Shrek Forever After

Undeterred by the lacklustre ‘Shrek the Third’, the series returns for a fourth film – and this time, it’s gone sci-fi. Shrek ends up in a parallel universe after tiring of the monotony of both fatherhood and local celebrity. In his current life, no one is scared of him, and busloads of tourists peer at the swamp home he shares with wife Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) and their cute green babies. So Shrek goes awol and bumps into a wandering little guy called Rumpelstiltstkin.

As fairy-tale fans will know, Rumpelstiltskin specialises in tricksy contracts. So when Shrek drunkenly signs an agreement to be a real ‘ogre for a day’ in return for just one day of his life, he doesn’t realise the catch. Suddenly, Shrek is thrown into a world in which ogres are hated, but Rumpel rules the kingdom, hosting all-day raves with black-clad witches and routinely scamming the quivering inhabitants of a depleted Far Far Away.

All very ‘Back to the Future II’, and it’s a fun twist that allows for a fresh perspective on familiar characters. Fiona is now a warrior princess, Donkey is a slave to the witches, and Puss? Well, let’s just say he’s been living the good life. The plot’s initially involving – and if it’s too complex for toddlers, it compensates with humour, visual invention and a 3D wow factor. This can’t match the original’s laugh count, though, and the story wears thin. Still, with warmth and charm, ‘Shrek Forever After’ is an entertaining conclusion to the franchise – one that parents should happily endure. But let’s hope that’s all, folks.