“WISHFULL THINKING and A WISH GRANTED”
Starring (Voices): Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas Walt Dohrn and Jon Hamm
Directed By: Mike Mitchell
MPAA Rating: rated PG for mild action, some rude humor and brief language.
Genre: Animated, 3D, Adventure, Comedy, Kids, Sequel
Release date: May 21, 2010
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Run time: 1hr. 34min.
By John Delia
That funny, rebellious and feisty ogre has a new adventure and it’s pretty darn good. Laden with funny comments, snappy dialogue and a decent script, Shrek Forever After is fun for adults and the rest of the family. Oh. You thought Shrek was only for kids? 
Well guess again, as this forth edition of the crazy life of green swamp ogre goes straight for adults and achieves its goal with just reward. The kids you ask, they’ll be too busy laughing at Shreklets (I just invented the word. It means a baby Shrek; ogerlets just doesn’t work for me) burps, donkey complaints, an overweight cat, wicked witches and much, much more. You can bet your Chimichangas the whole family will love it.
The new domestic family life of Shrek (Myers) isn’t pretty, especially raising three overactive children, leading a mundane existence compared to his former life and
simply going through a lot of changes he’d rather not. At his birthday party Shrek finally realizes that what he misses most is being a nasty ogre scaring people and having a private uninterrupted mud bath. One day he meets up with Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn), a funny little elf who can grant wishes. But, each wish comes with a price. Taking advantage of Shrek’s dilemma and with a little word trickery Rumpelstiltskin grants Shrek his wish to be an scary ogre again for a day. When he finally realizes he put the kingdom of Far Far Away in jeopardy, is losing his family and wife Fiona (Diaz), Shrek has to find a way to reverse the spell.
The storyline is very entertaining for adults. The voice actors are perfect for their characters and the 3D animation explodes at all the right moments. The bar on the snappy dialogue has been raised to entice more adults to accompany their children; Rumpelstiltskin provides an excellent villainous character and key adult intended jokes go way over the youngster’s heads.
Eddie Murphy as Donkey tends to steel the show from all the other characters as witnessed in the previous three productions, but in this one I will have to give Diaz as Fiona the edge. Giving her character some of the movies from her stint in Charlie’s Angels, the animators have Fiona taking on nasty witches and other members of Rumplestiltskin’s army with ease. She’s not featured as the kindly mother in this one, but a tough warrior who will stop at nothing to save Far Far Away from doom.
The movie is rated PG for mild action, some rude humor and brief language. Actually a lot of rude humor, but presented in a way that we can laugh at ourselves and it’s all in fun.
FINAL ANALYSIS: The first big Animated hit of the summer. 4.5 of 5 Palm Trees