to have magic, but there was no fairy dust in this one. One transportation spell doesn’t really excite me, and in all likelihood, won’t excite you either. Now, I’m not going to sit hear and pick apart the film since it was good and did make me laugh, but I cannot express my frustration over what could have been absolute greatness with just a little more thought.

I will say that the acting was strong. Voice work is not easy to do, and not all actors can do it, but luckily most of the actors in this one have great personality in their voice, which is crucial to making a good animated movie work. The original cast is still funny, but, alas, Puss gets less screen time, which is sad since he was one of the major highlights in “Shrek 2.” Then there is the real question: How was Justin Timberlake? He was good. Really good. Funny, personable, interesting; there was never a moment when I felt another actor’s voice might have worked better. In fact, he could have shown Rupert Everett, who voices Prince Charming, a thing or two about what it takes to be funny.

I love Harry Gregson-Williams’ music, which is why I was let down in this department. To me, music is the third most important element in films, behind acting and writing. It separates movies from books and theater. And I didn’t feel the choice of songs was very effective, especially at the end. The final song, which is a trademark of Shrek movies, lacked any energy or interest, and literally wasted the comic singing styles of Eddie Murphy and Antonio Banderas. The music did, however, work at the funeral (I won’t spoil which song is used). It treads the line between comedy and seriousness perfectly, which is what the actual death of the king lacked. Were we meant to laugh, or be sad by the king’s passing? I don’t believe the director knew, so neither do we.

Best scene: The baby shower thrown by the other fairytale princesses. Think “Desperate Housewives” meets “Weeds.” It’s fantastic! This is a hint at the greatness that this film teetered on, but never fell into.

Favorite Performance: Amy Sedaris as Cinderella is scene-stealing in her small role. Each line was delivered with perfect comic timing – a wonderful, mature take on a dizzy princess.

Overall: With too many “morals” and not enough substance, sadly the film, while very entertaining, is nothing more than a money-making sequel. Even the jokes lack originality, which is a shame coming from a franchise famous for original takes on well-used themes.

Three stars (out of four)

Oscar Nomination Chances: 80 percent

See it: At the dollar theater

Rated PG: for some crude humor, suggestive content and swashbuckling action

Running time: 92 min.

Tag line: “Who’s Ready For Thirds?”

Posted 5/20/07 @ 9:35 PM CST