New characters bring with them new opportunities for special effects exploration.  One such character who makes his debut in this film is the legendary magician Merlin. 

“Since Merlin is in ‘Shrek the Third,’ that means a lot of magic,” says Baer. “There has always been magic in the ‘Shrek’ films, but each film has to have its own unique look.”

In this case, Baer and his team had another issue to consider when it came to creating the perfect effects for Merlin.  “We came up with this really cool, crazy-looking concept that we suggested to the directors, which we thought was great, but in the end we realized it was too scientific and almost too modern to fit into the ‘Shrek’ universe.  So, we went back and made it more medieval. Here's where we enter into a period of discovery with these magic effects.”

“Magic always ends up being the most difficult thing for us – mostly, because it's hard to define,” continues Gluckman.  “What magic looks like is very subjective.  And with Merlin, of course, he’s a bit rusty with his incantations, so something might start out looking one way and then look completely different when he figures out how to do it right.”

Another discovery that occurred in the animation process was the result of a story twist in “Shrek the Third.” Donkey and Puss In Boots drink a potion and magically switch bodies, and the animators were charged with this tricky task. 

“I think the biggest challenge for the animators, who were so used to animating Donkey in Donkey's body and Puss in Puss's body, was to transfer their personalities so Puss moves like a cat in a donkey’s body, and he reacts like a cat at times.  Yet it's also Puss trying to exist in Donkey's body, which is really awkward.  It made for a lot of great comedy.”