Back in 2007, May brought with it a trio of third installments at the
cineplex. I was determined to see them all, and I did, but the third
time isn’t always the charm. It certainly wasn’t in the case of Shrek.
So I worried that the fourth, and allegedly final, volume in the twisted
but tended saga of the grumpy green ogre with a heart of gold would
fizzle. And yet as the previews sneaked their way into nearly every
commercial break as I watched the LOST finale, I realized that
this was perhaps my most anticipated movie of the summer. And I began to
think that number four might just make up for the disappointment of
number three.
Shrek Forever After is not a wholly
original story, but then the Shrek franchise has always been about
taking familiar stories and putting new twists on them. In addition to
the multitude of traditional fairy tale characters, including sinister
newbie Rumpelstiltskin, you’ll find similarities to It’s a Wonderful Life, The Princess Bride and Disney’s version of Beauty and the Beast.
Which, of course, is a traditional fairy tale in and of itself, but the
echoes of the specific Disney version are particularly strong, just as
they were in the first movie.
In many ways, it’s a return to
the beginning, with the main difference being that Shrek knows where he
has been, and he is aware that he’s more than just a surly ogre. I’ve
noticed that many stories being written lately have employed a reboot
device of some kind; I guess it’s a creative way of treading old
territory in new ways. In this case, we see that Shrek (Mike Myers) has
grown rather weary of his domestic bliss. He loves his wife and
children, but the monotony is getting him down, as is the sense that his
domestication has somehow emasculated him. And when enough little
irritations pile up, it turns the docile family man into a raging beast
who is so desperate for a change that he’s willing to enter into a
bargain with the seedy Rumpel (Walt Dohm) in hopes of letting off a
little steam.
It’s at this point that the movie begins to bear a great resemblance to the last season of LOST,
as it’s once again the lovelorn Scotsman who is aware of two separate
realities and who must try to get his old friends to remember each
other, and him. In this case, the problem is that Rumpel tricked Shrek
into negating his own birth. Unless he can convince Fiona (Cameron
Diaz), in this reality a fierce warrior princess, to kiss him - and to
truly mean it - before the end of the day, he will cease to exist, and
Far Far Away will forever be ruled by a diminutive tyrant with a wide
array of wigs to suit each of his moods.
Rumpel is the most
significant new character in the film, and he really is creepy. I find
him quite a convincing villain, and more threatening than any of the
others the franchise has offered up, in part because he is so adept at
figuring out what people want and tempting them with it in such a way
that it seems they can’t lose. At the same time, however, as soon as
Shrek gets his initial burst of old-timey rampaging out of his system
and returns to his senses, Rumpel loses a lot of his power. It seems
like an affirmation that evil may loom large, but ultimately it can’t
come close to equaling the power of good. As Shrek gains strength with
each new ally he makes and each friend he recovers, Rumpel grows more
and more desolate as even his sycophants begin to drop off, either
defecting or fighting among themselves.
Also new to this tale
is a whole colony of ogres ruled by a ferocious Fiona who, never having
been rescued from the tower, had to fight her way out and has since
become a master military schemer. Among these ogres, Shrek is rather
puny-looking, and it’s funny to see him in contrast to those who have
embraced their slimier natures. Yet the ogres still come across as noble
because they are fighting a corrupt government, and I definitely got a
whiff or two of Braveheart as they plotted to bring down the
oppressive rule keeping them underground. My favorite of the new ogres
is Cookie (Craig Robinson), a jumbo fellow with the build and
disposition of Hagrid, but considerably better culinary skills. While
his comrades talk weapons and maneuvers, his chief concern is feeding
the troops.
I find Shrek at his most lovable yet throughout
the course of this movie as he valiantly strives to undo the mess he has
made, but the one character in this series who has always had pride of
place in my heart is hyper, sweet-as-candy Donkey (Eddie Murphy), and
that remains the case. As expected, his awakening comes first, since he
is such a pure, open-hearted character, though there’s still a process
to it, and I found myself very touched by the way his initial violent
resistance to Shrek’s overtures of friendship gives way to trust, to the
point when Shrek begins to tell him the most fantastical of tales about
his alternate life and Donkey responds not with skepticism but with
exuberant acceptance. Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) follows a similar
path, but unlike Donkey, he is physically much different in this
reality, having spent his life pampered and pudgy, so while he is a
valuable ally, he’s not quite the stalwart swordsman we’re used to
seeing.
I saw the movie in 3-D, and I was rather surprised at
how organic the whole thing felt. I expected that they might use the
technology to give us a lot of sight gags, like pies being thrown at the
audience and that sort of thing. In reality, I can’t remember a single
moment like that. So by one token, one might argue that the 3-D is
unnecessary, and certainly not worth the extra couple of bucks. But for
me, I felt that all the surroundings felt just a bit richer and deeper
than they did before. I was able to be drawn more fully into the
experience, and I don’t regret springing for 3-D.
Supposedly
this is the end of the Shrek tales, and I rather hope it is because it
would be nice to see a series that got off to such a promising start go
out on such a high note. As much as I enjoyed the first movie, there
were a few things about it that left a bad taste in my mouth. Same goes
for the second, and the third just dropped the ball. But for me, Shrek Forever After
represented all that is best about the series and brought Shrek, Fiona,
Donkey, Puss in Boots and all those other characters we love to a true
happily ever after.
No comments:
Post a Comment