Shrek the Third

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

So far in this year's cartoon feature sweepstakes, Shrek the Third rules.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

The journey is not very exciting, but the destinations are inspired.

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.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

Gets back the mood, the pleasure and even some of the freshness of its first installment.

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.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

I love the princess squad.

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.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Four words say all that needs to be said about Shrek the Third: more of the same.

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."

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

The end result of Shrek the Third is that you laugh a lot and you go home grumpy.

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

I doubt even rabid fans of the first two will consider Shrek the Third a worthy addition to the franchise.

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.

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.

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.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen

The only thing majestic about Shrek the Third is the title.

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.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

The big green babysitter is back, but the charm has evaporated.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

The real trouble is that the filmmakers consistently choose gags over character.

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.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

Shrek the Third isn't a movie, it's the extension of a brand.

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…

Premiere Ethan Alter

It's just a spectacularly lazy movie that's content to trod the same well-worn ground as its predecessors.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Tasha Robinson

Shrek The Third instead goes for less: fewer jokes, less energy, and toned-down characters.