Movie Review for Shrek the Third

Summary: Being king isn't for everyone--especially if you're a prickly ogre who smells like the shallow end of a swamp. When Shrek married Fiona, the last thing he wanted was to rule Far Far Away, but when his frogger-in-law, King Harold, suddenly croaks, Shrek is quickly fitted for the crown. Now, unless the reluctant would-be king can find a suitable replacement, he'll be royally screwed for the rest of his days. As if Shrek didn't have enough on his plate, Princess Fiona has another little surprise on the way. With his head spinning and his belly in knots, Shrek sets off on a quest to find the only other possible heir to the throne, Fiona's long-lost cousin Artie, an underachieving medieval high schooler. While the ogre is away, his old nemesis Prince Charming rears his handsome head and returns to the kingdom of Far Far Away with redemption on his shallow little mind. Even with Donkey and the ever-so-suave Puss in Boots by their side, it's going to take an ogre-sized effort--and a whole lot of help from Fiona and her band of princesses--for Shrek and Artie to save the day and find their own "Happily Ever After."

                         Reviews of Shrek the Third
By Kevin Carr of 7M Pictures (8/0)
            This new Shrek film is overburdened with a "been there, done that" feeling.

By Rebecca Murray of About.com (8/0)
            Just because you can make a third film doesn't mean you should.

By Mike McGranaghan of Aisle Seat (8/0)
            There is good news and bad news about Shrek the Third. The bad news is that it isn't on ...

By Tim Brayton of Antagony & Ecstasy (7/0)
            It's far too open in its desires (MAKING MONEY) to be hate-worthy.

By Brian Webster of Apollo Guide (8/0)
            Shrek has been great fun. Now let's say goodbye and move on to some fresher ideas.

By Phil Villarreal of Arizona Daily Star (8/0)
            "Shrek the Tired" shows the series' age; writers seem to be running out of classic stories to ske...

                         Reviews of Shrek the Third
By Eleanor Ringel Gillespie of Atlanta Journal-Constitution (8/0)
            Geez, it's not very good. Talky, overpopulated, even the ha-ha so-called adult jokes have grown s...

By Lori Hoffman of Atlantic City Weekly (8/0)
            ... Shrek the Third is an example of take-the-money-and-run blandness.

By Marc Savlov of Austin Chronicle (8/0)
            Parents will be better off firing up the DVD player and steering well clear of this plodding, unf...

By Wesley Morris of Boston Globe (8/0)
            ...the series still favors the jokes...

By Richard Luck of Channel 4 Film (7/0)
            "Ogre and out" say the critics, but the Shrek series still has laughs and legs.

By Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times (8/0)
            It makes the mistake of thinking slapstick action is funny for its own sake. True, characters zoo...

                         Reviews of Shrek the Third
By Michael Phillips of Chicago Tribune (8/0)
            I doubt even rabid fans of the first two will consider Shrek the Third a worthy addition to t...

By Peter Rainer of Christian Science Monitor (8/0)
            The imaginative leaps in the animation are dragged down by the deadweight storytelling.

By Russ Breimeier of Christianity Today (8/0)
            Time to put this fairy tale to bed while it's still good and let Shrek save some face.

By Jules Brenner of Cinema Signals (8/0)
            Fiona's reactive complexity gives her a personality that makes you want to put your arms around h...

By Joshua Tyler of CinemaBlend.com (8/0)
            Shrek has become a part of the homogenized mediocrity it was railing against in the first place.

By Erik Davis of Cinematical (7/0)
            Vibrant colors and finely-crafted backdrops pave the way for characters who, believe it or not, f...

                         Reviews of Shrek the Third
By Scott Weinberg of Cinematical (8/0)
            It's just that when you're offered two delicious treats in a row, and then the third one feels ru...

By Mark Palermo of Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia) (8/0)
            The sequel hasn't been imagined as the next level with which to bring Shrek. It's just more of th...

