Nearly 10 years since “Shrek” first brought in the green at the box office, writer Walt Dohrn takes everyone's favorite ogre through a metaphysical paradox, and asks the following question: What would happen to the land of Far, Far Away if Shrek had never been born? The audience is given the answer through a series of science fiction plot twists in RealD 3D, which employ alternate timelines and hint at the possibility of a multiverse in the lore of fairy tales. The fourth in the “Shrek” series of animated films, “Forever After” opens with a flashback of an untold story from the first film: King Harold (John Cleese) and Queen Lillian (Julie Andrews) meet with Rumpelstiltskin in a last-ditch, desperate attempt to break the curse on their daughter, Fiona, who is doomed to be a beautiful princess by day and horrible ogre by night. Rumpelstiltskin draws up a contract which would break the curse on their daughter but through feint and duplicity would also allow him to dethrone the rightful monarchs and usurp power for himself. But his designs are derailed by the singular, yet fateful kiss shared between Shrek (Mike Myers) and Fiona (Cameron Diaz) in the first “Shrek” film. Fast-forward several years. Rumpelstiltskin is a drunk who runs a tab and gets tossed on his derriere from local tavernas. His arch-nemesis Shrek is a happy family man, changing nappies, running errands for the wife, hosting Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and his family every day. Every day. Happy? Suddenly, “Shrek Forever After” takes a dark turn; the happily-ever-after fairy tale crashes into the reality of a life married with children. The animated feature becomes more of a treatise on adult 'tear-and-wear' — the monotony of marriage, the responsibilities of raising children, the encroaching midlife crisis, and the yearning for the freedom and exciting opportunities of bachelorhood. A resentful Shrek wants out; Fiona says: "You have everything, everyone sees that, why can't you?" Re-enter Rumpelstiltskin who offers Shrek a Faustian contract of a lifetime; the ogre signs on the dotted line and *poof* his reality is erased as he is transported to a timeline in which he was never born. *Poof* Meanwhile, I was transported to Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol and along the way, Frank Capra's “It's a Wonderful Life” (1946) came along for the ride. Is there nothing original in Hollywood anymore? Despite this Dickensian travel through time, “Shrek” works because it deals with real issues. Sure, it may be set against the fairy tale backdrop but the temptations of throwing in the towel and hitting the reset button are all too real. In what is surely to be viewed as allegory on the global economic downturn befell by the sub-prime and mortgage crisis, Shrek signs the contract without reading the fine print and consequently loses his home and position. Much too real and painful. The laughs in “Shrek” this time around are few and far between but this is more than compensated by the "action" sequences between the newly-introduced witches on brooms, who are obviously not in Kansas anymore (that's right, they hail directly from Oz) and the new ogre army led by Fiona. (Shhh ... don't tell anyone, but our Shrek is actually tiny in comparison to other ogres) Miniscule, and nearly irrelevant, are the roles of Donkey and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas); they are hardly noticeable next to Rumpelstiltskin (Dohrn), who is so deliciously diabolical that you find yourself almost rooting for him, and Fiona's army who are better armed with one-liners than maces and swords. Jeffrey Katzenberg, Dreamworks' animation head, promised that this would be a different Shrek and in his opinion "the best one yet." He isn't wrong. “Shrek the Third” was lackluster and seemed to be banking on a tiring story line. “Forever After” is a suitably fun ending to the franchise — not a great film, but definitely an enjoyable one. Is it really the end? One can never tell in the land of Far, Far Away. “Shrek Forever After” is released in Egypt next week.
