Shrek Forever After

Starring Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas, and Walt Dohrn. Directed by Mike Mitchell.

This was a great movie. I wasn't sure how it was going to be when I saw the preview, but I found it very amusing.

I've always enjoyed the Shrek movies but I tend to forget about them after they leave the theater. We don't own any of the Shrek movies even though I saw the last one 3 times in theaters--I remember it very clearly, because I saw it once when it came out in May, again because I enjoyed it so much, and then one more time when I was in Spain that summer because I wanted an enjoyable movie experience without the headache of trying to understand what was going on. My Shrek-in-Spanish experience was one of the highlights of the trip because it gave me so much genuine happiness for those few hours.

So I was shocked when I realized that the last time I saw a Shrek movie was 3 years ago, in 2007. I hadn't ever really considered that they would make another one, partly because it's been so long and so much has happened to me since then (I got married, moved to a new state, endured 2 and a half deployments, got a puppy, ETC). I found that when I tried to remember what happened in the last 2 movies, I couldn't even remember the plotlines. So I watched the Shrek 2 and 3 trailers (I would highly recommend it if you can't remember them clearly, although a thorough memory of the last 2 sequels isn't strictly necessary to enjoy this one). This movie actually harks back more to the original movie than the 2 sequels, which was a surprise, but in a good way.

A refresher: in the first movie, Shrek has to save Fiona from her imprisonment in a dragon-guarded tower so Prince Farqaad will leave Shrek's swamp in peace. In the process they fall in love and true love's kiss turns them both into ogres. Donkey falls in the love with the dragon and they have little dragon/donkey babies. In the second one, they have to go to Far Far Away to meet Fiona's parents and break the news that they're both ogres instead of people pretty people. Prince Charming tries to steal her away, but in the end everyone lives happily. In the last one, everyone's gotten used to the idea that Shrek is an ogre and the King, who also happens to be a frog, dies, leaving the kingdom in Shrek's hands. In order to escape this responsibility, he sets off to find a new king, the young an hilariously accurate teenage prince, Arthur. Charming tries to stir up the evil characters of Far Far Away, and even works to turn Arty against Shrek. We also find out that Fiona is pregnant and Shrek deals with the terror that comes along with that. Again, it ends with a happy ending, with Arty becoming king and Shrek and Fiona returning home to the swamp to raise their newborn triplets.

In this latest sequel, Shrek finds himself fatigued by family life. At his triplets' first birthday party, he finds the tedium of parenthood, husbandhood, and gentle friendly ogrehood to be too much. He says some hurtful things to Fiona and wishes he'd never rescued her in the first place. Enter Rumplestiltskin, that master of devious magical contracts. Fealing betrayed that Shrek had stolen his opportunity to rule Far Far Away when he rescued Fiona and thus prevented her parents from selling the kingdom to him to secure their daughter's future (whew, deep breath), Rumple jumps on Shrek's despair and offers him the opportunity to be an Ogre for a Day. Shrek wants to be feared, to be able to take mudbaths when he likes and do whatever he wants. He believes that Rumple's offer is the perfect way to recharge.

Not a stickler for the details, Shrek agrees to any day Rumple wants to take from his life. Rumple takes the day he was born, and so Shrek enters a world in which he never actually existed. Rumple is king (since Shrek didn't save Fiona, her parents signed over the kingdom to Rumple and promptly disappeared). Fiona is an ogre warlord fighting against an oppressive regime. Shrek discovers that he has entered a world where his family not only does not but cannot exist, and he realizes he left behind everything he could ever want without the ability to return to that life.

Adventures ensue, including re-meeting Donkey, a plump Puss in Boots, a gladiator Gingerbread Man, and a battle-hardened Fiona. Of course there's a happy ending, which I won't spoil, but what surprised me the most was my emotion in getting there.

