When I first started getting into the high definition movie versions, I was blown away by what the HD DVD and Blu-ray formats brought to the home entertainment systems. Anyone who hasn’t seen a high-def movie in one of these formats – with the appropriate hookups and equipment, and I do mean a monitor capable of producing a high-def experience – really has no idea of the video quality that can be produced.

But Shrek the Third was my first HD DVD experience. I really didn’t think the video quality would be improved that much because this was animation, not film. I was wrong. The intensity of the color and the sharpness of the images was drastically improved. I’d seen the film in the theater (the movies are family favorites, after all) but getting to see it in the comfort of my own home on a clear screen only a few feet away trumped that experience. It’s a few extra dollars for the high-def versions, but I’d recommend them if the rest are like this. Now I can hardly wait to view the Blu-ray version of Ratatouille I picked up.

Another difference between the regular DVD and the HD DVD is that the DVD has a reformatted version of the film, cut from 1.85:1 to 1.78:1, and the HD DVD hasn’t been reformatted.

The story seems to have split some of the fans. Some think the third movie brought just as much to the picnic as ever, while others thought the series is starting to show its age. I was totally happy with it. No matter how hard you try, you can’t recreate that breath of fresh air that was Shrek.

The problem is that our subconscious minds have had time to play with the idea of Shrek and how things would go if he were pulled from his natural habitat and placed somewhere else. Therefore, when he was King Harold’s stand-in as ruler of Far, Far Away, I immediately figured out many of the punch lines before the film got to them. That’s because the character is so real I could easily imagine those scenarios for myself. When Shrek was playing king, I knew things would go badly. It was the beginning of the movie and that’s when everything goes badly.

Mike Myers did an incredible job of voicing everyone’s favorite ogre, and his sense of timing was just as good as ever. Eddie Murphy soared as Donkey. Cameron Diaz is still the perfect Princess Fiona. Antonio Banderas scores big-time in his triumphant return as Puss-in-Boots.

Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) returns as our villain, and he’s even more evil than ever. Doesn’t mean he’s going to be successful though, but he does make for some show-stealing moments that had me rolling on the floor with my ten-year-old as we watched the movie again.

The plot hinges around the fact that Fiona’s father, King Harold (John Cleese) who was the original frog prince, has finally kicked the bucket (they never used the word croaked and I know I wouldn’t have been able to resist). It looks like Shrek and Fiona are doomed to inherit the kingdom.