Shrek lives funnily ever after

• Source: Global Times
• [09:08 August 19 2010]
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So we get inspired moments like the close-up on the eyes of Puss in Boots when he is giving his earth-shatteringly cute look to get what he wants.

We have witnessed this delightful and humorous set-piece throughout the series, but here it receives its finest exposition; absolutely beautiful oversized eyes that get bigger every time the camera returns to them. This scene is even more magical in the 3-D version of the movie.

The metaphysical nature of the storyline, in which an alternate universe is created by changing past events gives Shrek the chance to re-meet characters like Donkey and Dragon, allowing director Mike Mitchell to pay homage to the original (still by far the most successful of the quartet), tweaking these familiar relationships in new contexts.

The Shrek series has always been wonderful at introducing new characters and this installment is no different.

Rumpelstiltskin, commendably voiced by writer and story artist Walt Dohrn, is brought in as principle villain; a weaselly little man whose great skill lies in his ability to get people to sign dodgy magical contracts.

The film is likely to appeal on a general level and has received mostly positive criticism from fans and critics.

The Global Times' major complaint was that the simple idea at the heart of the first film, the ironic and irreverent take on fairytale storytelling as a genre and a practice, is not really to be found in this, the concluding chapter of the series.