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This time, princesses are doin' it for themselves.
Cinderella got slap-happy with Snow White while fighting over Fiona's bridal bouquet in 2001's original Shrek.
But in Shrek the Third, due May 18, the pair work with fellow fairy-tale divas Rapunzel and Sleeping Beauty to stop an attempted coup of Far Far Away.
Not that it's easy to persuade the pampered royals to take action against Prince Charming (voiced by Rupert Everett), still bitter after losing Fiona (Cameron Diaz) to a smelly ogre.
"They are used to being rescued, not defending the kingdom themselves," says Chris Miller, director of the second sequel in the computer-animated franchise that has grossed nearly $1.5 billion worldwide. "Fiona has to convince them to shed that role and save their own happily ever after."
That's because Shrek (Mike Myers), who discovers he is ill-suited to rule the land himself, has gone off with sidekicks Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) and Donkey (Eddie Murphy) to recruit the person who is next in line to the throne: high-schooler Artie (Justin Timberlake), who is destined to become King Arthur one day.
Some of TV's funniest ladies, including Saturday Night Live cast members past and present, speak for the princesses.
"Amy Poehler is Snow White, the alpha dog of the group," Miller says. "She's a real pit bull." Maya Rudolph lends what the director calls "her quiet coolness" to Rapunzel. Cheri Oteri is Sleeping Beauty, "a narcoleptic princess." And Amy Sedaris (Strangers With Candy) steps into the shoes of Cinderella, an obsessive-compulsive cleaner who can throw a mean high-heeled pump if need be.
Oteri says she is embarrassed by how giddy she was to be a princess, even taking home her prop crown and wand from the recording studio. "I love playing someone that lazy," she says of her cat-napper. Not that Sleeping Beauty doesn't come to Fiona's aid. "We've got her back. It's a very big back, but we've got it covered."
Those on the rival team include Captain Hook, Cyclops, Little Red Riding Hood, Rumpelstiltskin and a new character, Mabel, the second ugly stepsister voiced by TV host Regis Philbin.
The princesses do have their peeves. "Snow White likes to remind people she is the fairest of them all," Miller says. "There is competition between them. But they eventually learn they don't need to wait for a prince to come along to sweep them off their feet."
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