"But Gloomie!" you (maybe even both of you) are saying, "Shrek the Third isn't a spooky horror film the likes of which fills you with satisfaction and/or a need to avoid mirrors for a while, just in case!"
If this is indeed what you're saying, you've never been a mild claustrophobic in a dark, crowded room with lots of children-- a circumstance which ties into one of the film's main plots, as the titular ogre is dragged reluctantly into fatherhood. Along the way he'll take on succession crises, a search for king-to-be Arthur to prevent said crises, and another attack from the image-obsessed Prince Charming, now reduced to performing in dinner theatre.
Alas, Shrek the Third is the second "part III" film this season to lack the power of its predecessors. (The third Pirates installment will presumably complete the set.) While the story is pleasant enough and it's always nice to see my favorite fairy-tale character get screen time, by now the hero and his antisocial ways are well-known to audiences, and even the villain recurs from Shrek 2. Some examples of the entertaining inversions of various stories do appear in Shrek the Third-- Snow White using tiny woodland creatures to kick butt, Merlin the Wizard as a burnt-out former teacher who appears to wear Birkenstocks-- but the franchise is gently tiring out, its subversions as expected as Bugs Bunny's cross-dressing.
In sum, cute? Absolutely. Puss-in-Boots? Not enough. Worth braving the mobs of opening weekend? Phooey.
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