Last night I decided to go to the movies to see Shrek the Third – the latest in the Shrek saga (by the way, Shrek 4 is already in pre-production according to IMDB). I was pleased with this movie and there were parts where I literally laughed out loud, but at the end of the movie, not only was I struck by how short it was, but I felt like a lot of the story was missing.

Don’t get me wrong – I recommend going to see this movie for Eric Idle’s performance as Merlin alone. However, for a film with a running time of some 84 or 85 minutes (at least 10 of which are credits at the end), I was just left with a feeling like I saw bits and pieces of a larger movie. Case in point – Shrek, Donkey, and Puss go to retrieve Arthur (played by Justin Timberlake) from high school. There are a ton of laughs in this scene including the complete dorks who are playing dungeons and dragons and the one kid who gets a nosebleed just by laughing. Hilarious!

But Artie is whisked away so quickly from the school that you’re left feeling like something bigger was supposed to happen). Another case in point – the fairy tale villains take over Far, Far Away and without seeing how it happens, the next time we return to the kingdom, it’s rundown and decrepit. There was probably a good story there that we didn’t get to see.

I also think that the voice cast of Shrek the Third was quite an ensemble of performers! From Julie Andrews to Cameron Diaz to Cheri Oteri, Maya Rudolph, Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, John Cleese, and so many more (Timberlake, Banderas, Idle, Phoeler, King, Philbin, etc) – this is just an amazing group of people to come together for the movie! My only issue is that there are so many great performances by each of these folks, you’re sometimes left with thinking that they’re not getting enough face (voice?) time.

And one more plot hole that seems to be an issue with me – Julie Andrews plays the Queen of Far, Far Away. When her husband croaks (had to, sorry), wouldn’t she continue as ruler of the kingdom? That wasn’t quite clear to me at all.

All in all, this is a fun movie with some great scenes that’ll have you laughing out loud. I especially liked the scene where Snow White gathered her woodland friends to her with her singing and then starting singing a rock song to have them attack the bad trees. Absolutely hilarious! I recommend going to see it, but if you don’t have the time – that’s okay; you can rent this on DVD when it comes out.