12:00 AM, 08-MAY-07

Julie Andrews, who voices the queen of Far Far Away in Shrek the Third, told SCI FI Wire that she came up with some of the improvised songs her character sings after bashing her head into a wall. In a comical scene, the stately mother-in-law of Shrek smashes her head into a brick wall to prove that she's no normal old lady. She then launches into a medley of songs: "I did have a say, a little bit, yes," Andrews said about the ad-libbing. "We tried a few [songs], and this was the one."

Andrews, of course, is the legendary singing star of such musical films as Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music. Does her Shrek character crib from those movies? "Well, if you think it is 'My Favorite Things,' that's funny," the actress said coyly.

Andrews joined the animated Shrek franchise for the second movie, and it looks like she'll be asked back for a proposed fourth Shrek, which isn't yet planned out. "I think that now we all know our characters a bit better, and they have written into them a little bit more," Andrews said. "I am so happy they asked me back, and I'm pleased to be a part of it."

Andrews added: "It just makes me feel great that I am part of it, and this is an iconic film, I think. It is going to be around for a very long time. It is done so well, and the good thing about it to me is it seems to be one of those films that it has all the tradition of fairy-tale stories, and yet it has such a traditional underpinning of all the right values. It is about decency. It is about loving who you are, about being unique, about being kind and decent. That is what always the best fairy tales are about."

Shrek the Third brings back the voices of Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, Rupert Everett, Antonio Banderas, Mike Myers and John Cleese, while adding Justin Timberlake, Amy Sedaris, Cheri Oteri, Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph. It opens May 18. —Mike Szymanski