By Cole Smithey of ColeSmithey.com (8/0)
            This out-of-tune, off-kilter, lame-o finale (oh how I hope it's the last one) to the Mike Meyers-...

By Jeffrey M. Anderson of Combustible Celluloid (8/0)
            I've never been a fan of the Shrek movies, and the third entry in the series dutifully continues ...

By Matt Brunson of Creative Loafing (8/0)
            Both the donkey and the kitty have largely been neutered, and the film's makers didn't bother to ...

By Garth Franklin of Dark Horizons (8/0)
            The third outing remains amusing, but lacks the genuine thrills and few belly laughs that made th...

                         Reviews of Shrek the Third
By Steven D. Greydanus of Decent Films Guide (8/0)
            Continues the deliberate bad taste that is the franchise’s hallmark, with the usual hit-and...

By Robert Denerstein of Denver Rocky Mountain News (8/0)
            An amusing -- if not consistently brilliant -- edition of a series that has yet to show signs tha...

By Matt Stevens of E! Online (8/0)
            The visuals are superb, the voice cast is top-notch, and it’s fun to revisit old friends, even if...

By Michelle Alexandria of Eclipse Magazine (4/4)
            This has clearly become a paycheck film for all those involved. There's no energy in any of the v...

By David Foucher of EDGE Boston (8/0)
            Shrek returns in a warm-hearted film that takes the next step in his character evolution - and ke...

By Brian Orndorf of eFilmCritic.com (7/1)
            Third still clowns around big time, now using the horde of personalities for jokes instead of str...

                         Reviews of Shrek the Third
By David Cornelius of eFilmCritic.com (8/0)
            Parents will be left wondering why all the laughs, the snarky wit, and the gentle joys of the ser...

By Erik Childress of eFilmCritic.com (8/0)
            Another great lesson for the children. When the green is guaranteed, you can put as little effort...

By Emanuel Levy of EmanuelLevy.Com (8/0)
            This witty, playful, self-reflexive fable with many vivid characters and up-to-the-moment referen...

By Janos Gereben of Entertainment Insiders (7/0)
            The bad news: this year's Shrek the Third is not more fun, cute, entertaining, and clever than th...

By Vince Koehler of Entertainment Spectrum (8/0)
            Shrek is back for thirds and just as appetizing as the first two servings.

By Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly (8/0)
            ...moves smoothly from act to act.

                         Reviews of Shrek the Third
By Eric D. Snider of EricDSnider.com (8/0)
            One of the few film franchises to retain a high level of quality even on the third outing.

By Kam Williams of EURWeb (8/0)
            Enough projectile vomit, fart and poop jokes to keep kids of any age enthralled for ninety-minute...

By Walter Chaw of Film Freak Central (8/0)
            The prime example of what happens when you craft something for the express purpose of entertainin...

By Kevin Lally of Film Journal International (7/1)
            The energy level flags a bit as the green swamp creature copes with greater responsibilities and ...

By Michael Ferraro of Film Threat (8/0)
            ...if you've only seen one Shrek film, you've seen them all.

By Sean O'Connell of filmcritic.com (8/0)
            Subversive humor, long the calling card of the Shrek films, is present here but in shorter supply

                         Reviews of Shrek the Third
By Victoria Alexander of FilmsInReview.com (8/0)
            Boring and sluggish even with Shrek often naked.

By MaryAnn Johanson of Flick Filosopher (8/0)
            It's... fine. It's fine. But I wanted a lot more than 'fine.' I expected much, much more than 'fi...

By Rob Vaux of Flipside Movie Emporium (8/0)
            What does it profit an ogre if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?

By Jeffrey Lyles of Gazette (MD) (8/0)
            the Shrek team has a winning formula that continues to entertain and delight audiences and the th...

By Rick Groen of Globe and Mail (8/0)
            Don't arrive late, children, because what little energy exists gets expended early on.

By Peter Canavese of Groucho Reviews (8/0)
            No one but patrons with fistfuls of dollars can save this cash grab from itself.

