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3-D casts a spell on movies. When many viewers showed only a slight interest and wonderment in the newly-matured technology, 3-D movies have lately been produced in unwarranted large quantities, drawing audiences into an inflated ticket price. Even our old 2-D chap, Shrek, cannot break the spell. In "Shrek Forever After," the fourth chapter of the classic franchise, we see the green ogre jump into such illusionary gimmicks as well.

Fortunately 3D film-making is the only striking difference between this movie and the previous three installments. The merits that define the Shrek series as great animation remain present.

In this chapter, Shrek (Mike Myers) is feeling over-domesticated and pines for a return to his rebellious bygone days. So when he meets Rumpelstilskin (Walt Dohrn), who knows witchcraft, Shrek agrees to strike a magical deal. Shrek trades away one day of his early life in exchange for one day to be free of his whining triplets and nagging wife Fiona (Cameron Diaz).

But, he is too gullible to realize that if you trade any previous day of your life, it could result in a big change in the present. Consequently, in a twisted version of Far Far Away, Shrek finds that Rumpel takes away the day of his birth and he must confront what life would be like if he had never existed.

You may have heard this tale before; even if you have never watched the 1946 black-and-white classic "It's a Wonderful Life." But the beauty and delight in Shrek is not in the story itself but in the way it is told. Shrek Forever After still upholds what we call in Chinese the "Spoof Culture" and succeeds in keeping its repetition from getting stale. The audience's genuine laughter is uncontainable from start to finish by such humorous dialogue as when Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) banter with each other and call the other side "You are a CATastrophe" or "You are riDONKulous."

Thanks to the carefully polished screenplay and unique, vibrant characters, movie goers are able to remember even the most minor supporting roles, like the 3 Little Pigs and the Gingerbread Man. Moreover, dubbing specialists behind these lovable personalities continue their wonderful vocal work. Warmth and humanity, rather than stardom, bring the widely varied cast of characters to life.

DreamWorks declares this is the final episode for Shrek and his gang, but everybody knows that the only thing that spells finality in Hollywood is bad box-office results. And it seems this movie does okay so far.

This couldn't be the last Shrek movie! Let's bet on it!

On a scale of 1 to 10, I give the film 7.5.

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