Shrek the Third (2007)
- The original script for Shrek the Third was written over a decade before production finally began in 2007.
- Many of the practical effects used in the climax were achieved without any CGI.
- During the filming of Shrek the Third, Mike Myers improvised one of the most famous lines in the movie.
Shrek the Third is a 2007 American animated comedy produced by DreamWorks Animation and directed by Chris Miller and Raman Hui, the third installment in the Shrek franchise. When King Harold falls ill and dies, Shrek is horrified to learn he is next in line for the throne of Far Far Away. Desperate to avoid royal responsibility and return to his beloved swamp, Shrek sets out with Donkey and Puss in Boots to find the only other heir: Arthur Pendragon, voiced by Justin Timberlake, an awkward, bullied teenager at a medieval high school called Worcestershire Academy.
Meanwhile, Prince Charming assembles an army of fairy tale villains โ including Captain Hook, the Evil Queen, and Rumpelstiltskin โ to seize the kingdom while Fiona and the princesses, including Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Cinderella, mount their own defense. Shrek the Third was the franchise's most commercially successful entry at the time, earning $799 million worldwide on a $160 million budget, riding the enormous goodwill built by the first two films. However, it was also the most critically divisive โ many reviewers felt the series' satirical edge had dulled, the humor had become formulaic, and the addition of pregnancy and parenting subplots didn't compensate for the diminished wit.
Justin Timberlake's Artie brought youthful energy but couldn't match the comedic chemistry of the established cast. The princess revolt sequence, in which the traditionally passive Disney-archetype princesses become action heroines set to Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song," was a franchise highlight. Despite the mixed reception, the film confirmed the Shrek franchise as one of animation's most valuable commercial properties.
