Shrek Forever After

In my opinion, Shrek revolutionized what animated films can be. The elements that children find entertaining are equaled if not surpassed by innuendo and pop culture references teens and adults would snicker at. The box office numbers the first three Shrek films put up would suggest that people do in fact enjoy them. But, in modern- Hollywood fashion Dreamworks couldn’t walk away from Shrek and Donkey after the trilogy was complete. They had to go for that one more film.

Shrek Forever After lacked the hype and taglines that drew me into the theaters. Of course I was in seventh grade when the first one came out but I don’t think age was the difference. It was an unoriginal premise… It’s a Wonderful Life with ogres. Luckily the movie was better than my initial impression from the trailers.

The film’s script bounces back and forth between clever and lazy writing. Rumplestiltskin is the villain in the film who seeks power by changing history through a secret meeting with Fiona’s parents, the king and queen of Far Far Away. Along with “Rumple” there are some new characters from classic fairytales who make appearances.

But, with the original supporting characters thrown on the back burner it forced the main players to pick up the slack, which they didn’t. Fiona, voiced by Cameron Diaz came off as pushy in all of her scenes including those in the alternate reality. Antonio Banderas’ Puss in Boots was hardly present but had some funny moments. The same goes for Eddie Murphy’s iconic character, Donkey. His parts were smart as usual and I would have preferred his screen time was doubled so we had less of the tepid Shrek who was only tolerable at the best of times. New ogre characters played by John Hamm and Craig Robinson overshadowed Shrek and Fiona with better jokes and more original parts.

It’s difficult to judge this film on its own because the other three have built such a reputation. But, even with the weaker storyline, and character development issues Shrek Forever After was successful in presenting a mood and pacing that keeps the viewer’s attention and produced laughs and excitement. I don’t think a fourth installment was necessary to finish the Shrek series, but it fits in just fine and I think it will stand up as a conclusion to a very influential portion of animation history. (7.5 out of 10)