Shrek The Third

When his frog-in-law suddenly croaks, Shrek (Myers) finds himself The Third in line for his throne (or is it first?). Mortified at the thought of having to rule Far Far Away, Shrek, along with his pals Donkey (Murphy) and Puss In Boots (Banderas), embark on an adventure to find the rightful heir to the throne, Arthur. Will Shrek be able to seat the awkward Arthur on the King's Throne or will he be forced into a role as Ogre King? Based upon the book by William Steig. (Stacey Pendry)

The HD DVD version has the same bonus features as the standard, with the exception of the "Worcestershire Academy Yearbook." The exclusive HD DVD special features are "The Animators Corner"—a feature-length picture-in-picture storyboard reel with a contextual branch to lost scenes and an option to customize the menus. The shared bonus features with the standard disc are two minutes of "Big Green Goofs," three lost scenes, "Donkey Dance" video (30 seconds), "Meet The Cast" (11 mintues), "Shrek's Guide To Parenthood" where five characters offer Fiona parenting tips, "Tech Of Shrek" featurette (ten minutes), "Dreamworks Animation Video Jukebox" where you listen to songs from six Dreamworks animated movies, more previews, and DVD-ROM "Shrektivities."

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78:1 DVD shows bold, vibrant colors combined with very good shadow delineation, making for a realistically dimensional-looking animated picture. Contrast is nicely balanced and black levels are deep. Details are rendered very well, from the sheen of horses' coats to the wood grain of trees. There are times throughout the presentation, though, where the images can look soft. Edge enhancement can be recognized, but it is rather minor. Shimmering and pixel breakup can be noticed from time to time. The VC-1-encoded HD DVD features fantastic resolution and color fidelity, with solid blacks and a great sense of depth. The picture shows wonderful detail and is quite impressive. (Danny Richelieu)

The Dolby® Digital 5.1-channel soundtrack features an exciting mix that uses each of the available channels well. Dialogue is mixed into the soundtrack nicely, with good fidelity and a natural presence. There are times when the dialogue can be masked by the music and effects, which are delivered through the front full-range channels at levels very close to that of the center channel. Surround imaging is limited, which can leave a gaping hole in the mix directly behind the listening position, but imaging across the three other stereo walls are crafted fairly well. Deep bass is delivered through each of the full-range channels and the LFE channel is not incorporated very often. The HD DVD's Dolby Digital Plus encoding has an added level of realism with slightly improved fidelity over the DVD's encoding. This is an enjoyable soundtrack. (Danny Richelieu)