The problem that plagues any sequel is unrealistic comparisons and high expectations based on the original.  This dilemma is compounded even more the third time around and, in the case of Shrek the Third, these preconceived notions are entirely unwarranted.  The bottom line is that if you love the first two, you will love this one.  If you were lukewarm about them, you will feel the same about this one.  And if you hated the first two, this one will not convert you.

Shrek the Third opens with our lovable green ogre in the midst of a crisis.  Shrek (Mike Myers) longs for the quiet days of life back in the swamp with his bride Fiona (Cameron Diaz).  Yet he is stuck in the all-too-pristine land of “Far, Far Away” adjusting to life in the kingdom.  Shrek is antsy and ready to flee for the more familiar comforts of his former life when King Harold (John Cleese) literally “croaks” (in a hilarious scene) before their eyes.  Unwilling to embrace his right to the throne, Shrek and his familiar band of cohorts Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas), set out to track down young Arthur (Justin Timberlake) to convince him to take the throne.  Young Artie, however, has his doubts—in himself.  You see, Artie is an outcast and not exactly, in his eyes anyway, kingly material. 

Meanwhile, Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) and a rag-tag group of disenfranchised fairy-tale villains have returned to Far, Far Away to stake their claim on the kingdom.  The disclosure that Shrek and Fiona are expecting a little ogre (or two or…) makes them all the more anxious to pass the throne—to a deserving recipient of course.

The frantic pace of the film keeps things moving briskly from one comical crisis to another.  The witty banter, riddled with pop culture references, that peppered the first two films continues here with similar results although they are starting to show their strain.  The deconstruction of the classic fairy-tale continues as well with much more satisfying results. 

In the end, though, the Shrek trilogy remains the ultimate fairy-tale even if it doesn’t really want to be.  The evolution of Shrek through the three films shows a remarkable maturation from a brutish beast to a thoughtful, caring husband, soon-to-be-father and friend.  He has mellowed with age and has grown to accept and even love his sidekicks who once were thorns in his side.  Shrek, ultimately, understands that he has a responsibility to nurture and love those around him, a lesson that is not lost on our young would-be-king Artie, or the audience for that matter.  It’s not all about displaying brutish strength and power; he learns that sometimes through weakness and grace he is most kingly.  Unlike Spider-Man, another summer blockbuster hero who is perpetually stuck in youthful immaturity, Shrek demonstrates a progression of character that is, in every way, the nature of the true king: self-sacrificial, gracious, kind, and loving.  It doesn’t matter if the kingdom is the land of Far, Far Away or a grime-infested swamp, Shrek proves that you don’t need a crown to be a King.