"Shrek: Happily Ever After" will have some franchise fans wondering, where's Artie, the future King Arthur character voiced by Justin Timberlake?
While most of the principles from "Shrek the Third" are back, Artie is nowhere to be seen in the current Shrek incarnation opening Friday.
It was a virtual media Camelot when Timberlake joined the third movie to make his voice heard alongside "Shrek" regular Cameron Diaz. Did his role end with the demise of the Timberlake-Diaz union, which didn't go happily ever after?
While King Arthur is not mentioned in the new movie, which is primarily in flashback, director Mike Mitchell tells PopcornBiz that movie makers decided that the character would have bigger things to work on. "He's on a quest for the Holy Grail," says Mitchell. "He didn't have time to be around."
While larger characters due to tend to stay, Mitchell points out that each movie is a full playing field of big names and lovable creatures looking for screen time.
"The film is so crowded with characters," says Mitchell. "Sometimes they stay. That's true. But it didn't happen that way this time."
Timberlake is not alone. The hilarious Prince Charming played by Rupert Everett was another "Shrek" one-termer. This time around you had a whole legion of new ogres played by Jon Hamm, Jane Lynch and Craig Robinson.
