Shrek the Third

Posted by Beth Lynne May 31, 2007

Shrek the Third

Summertime is definitely movie time! After all, a family can only spend so much time in the sun. Some time in the dark with a ten dollar container of popcorn and three other people who all want to sit on the end of the row goes a long way toward strengthening bonds.

The first summer movie we attended was Shrek the Third, a sequel which my family has anticipated since the final ogre joke in the second Shrek. The best part of this series for the teacher in me is the humanization of the fairy tale characters that I, and hopefully most children, had grown up with. For example, the group of women that attended Princess Fiona's bridal shower included Snow White (a narcissist), Beauty (a total ditz), Rapunzel (a not very good friend, who by the way, wears hair extensions, and Cinderella (low on brains). This group is rounded out by Fiona's hard-headed mother and the transsexual whom is not really based on a fairy tale princess from my childhood.

Other characters that are enjoyable to watch again are Pinocchio, the three pigs, the Big Bad Wolf, and the Gingerbread Man, who has a gumdrop scared out of him. The evil, but whiny, Prince Charming continues his quest to either win Fiona or beat Shrek.

New characters from various places in literature surface (a whole King Arthur component and many "bad guys" make welcome appearances), some that work well and others that seem as out of place as an ogre in a palace.

All in all, not a bad start to the summer movie season.