                         Reviews of Shrek the Third
By Ross Anthony of Hollywood Report Card (8/0)
            The first 15 minutes of this picture had me rolling in the aisles. The careful animation of the f...

By Kirk Honeycutt of Hollywood Reporter (8/0)
            Much of the bite and a good deal of the wit of the first two films are missing here.

By Kit Bowen of Hollywood.com (8/0)
            Shrek the Third pretty much serves up the same tired fairytale shenanigans with little of the ori...

By Amy Biancolli of Houston Chronicle (8/0)
            The movie's tidy running time is crammed with so many yuks that I'd have to watch two or three ti...

By Gary Brown of Houston Community Newspapers (8/0)
            While there are lots of funny moments, the smartness and wit of Shrek the Third seems to be missi...

By Steve Rhodes of Internet Reviews (8/0)
            A direct-to-video quality production being sent to the theaters instead in the hope of getting fa...

                         Reviews of Shrek the Third
By Forrest Hartman of Journal News (Westchester, NY) (8/0)
            Shrek the Third hath succumbed to the rigors of the Hollywood franchise and, while hardly a disas...

By Andrea Chase of Killer Movie Reviews (8/0)
            What began two films ago as a deliciously snarky reinventing of fairy tales, done with appropriat...

By Robert Roten of Laramie Movie Scope (8/0)
            The writing is weak, and it's no wonder. Most of the writers have written stinking screenplays be...

By Prairie Miller of Long Island Press (8/0)
            Equal parts bells and whistles short attention span three ring circus, and a pizza with the works...

By Andy Klein of Los Angeles CityBeat (8/0)
            Shrek the Third brings nothing new and fewer laughs.

By Carina Chocano of Los Angeles Times (8/0)
            Shrek the Third has its moments. But does a kids' movie really need, among other similar touches...

                         Reviews of Shrek the Third
By Mark Dujsik of Mark Reviews Movies (7/1)
            Marks a decided drop in the series.

By Pete Hammond of Maxim (8/0)
            Green isn't just the color of ogres. It also represents the cold hard cash studio execs can again...

By Matt Pais of Metromix.com (8/0)
            You're not an ogre for thinking that Shrek the Third feels tired, like the big green guy after a ...

By Duane Dudek of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (8/0)
            Audiences who flocked to the first film because it was distinctive are being sold the same thing ...

By Ken Hanke of Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) (8/0)
            It's hard to escape the feeling that the performers have reluctantly dressed up one more time jus...

By David Poland of Movie City News (8/0)
            I can't say that it hurt to watch. Truth is, it was so nothing that it inspired no feelings at al...

                         Reviews of Shrek the Third
By Kevin A. Ranson of MovieCrypt.com (8/0)
            By the time the film ends... we see our heroes Shrek and Fiona exhausted and asleep, the perfect ...

By Mark Ramsey of MovieJuice! (8/0)
            Predictably, 'Shrek: The Musical' will be Broadway-bound next year. And just as predictably, 'Gri...

By Kyle Smith of New York Post (8/0)
            ...the torrential downpour of jokes in Shrek and Shrek 2 has dried up to an intermittent ...

By A. O. Scott of New York Times (8/0)
            ...more energetic and more relaxed (than Shrek 2)...

By David Denby of New Yorker (8/0)
            The plot material isn’t as strong as in the first two movies -- if anything, it feels a bit despe...

By Michael A. Smith of Nolan's Pop Culture Review (8/0)
            The best "Shrek" of them all!

                         Reviews of Shrek the Third
By Jeffrey Westhoff of Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL) (8/0)
            Flat and pointless, Shrek the Third is a sequel made for the worst reason, merely to keep a mega ...

By Frank Swietek of One Guy's Opinion (8/0)
            Shrek has always been a lumbering, heavy-footed fellow, but his first two movies were a lot more ...

By Tasha Robinson of Onion AV Club (8/0)
            Sequels usually follow the rubric 'same thing as last time, but more.' Shrek The Third instead go...

