Last time round, Shrek (Mike Myers) was sulking about having to rule Far Far Away , trying to offload the job to Fiona’s cousin so he could get back to his swamp. Impending fatherhood was giving him panic attacks too. For the fourth and final instalment of the fairytale franchise, he’s now having a mid-life crisis about repetitive nappy changing domestic routine with his three ogrets and the fact that he’s become a local tourist attraction. Storming out his kids’ birthday party after demolishing the cake, he says he wishes he could go back to the days when villagers ran away in fear rather than offered him their pitchforks to autograph.
Enter Rumplestiltkin (Walt Dohrn) who, as Brothers Grimm readers know, is a dab hand at duplicitous deals. It seems he’s been nursing a grudge ever since Shrek rescued Fiona from the tower just as her parents (Julie Andrews, John Cleese) were about to sign over the kingdom to him in return for freeing the Princess from her curse.
He offers Shrek the chance to be a real ogre again for a day. He just needs to give Rumpel 24 hours from his past in return. No problem. Except the tiny trickster choses the day Shrek was born. Suddenly Shrek finds himself in an alternate and much more sombre version of Far Far Away.
One under the cruel rule of Rumpelstiltskin and his army of witches, where ogres are hunted, the ever cheery Donkey (Eddie Murphy) doesn’t know who he is, Puss In Boots (Antonio Banderas) has turned into a real pampered fat cat and, worse, where he and Fiona (Cameron Diaz), now leader of the Ogre rebels, have never met.
The only way to cancel the contract is through true love’s kiss. Unfortunately, Fiona no longer believes true love exists and her impression of Shrek isn’t exactly favourable. But, if they don’t pucker up by the time the day ends, since in this world he was never born, he will simply cease to exist. And, well aware of the escape clause, Rumpelstiltkin’s determined the pair’s lips will never lock!
As usual there’s pop culture jokes for all - the witches and broomsticks recalling both The Wizard of Oz and Harry Potter –along with throwaway visual gags such as a gladiator Gingerbread Man fighting Animal Crackers.
However, if the humour and action are pitched at children, the dark tone, subtle commentary (“Are my kids cute, or do they just make people uncomfortable?” asks Donkey on learning he’s married to a dragon in another reality), and the It’s A Wonderful Life ‘I didn’t realise what I had until I lost it’ message is aimed straight at grown ups, especially those dealing with becoming new parents.
The 3D effects are impressive without being literally in your face ( if you can see it in IMAX 3D you’ll really appreciate the detail of the animation), the story never flags and the cast too are great fun with Banderas again stealing scenes as big-eyed Puss. As ever, things end on a musical note, and if the end credits feel like they go on forever as characters from the previous Shreks make quickie appearances, perhaps that’s because the filmmakers found it as hard to say goodbye as you will.
BBFC Guidelines – Contains mild fight scenes
Let’s Go With The Children Rating – fairytale family fun for everyone
Review by Mike Davies