Shrek Forever After

Dreamworks can't hold a candle Pixar. The Shrek movies come close in a different manner, but everything else Dreamworks does looks either uninspired or just plain awful, and I'm never interested enough to see if my first impressions (and most critics) were wrong. As their sole successful franchise, the Shrek movies have had a pretty good run. The first two were surprisingly entertaining films, but the third entry was a dull, lazy film that seemed to descend into the very thing the first movie seemed to parody – generic, cliché, pop-culture trash (Okay maybe I'm being rough on a film I've only seen once several years ago). But it seems that the series is finally ready to close it doors as Shrek Forever After is apparently the last in the series (aside from a Puss in Boots spin off movie). Thankfully, Shrek Forever After turns out to be a surprisingly funny and enjoyable affair.

The plot is basically a take on "It’s A Wonderful Life", which reflects a world in which Shrek was never born. In viewing the trailers, I felt this came off as a rather underwhelming and lazy plot. However, the writers Josh Klausner and Darren Lemke manage to do enough with the material and place Shrek in quite an entertaining setting where his friends and family do not know him. The best main character here is the lead villain of the story Rumpelstiltskin. Rumpel is played like a conniving, snake-like Southern Californian swindler with a Napoleon complex. All the best scenes and material come from Rumpelstiltskin, although the true show-stealer and crown jewel of the movie is the minor character of a little fat kid in the beginning of the film who only has 3 lines of dialogue and manages to be the funniest character in the film (my friends and I are still quoting him).

The frustrating aspect of the movie comes from DreamWorks’s penchant for casting big names in very minor and borderline bit roles, such as Jane Lynch as a random ogre by the name of Gretched. Jon Hamm makes his voice acting debut as an ogre named Brogan in Fiona’s resistance movement, but Hamm is left with little to do, making his casting rather pointless. DreamWorks Animation features tend to rely on celebrity stunt casting more than any other studio and nearly rival the Simpsons in terms of pointless celebrity guest stars. If Shrek Forever After is to be the final chapter of Shrek’s story, at least the franchise ends on a positive note. In no way does the movie exemplify revolutionary or fine cinema such as Pixar’s works, but it possesses a good sense of humor, provides a few good chuckles, and is even touching at times making the movie feel satisfying if this is the last they ever do.