I think this is probably one of the most even Shrek’s between the three movies. It’s not only hilarious from beginning to end, but it’s subtle with the humor. So it’s more than one-liners and it’s deeper then the previous writings. Add to this the unbelievable cast of folks pouring their hearts in the roles, especially Justin Timberlake as Artie, and you’ve got yourself just a comedy ensemble that doesn’t disappoint.
So what makes this better than the second Shrek? Well, it doesn’t try to be funny or cute, it just succeeds through characters and writing. That’s the thing about the second which bothered me a bit, it simply just tried too hard to be funny. You can always tell when the writers are reaching/stretching for comedy, which is the hardest genre to write for. Anyway, the third just has a good set-up which makes the comedy come easy. The high-school scene with King Arthur is priceless. It’s a perfect set-up just brimming with comedy. That’s what makes this movie good.
Overall, if you haven’t seen it, see it. It’s worth your time.
HD… animated… what the heck?
Outside of Open Season on Blu-ray, which is just an oddly funny film, I’ve never seen an animated film on HD-DVD. I have to admit, the animated films, especially Shrek, look particularly sharp in HD. I never thought I would say that, but it’s true. The colors are sharp and the animation looks fabulous.
To make this an even sweeter deal, Paramount has included a ton of extras for the HD-DVD. You get the Interactive Storyboards (PiP stuff), customizable character menus (which is pretty cool) and some more features that are presented in High-Def.
With that said, I don’t know if I would pay $39.99 for an HD movie. I’m just not sure that would actually happen. Luckily we receive these movies for free, so it’s tough to complain. For a consumer that just bought a $200 HD-DVD player, would it actually be worth the $39.99 to watch Shrek the Third with all of these features? I’m not sure it would be. I think that visually it’s worth it, but outside of that, you won’t gain much by seeing it in HD-DVD compared to the DVD version of the film. I would spend the $15-$20 on the regular DVD here, it is just not worth it.
I think that for the HD-DVD and Blu-ray industry to thrive, they’ll have to start bringing the price down a bit. If the DVD was about $10 less, I would certainly recommend this without a doubt. If you’re not a hardcore fan of Shrek, then you might want to go the regular DVD route. Just my opinion.
Final Thoughts
I love what Paramount did here. I love that Shrek the Third was better than the second. I love how it looks on HD. I don’t like the price one bit, it has to be cheaper.