by Isabella Jordan Shrek the Third Directed by Chris Miller and Raman Hui. Starring the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews. Once upon a time a beautiful princess was rescued from a tower guarded by a firebreathing dragon. Think you've heard this one? Not Prince Charming but a graceless ogre and a talking donkey rescue the princess. Now time has passed, the princess is now an ogress married to the ogre and they are next in line for the throne of Far, Far Away. Naturally, this doesn't sit well with the afore mentioned Prince Charming. Once put into the position to become the next king by his scheming, deceased Fairy Godmother "mummy", he has now been reduced to a shady stage show where people still cheer for the ogre to win. Unable to bear the mockery and the loss of his own happily ever after, Prince Charming goes looking for the dregs of Far, Far Away to draft them into his campaign of mischief.

Think the grass is really greener on the other side of the palace fence? Well, no. Shrek is line to be the new king of Far, Far Away when Fiona's frog father falls ill. Thing is, Shrek's not really good at the whole royalty gig. When Fiona's father dies, he must assume the throne or seek out the only other blood relative and potential heir.

There is a lot going on in this third installment of the hugely popular Shrek franchise but it's not difficult at all to follow. Shrek, Donkey, and my favorite Puss in Boots set off on another road trip. While I could have done without the whiny Justin Timberlake as Arthur, Eric Idle was hilarious as a post-nervous breakdown Merlin!

Meanwhile, Prince Charming has staged a hostile takeover and Fiona along with her queen mother and several other favorite princesses resolve to fight rather than wait to be rescued. I loved the deliberately irreverent take on these Disneyfied princesses, particularly the scene with Snow White. More big laughs and lots of action on this side of the plot to keep the movie rolling along at a very enjoyable pace.

The writing was good, there were a lot of laugh out loud moments. This film seems to recapture some of the humor and charm of the first film. Something the second movie failed to do. Puss and Donkey steal many scenes and have the best dialogue in the film. The end was a little predictable but your little ones will love it. Especially the gooey wrap up at the end.

Aside from that, the animators' skills continue to advance with each film. The range of character facial expressions is stunning and the human characters are incredible in appearance.

The movie is suitable and enjoyable for a very wide age range. It comes in at just over 90 minutes so provided you didn't finish off that bucket of soda, you should be able to take it in without a potty break. There is a little crude humor to it, as always, but otherwise you'll be tickled green.

Best lines:

Snow White: Right! Ladies, assume the position!
[Sleeping Beauty falls asleep, Rapunzel sits on a high stool with her braid trailing, Snow White lies down in her coffin pose, and Cinderella seats herself on the floor gazing dreamily into space]
Princess Fiona: What are you doing?
Snow White: [exasperated] Waiting to be rescued!

Isy