Shrek Forever After

    

     (Updated 01/02/11) Well today starts off the year long movie celebration, too bad it started with a movie under par. 'Shrek Forever' After aka 'Shrek: The Final Chapter', after watching it I'm glad it is the final Shrek movie. Actually they should of ended on the third movie and it would of been a good ending for Shrek. This installment just felt really stretched thin for story and new ways to tell old jokes.

     The movie starts off with a flash back to the original story and a side story to it, where the king and queen are going to pay off Rumpelstiltskin to break Fiona's curse, until they get wind of Fiona being rescued from the tower. After that it's back to the present, where the third movie left off, Shrek, Fiona, and the three babies are getting into an everyday routine. Everyday routine is not what Shrek wants though as he secretly yearns to go back to the old ways when he was a mean ogre and could do what ever he pleased. Keeping this longing inside and with the repetition of normal life, finally leads him basically into a mid-life crisis moment.
      Still wanting to rule the whole kingdom, Rumpelstiltskin has been looking for his big break, when he over hears Shrek and Fiona arguing. Hatching his plan he plays on Shreks needs, and offers him one day as a real ogre for one day of his childhood (Yes, its referred to as 'Give a day, Get a Day can't help feeling they based that on Disney). What Shrek doesn't know is that Rumple decides to take the day Shrek is born, hence Shrek never being born he never met his friends or Fiona and at the end of the day will cease to exist. Giving room for the main plot of the movie (Set in a alternate reality), to undo the deal with Rumple (Find True Love's Kiss) that being getting his old friends to trust him and winning Fiona's love all over again and that being made harder now that in this alternate dimension Fiona was never rescued from the tower and is the leader of an Ogre rebellion to overthrow Rumplestiltskin. Along the way to getting all these tasks done Shrek learns that he really did have it made and had a good life and what was he thinking wanting to give it all up.
     Now the big question is...will this actually be the final Shrek movie or will Dreamworks give into box office takes and green light a fifth movie. I sure hope not, I like Shrek and all, but, this one really showed how there's not much left to go story wise. Of course though, you know the kids will love it, with Shreks burp and fart sense of humor, and being an animated movie. I just think with so much animation being produced now, not like when Shrek first started being new to CGI, that now story lines are going to have to surpass not just the animation. Also on a side note in case any Universal execs ever read this...update Shrek 4-D in the parks, it bridges the gap between movies 1 and 2, the fourth movie came and went, so I think the show is a little outdated now. There was a neat little extra on the Blu-Ray I enjoyed. that showed how technology has advanced over the last decade since the original Shrek movie and comparing similar scenes from them to now. Still the extras on the disc weren't as good as the ones Disney usually includes with their animated films on dvd.