| Shrek the Third | |
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Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Chris Miller Raman Hui (co-director) |
| Produced by | Aron Warner Andrew Adamson Denise Nolan Cascino |
| Screenplay by | Jeffrey Price Peter S. Seaman Chris Miller Aron Warner |
| Story by | Andrew Adamson |
| Based on | Shrek! by William Steig |
| Starring | Mike Myers Cameron Diaz Eddie Murphy Antonio Banderas Julie Andrews John Cleese Rupert Everett Eric Idle Justin Timberlake |
| Music by | Harry Gregson-Williams |
| Editing by | Joyce Arrastia Michael Andrews |
| Studio | DreamWorks Animation Pacific Data Images |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | May 18, 2007 |
| Running time | 93 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $160 million[1] |
| Box office | $798,998,162[1] |
Shrek the Third (also known as Shrek 3) is a 2007 American animated film, and the third film in the Shrek series. 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). Although the film received mixed reviews from critics, it grossed $798,958,162, making it a commercial success.
It was produced with the working title of Shrek 3, the name being changed to avoid potential confusion with Shrek 4-D. Like the first two Shrek films, the film is based on fairy tale themes. It was nominated for Best Animated Movie at the 2008 Kids' Choice Awards and was also nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film at the 61st British Academy Film Awards. This film also pairs former Monty Python members Eric Idle & John Cleese for the first time since 1993's Splitting Heirs (Idle plays Merlin, Cleese plays King Harold).
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The film starts with a vengeful Prince Charming (Rupert Everett), who now performs inside a stage in a bar, vowing that he'll become King of Far, Far Away.
Meanwhile, 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, who is having considerable difficulty serving as Regent during the King's medical leave, 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 says that he is going to like it until he begins thinking of what being a father would bring to him.
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, Prince Charming has gone to the Poison Apple tavern where he encounters a variety of fairy tale villains consisting of Captain Hook (Ian McShane), the Evil Queen (Susan Blakeslee), Mabel the Ugly Stepsister (Regis Philbin), Rumpelstiltskin (Conrad Vernon), a Cyclops (Mark Valley), the Headless Horseman (Conrad Vernon), the Puppet Master (Chris Miller), assorted outlaws, black knights, pirates, malevolent trees, evil Dwarves, and wicked witches. Although they initially despise Prince Charming, he persuades them to fight for their "happily ever after" after reviewing how they were robbed of theirs like he was robbed of his.
Charming and the other villains invade the kingdom and attack the castle, but Wolfie, Pinocchio, Gingie, the Three Little Pigs, and the Blind Mice stall them enough long enough for Fiona and Lilian (Julie Andrews) to try escaping along with Snow White (Amy Poehler), Rapunzel (Maya Rudolph), Cinderella (Amy Sedaris), Sleeping Beauty (Cheri Oteri) and Doris the Ugly Stepsister (Larry King). However 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 princesses, 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 princesses launch a rescue mission for Shrek, Donkey and Puss free Gingy, Pinocchio, the wolf and pigs, the 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 in which he rescues Rapunzel. The chained Shrek wins the audience by ridiculing Charming. Just as Charming is about to kill Shrek, Princess Fiona along with Puss, Donkey, the princesses and the fairy tale characters confront the villains. However, the villains regain control. Artie eventually arrives and convinces the villains to give up their evil ways.
Charming, furious at being thwarted, lunges for Artie with his sword. Shrek blocks the blow and Charming lunges at him. Shrek, who at first seems fatally injured, informs Charming that he missed and that the Prince needs to keep looking for his own happily ever after. As Shrek pushes Charming aside, Dragon knocks over Rapunzel's tower, resulting in the death of Charming. Shrek tells Artie 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 (however, their tails are later corrected). Shrek retires with Fiona to their swamp, becoming the parents of ogre triplets.
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Shrek film series chronology |
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Shrek |
Critical reaction to Shrek the Third was generally mixed, in contrast to the critical acclaim achieved by the previous films. On Rotten Tomatoes, it states that 41% of critics gave a positive review, with an average score of 5.8 out of 10, based on 201 reviews.[2] The film also has an average score of 58 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 35 reviews. 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."[3] 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."[4] The Times newspaper also rated it 2 out of 5.[5]
Despite these criticisms, Shrek the Third, which opened in 4,122 North American cinemas on May 18, 2007, grossed $38 million on its first day, the biggest opening day for animated film of all-time (that record was however later broken in 2010 by Toy Story 3 with $41 million), for a total of $121,629,270 in its first weekend, the best opening weekend ever for an animated film, and the second-highest opening for a 2007 film in the United States and Canada. At the time its opening weekend was the third-highest of all-time in these regions, behind Spider-Man 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.[6] Shrek the Third grossed $322.7 million in the United States and $476.2 million overseas, bringing its cumulative total to $798.9 million.[1] Shrek The Third was the fourth highest grossing film worldwide in 2007, only behind Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and Spider-Man 3. It was also the second-highest grossing film in the United States and Canada 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.[7] Shrek the Third is also the 32nd highest-grossing film of all time. Compared to its predecessors and successor, the film also had an unusually short box office lifespan; Shrek the Third spent only 12 weeks in theaters, while Shrek, Shrek 2, and Shrek Forever After were in release for 29, 21, and 16 weeks, respectively.[8]
| Awards | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annie Awards [9] | Directing in an Animated Feature Production | Chris Miller, Raman Hui | Nominated |
| BAFTA Awards [10] | Best Animated Film | Nominated | |
| Golden Reel Award [11] | Best Sound Editing in Feature Film: Animated | Nominated | |
| Kids Choice Awards [12][13] | Favorite Animated Movie | Nominated | |
| Favorite Voice From an Animated Movie | Cameron Diaz | Nominated | |
| Eddie Murphy | Won | ||
| Mike Myers | Nominated | ||
| People's Choice Awards [14] | Favourite Family Movie | Won | |
| VES Awards [15] | Outstanding Effects In An Animated Motion Picture | Matt Baer, Greg Hart, Krzysztof Rost, Anthony Field | Nominated |
| Outstanding Performance by an Animated Character in an Animated Motion Picture | John Cleese, Guillaume Aretos, Tim Cheung, Sean Mahoney | Nominated |
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).[16] The HD DVD and DVD special features[17] 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 film guide, and an interactive coloring book which can be downloaded as of street date.[18][19]
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.[20] 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.[21]
DVD sales gathered revenue of $173,467,341 from about 11,580,101 units sold.[22]
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.[23]
A pinball machine based on the film has also been produced by Stern Pinball.[24]
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.[25]
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"[26] Shrek 3 in a series of internet videos[27] as well as appearances on television and radio[28] in order to encourage people to see the film.
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.[29] The film was followed by another sequel, Shrek Forever After which was released in theatres on May 21, 2010.[30] In an interview with Antonio Banderas, a spin-off film entitled Puss in Boots was confirmed. The spin-off took place before the Shrek films.
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