Warm, fuzzy Shrek

Film review: Shrek Forever After

MANILA, Philippines - Now that we have the fourth installment of the hugely successful Shrek film franchise, the movie comes to us like the yearly visit by the family of a dear family friend. We know who’ll be showing up — Shrek, Fiona, Puss in Boots, Donkey, et al — and the time spent watching the film will be like catching up with this good friend and his/her family on what has been happening to them since we last saw them. The vibe and feel of the very first Shrek has come and gone, that film was more biting, full of insider industry jokes, and while that operated well on a second level, there was also the more general level of sheer enjoyment for the smart animation and storyline. After the success and critical acclaim of that first film, the second and third films were more about sticking to the characters’ development, increasing the cuteness quotient and downplaying the subliminal second level — that is, playing it safer for a general audience.

To be honest, I miss the audacity of the first film, how we enjoyed it knowing that some characters were loosely based on Disney executives! With this fourth film, its strengths are centrally placed on the themes of putting value on what you have in the here and now, being careful about what you wish for, and realizing how foolhardy it can be to live in the past. In its favor, we still have the magic of how rich the texture of the animation is, how even minor characters and what happens on the screen outside the main action all help contribute to the “magic” of watching a Shrek film.

Family life has put a damper on our Shrek, the daily routine and grind comes to a head on a birthday celebration, when he verbally pines for the days when he was a “real” ogre, feared by the populace; and not the emasculated shadow of an orge he feels he has become. Enter Rumpelstilskin with an enticing Ogre For a Day package — and all Shrek has to do get that 24 hours of reliving his past is give up one “inconsequential” day of his life. Cunningly, Rumpelstilskin suggests a day when he was just a mere child-ogre, some day he can’t even remember. Unbeknownst to Shrek, Rumpel is after much more; as right before Shrek saved Fiona in Shrek 1, Fiona’s parents were about to turn over the empire to him in order to extricate Fiona from the spell that befell her — something that never transpired because of Shrek’s actions. Shrek signs the document and as Rumpel takes the day Shrek was born, a domino effect of great changes take place - and this leads to the merriment and strong storyline that marks this fourth Shrek film! In fact, I found the plot was a lot deeper than most animated films; good because it means the film is appreciated on a different level by the adults and parents watching the film.

Having said all that, there is a lingering feel of “going through the motions” with this film. When the one thing I remember most, days after, is the one makulit child who repeatedly asks Shrek to “Do the Roar” during the birthday party, then I’d have to admit that this may very well be the last leg that Shrek should stand on, that it was fun while it lasted, and that we’d do well to leave Shrek, Fiona, the kids in the swamp, and let them retire in peace.