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Shrek the Third
EMAILPRINTDreamWorks Distribution

Mixed or average reviews
Based on 35 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 88 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Animation | Comedy | Family/Kids | Fantasy
Written by:
Jeffrey Price, Peter S. Seaman and Jon Zack
Andrew Adamson (story)
William Steig (book Shrek!)
Directed by:
Chris Miller
Raman Hui (co-director)
Release Date:
Theatrical: May 18, 2007
DVD: November 13, 2007
Running Time: 92 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: PG for some crude humor, suggestive content and swashbuckling action
Starring Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews, John Cleese, Rupert Everett, Eric Idle, and Justin Timberlake
The greatest fairy tale never told continues as Shrek must embark on a new quest to find the true king. (DreamWorks)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs Shrek Shrek 2
GAMES: Shrek the Third (DS)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow
So far in this year's cartoon feature sweepstakes, Shrek the Third rules.
Read Full Review >New York Magazine David Edelstein
Computer-generated animated movies with wall-to-wall jokes can be excruciating, but these jokes are the funniest money can buy.
Read Full Review >Variety Todd McCarthy
After a buoyantly funny first half-hour, stylish animated comedy takes a breather before ramping it up again for a rambunctious, girrrl-power finale that provides a convenient springboard for further adventures to come.
Read Full Review >The New York Times A.O. Scott
Shrek the Third seems at once more energetic and more relaxed, less desperate to prove its cleverness and therefore to some extent smarter.
Read Full Review >USA Today Claudia Puig
The world of the fanciful fable looks particularly vibrant this time with its signature blend of realism and fantasy. It is a pleasure to watch these fairy tale folk be themselves -- yet again.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Wesley Morris
The journey is not very exciting, but the destinations are inspired.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell
Mostly connects with a fairly tight story -- even if it feels less like a movie and more like a really good episode of a "Shrek" TV series.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
Gets back the mood, the pleasure and even some of the freshness of its first installment.
Read Full Review >Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek
Brings back the characters you may have loved, as I did, in the earlier movies: My particular faves are Antonio Banderas' poon-hound Puss-in-Boots.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
Shrek, DreamWorks' big green cash machine, has finally run dry, perhaps not of box office power, but most assuredly of the caustic, fractured fairy tale-isms and the wry, snarky wit that made the first film, and to a lesser degree, the first sequel, so winning.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
Four words say all that needs to be said about Shrek the Third: more of the same.
Read Full Review >New York Post Kyle Smith
The big new addition in Shrek the Third is Justin Timberlake as the high school-age future King Arthur, but if Timberlake contributed a song to the soundtrack it would have to be "WhinyBack."
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Peter Debruge
What does set Shrek the Third apart is the quality of its animation, which reaches a level of expressiveness in the faces that would make even Hollywood's heavily Botoxed live-action stars envious.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Jack Mathews
It's not all bad. There is a funny early sequence where Prince Charming is being jeered for his lousy cabaret act in a village pub and a hilarious death-lily scene with the bullfrog King Harold (John Cleese) trying to squeak out the name of his heir while snapping up one last fly.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
A damped-down return to the Kingdom of Far Far Away, lacking the comic energy of the first brilliant film and not measuring up to the second.
Read Full Review >The New Yorker David Denby
The plot material isn't as strong as in the first two movies--if anything, it feels a bit desperate--but the anti-Disney joke blunderbuss remains in good working order.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt
Much of the bite and a good deal of the wit of the first two films are missing here. The rude send-up of beloved fairy tale conventions remains -- somewhat -- but these playful jabs no longer come as pleasing surprises. You expect them. And you expect better.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
A fairly underwhelming experience for man or child -- not so much bad as just more of the same, with little of the original's novelty or freshness.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer
The law of diminishing returns is no more apparent than in the movie world. A sequel, with rare exceptions, is worse than the film it follows, and sequels of sequels fare even worse. Such is the case with Shrek the Third.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone Peter Travers
There's no disguising the fact that Shrek the Third has come down with a bad case of sequelitis. You know the symptoms: Lots of razzle-dazzle to distract from the hole at the center of the story. You know, the place where fresh ideas should be.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Stephen Hunter
The end result of Shrek the Third is that you laugh a lot and you go home grumpy.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips
I doubt even rabid fans of the first two will consider Shrek the Third a worthy addition to the franchise.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Ella Taylor
Blinded by avarice and all out of ideas, once again, Hollywood can't tell when enough is way more than enough.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Carina Chocano
Has its moments... But does a kids' movie really need, among other similar touches, a Hooters joke? I, for one, wouldn't want to have to explain it.
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
This latest iteration of DreamWorks's money machine has its ups and downs, its longueurs along with its felicities, plus an abiding preoccupation with poop.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen
The only thing majestic about Shrek the Third is the title.
Read Full Review >Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
Reason to make Shrek the Third: Probable earnings of $400 million worldwide. Reasons not to make Shrek the Third: Played-out characters. Bland villain. Novice directors. Slipshod plotting. No compelling story or emotional depth.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader J.R. Jones
The big green babysitter is back, but the charm has evaporated.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
The real trouble is that the filmmakers consistently choose gags over character.
Read Full Review >Film Threat Michael Ferraro
Somewhat of an improvement over the last one, though it still never veers off familiar terrain. Essentially, if you've only seen one "Shrek" film, you've seen them all.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
Shrek the Third isn't a movie, it's the extension of a brand.
Read Full Review >Empire Dan Jolin
Another summer threequel, another case of slipping standards – not so much in the visuals, which remain predictably impressive, but in the all-important gag rate. To waste both Donkey and Puss is a crime…
Read Full Review >Premiere Ethan Alter
It's just a spectacularly lazy movie that's content to trod the same well-worn ground as its predecessors.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Tasha Robinson
Shrek The Third instead goes for less: fewer jokes, less energy, and toned-down characters.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 5.6 (out of 10) based on 88 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Mark K. gave it a5:
Runs out of good jokes after about half an hour, because the writers don't seem to know what to do with their ideas. Shrek has pretty much become a cliche these days so I wouldn't be too excited about a fourth one.
John Doe gave it an8:
people(alot) said that shrek3 was horrible. but it was the best of the series!!
Aaron N. gave it a4:
This movie generally suffers from one of the most annoying problems ever to be included on a sequel, Overused elements, If I concure, this movie spoils three elements- -Environments that are dull -Quiet moments -In bed scenes (seriously) I think there will be a fourth, but who knows how bad that will be?
[Anonymous] gave it a2:
I laughed only three times outta the a hundred jokes they made. Terrible acting and story. I give it a 1.5/10.
Steve K gave it a5:
I really really wish they would stop making adult movies that are marketed as "kids" movies. This is NOT a kids movie. Not to mention, the Shrek "formula" is getting really old. This is the most formulaic and unfunny of all of them. I think it is time for Shrek to retire. It is kinda amusing entertainment the way that a sorta clever commercial series may be. But after seeing two of these, did we really need a third?
DecepticonPom gave it a1:
Excrutiatingly boring.
tj gave it a0:
The first Shrek was good, the second was lousy and this one is insufferable. Amazingly unclever pop culture references. My nephews (ages 6 and 11) liked it--strange that most of the humor is aimed at adults and falls totally flat, but the kids just like anything animated. Well, I guess the producers will make their money. Unbelievable waste of time--like paying 10 bucks to watch a bad tv sit com.
