Shrek Forever After

Day 4/192-Shrek Forever After: Starring Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy

Did you ever hear the rumours that they were well into the planning stages of Titanic 2? Obviously that was a terrible idea, but probably just as plausible as a continuation of the Shrek story. Shrek was married, had children and so were most of the supporting cast. So how do you do a sequel to a film that's run it's course. You do a Lost and start an alternate timeline.

Some had called Revolutionary Road the natural sequel to Titanic, as in what would have happened to Kate and Leo once the fairytale drama had ended? A life of drudgery and resentment. And so we have Shrek Forever After. Shrek has grown tired of his monotonous life as a father and husband, missing the days where he was the most feared creature in Far Far Away.

After storming out of a birthday party, Shrek meets Rumpelstiltskin, who offers him a chance to be an ogre again for just one more day, but when the day begins everything has changed and soon Shrek has a job on his hands.



Shrek Forever After sometimes veers down the wrong path for laughs but I would say I was pleasantly surprised by the love and effort that has gone into making this film. It is infinitely better than Shrek the Third and I would say just as good as if not a slight improvement on Shrek 2.

The concept was certainly interesting, using the Shrek signature brand of bringing a modern touch to fantasy worlds, getting to see what happens after a fairytale ends is quite refreshing.

Clichéd as it is there are plenty of jokes for adults that kids won't quite understand and plenty of breakdancing witches for the kids to enjoy and the balance is just about right. At times it echoed of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland and showed a good example of what was missing from that film: Fun.

There are some niggles though. There are a couple of plotholes that are impossible to reveal without spoilers but one involves a doll. There is absolutely nowhere near enough Eddie Murphy but that is a criticism that can be levelled at most films. Also the 3D brings nothing to this film, so save your pennies if you're thinking about going.



Final thoughts: this is a film that is definitely worth seeing. It is far closer in terms of quality to Shrek than any of his inferior sequels. Nothing can match the original because of the vast avenues open to it but Shrek Forever After cannot be accused of being a lazy cash-in, though a cash in it most undeniably is.

7/10