The basics of the plot are amusing enough. There is a curious sense of obligation to the whole affair. Unfortunately, the film adds little else of substance to this familiar thematic equation, and has so many returning characters and loose ends to tie up from the earlier movies that the story never gets much of a chance to live and breathe on its own. You might think of this one as the 'Three Ogres and a Baby' meets 'The Lion King' installment in the franchise, where Shrek learns he's gonna be a papa, while at the same time struggles with the responsibility of being ruler of his kingdom.

'Shrek 2' continued this approach, so I suppose it's no huge surprise that 'Shrek the Third' again plays it safe, delivering another narrative pastiche of other movies. Of course, the original 'Shrek' wasn't all that blazingly original to begin with, with a story that borrowed liberally from classic fairy tales, and mixed it up with hip humor and a seemingly endless supply of pop culture references.

'Shrek the Third' is a classic example of a movie that never quite successfully solves this dilemma, offering up too much of what we've seen before and too little of what we haven't.

They only exist because the public's love for the original film was so great that they want more of the same, yet at the same time, a sequel must also deliver at least something a little bit different or risk boring its audience to death with repetition.

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