Shrek Forever After

Directed by Mike Mitchell

(G)

**

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It’s time to say farewell to Shrek, said Lisa Schwarzbaum in Entertainment Weekly. When the original Shrek debuted, in 2001, the animated satire of fairy tales offered a “fresh, self-referential twist on the vulturish consumption of pop culture.” But the disappointing Shrek the Third suggested it was time to give the jolly green ogre a rest, and mercifully DreamWorks has indicated that this fourth installment of the franchise will be the final one. “I’ve seen Keebler Elf commercials with more story line,” said Kyle Smith in the New York Post. Tired of playing husband and father, Shrek longs for his old bachelor life. The devious Rumpelstiltskin grants him such freedom for a day—but Shrek soon realizes there’s an unpleasant catch. Basically, the screenwriters blatantly rip off It’s a Wonderful Life and then try to coast on 3-D effects. But no one really cares about the plot of a Shrek movie—it’s all about the jokes, said Betsy Sharkey in the Los Angeles Times. For the most part, Shrek Forever After recaptures “much of the kick-in-the-pop-culture-keister cleverness” of the original, and proves the perfect ending to a brilliant series.