Thrice Upon A Time

Now that animated movies are like any other popular film genre, there's simply too many of them and it seems that, like Nicolas Cage movies, there's a new one out every week. Apart from the occasional gem, it's mostly Madagascar-style mediocrity - so the anticipation over the new Shrek film can be well understood. Yes, DreamWorks' beloved green ogre is returning to the silver screen for a tertiary instalment in the highly anticipated Shrek the Third, reuniting all the cast from the first two episodes.

But what can we expect from the new film? In 2001, Shrek became the first ever Academy Award winner for Best Animated Feature and, three years later, the sequel became the third highest grossing film of all time. So, the question is, how can they top that? Why, stick to the same formula and chuck in some more celebrity voices of course. And the annoying thing is, it will probably be just as good as the first two.

The premise takes up where Shrek 2 left off. Although marrying Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz), Shrek (Mike Myers) has no intentions of inheriting the throne of Far, Far Away. So when King Harold (John Cleese) falls seriously ill, it seems as if his plans of returning to his precious swamp with his new bride are about to be royally screwed. In a bid to solve the problem, Shrek sets off with buddies Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss In Boots (Antonio Banderas) in a quest to find the only other possible heir to the throne. Unfortunately for him, however, that person happens to be Fiona's long-lost cousin Artie (Justin Timberlake). A rebellious snob and not exactly keen to take over the throne, Shrek and co. realise that turning him into a grateful Prince could be more of a handful than they originally bargained for.

To make matters worse, with the odious ogre now out of the way, Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) sees the perfect opportunity for a coup d'etat, enlisting help from a mixture of fairytale baddies, including Captain Hook, The Wicked Queen and The Ugly Stepsister, in a bid to seize the throne by force. Fiona and her mum Lillian (Julie Andrews), however, begin to build their own army of fairytale heroes and heroines to quash the threat.

With the exception perhaps of The Simpsons Movie, Shrek the Third is undoubtedly the most eagerly awaited animated film of the year. With a plot that sees The Gingerbread Man battling against Rumpelstiltskin, it's hard to see how this latest instalment will be anything but good family fun and, with recent releases such as the horrific TMNT, the movie will no doubt give the genre the boost it so desperately needs at present.