10 out of 10
 

The film opens with a wonderfully clever video montage of the newly weds Shrek and Fiona on their honeymoon. It incorporates pop culture and fairy tales: the 2 lovers running in slow motion towards each other through a field, that pans out and you see they are actually being chased by pitchfork throwing mobs, or snuggling up to each other on a romantic beach when a wave washes over them and suddenly Shrek is snuggling with the little mermaid, who gets unceremoniously thrown back in by Fiona.

With the honeymoon over they return to Shrek's house in the swamp to be greeted by an old friend, donkey, and a herald from the court of Fiona’s parents in a far far away land announcing a banquet in honour of their daughter and her new groom. John Cleese lends his voice as the King who is less than impressed with his daughter, an ogre, and her choice of husband, Shrek. Enter Prince Charming, who was supposed to have been the valiant knight to rescue Fiona from her curse, but Shrek beat him to the punch.

Shrek and the king act like buffoons and treat each other with contempt, which causes Fiona grief, and drives a wedge between her and Shrek. In order to try and patch things up, he agrees to go on a hunt with the king, but instead gets waylaid by a deadly assassin and cutthroat, Puss In Boots (Antonio Banderas). Puss pledges himself to Shrek after Shrek reveals how much he loves Fiona and what lengths he would go for her. The trio of donkey, Puss and Shrek head out in search of the Fairy Godmother, who is said to grant all wishes. Her cottage in the woods turns out to be magic factory that would put third world sweat shops to shame. Within the potion room Shrek finds his answer, a potion that transforms him and Fiona into humans, but Shrek has until the next stroke of midnight to kiss his true love in order for them both to remain happy. Meanwhile, Prince Charming and his mommy, the Fairy Godmother, have put their plots in motion to have Fiona become the Prince’s bride, and push Shrek out of the way. With the help of The King, who has a dark secret that the godmother exploits, it becomes a battle against time, with help from some old friends, Pinocchio, ginger bread man, the three blind mice and a new creation by the muffin man, as Shrek comes to realize that Fiona means the world to him and would sacrifice his Ogre lifestyle for her.

There is so much comedic talent in this film that there is no way they could go wrong. There are so many small little jokes that are easy to miss, for example: The city of far far away land, which is a medieval post modern Hollywood, with Farbucks on every corner(a jab at Starbucks), word plays on many popular stores like old navy and references to such pop culture icons like Justin Timberlake and cops.

The laughs are non stop, even the music is matched perfectly to create a wonderful film that explores such classic themes as love, friendship, loyalty and happiness. The animation is top notch, take special note of the rain, as well as the dust particles in the Puss In Boots introduction scene.

A little tip, do not miss the final musical performance, donkey and Puss serenading the assembled citizens of far far away land with "living la vita loca" and as is the case in most Mike Myers films, there is more after the credits.