Story
When Princess Fiona’s father The Frog King (voice of John Cleese) dies, Shrek (Mike Myers) learns that he and Fiona (Cameron Diaz) are next in line for the throne. Shrek, Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss In Boots (Antonio Banderas) set off on a journey to find the other possible heir, an unpopular medieval high school student named Artie (Justin Timberlake). Shrek hopes that Artie will agree to run the kingdom so that he and Fiona can return to the swamp to raise their children.
Meanwhile Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) unites the thwarted fairytale villains and organises a coup to seize the throne for himself. Fiona leads her princess girlfriends in a desperate bid to stop him. In the end it is up to the most unlikely hero to save Shrek and Fiona, the Kingdom, and ultimately the future of Far Far Away.
Themes
Bullying
Violence
There is some violence in this movie including:
- While knighting a man Shrek accidentally slices through the man's shoulder.
- Shrek throws a bottle against a ship at its launch which creates a gaping hole, sinking the ship as its masts explode in flame.
- Shrek’s belt buckle blasts off his body causing chaos as his clothes come undone and bits and pieces fly in all directions knocking people over and causing a chain reaction that sees Fiona fall to the ground, the banquet ruined, Donkey thrown into the air and pinned to the wall by flaming shrimp skewers.
- There is a bar fight between various fairytale villains.
- In a dream one of Shrek’s babies is almost killed by flying knives.
- When the villains reach Far Far Away they pillage the city streets terrorizing the citizens.
- Snow White is slapped across the face.
- Snow White organizes an army of forest animals to attack two enchanted trees guarding the castle.
- Shrek and Arthur fight over the ship’s wheel and wreck the ship on the some rocks.
- When one of Merlin’s spells goes slightly awry Shrek, Donkey, Puss in Boots and Artie crash through some trees as they fall down from the sky.
- Prince Charming holds a knife to Artie’s throat and is about to kill him before Shrek intervenes.
- Fiona’s mother uses her forehead to smash through stone walls
- The princesses rip their gowns as they prepare to fight.
- A guard grabs a woman’s popcorn and shoves her to the ground.
- The fairytale villains prepare to attack Shrek and his would-be-rescuers.
- Prince Charming tries to kill Artie and then stabs Shrek.
- Prince Charming is crushed by a falling tower.
Sexual references
There are some sexual references in this movie, including:
- Puss In Boots attempts to explain to Shrek how babies are made, describing the urges that men feel and tries to continue the conversation with Donkey.
- One of the Ugly step sisters is a transvestite, who makes a couple of remarks about Prince Charming, including how “he makes me hotter than July.”
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
There is some use of substances in this movie, including:
- Prince Charming and a number of fairy Tale Characters are drinking in a pub.
- Puss suggests that he and Shrek drink mojitos.
- One of the Seven Dwarfs gets drunk and swaggers about the street.
- Students at Arties High School tumble out of a smoke filled carriage and give the impression that they are high.
Nudity and sexual activity
There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:
- Shrek and Fiona kiss in bed and Donkey pulls off the covers. We only see Shrek’s bare legs and toes, but it is implied that he is naked.
- Shrek appears on a stage naked, before an audience of his babies but we only see his back
- Merlin the Magician’s short robe keeps blowing up and a comment is made about how “his robe doesn’t quite cover his…”
Product placement
The Shrek image is currently being used to promote a wide range of products from the usual plush and stationery items, to lots of different foods, most of which are unhealthy. Parents are advised that DreamWorks has teamed up with a range of companies to promote Shrek. The ogre can be found on everything from Happy Meals to flavoured yoghurt.
Specific product placements within the movie include Ye Olde Hooters and a play on the Versace logo, with a shop called Versachery.
Coarse language
Although this movie contains no coarse language, it does include some name-calling.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Shrek the Third is an animated sequel that continues where Shrek 2 left off. But it offers nothing truly new. Boasting an all-star cast, the movie will appeal to a wide range of ages. Although most of the humour will keeps adult entertained, some of it will go over children’s heads. On the other hand, Shrek’s antics and some slapstick comedy will appeal to younger viewers.
The main message from this movie is that it doesn’t matter how other people see you. The most important thing is how you see yourself. You might like to talk with your child about some of the values depicted in this movie, such as determination, courage, believing in yourself and ingenuity. You could also talk about what happens in real life when people are bullied or are bullies, and what would happen if we chose the easy route rather than fighting for what we believe in and forging ahead on our own.