I can relate to this plot because I spend at least 30% of every day thinking about babies. I read baby books, I look at baby bedding, clothing, diapers, bags, strollers, etcetera online, I watch pregnancy and baby shows on TV, I consider how I would like to decorate my nursery, I think about where we're going to move so I can think about what kind of climate I'll have to walk with the stroller in....etc. I recognize that it could be a good 2 or 3 years before we even get pregnant, but I just can't help it. I'm struggling with the desire to start several baby crafting projects, including several designs for baby blankets that I don't need yet. I don't even know what sex my baby will be and I'm already trying to make blankets for it... lol I also spend a lot of time thinking about what it will be like when they get older, when they're terrorizing my house and I can't get a moment of peace. I know it will be crazy and I will probably long for this life of solitude, quiet and endless sleep. But I can't wait. I. Can't. Wait.

So it's very appropriate for me to watch a movie about someone who has everything I want but feels overwhelmed by it. I get that. I have a feeling I will feel like that a lot when I have kids. And yet I want to have kids more than anything else in the world. So this movie captured exactly what I'm feeling right now. He has this perfect life, with a wonderful, loving wife and 3 bouncing babies, but life seems to lose its interest after days upon days of the same routine. I can understand how he would wish to return to his old, quiet life. And so he does, only to discover that he would do anything to go back.

I'll be honest, I had to work really hard to keep from crying in this movie. When he realizes that he may never see his family again--that's heart-wrenching. I can't even imagine. In a moment of rash behavior, he gave up his entire life and may never get it back. In the alternate reality, his family doesn't even exist. His kids don't even exist anymore. And his wife doesn't love him because she's never met him. I felt this hurt very deep in my heart. I tend to react very strongly to pain involving kids, and this was no exception. The idea that he would never see his kids again is even making me almost cry sitting here thinking about it. I just can't handle that kind of awful pain.

Side note: I seem to be extraordinarily emotional tonight, and I don't know why. I almost cried when I saw a commercial saying that we would remember forever the men and women who have given their lives to fight for our country. I almost cried while watching a show about a paralyzed woman who gave birth to twins. Just looking at those little babies made me tear up for some reason. Now I'm watching the History channel show America: The Story of Us (I would highly recommend it, by the way!), and the bombing of Pearl Harbor is making me want to cry. I suppose the link here is that 1) my husband is under the ocean and I haven't heard from him in almost a week, probably won't hear from him for many more to come, and 2) I want a baby so bad I'm already planning my nursery decorations three years in advance. So Shrek Forever After hit me very hard tonight: a man suddenly loses his entire family, his wife and kids, without saying goodbye or getting a chance to ever see them again. That hit me right in the core of my heart.

But as I said, this movie does have a happy ending (of course, it's Shrek!). One of the things I love about the Shrek franchise is their ability to capture certain facets of our culture and of human behavior. Puss has gained a ton of weight in this one, which inevitably brings to mind the growing trend of obese cats in our culture. Makes you wonder, does obesity in our pets say just as much about our culture of overindulgence as obesity in humans? Just a thought. I also feel that Shrek's fatherhood crisis very well captures how many parents feel at one time or other. It's an excellent kids movie, because kids will enjoy the jokes and animation, and parents can relate to the plotline.

I sat in front of a child when I watched it, and it was adorable to hear their comments. Of course I don't remember any of them now, but they made me smile as I sat there. I would highly recommend going to a showing with kids because it's adorable to hear their take on it.

One of the best parts about this movie? It was a mere hour and a half long. Lots of entertainment in such a short amount of time! Hurrah!

I stayed for the animated part of the credits because I was curious to see what they held. They started with bits of scenes from the first movie and continued on through the first 2 sequels. My feeling from this is that the animators chose their favorite scenes from the franchise and put them in the credits of this movie as a way to wrap things up once and for all. I don't expect any more sequels from this franchise, but this was a nice way to bring it to a close.

I would highly recommend this movie. It far exceeded my expectations. It pulled my heartstrings but ultimately left me with a smile. 5 rainbows and donkeys!

Rating (out of 5 rainbows and ponies): 5 rainbows and donkeys
Conclusion: HAPPY ENDING