Shrek sequel adds to cast

Shrek and Donkey return for 'Shrek the Third'.

LOS ANGELES - DreamWorks Animation has cast a small mediaeval kingdom's worth of fairy tale characters who will appear in Shrek the Third.

The next instalment of the smelly ogre's saga, set for release next year, is set to star an elite, ninja-like strike force of fairy tale princesses voiced by Amy Sedaris as Cinderella, Amy Poehler as Snow White, Maya Rudolph as Rapunzel and Cheri Oteri as Sleeping Beauty.

Organized by Princess Fiona, the ladies underground resistance movement fends off a coup d'etat by Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) in the land of Far, Far Away.

The DreamWorks Animation comedy will be distributed by Paramount Pictures and is set for US release on May 18.

Also joining the hit animated comedy's cast are Ian McShane (Deadwood) as Captain Hook, John Krasinski (The Office) as Sir Lancelot, and Monty Python veteran Eric Idle as Merlin the magician.

The film's main roles again will be voiced by Mike Myers (Shrek), Cameron Diaz (Princess Fiona), Eddie Murphy (Donkey) and Antonio Banderas (Puss in Boots). Diaz's boyfriend, pop singer Justin Timberlake, will voice King Arthur, a.k.a. Artie.

Shrek the Third finds the green ogre married to Princess Fiona, but becoming the next King and Queen of Far, Far Away wasn't part of his plan. When his father-in-law, King Harold (John Cleese), falls ill, it is up to Shrek to find a suitable heir or he will be forced to give up his beloved swamp for the throne. Recruiting Donkey and Puss for a new quest, Shrek sets out to bring back the rightful heir to the throne, Fiona's rebellious cousin Artie.

Back in Far, Far Away, Fiona's jilted Prince Charming storms the city with an army of fairy tale villains to seize the throne. But they have a surprise in store because Fiona, together with her mother, Queen Lillian (Julie Andrews), has drafted her fellow fairy tale heroines to defend their "happily ever afters." As Shrek, Donkey and Puss work on changing Artie from a royal pain into a future king, Fiona and her band of princesses must stop Prince Charming to ensure that there will be a kingdom left to rule.

Sedaris stars as Jerri Blank in Strangers With Candy, which is playing in New York and Los Angeles; Poehler stars in the upcoming Blades of Glory, with Will Ferrell and Jon Heder; Rudolph is onscreen in Robert Altman's A Prairie Home Companion; Oteri is in the upcoming animated comedy The Ant Bully.

- REUTERS/Hollywood Reporter