By Mark Sells of Oregon Herald (8/0)
            Maturing all too quickly into adulthood, Shrek the Third, is over burdened with responsibility an...

By Roger Moore of Orlando Sentinel (8/0)
            It's fitfully amusing, and only 80 minutes long.

By Cole Haddon of Orlando Weekly (8/0)
            The most boring Shrek yet. That doesn’t mean it’s not entertaining; it’s just disappointing when ...

                         Reviews of Shrek the Third
By Tyler Hanley of Palo Alto Weekly (8/0)
            The ornery ogre brought to life by Mike Myers and DreamWorks in 2001 returns to the screen for hi...

By Bill Gibron of PopMatters (8/0)
            Shrek the Third plays like missed opportunities purposefully planned out that way. It's a film so...

By Cynthia Fuchs of PopMatters (8/0)
            The very Shrekness of Shrek (Mike Meyers) is the loser (the monster, the outcast, the grump) rede...

By Ethan Alter of Premiere Magazine (8/0)
            Whatever wit and charm were present in the original Shrek has long since vanished, replaced by si...

By James Kendrick of Q Network Film Desk (8/0)
            plays like warmed-up leftovers

By Linda Cook of Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) (8/0)
            The third time's not the charm."Shrek the Third" isn't a bad movie. It's just not as funny or as ...

                         Reviews of Shrek the Third
By Karina Montgomery of rec.arts.movies.reviews (8/0)
            If you actually are a fan of Shrek, nothing I say will convince you to skip it (Captain Obvious s...

By Timothy Knight of Reel.com (8/0)
            The narrative momentum and comic energy begin to flag right about the point Shrek and his sidekic...

By Laura Clifford of Reeling Reviews (8/0)
            ...we're treated to Pinocchio treading the minefield of interrogation...and the Gingerbread Man s...

By John P. McCarthy of ReelTalk Movie Reviews (8/0)
            Compared to the relentless cheek (remember Pinocchio's red thong?) of 'Shrek 2,' this entertainin...

By James Berardinelli of ReelViews (8/0)
            Four words say all that needs to be said about Shrek the Third: more of the same. The problem is,...

By Diana Saenger of ReviewExpress.com (8/0)
            Shrek the Third, lacks everything that made the first two Shreks so entertaining.

                         Reviews of Shrek the Third
By Jack Garner of Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (8/0)
            If you've enjoyed the clever and very funny Shrek adventures so far, Shrek the Third will not dis...

By Peter Travers of Rolling Stone (8/0)
            Who wrote this thing, Dr. Phil?

By James O'Ehley of SA Movie & DVD Magazine (8/0)
            In less than three weeks on the American cinema circuit Shrek the Third has grossed a whopping $2...

By Jim Lane of Sacramento News & Review (8/0)
            ...odd that the animation should grow ever more textured and subtle while the humor grows ever le...

By Sean Means of Salt Lake Tribune (8/0)
            Amid the swamp of crude humor and self-conscious parody, the biggest problem ... is that it has m...

By Jean Lowerison of San Diego Metropolitan (8/0)
            The characters are still appealing, most of the jokes funny and the usual heavy-handed message co...

                         Reviews of Shrek the Third
By David Elliott of San Diego Union-Tribune (8/0)
            Essentially the movie is saying to its loyal crowd: You bought this stuff before, now take it re-...

By Mick LaSalle of San Francisco Chronicle (8/0)
            It's irreverent and fast paced and is designed to please impatient parents just as much as childr...

By Eric Melin of Scene-Stealers.com (8/0)
            Shrek standing up for himself means insisting that he is not King material, despite the fact that...

By Jim Judy of Screen It! (7/0)
            Decent, but not as good as the first two films.

By Sean McBride of Sean the Movie Guy (8/0)
            should be a huge hit, even if it’s a bit of a letdown from the silly fun of the first two films.

