In the fourth and final chapter, the animated Shrek series recovers the sense of mischief it lost in Shrek the Third. Yes, it helps that this one is in 3-D – the real deal, not a retrofit – that makes the action pop. But it's the characters that pull us in when familiarity flatlines our interest.  The plot gimmick involves husband-and-father Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers with just the right blend of mirth and malaise) feeling frustrated that his days as a fear-inducing ogre are over. So he makes a deal with Rumpelstiltskin (an ingeniously nasty vocal turn from DreamWorks Animation story editor Walt Dohrn) that tricks him into an alternate universe where he doesn't know his wife, Fiona (Cameron Diaz), his friend Donkey (Eddie Murphy) or fat-cat Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas). It's a fun ride. What's missing is the excitement of a new interpretation.

“1999”

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.