Shrek Roars Into The Sunset by: Ben Hayle, NMTV Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, and Antonio Banderas are all back together for one final trip to the land of Far Far Away in Shrek Forever After. The film, which is also known as Shrek: The Final Chapter, will in fact be the last film to carry the Shrek name. Although possible Donkey and Puss in Boots spinoffs may hit theatres in coming years, this is the last time kids and adults will get to see the giant green ogre “do the roar.”
In this installment Shrek (Myers) and Fiona (Diaz) are parents to three baby ogres and have settled into a suburban family lifestyle. While Fiona seems at peace Shrek is having trouble adjusting to his new life. He longs for the days when he was a “real ogre”, the days of scaring villagers and frightening children. Enter into the picture Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn), a mysterious magic man who offers Shrek the chance to be an ogre for a day. Shrek takes him up on his offer; little does he know that Rumpelstiltskin has a dastardly plan that includes taking over Far Far Away and getting rid of Shrek once and for all. Much of the film takes place in an alternate reality showing what would have happened if Shrek and Fiona had never met. In this alternate reality Shrek must once again convince Fiona that he is her true love, regain the trust of his friends Donkey (Murphy) and Puss (Banderas), defeat Rumpelstiltskin, and save the Kingdom of Far Far Away. The plot of Shrek Forever After keeps you interested and is fast paced. While not all the jokes work you will find your self chuckling quite a bit as you sit in the theatre and your kids will be loving every minute of it. Rumpelstiltskin is a good new character and he works well as the villain, his legion of witches provide audiences some funny and scary moments. The film is a fast paced 90 minutes and as always with Shrek films a few musical numbers have been once again thrown in for good measure. The plot of Shrek Forever After while not as strong as the first two films is a pleasant surprise after the third installment of the franchise was a complete failure. Shrek Forever After also brings Shrek into 3D for the first time and like many other recent 3D films the 3D is fun but not necessary. There are only a few films like Avatar where the 3D actually makes a difference in your experience. The animation is done well but once again it is nothing groundbreaking, but that is not what you should expect in a children’s film. The film does play well for children of most ages, kids under 7 will find parts of the movie scary but most kids will love seeing Shrek one more time. It is hard to believe that kids who loved the first Shrek are now in high school or college. Now with Shrek Forever After a whole new generation of kids will be able to enjoy the big green guy on the big screen. I give Shrek Forever After 3 out of 5 stars, it doesn’t reach the heights of the first two films but thankfully it makes you forget disaster that was the third film in the franchise.