The first “Shrek” (2001) won the first-ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. The next two movies in the series together grossed over $1-billion worldwide. “Shrek”, over the past decade, has become a cultural phenomenon, with a TV Christmas special, a Broadway show and tons of merchandice.
Sadly, “Shrek Forever After” is the final chapter in the movie series. The good news is – the big green ogre goes out in style.
The plot of the film is based on the old “It’s A Wonderful Life” theme of what Shrek’s world would be like if he was never born. When I first learned that this was the story I immediately thought it wouldn’t work, because so many other films have tried this idea and failed. However, this time the writers pull it off.
Shrek is bored with being a dad and a nice ogre and wishes he could go back to the old days. He meets Rumplestiltskin who offers him a deal – a day without worries or responsibilities in exchange for one day from his past. Shrek takes the deal, but the day Rumpelstiltskin takes is the day Shrek was born, and so everyone and everything in his swamp and in Far Far Away is different, and not in good shape.
Shrek has to convince Fiona, Donkey and all his friends who he is, and together they have to break the spell, defeat Rumpel and his evil witches and get things back the way they were.
There are some very funny scenes in “Forever After”, but what makes the movie work is the story, which is the best of the series. The writers don’t rely on the pop culture references and gags of “Shrek 2” and “Shrek the Third” for cheap laughs. And this is, by far, the most emotional of the four films.
The animation is great (and was very effective in 3D in theaters), beginning in the opening scene, where horses pulling a carriage gallop right past you in the audience.
Walt Dohrn (Rumpelstiltskin), Jane Lynch and Jon Hamm join the regulars – Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews – in the voice cast and they’re all excellent, including my buddy Regis Philbin, who is back as Mabel, one of the Ugly Step-sisters. He only has one line, but does a great job.
“Shrek Forever After” is rated PG for some mild action violence. It’s appropriate for everyone who’s seen any of the previous films and even those who haven’t. And if you’re a diehard fan of the series you’ll be very satisfied with this final installment.
On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, “Shrek Forever After” gets B+. The movie is also part of “Sherk: The Whole Story”, the boxed set that features all 4 films and plenty of extras. A must for fans of the series who don’t already the other 3 on Blu-ray.
Even if this truly is the final “Shrek” film, it may not be the final time we see Shrek on the big screen. DreamWorks will be out with a “Puss in Boots” spin-off next year. If that becomes a series we could see a cameo from a certain ogre at some point.