Shrek 3

When we last left Shrek, Mike Myers’s formerly swamp-dwelling ogre had become friends with the assassin hired to kill him (he’s a total pussycat, after all) and gained acceptance into wife Fiona’s royal—and royally stuck-up—family. The final installment of DreamWorks’ twisted fairy-tale trilogy hits screens this month, and while Time Out Kids wasn’t able to get a sneak peek at the film—we’ll have to line up with everybody else on May 18—we did find out some plot secrets.

1 After Shrek’s froggy father-in-law, King Harold (John Cleese), um, croaks, our green hero is appointed sovereign leader of the land of Far Far Away. The down-to-earth ogre chafes under all the royal responsibility and embarks on a quest to find Arthur Pendragon, the kingdom’s missing heir.

2Shrek 2’s pain-in-the-butt Prince (Everett) returns, staking his claim as rightful ruler of the fictional kingdom. He amasses a malevolent army that includes bad guys Captain Hook, the Wicked Witch of the West and Rumpelstiltskin to help him conquer Far Far Away.

3 The cast, already practically a Saturday Night Live reunion, adds two-time SNL host (and former boyfriend of Diaz’s) Justin Timberlake as Fiona’s teenage slacker cousin Artie. The Arthurian legend gets tweaked just a tad when the young Pendragon proves reluctant to ascend to the throne.

4 No one does medieval shenanigans quite like Monty Python members. So, after Cleese’s King Harold kicks the bucket, Eric Idle—his cohort in the British comedy troupe—ably joins the proceedings as reclusive wizard Merlin. Because of his past stint as a magic teacher at Artie’s high school, Merlin is enlisted by Shrek to help the young student accept his destiny.

5 Fiona rolls with a princess posse now, including an obsessive compulsive Cinderella (Amy Sedaris) and a fuzzy narcoleptic Sleeping Beauty (Cheri Oteri). When the day needs saving, these queens-to-be lead a revolt against Prince Charming’s henchmen.

6 In the midst of all the chaos, Shrek finds out that he’s going to be a daddy. We’re not sure what baby ogres eat, but we’re thinking the new parents might want to cast a magic spell before changing the tot’s diapers.—Evan Narcisse