By William Arnold of Seattle Post-Intelligencer (8/0)
            A fairly underwhelming experience for man or child -- not so much bad as just more of the same, w...

                         Reviews of Shrek the Third
By Moira MacDonald of Seattle Times (8/0)
            Those of us charmed by the original Shrek and its ability to mix fairy-tale sweetness with some h...

By Rich Cline of Shadows on the Wall (8/0)
            The filmmakers abandon the inventive, freewheeling humour of the first two episodes for a more ta...

By Ed Gonzalez of Slant Magazine (8/0)
            Like Spider-Man 3, Shrek the Third is an experiment in excess.

By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat of Spirituality and Practice (8/0)
            Three cheers for Shrek who may have bad b.o. but whose heart is in the right place!

By Nick Rogers of State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL) (8/0)
            It jumps the Shrek. No wonder Donkey and Puss in Boots get pushed aside. They have to make way fo...

By Rob Humanick of Stranger Song (7/0)
            Like an overstuffed Happy Meal with a deliberately deceiving nutritional guide.

                         Reviews of Shrek the Third
By John Venable of Supercala.com (8/0)
            The bar had been raised so high by the first 2 films that reaching it again proves difficult...an...

By Angela Baldassarre of Sympatico.ca (8/0)
            In "Shrek the Third," our green ogre is not only full of aches and pains, but is insufferable and...

By Andrew Wright of The Stranger (Seattle, WA) (8/0)
            A blockbuster phenomenon that wouldn't exist without the efforts of other films, and somehow smug...

By Stuart McGurk of thelondonpaper (7/0)
            From beginning to end, it’s very, very funny. Watch it. It’s great.

By Dustin Putman of TheMovieBoy.com (8/0)
            The big, green ogre and his ragtag pals are still an amiable lot to spend ninety minutes with, bu...

By David Fear of Time Out New York (8/0)
            Kids craving a safe summer-film sugar rush won’t care much, though adult fans are bound to wish u...

                         Reviews of Shrek the Third
By James Christopher of Times [UK] (7/0)
            Children may devour the slapstick, but the once-mighty Shrek has somehow lost all his charm and s...

By Maitland McDonagh of TV Guide's Movie Guide (8/0)
            The real trouble is that the filmmakers consistently choose gags over character. Playing King Har...

By Brian Tallerico of UnderGround Online (8/0)
            If you enjoyed the first two Shreks and don't mind paying again for something you've kind of seen...

By Urban Cinefile Critics of Urban Cinefile (8/0)
            It's brilliantly funny but makes sure none of the laughs come at the expense of the integrity of ...

By Enrique Buchichio of Uruguay Total (7/0)
            Yo no sé si habrá una Shrek 4, pero si el ingenio y el sentido de la diversión se mantienen no me...

By Claudia Puig of USA Today (8/0)
            Shrek remains a savvy showman.

                         Reviews of Shrek the Third
By Willie Waffle of WaffleMovies.com (8/0)
            Shrek The Third is a funny visit with familiar characters that will make you laugh, but you don't...

By Jeffrey Chen of Window to the Movies (8/0)
            Without a desire to gleefully offend, and its comedy of expectation reversals now predictable, it...

By Daniel M. Kimmel of Worcester Telegram & Gazette (8/0)
            Shrek the Third" is like a comfortable old bathrobe or pair of slippers. It's not a fashion state...

By Susan Granger of www.susangranger.com (8/0)
            Ornery and more ordinary, lacking some of the clever originality of its predecessors, the lovable...

By Steven Snyder of Zertinet Movies (8/0)
            What’s lacking is that intangible sense of fun, of inventiveness, of ingenuity, that made the fir...

By John Beifuss of Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) (3/6) Login Required (Login Required)
            Tackiest movie moment of the year: The dead serious use of Paul McCartney's 'Live and Let Die' du...

                         Reviews of Shrek the Third
By Wesley Lovell of Apollo Guide (7/1) No reference
            Turning to Arthurian legend to fill the gaps of the fairy tale parodies you've run short of makes...

