The success of Shrek was its novelty.  Fairytale characters coexisting and interacting in an alternate universe.  A big green ogre finding unexpected happiness as he overcomes the obstacles cast in his path.  An outrageous and uninvited sidekick tags along for comic relief.  The clever film had appeal.  But even though Shrek 2 and Shrek the Third are logical progressions of the storyline, the novelty has worn off, and with it, its entertainment value.  That isn’t to say that this third installment isn’t moderately amusing; it’s simply a pale reflection of the original.

If you’ll recall, Shrek’s royal father-in-law (John Cleese) was transformed into a frog.  As King Harold lies dying, he names Shrek (Mike Myers) as his successor.  The reluctant Shrek is less than comfortable with the idea, so when his father-in-law croaks, he sets sail to find the next in line, a high school student victimized by jocks and babes alike, Arthur (Justin Timberlake).  Faithful sidekicks Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss 'n' Boots (Antonio Banderas) are onboard.  And as if Shrek didn’t have enough on his plate, as they sale away from the dock, Fiona (Cameron Diaz) surprises him with the news that she’s pregnant.  This evokes a subplot in which Shrek doesn’t feel he’s any more ready for the responsibilities of fatherhood (apparently his dad wasn’t much of a role model) than he is to assume the royal mantle. 

Alas, Shrek’s problems are only just beginning.  The bitter Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) has been humiliated one too many times as he performs in third-rate dinner theater productions.  He vows to claim the kingdom and recruits every fairytale villain to help him in his quest. 

Throw in a reluctant ally in the form of Merlin (Eric Idle), a Charlie’s Angels group of fairytale heroines, Queen Lillian (Julie Andrews), Snow White (Amy Poehler), Rapunzel (Maya Rudolph), Cinderella (Amy Sedaris), and Sleeping Beauty (Cheri Oteri), and we’re all set for the third act battle.

I felt that there is something generally unsatisfying about this film.  Perhaps it’s a lack of freshness.  Perhaps it’s a lack of originality.  But my overall impression is simply that it was a bit dull.  I recall a few smiles, but no real laughs.  Gags tend to get overplayed, like King Harold’s death scene.  How many times are we supposed to believe he’s gone before the joke wears thin? 

Perhaps it’s just as well that the runtime is only ninety-two minutes including ten minutes of closing credits.  The production has its heart in the right place, but the franchise is growing a bit stale.  However, I’m clearly in the minority.  The film earned the second highest box office gross of the year at over $320 million dollars.  Worldwide, that figure exceeded $400 million.  The film certainly found its audience.  I wish I could be more enthusiastic.

The Video: How Does The Disc Look?

The film’s theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 is presented in a very nice high definition transfer compressed with the VC-1 video CODEC.  Something quite unexpected happened as I was reviewing this HD DVD.  In my many email exchanges with readers who had problems with my assertions that AVC is superior to VC-1 and BD has the quality edge over HD DVD, I was asked to compare the same source material on two different formats, preferably compressed with two different video CODECs.  Since Warner only compresses once for the storage capacity of the smaller capacity medium, it was not possible for me to make a meaningful comparison.  But as I watched this disc’s supplements that contain film excerpts, I suddenly realized that the images in the supplements look better: sharper, more vibrant, more film-like.  Only then was I motivated to check the transfers’ CODECs.  This was, in effect, a blind test.  I didn’t check the CODECs until I noticed a visible difference.  I found that the disc’s producers opted for a VC-1 transfer for the feature film and AVC transfers for the supplements.  I only wish that I had two copies of this HD DVD and that Toshiba didn’t force the stop mode when the HDMI connection is interrupted; under ideal circumstances, I would have liked to compare identical freeze-frames.

But I digress.  How does the feature look?  Pretty good.  Small object detail and finely grained textures are excellent.  Colors are vibrant and impressive.  The video dynamic range is spot-on, with nary a hint of crush.  Shadow detail is exemplary.  And yet, having experienced in the supplements what the film could have looked like, I’m forced to discount the video rating.

The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

The audio is presented in a pleasant but unspectacular Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 track.  The application of the surround channels is subtle.  You’ll hear some pans, a reasonable amount of ambience, and the widening of the soundstage with leaks into the surrounds for Harry Gregson-Williams’ lively score.  Sound effects are quite fine; persuasive thunder accentuates both the bottom end and demonstrates a dynamic range and transparency surprising in a lossless audio track.  As you might expect, the studio recordings of the voice talent comes across distortion-free and with a realistic timbre.  I suspect that a lossless track would have provided an even more transparent timbre.

The Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

We have a reasonable selection of extras, but some are aimed a bit low to a younger age group than I suspect is reading this review.  We begin with The Animator’s Corner.  This is a picture-in-picture feature that places storyboards in a small window in the lower right of the screen.  There is also the option of pressing enter on your remote control when a special icon appears; this will bring up lost scenes in the context of the storyline’s flow.

Next is Shrek's Guide to Parenthood.  These are mildly amusing tidbits in HD of advice from Donkey, Puss ‘n’ Boots, Pinocchio, and Gingy.  Each contributes a Letterman-like countdown of five tips.  Despite the name of the feature, Shrek is nowhere to be found.

The Meet the Cast (10:41, 480p) featurette is a blend of introductions of the voice talent and watching them at work, plus EPK fluff.  Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Eddie Murphy, Justin Timberlake, and others describe their approach, talk about the experience, and admire the film.  Part interesting, part dull.

The Lost Scenes (25:50, HD) featurette is perhaps a fine demonstration of what may have gone wrong.  We watch as writer/artists pitch their concepts for scenes using storyboards and acting out the animation.  What seems quite innocuous solicits laughs and guffaws from the rest of the filmmaking staff.  Perhaps if they had been more critical . . . The material is presented in multiple onscreen windows showing the presenter and the sketches.

The Tech of Shrek (9:54, HD) featurette is arguably the most interesting.  It’s here that we learn about all the advances in computer generated animation that evolved with each succeeding Shrek production.  Hair and clothing seem to dominate the discussion, as do tributes to Hewlett- Packard and AMD microprocessors for the power they provided.  Is it just me, or are the character movements in Shrek less organic than in other CGI animated films?

Donkey Dance (0:32, HD) is an odd little music video of sorts.  Donkey does an utterly pointless dance number to one of the many source tracks heard in the film.

Big Green Goofs (1:55, HD) is the CGI equivalent of a gag reel, only no one cracks up.  These are programming glitches pure and simple.

Press the menu button on your remote control during the film and the expected menu bar appears at the bottom of the frame.  But the My Menus feature allows you to change the appearance of the menu by selecting from among Shrek, Donkey, Boots, Gingy, and Gingerbread Man.

DreamWorks Animation Video Jukebox gives you the choice of listening and watching musical excerpts from six DreamWorks titles: Flushed Away, Shrek, Shrek 2, Over the Hedge, Shark's Tale, and Madagascar.  The HD images are absolutely splendid, compressed with the AVC video CODEC.  I can only hope that when these titles are released to HD disc, that the full-length features look as good as these short sequences.

The HD theatrical trailers are also spectacular looking.  Included are Bee Movie (1:48) and Kung Fu Panda (2:27, it’s more of a promo than a trailer).

You’ll find a menu item for Web Enabled Features, but since I haven’t yet extended my local area network to my dedicated home theater, I can’t yet comment on content.

There is a DreamWorks Kids – DWK – section.  Here you’ll find content definitely aimed at the younger set.  First up is Merlin's Magic Crystal Ball.  This is not a game; it’s the HD DVD equivalent of a Magic 8-Ball.  But instead of flipping over a fluid-filled ball to watch for a multisided plastic object on which a variety of answers have been printed, pressing the enter button on your remote evokes random answers recited by Eric Idle.  So sit back and ask away.

Learn the Donkey Dance is almost as pointless as the Donkey Dance.  The sequence accessed from the main menu is repeated three times here.  The second is supported by verbal and subtitled instructions on which part of your body you should be moving to follow Donkey.  The sequence then plays for a third time to give you a little more practice.

How to Be Green (4:00) is a lecture about the environment and how recycling is great for the planet.  I have to applaud DreamWorks for making the effort to condition kids to do the right thing.

The 92-minute film is organized into eighteen chapters.

Final Thoughts

I found the Shrek fairytale premise to be repetitive and, by now, unoriginal.  I recently enjoyed Ratatouille and came away from that experience admiring the creativity and wit of the filmmakers.  And yet, Shrek the Third clearly found its substantial audience.  I fully expect this release to do extremely well.  The video is excellent, the audio very good, and the generous supplements a mixed bag.  This is a definite recommendation for fans of the film or those who really enjoyed the first two films in the series.