Product Description

Dreamworks Shrek the Third - HD-DVDIt's not easy being anogre, but Shrek finds it doubly difficult for an ogre like himself to fill in for a king when his father-in-law King Harold of Far, Far Away falls ill in this third Shrek movie. Shrek's attempts to fulfill his kingly duties play like a blooper reel,with boat christenings and knighting ceremonies gone terribly wrong, and to say that Shrek (Mike Myers) is insecure about his new role is a gross understatement. When King Harold (John Cleese) passesaway, Shrek sets out with Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss-in-Boots (Antonio Banderas) to find Arthur(Justin Timberlake), the only heir in line for the throne besides himself. Just as Shrek sets sail to find Artie (as Arthur is more commonly known), Fiona (Cameron Diaz) shocks Shrek with the news that she's pregnant. Soon after, Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) sends Captain Hook (Ian McShane) in pursuit of Shrek and imprisons Fiona and her fellow Princesses as part of his plan to install himself as King of Far, Far Away. Shrek finds an awkwardArtie jousting with his high school classmate Lancelot (John Krasinski) and, while Artie is certainly no picture of kingliness, Shrek is determined to drag him back to Far, Far Away to assume the throne. Mishaps and comedy abound, including a spell gone wrong that locks Donkey and Puss-in-Boots inside one another's bodies. While Fiona and the other Princesses prove they're anything but helpless women, Artie and Shrek battle their own fears of inadequacy in a struggle to discover their own self-worth. In the end, Shrek, Artie, and Fiona each learn a lot about their individual strengths and what truly makes each of them happy. Of course, it's the pervasive humor and wit that make Shrek the Third so side-splittingly appealing. Rated PG for some crude and suggestive humor, but appropriate formost families with children ages 6 and older.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #53128 in DVD
• Brand: PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO
• Released on: 2007-11-13
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Animated, Color, Dolby, Subtitled
• Original language: English, French, Spanish
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Dubbed in: French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 93 minutes

Amazon.com
It's not easy being an ogre, but Shrek finds it doubly difficult for an ogre like himself to fill in for a king when his father-in-law King Harold of Far, Far Away falls ill in this third Shrek movie. Shrek's attempts to fulfill his kingly duties play like a blooper reel, with boat christenings and knighting ceremonies gone terribly wrong, and to say that Shrek (Mike Myers) is insecure about his new role is a gross understatement. When King Harold (John Cleese) passes away, Shrek sets out with Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss-in-Boots (Antonio Banderas) to find Arthur (Justin Timberlake), the only heir in line for the throne besides himself. Just as Shrek sets sail to find Artie (as Arthur is more commonly known), Fiona (Cameron Diaz) shocks Shrek with the news that she's pregnant. Soon after, Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) sends Captain Hook (Ian McShane) in pursuit of Shrek and imprisons Fiona and her fellow Princesses as part of his plan to install himself as King of Far, Far Away. Shrek finds an awkward Artie jousting with his high school classmate Lancelot (John Krasinski) and, while Artie is certainly no picture of kingliness, Shrek is determined to drag him back to Far, Far Away to assume the throne. Mishaps and comedy abound, including a spell gone wrong that locks Donkey and Puss-in-Boots inside one another's bodies. While Fiona and the other Princesses prove they're anything but helpless women, Artie and Shrek battle their own fears of inadequacy in a struggle to discover their own self-worth. In the end, Shrek, Artie, and Fiona each learn a lot about their individual strengths and what truly makes each of them happy. Of course, it's the pervasive humor and wit that make Shrek the Third so side-splittingly appealing. Rated PG for some crude and suggestive humor, but appropriate for most families with children ages 6 and older. --Tami Horiuchi

On the HD DVD
In addition to an amazingly clear picture, the HD DVD includes an innovative picture-in-picture storyboard option which allows simultaneous viewing of the animators' storyboards with the movie for a unique look at how an animator's vision is translated into on-screen animated action. Also just for HD DVD is a customizable character menu option in which viewers choose between the original menu graphic or menus featuring Shrek, Fiona, Donkey, Puss, or Gingy. The web-enabled feature allows viewers to download extras like Shrek trivia and character fun facts which can be displayed while watching the movie. Special features common to the HD DVD and regular DVD include the "Meet the Cast" featurette with Mike Meyers, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews, Rupert Everett, Justin Timberlake, co-producer Denise Nolan Cascino, co-director Raman Hui, and a host of others commenting on everything from their individual characters and the relationships between characters to some of the finer details of the film's production like the use of a real high school marching band to supply the audio for the animated school band, the animator's use of reference footage of high school cheerleaders as a guide for animating the cheerleaders, and the purposeful casting of strong comic personalities to voice the princesses. The "Lost Scenes" extra is a fascinating look at several animators pitching scenes with storyboards to a room full of people--not only is this a rare opportunity to sit in on the process of movie-making, it's a fun look at some very entertaining scenes that didn’t make it into the final film. The "Tech of Shrek" describes the technological advancements in animation since the original Shrek movie in 1998, detailing how new technologies by Hewlett Packard and AMD made the incredible detail in this third Shrek movie possible. Other special features include humorous parenting tips from Donkey, Puss in Boots, Gingy, and others; a "Learn the Donkey Dance" segment; bloopers; and DreamWorks Kids interactive magic crystal ball game and hints on living green. --Tami Horiuchi

