Fridae

I can’t believe it’s almost 10 years since Shrek romped into cinemas and became the poster boy for sassy adult-friendly animation. The film that began the series was a rare triumph in both animation as well as writing. The only complaints made so far about the series has been how its animation style has aged since then, and that story-wise, the sequels have increasingly drifted from the original film’s subversive spirit of deconstructing fairy tales.

Whatever the merits of these complaints, the fourth and final film in the Shrek trilogy does offer some new and worthwhile things.

Shrek Forever After is not a movie that was hastily converted to 3D, but one that was made entirely in 3D – just like How to train your dragon. This means instead of seeing characters interact in a layer above a flat background while objects and body parts occasionally pop out towards you, every single object is rendered in a realistic, full 3D field. As a 3D film, this one gets the viewing experience right, so that the stereoscopic effect feels natural: instead of having every object on the screen perfectly clear, certain elements are fuzzy, as if they are off focus from a natural eye.

There’s also a coherent story in Shrek Forever After, and a very clever and entertaining one too. Like George Bailey’s character from It’s a Wonderful Life, Shrek has misgivings about the direction of his life and is shown an alternate reality where he was never born, to help the grumpy ogre understand the lives he has touched and his contributions to the community. I’m also a sucker for any animated movie trying to introduce adult stuff to children – Hoodwinked introduced Rashomon and The Usual Suspects to children’s animation, and Shrek Forever After deserves credit for reworking Frank Capra to them.

Shrek Forever After is also an improvement, in terms of comic style, for the series. The writers finally realise that a neverending parade of one-shot references to 80s and current pop culture isn’t funny in itself, and have toned down this aspect of comedy. That’s probably why this final instalment feels far funnier and should be more memorable than say its immediate predecessor.