Fradam

A shopping trip with Kellie and Woody the other day netted another eagerly anticipated cinematic experience: the third installment in the Shrek franchise. Perhaps I should elaborate a little.

I still remember not being able to stop laughing through the first Shrek. Its rewatchability was amazing; and it was not long before the entire film could be recited .. in fact, I did actually once do a Shrek performance for a family that had not seen it before

The second movie to me was a little bit of a letdown. The classic tale of moviemakers wanting to squeeze every extra dollar out of what was already a crowd winner seemed to strike a resonant chord within me, as every scene seemed like it was choreographed to a superfluous nature. Having said that, the new characters were both interesting and adorable — Prince Charming’s appearance and general demeanour was a nice counterpoint to the way he would normally have been expected. Of course Puss in Boots was a great hit too. But it could never compare to the first (as sequels never can).

It was against this backdrop that Shrek the Third entered… and I believe it performed quite well too! Overall, better than the second one, but still not quite at the level of the first. In terms of overall story, I found this much more enjoyable than the second movie — the concept of a journey that Shrek and Donkey (well, and Puss in Boots) have to take, searching for someone… it was a bit reminiscent of the first one actually.

The ever-expanding vocal cast gained a few more notables — there was a mini-Python reunion with Eric Idle joining as Merlin (the dying King Harold was voiced by John Cleese) and one of the opening scenes showing a coconut-shell-driven-horse — Justin Timberlake servicing as the youthful ever-dramatic soon-to-be-King Artie. I’ve always been impressed with Charming’s casting — to me, Rupert Everett has an excellent voice for a villain (first noticed this in Inspector Gadget, and he did not disappoint, even when lamenting over a stage-wide humiliation.

Getting back to where it really excelled, there were a few poignant issues to tackle about identity, and who you really were. As always, highly applicable to anyone’s life.. except maybe the bits about becoming a Dad :p Baby ogre was cute though! With a scene set in a high school, a few issues that affect teenagers were for a change directly addressed by playing them out, rather than in the usual Shrek fashion (acting out a broader analogy).

My favourite quote:

Prince Charming: You! You can’t lie! Where is Shrek?
Pinocchio: Well, uh, I don’t know where he’s not.
Prince Charming: You’re telling me you don’t know where Shrek is?
Pinocchio: Well, it wouldn’t be inaccurate to assume that I couldn’t exactly not say that there he’s is almost partially incorrect.
Prince Charming: So you do know where he is!
Pinocchio: Oh, on the contrary. I’m possibly more or less not definitely rejecting the idea that I undeniably…
Prince Charming: Stop it!
Pinocchio: …do or do not know where he shouldn’t probably be. If that indeed wasn’t where he isn’t!

… for reasons that should be obvious! Love the wordplay

With Shrek 4 slated for 2010, once again the question of “what will they think of next?” rises. Once again, the challenge of being labelled as just another movie cashcow will be taken up. Once again, people will find their memories of fairytales brought to the forefront. Personally, this most recent one has given me potentially a new ambition in life — apparently, Eddie Murphy was reportedly paid $10 million for a few days work. Hmmm… not bad