Redwood City, Calif. — WHO would've guessed that the world's most famous ogre, the green swamp creature who, like Axl Rose, just wanted to be left alone, would help ignite the careers of a passel of pretty princesses?
Making their debut in this summer's "Shrek the Third," these budding queen bees are not your daughter's pink and sparkly ladies awaiting a Prince Charming of their very own. They are an elite fighting team of solid dames, who burn a few bras and stomp on bad-guy heads to the thundering key of Ann and Nancy Wilson's "Barracuda."
And, as played by late-night TV comedians Maya Rudolph (Rapunzel), Amy Poehler (Snow White), Amy Sedaris (Cinderella), and Cheri Oteri (Sleeping Beauty), they may just be perfect spinoff material, said Aron Warner, longtime producer for the billion-dollar "Shrek" franchise.
"The actresses were so funny to work with, you could definitely see them expanding those roles," Warner said. A feature starring Puss in Boots (voiced by Antonio Banderas) is also under consideration, but Warner noted that both ideas are "really just being played with" as DreamWorks Animation plans future releases for 2010 through 2012.
Meanwhile, here in Silicon Valley -- among the 350 engineers and computer artists who have mated math and story to\o7 \f7\o7 \f7help Shrek deal with self-acceptance and, then, in the sequel, guide him through a minefield of enchantment -- a 30-minute sneak peek at the latest installment, set for a Memorial Day release, is emceed by co-director Chris Miller. (The fourth iteration, still under wraps, is in early story development before heading to the storyboarding stage.)
A few new developments stand out. The third film is jam-packed with supporting roles -- 23 fairy-tale characters and 1,373 extras in one crowd shot; there are many more richly detailed environments -- 67 of the 82 sets are new; Miller and fellow director Raman Hui experiment with characters' altered states of consciousness -- think flashbacks and nightmares; lastly, while still rich with pop cultural references, the new film delves into situational comedy more than the throw-away jokes that are "Shrek's" hallmark.
Instead, the focus is on character-based comedy, meaning many new technical burdens fell on the shoulders of Lucia Modesto, the film's character technical director supervisor. She and her team built a 4,378-strong fleet of generic male and female characters made visibly different through variations in body types, hair and costumes.