Customer Reviews

Third Time's Still Pretty Charming
"Shrek The Third" might lack the originality of the original film, but it's still a very good movie. Shrek is once again put into an uncomfortable position, except this time around he isn't trying to win Fiona's heart or impress her parents. This time he's been chosen to replace his father-in-law as the king of Far Far Away. He quickly finds out that there is one other potential heir to the throne called Arthur. Once he figures out where Arthur is located, Shrek, Donkey, and Puss set out to find the boy and convince him that he should be king. Before leaving, however, Shrek is weighed down with more pressure when he finds out that he'll soon be a dad. While Shrek's away, Charming gathers up all of fairytale-dom's meanest villains (including Captain Hook and the Wicked Witch from "Snow White") and stages a successful coup to become ruler of Far Far Away. Using Fiona and her friends as bait, Charming awaits Shrek's return in order to finish him off and become the rightful king.

I think the reason that many people dislike this film so much is that the spotlight shines considerably less on Shrek, Donkey, and Puss than it did it the previous films. Fiona, Snow White, Cinderella, Beauty (of "Beauty and the Beast"), Rapunzel and Sleeping Beauty all get a decent amount of camera time. Lesser sidekicks like Pinocchio and Gingey also take the camera off of Shrek. Even Charming gets ample screentime along with his fellow villains. Does this make the film any better or worse than the others? Not in my opinion. In fact, the princesses add quite a bit of humor to the film (not to mention a sweet action sequence set to a cover of Heart's "Barracuda"). Charming and his companions also offer some fun moments. The addition of two other characters, Arthur and Merlin, also give the viewer more to laugh at.

I'll agree with others who stated that the fart jokes and other sophomoric humor can be excessive, but no more than in the other films. In fact, jokes like that got the children laughing more than in the other two films which, in my opinion, had more humor for the adults than this sequel.

All of the original voice talents make it back for the film, and a few new voices are added as well. These include Justin Timberlake, Eric Idle, and a few old SNLers. It's nice to see that SNL's castmates stick so close together.

Overall, this film is better suited for the youngsters when compared to the other films. However, that doesn't mean that the adults in the audience miss out on any of the fun. This will be a definite purchase when it rolls out on DVD. I recommend it as a buy.

a good film--but not great and not as good as the first two were (three and one half stars)
Shrek The Third is a good movie with incredible animation. I marvel at that animation! However, the plot is just average and it didn't really hold my attention the way I hoped it would. I think after this Dreamworks needs to move on to new develop new characters in new films; but only time will tell if Dreamworks wants to milk this theme yet again. The voiceovers are very well done and the DVD has a plethora of extras.

When the action begins, Shrek (Mike Myers) and his wife Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) are filling in for the ailing King Harold (John Cleese). Unfortunately, King Harold passes away and, with his dying wish, names Shrek as the rightful heir to the throne. This doesn't sit too well with Shrek who has been suffering from public relations embarrassment to public relations embarrassment as he launches ships with such strength that the ship blows a hole and sinks--and more. King Harold says, just before he dies, that the only other heir to the throne would be a young man at school named Arthur (Justin Timberlake). Immediately after the funeral for King Harold, Shrek, Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss-in-boots (Antonio Banderas) set sail to find Arthur at school. Things go downhill even more when Artie (as Arthur is called) is ambivalent at best to become a king; and it's up to Shrek and his buddies to convince Arthur to become king.

Of course, things back in Far, Far Away Land aren't much better. Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) and his cronies take over the kingdom and imprison Fiona and her friends including Fiona's mother. Things look pretty bleak.

Of course, the plot can go anywhere from here. (Yes, I know, you've read the spoilers by now but I won't give them away anyway.) Will Fiona and the other women be able to break free and fight the evil Prince Charming? How does Shrek react when he finds out he's becoming a father? What happens to Puss-in-boots and Donkey when an old wizard accidentally casts a spell on them so that they are trapped in each other's bodies? Watch the movie and find out!

The DVD extras are very extensive. The commentary is great; and I like the bonus feature that includes a man going through a storyboard of a deleted scene at the school where Arthur is standing on line to get his lunch. There are funny "suggestions" from Donkey, Shrek and other characters as to how to deal with the problems of parenthood; and there are web links as well.

Overall, this is a good effort and a movie to watch when a better one is unavailable. However, Shrek fans will love this movie. This is best suited for families with kids that are at least 8 or 9 years old because of some crude humor that you wouldn't want younger kids to experience.

It's No Longer Funny Being Green
The original "Shrek" was a postmodern deconstruction of the traditional fairy tale. Its deserved success was sure to result in a "franchise", but what do you do for a sequel? Deconstruct the deconstruction? "Shrek 2" didn't solve this problem, but dodged it through sheer, unrestrained (if also unfocused) energy, and an appealing new sidekick for Shrek (Puss in Boots). Shrek 3, a curiously low-energy effort, neither avoids nor solves the problem. The result is the typical exhausted-franchise work product: a tired, boring, surprisingly conventional movie, with none of the zing of the original. The chief villains are the writers, as the story line is flat and unoriginal, but the lack of inspiration is everywhere evident, even in the animation. As I left the theater, even the kids were complaining.