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Title: Shrek Forever After
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| CONSUMER ADVICE |
Parents, this is easily the tamest Shrek movie yet. Recommended for ages 7 and up. |
When I saw the original “Shrek” movie I felt like I had seen something special. Shrek was a wholly original character who was likable despite having many unlikable traits, the movie had a sharp script with wit and smarts that appealed to both kids and adults, and there was something about the beautiful princess passing up the prince to be with the ugly (but nice) ogre that screamed “progress” to me. The second movie came around and was much better then the first, expanding the cast and showing the other animation companies how to do satire right.
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When the third film came along though I was pretty much done with the green guy. I wasn’t sure if it was because the originality of the character was gone or if “Shrek The Third” really was just a bad movie. Yeah I gave it 3 and a half stars when I reviewed it, but deep down I’ve regretted that review since it came from something other then my inner feelings. So I approached “Shrek Forever After” with a little bit of caution. Somehow I felt if this movie was also bad then my displeasure with it would start to rub off on the films I did like. Thankfully I didn’t need to worry, as “Shrek Forever After” is the best Shrek movie since the first two came out.
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Is it very surprising? Not particularly. That is, the movie is still predictable and the ending you will see a mile away. But then I’m not sure the story structure of the first two films was as original as the dialogs and characterizations, so this likely isn’t a strike against the film. By doing an “It’s A Wonderful Life” storyline Dreamworks has in a sense rebooted the series while keeping it connected to the first three films. This works for a couple of reasons. First of all it gives new twists on old characters in a way that is easy to accept, and therefor there is a sense of surprise again that has been missing for awhile.
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Second is that if the characters were all that memorable to begin with, the George Bailey effect works because we feel bad that the characters wound up in unfavorable situations and we want to see them make it back to the way things were. A common complaint against the last film was that Shrek acted less like an ogre and more like a disgruntled husband. In this movie Shrek is still pretty domesticated, but he does yearn for the old swamp days when he was feared rather then worshiped. This is where con man Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dorhn) comes in and gives Shrek the deal of a lifetime: Give me one of your days and I’ll give you a day.
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Obviously the day Rumpelstiltskin chooses to take is the day Shrek was born, and therefor didn’t save Fiona. This means Donkey is a slave driver, Fiona is a warrior girl, and Puss In Boots has shed off his boots and gained so much weight he resembles a Spanish version of Garfield. The new storyline and twists on old favorites makes “Shrek Forever After” a whole lot of fun. Yeah, Shrek himself doesn’t surprise much anymore. How can he? It’s been nine years since he’s been introduced to the green guy, and very few things stay fresh that long.
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Thankfully Dreamworks realized after the third film that Shrek was in danger of overstaying his welcome. They have since scrapped plans for the fifth movie and this will be the final film. If this is the end I couldn’t be more happy. It’s true that after this was over I felt a little sad that we wouldn’t be getting the fifth film, but I also recognize that I good movie leaves you wanting more when all is said and done. There is a moment when Shrek tells Fiona that he had the best day in his life because he got "to fall in love with [her] all over again." I feel the same way in the sense I got to fall in love with these characters one more time before they went away.
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