The third outing for the Shrek franchise is serviceable and amusing – no joke too low to stoop for, which will amuse adolescents and anyone younger as it demolishes high-school mope-fests, the Arthurian legends, dinner-theater venues and the princess phenomenon along with Far Far Away’s throne room. Shrek the Third struck a lot of reviewers as a comedy claim out of which all the original wit had been mined, and perhaps they have a point. Now we know what to expect; this is just the continuation of the story of a love-struck ogre coping with love and responsibility in a deeply skewed world. But watching Shrek The Third remains a more agreeable use of an hour and a half than a lot of other movies out there, first run and DVD release. The princesses storming the castle with the aid of Snow White’s little woodland friends and a blast of “Barracuda” is definitely worth the cost of the DVD, as is Eric Idle voicing the befuddled Merlin as a nervous high school teacher.

The extras included are generous and a bit of a mixed bag: Artie’s Worchester High yearbook is a very long and detailed send-up, and funnier if the viewer knows the Arthurian canon. The “Donkey Dance” is a quick and witty parody of “Safety Dance”, but the “lost scenes” are just original story-board sketches with outlining an assortment of scenes not developed past that point. (We lost interest at the first, and fast-forwarded through the next two.) “Big Green Goofs” are a disturbing collection of computer glitches involving the characters animations and scenes which was at least interesting. “Shrek’s Guide to Parenting” offered advice from various characters on child-rearing: Puss in Boot’s advice was the funniest.

Shrek the Third is now available from Amazon.com and other retail outlets.

Sgt. Mom is a freelance writer who lives in San Antonio and blogs at “The Daily Brief”. Her own most recent book is a historical novel, “To Truckee’s Trail”, which was reviewed here at Blogger News Network, and is available from Booklocker.com.

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