The previews in the local paper panned Shrek the Third for being simple, shallow, so like the Shrek we've seen before. Some people are so serious.Shrek--the computer-generated ogre who makes us laugh for a little while with the help of a donkey and a cat--is not that brainchild of a Shakespeare. That's why we like Shrek, the cat, and the donkey--whatever their names are. To expect anything loftier is crazy. It is a cartoon, after all. So it's a bonus when we find the other messages: that the strength we find inside ourselves can help us through our challenges, that our value as sentient beings is not contingent on our beauty.
Same morals, same Shrek as before. Same basic good-versus-blown-dry-evil plot as before. If the kids who see this thing walk away with some sense that looks and value are not the same thing and they're not even contingent on each other, that's good. The message is worth repeating to the adolescent audiences who will fill theatres to see it. For many, it may be a new idea.
Women of folk-tale fame almost save the day for Shrek in No. 3. Actually, they clear the way for the nerd to have his moment of glory. So mom-like of them. And there are some very funny moments, particularly when the classic Disney version of Snow White gives way to Heart's "Barracuda."
I asked my daughter and my nephews (ages 5 through 8 1/2) if they had a favorite moment in this movie. They liked the sequence when Shrek and Artie, the king-to-be-despite-himself, are about to have a heart-to-heart conversation but Marlin the Wizard flicks on the old Elton John-Dionne Warwick single "That's What Friends are for." Merlin robs the Hallmark moment of its sinificance with yet another cliche. These kids get it: a silly cartoon, a computer-animation thing, is about laughter even as it suggests a meaningful level of feeling we don't need to go anywhere near.
Shrek the Third--should we call it Tray or Tre?--is about laughing at the meanies of the world that we might come home to the ones who love us and take our rightful place in the world--pop music, fairy tales, bathroom humor and all--confident of our welcome.
Shrek the Third is not Shakespeare; it does not pretend to be. It's just plain fun.
Same morals, same Shrek as before. Same basic good-versus-blown-dry-evil plot as before. If the kids who see this thing walk away with some sense that looks and value are not the same thing and they're not even contingent on each other, that's good. The message is worth repeating to the adolescent audiences who will fill theatres to see it. For many, it may be a new idea.
Women of folk-tale fame almost save the day for Shrek in No. 3. Actually, they clear the way for the nerd to have his moment of glory. So mom-like of them. And there are some very funny moments, particularly when the classic Disney version of Snow White gives way to Heart's "Barracuda."
I asked my daughter and my nephews (ages 5 through 8 1/2) if they had a favorite moment in this movie. They liked the sequence when Shrek and Artie, the king-to-be-despite-himself, are about to have a heart-to-heart conversation but Marlin the Wizard flicks on the old Elton John-Dionne Warwick single "That's What Friends are for." Merlin robs the Hallmark moment of its sinificance with yet another cliche. These kids get it: a silly cartoon, a computer-animation thing, is about laughter even as it suggests a meaningful level of feeling we don't need to go anywhere near.
Shrek the Third--should we call it Tray or Tre?--is about laughing at the meanies of the world that we might come home to the ones who love us and take our rightful place in the world--pop music, fairy tales, bathroom humor and all--confident of our welcome.
Shrek the Third is not Shakespeare; it does not pretend to be. It's just plain fun.
4 Comments
Of course there's the costumed butt scratching (Shrek) and dying king (a la John Cleese) that sets the tone early and tells you there's nothing too heavy to think about in this one. And we all know that's fine when we get there.
ReplyDeleteBesides, the day Mike Myers makes a movie that makes us think will mean something is truly out of kilter. Since he said he'd continue making Shrek movies as long as they wanted him to, that day is not coming soon.
I love Shrek... Daughter really wants to see this one.
ReplyDeletelooking forward to see this one as well
ReplyDeletenot showing here yet :(
Sandy, thanks for the visit to my blog, and just to clarify, it isn't my work (the crayon drawing), but a man named Don Marco.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about Shrek; I love the first 2 and I am sure to love #3!
Thanks for being here.