By Chad Greene of Boxoffice Magazine (7/1) No reference
            It’s the croaking Frog King Harold who unwittingly provides the metaphor for the state of this fa...

By Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times (3/6) No reference
            ...lacking the comic energy of the first brilliant film and not measuring up to the second.

By Pablo Villaca of Cinema em Cena (6/1) No reference
            [Seus] valores de produção jamais deixam de impressionar o espectador. Infelizmente, o mesmo não ...

By Jeff Vice of Deseret News, Salt Lake City (7/1) No reference
            This somewhat lowbrow fantasy spoof simply repeats the same jokes -- once, twice, three times ......

By Bill Clark of FromTheBalcony (7/1) No reference
            DreamWorks, I beg of you, quit while you're ahead.

                         Reviews of Shrek the Third
By James Sanford of Kalamazoo Gazette (7/1) No reference
            sometimes slightly heavy-handed messages... are balanced out by stunningly beautiful, meticulousl...

By Robert W. Butler of Kansas City Star (3/5) No reference
            You don’t go to a Shrek movie for the plot. You go to have your funny bone stroked by the patente...

By Josh Bell of Las Vegas Weekly (7/1) No reference
            It's hard to buy into the movie making fun of anything when it's become such an easy target for m...

By Glenn Whipp of Los Angeles Daily News (7/1) No reference
            Invention has given way to formula -- and babies. Shrek has jumped the shark.

By Colin Covert of Minneapolis Star Tribune (4/4) No reference
            A deflated, weakly plotted effort that only intermittently recaptures the jubilant humor of the e...

By Nell Minow of Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies (7/1) No reference
            By the time Shrek and Arthur are learning that it is okay for them to be themselves, it is starti...

                         Reviews of Shrek the Third
By Mike Russell of Oregonian (7/1) No reference
            What a pleasant surprise that Shrek the Third mostly connects with a fairly tight story -- even i...

By Mike Sage of Peterborough This Week (7/1) No reference
            Justin Timberlake as the voice of the wiumpy Artie is certainly the best new addition to the Far ...

By Gary Thompson of Philadelphia Daily News (7/1) No reference
            Many of the jokes are stale and calculated, as though dictated by corporate committees mindful of...

By Mike Ward of Richmond.com (7/1) No reference
            Shrek does what he does best: pop culture shout-outs, irreverent humor that's too high-brow to in...

By Carla Meyer of Sacramento Bee (7/1) No reference
            Shrek the Third offers few surprises but packages its predictable elements quite delightfully. Th...

By Phoebe Flowers of South Florida Sun-Sentinel (7/1) No reference
            Shrek the Third has a maddeningly plodding pace. It's less a movie than a shiny magnet installed ...

                         Reviews of Shrek the Third
By Neil Smith of Total Film (3/4) No reference
            There’s no doubt Shrek The Third will make potloads of money. Pity it shortchanges the audience w...

By Lawrence Toppman of Charlotte Observer (7/1) Not Reachable
            Reasons not to make Shrek the Third: Played-out characters. Bland villain. Novice directors. Slip...

By Mary F. Pols of Contra Costa Times (7/1) Not Reachable
            Lacks freshness and has the air of contrivance. It's gone too far into its own self-referential h...

By Peter Debruge of Miami Herald (7/1) Not Reachable
            Shrek may have been first, but revisionist fairy tales have become more common than the real thin...

By Chris Hewitt (St. Paul) of St. Paul Pioneer Press (5/2) Not Reachable
            Eddie Murphy, Mike Myers, and Antonio Banderas are three of the all-time best matches of actors t...

By Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone of TheMovieChicks.com (7/1) Not Reachable
            He's Big, He's Green, He's Back, He's Not That Entertaining.

Movie Distributors
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures International

Production Companies
PDI/DreamWorks

Movie Studios
DreamWorks SKG
Dreamworks Animation