Shrek Forever After Movie Review (C+)

Shrek and Shrek 2 can easily be referred to as animated classics and have, like nearly every feature film in the Pixar canon, set the standard for tone and design in computer-animated movies for the last decade. Using irreverence as fuel – almost making concerted efforts to be the anti-Disney, and buoyed by an eclectic list of effective voice talent, the first two Shrek films were able to appeal to adults and kids with its fairytale mix of sweet and spicy humor.

But something went wrong with Shrek the Third. Sure it made a ton of cash ($322,719,944 to be exact), but it nosedived with critics. Now, I realize the folks reviewing movies can be a snooty, frivolous batch of fools sometimes, but when the first two movies are around 90percent fresh on RottenTomatoes.com and the third movie is drowning at 41 percent, something clearly didn’t work. We can say been-there-done-that, the franchise has run out of gas and a thousand other clichés, but the real culprit was the fairytale was ripped from the story, replaced with marriage, responsibility, babies and the whole ball-and-chain we call real life. Adults don’t go to cartoons for reminders into their responsibilities and it sure as hell isn’t funny, at least not in the way that makes you want to engage in cinematic self-flagellation by repeatedly spending your hard earned money on a full-price ticket.

Thankfully someone at DreamWorks kind of noticed this problem and the fourth movie in the franchise, Shrek Forever After (in 3D!), is a slight return to the fairytale world that made Shrek so endearing to moviegoers. I say slight, because writers Josh Klausner and Darren Lemke, as well as director Mike Mitchell (Sky High) are sneaky in the way they return us to the fantasyland of Far Far Away. This is enough to make the movie more entertaining than Shrek the Third, but still isn’t enough for a return the glory days of 2001 and 2004.

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New Shrek Forever After Trailer Not Funny

Yawn. Been there done that – that’s what I feel after watching this new trailer for Shrek Forever After. You can also see all the lame ways DreamWorks is going to prostitute the 3-D abomination in this movie. I honestly can say after this looks like as crappy as Shrek 3, and I really hope this is the end of the Shrek franchise.

Trailer Tuesday: Shrek Forever After/The Runaways

Shrek Forever After and The Runaways? Nothing in common.

Still, we’re debuting the Shrek Forever After trailer here at AATM, which morally requires an attempt to salvage a shred of my dignity and self respect. So hey! You’re the winner with a two-for-one! Or a half-loser. Your call.

First up, Shrek Please End This Forever After you’ve wrung this sucker dry. I’ll cop to the fact Shrek Uno had sassy originality when it debuted with its “look at me I’m funny and pop-savvy” send up of Disney, but the second quickly became leftover meatloaf and the  third… well, lessons learned.  Face it– farting Ogre/Talking Donkey movies are what went wrong with the cheap pop-culture gag narrative that was all in vogue with this decade’s CG animation. And critically acclaimed/box office success or not (Er, Wild Hogs was a box office success), the Shrek series is the runny nose and sore throat of animation, one which is finally losing contagion thanks to the antibiotic of monotony.

Whew. Since that’s off my chest, here’s the trailer for Shrek‘s the “final chapter” which “reboots” in Shrek Bizarro World- a land where the tired jokes can be replayed because all our heroes never met. Shrek fans, clap your hands with glee and mark your calendar for a cinematic lobotomy on May 2010.

The Runaways, on the other hand, finally reveals the secret behind Kristin Stewart’s oft-questioned man-mane. She’s Joan Jett! And angry! And edgy! Premiering at Sundance in just a few short weeks, The Runaways follows the a typical rock’n’ rise and fall, but this time it’s the all-girl punk rockers of the same name. The Runaways is heavily anticipated as Kristen Stewart will “finally” flex some thespian chops and prove she’s better than that dumb, mopey Bella Swan. Dakota Fanning also stars as The Runaways lead singer Cherie Currie, so you can damn well expect some emotin’.

The trailer reveals angry girls rocking, cherry bombing, pioneering hairstyles men would adopt a few years later and, overall, doing the late 70′s proud.

Shrek Forever After Trailer in Front of Avatar

DreamWorks Animation is going to try and squeeze another dollar-flavored drip of ogre milk from the Shrek teat this May with Shrek Forever After. All of us will get an early sniff of Donkey (Eddie Murphy), Puss (Antonio Banderas), Fiona (Cameron Diaz) and Shrek (Mike Myers) when the teaser trailer debuts in front of Avatar on December 18^th.

Shrek Forever After reunites the entire gaggle of fairytale creatures from the last three movies, as well as introducing Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn), who, from what I gather of the plot, turns Shrek’s world upside down and sends him to some bizarre, alternate reality Far Far Away where Donkey is a genius, Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow) is still ruler and Shrek and Fiona have never met.

The question I have is can the Shrek franchise regroup after a disappointing and lackluster Shrek the Third? I don’t know about you, but after relishing in the fresh comedy and spunk of the first two movies, the third movie felt ill-conceived and overbearing. My gut tells me Shrek Forever After probably will follow suit, but one can hope, right? Dare to dream!

More to come once we get our hands on the trailer – hopefully before Avatar hits theaters!

Dreamworks Animation Ramps up the Assembly Line

In a perfect underlining of why Pixar’s closest rival and unfathomable moneymaker creatively sucks and hates the audiences who still shovel gobs of cash into their slackjawed maws, Dreamworks Animation announced their ambitious plans to crap out five new animated features every two years. This shouldn’t be hard, considering the total rehash and ugly character design each and every one of their films tend to plop on eager audiences every year. With the exception of the charming Kung Fu Panda, which was apparently developed outside the DWA crap factory, Dreamworks Animation projects have been the pinnacle of how to make movies people can’t remember in 60 days but inexplicably make oodles of cash anyway.

Either way, the Dreamworks uppity-ups announced the new poop on screen assembly line will include one original film which they’ll inevitably make a sequel to (thank you for the exceptions Over the Hedge and Shark Tale). The other will be sequels to the sequels they’re already invested in. Hello Madagascar 3, Monsters vs. Aliens 2, Shrek Forever After and Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom. Hopefully, the new projects (which, to be fair, sound like some hold promise) learn a lesson from their polished big brother and superior, Pixar, if not some lesser lessons from the care taken with Kung Fu Panda.

I know Dreamworks Animation has their apologists, but I’m not one of them. Sure kids love ‘em, but kids aren’t smart. If you wanna call me out, I’ll both mock and fight you in the comments section. Or you can read all the extensive details right here.