First Look: SHREK FOREVER AFTER - Plot Details, New Characters, and Photo
Dreamworks' Shrek franchise, which began in 2001, will get its fairy tale ending when the fourth installment hits theaters May 21st. A trailer for Shrek Forever After will premiere Dec. 18 at showings of Avatar. The latest and final sequel starring the green CGI animated ogre will also be the first in 3D!
Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz will once again lend their voices to their roles as Shrek, his fast talking sidekick Donkey and the Princess turned ogress wife and mother Fiona. With all the players returning for more once-upon-a-time flavored pop culture spoofing, head of creative production at DreamWorks, Bill Damaschke, promises, "All that was loved about Shrek in the first film is brought to the final film."
The premise is described as the Brothers Grimm meet It's a Wonderful Life: After rescuing a princess, getting hitched and fathering triplets, Shrek is feeling over-domesticated. Director Mike Mitchell explains of the set up:
He has lost his roar. It used to send villagers running away in terror. Now they run to him and ask him to sign their pitchforks and torches.
To regain his ogre mojo, he strikes a deal with Rumpelstiltskin. Of course, the pact goes awry and Shrek must confront what life would be like in Far Far Away if he had never existed. That translates into Donkey being forced into cart-pulling duty, fat and lazy Puss in Boots trading his sword for a pink bow and the underhanded Rumpelstiltskin ruling the kingdom.
Walt Dohrn, the film's head of story, voices Rumpelstiltskin, the wee troublemaker who popped up briefly in Shrek 2 and 3. -- though "certain websites"(imdb) wrongly credit Paul McCartney. Joining Dohrn are several new characters: comedians Kathy Griffin and Kristin Schaal (Flight of the Conchords) are witches who hunt ogres. Opposing the witches as the leader of an underground resistance group is Jon Hamm(Mad Men), who Mitchell describes as, "the best-looking ogre you've ever seen."
When asked if Shrek Forever After will wrap up with everyone living happily ever after, Mitchell said, "I hate to give away the ending, but yes."
My interest was lost with Shrek The Third, but Shrek Forever After looks promising. I like the new characters and the plot. But I'm a bit skeptical of Mithchell, who's credits include the superhero farce Sky High and Surviving Christmas, which holds a 7% rating on RottenTomatoes. The only film of his I liked was Deuce Bigelow: Male Gigolo... that's not a good sign. But with the Dreamworks' team of writers behind him, I'm sure it will be good. Plus, Rumpelstiltskin looks like the tiniest cutest creepy English man you've ever seen.
What do you think of all the plot and new characters in SHREK FOREVER AFTER?
Source: USAtoday
