SHREK FOREVER AFTER

Shrek Forever After is the promised 4th and final chapter for everyone’s lovable ogre which goes back to basics to remind us why we loved these characters after the bloated and forgettable Shrek the 3rd.

This outing sees Shrek (Mike Myers) bored to death by the monotony of married life; sure he loves Fiona (Cameron Diaz) and his 3 little ogre babies, but Shrek is longing for the days when he was an outcast ogre, striking fear into the hearts of villagers throughout the land.

Enter Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn) a bitter little mischief maker with the power to make Shrek’s dream of a life with no responsibilities a reality – a reality that means he never saved Fiona, never met Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) is a fat pampered kitty. Of course once Shrek gets what he wants he realises that he misses what he had…

Shrek Forever After is basically It’s A Wonderful Life with a green ogre twist; that twist however breaths new life into characters that were on the verge of becoming over exposed and stale. Shrek 4 isn’t the laugh riot that the first two films were, but it does have more heart and a better story than the previous outing – though to be honest I can’t remember much of it!

Rumpelstiltskin is great as the main foil, complete with an assortment of mood wigs and water fearing witches, and the new ogre additions (including Mad Men’s John Hamm) don’t overwhelm the core cast. Fiona gets a chance to shine as a warrior woman and Puss in Boots continues to be the comedy highlight, even with his expanding waistband, and I look forward to his long rumoured spin-off.

And so the Shrek series (hopefully) comes to a close, one film too late but a fitting send off for the big green lug and the always annoying but adorable Donkey.

3 ½ of 5 Stars