In the past six years, the movie “Shrek” has become a cultural phenomenon. Toys, games and sponsorship all sprung out of the “Shrek” culture, as well as two sequels.

The newest installment of the “Shrek” series, “Shrek the Third,” seems to be a let down compared to the previous two movies.

Having started where “Shrek 2” left off, Shrek and Fiona (voiced by Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz) have become celebrities in the land of Far Far Away. Although, when Fiona’s father, the Frog Prince (John Cleese), dies, Shrek must make a choice either to rule himself or to hand over the kingdom to a long distant cousin, Arthur (Justin Timberlake).

Meanwhile, a scorned Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) sets up a revolt to take over the kingdom and seek revenge on Shrek.

Also thrown into the mix, Shrek must come to terms of being a father and expanding his family.

While the movie was not bad, it just did not live up to the standard the previous two movies set.

The first two films were based on humor and fairy tale fun.

The new movie seemed to be tapped out on new jokes.

It seemed like they were trying too hard to make the movie either funny or poignant, depending on the moment. There was nothing new to the movie, structure wise.

The plot very much continues the story of “Shrek” but it seems stretched too thin.

Fiona’s female liberalism movement, Charming’s villain revolt, Shrek’s battle with responsibility and Arthur’s coming-of-age give the plot of the movie a lot to play with but in order to give them justice they each need time to develop.

Another problem with the movie was they now integrated the King Arthur legend with the fairy tale themes of “Shrek.”

Arthur is a legend, not a fairy tale.

Legends are exaggerated stories based on a little fact, where fairy tales are made up stories that tell a moral. By taking the Arthur legend and making him a picked on high school student takes something away from both the legend and the series.

The movie remained true to the children-friendly nature of the other films, a plus for a movie advertised as a family film. Children will love this movie for its familiar jokes and memorable characters. There are even a few really funny scenes, like when Snow White gets the animals of the forest to attack by belting the opening part of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song.” Even the animation is quite impressive, making the human characters seem real at times. The detail on the faces and clothing is a major accomplishment for the animation directors.

But the fact remains, the high appeal of the “Shrek” series has slightly diminished by the let down of “Shrek the Third.” However, still see it for the experience if you are a fan of series or have children. It is quite an entertaining movie, but really third in the series.