'Shrek the Third' keeps jokes coming

There are plenty of popular references and funny moments in this sequel.
By ROBERT W. BUTLER
KANSAS CITY STAR
You don't go to a "Shrek" movie for the plot.
You go to have your funny bone stroked by the series' patented blend of fairy tale tradition and pop cultural references.
And "Shrek the Third" delivers.
For those who think story matters, a quick synopsis: Our boy Shrek (Mike Myers) finds himself the heir to the throne of Far, Far Away. Ogres being ill-suited to statesmanship, Shrek is desperate to find someone more suited to the job.
Leaving the newly pregnant Fiona (Cameron Diaz) behind, our green hero journeys with Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss In Boots (Antonio Banderas) in search of Fiona's cousin, the Doogie Howser-ish Arthur (Justin Timberlake). They find the unimpressive young nobleman in a boarding school that's a cross between Hogwarts and Zip Code 90210.
Meanwhile the vain and power-mad Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) is plotting to seize the throne of Far, Far Away.
What matters here is the virtually nonstop barrage of visual and verbal jokes dished by writers Andrew Adamson, Jeffrey Price, Peter S. Seaman, Chris Miller and Aron Warner.
There's a very funny sequence in which Shrek, unmanned by impending fatherhood, has a nightmare filled with dozens of crawling, crying, pooping, home-destroying chartreuse babies.
Background amusement
An early scene of Prince Charming attempting to make his way in the world as a dinner theater actor is sublimely cruel, and Arthur's school is a Medieval-themed parody of a high school comedy, complete with incense-sniffing dopers, "Just Say Nay" posters, cheerleaders who jabber in Valley-speak, Dungeons & amp; Dragons dweebs (presumably they play with real dungeons and real dragons) and preening, thick-headed athletes (the game here isn't football, it's jousting).
Back at the castle, Fiona must contend with a clique of princesses -- Sleeping Beauty (Cheri Oteri), Snow White (Amy Poehler), Rapunzel (Maya Rudolph) and Cinderella (Amy Sedaris) -- who behave like bored, rich sorority girls and are of limited use in a political crisis.
The favorite among the new characters undoubtedly will be the bumbling magician Merlin (Eric Idle), a skinny old git who wears a too-short robe and Birkenstock sandals with white socks.
Technically, "Shrek the Third" is little short of amazing, achieving a level of photo-realism so convincing that you cease thinking of these as cartoon characters.
My one gripe is that the film's middle portion gets flabby whenever director Miller and company try to deliver a moral. Morals are at odds with "Shrek's" giddy insouciance. Who needs them?