Shrek (franchise)

Shrekis an Americanmedia franchiseofDreamWorks Animation. Loosely based onWilliam Steig's 1990 picture bookShrek!, the series primarily focuses onShrek, a bad-tempered but good-heartedogre, who begrudgingly accepts a quest to rescue a princess, resulting in him finding friends and going on many subsequent adventures in afairy taleworld. It includes four animated films:Shrek(2001),Shrek 2(2004),Shrek the Third(2007), andShrek Forever After(2010), with a fifth film,Shrek 5, currently in production for a 2026 release. A short4-D film,Shrek 4-D, which originally was a theme park ride, was released in 2003. Two television specials, theChristmastelevision specialShrek the Halls(2007) and theHalloweentelevision specialScared Shrekless(2010), have also been produced. Twospin-offfilms were made centered around the characterPuss in Boots: 2011'sPuss in Bootsand its sequel, 2022'sThe Last Wish. Additionally, astage musical adaptationwas made and premiered atBroadwayfor more than a year (2008–2010).
In May 2010,The New York Timesdescribed theprincipal Shrek charactersas "brilliantly realized" and said "nearly a decade after the firstShrekfilm they remain as vital and engaging fusions of image, personality, and voice as any characters in thehistory of animation."The series was a financial success, becoming the 18thhighest-grossing film franchise of all time, the secondhighest-grossing animated franchise, as well one of thehighest-grossing media franchises of all time.
Shrek, a solitary ogre, is angered when fairy tale creatures are sent to live in his swamp ordered byLord Farquaad. He befriends a talkingdonkeynamedDonkey, and they set off to meet with Farquaad.
The lord needsPrincess Fionato marry him so he will become the king of Duloc. When Shrek and Donkey visit him, they are forced to rescue her from an enormous fire-breathing dragon namedDragonin exchange for Shrek's swamp being vacated. The Dragon turns out to be female, and after a minute or two falls in love with Donkey.
Donkey, Shrek, and Fiona escape, and Dragon chases them. Once Shrek and Donkey rescue Fiona, they take her back to Lord Farquaad. Along the way, Shrek begins to fall in love with Fiona. Donkey finds out from Fiona that she is cursed and turns into an ogre at night. The only way the curse can be broken is by true love's first kiss. Fiona and Farquaad have a marriage ceremony, but they are interrupted by Shrek, who tells Fiona he loves her.
Donkey and Dragon enter, and Dragon eats Farquaad. Shrek and Fiona kiss and Fiona is permanently turned into an ogre. Shrek gets his swamp back, and the two marry there. After a karaoke party, the newlyweds set off on their honeymoon.
The second film opens withPrince Charmingon a quest to rescue Princess Fiona from the Dragon. When he gets there, he finds the wolf fromLittle Red Riding HoodandThe Three Little Pigsin Fiona's bed. He asks the wolf where Fiona is and the wolf tells him that she is on her honeymoon with Shrek. Once Shrek and Fiona return from their honeymoon, they find Donkey in the swamp who tells them he and Dragon are going through a rough patch. They then get invited to the land of Far Far Away by Fiona's parents who want to bless their marriage.
When they arrive, Shrek and Fiona are not what they expected. TheFairy Godmotherand her son, Prince Charming, are trying to break up Shrek's marriage by making Fiona fall in love with Prince Charming. However it does not work and Shrek and Fiona stay together. Shrek and Donkey get a new sidekick calledPuss in Boots. They have a lengthy quest to search the Fairy Godmother's cottage to get a lovepotion. Shrek and Donkey drink the potion and they become something quite unexpected. Shrek becomeshumanand Donkey becomes ahorse. Since Shrek drank the potion, it also affected Fiona as she woke up to seeing her human form once again.
At the end of the film, King Harold reverts to afrogafter being struck with the Fairy Godmother's magic, and gives Shrek and Fiona his blessing. After Fiona tells Shrek she loves him just the way he is, they revert to ogres.
Shrek and Fiona are reluctantly reigning over Far, Far Away during King Harold's prolonged illness. The King promises that if they can find Fiona's cousinArtie, he will make him the next in line, so both Shrek and Fiona would not have to run the country after his death. As Shrek, Donkey and Puss set off to find Artie, Fiona reveals she is pregnant.
Shrek is shocked as he believes he will not be a good father and will ruin his child's life. This is reinforced by his relationship with his own father, where "he tried to eat me." After finding Artie, Artie is frightened of being king, and they end up on an island where they meet Artie's former magic teacher,Merlin. Meanwhile, Charming plots to overthrow Artie and become king, but this is foiled by Shrek.
The film ends with Shrek and Fiona caring for their newborn ogre triplets.
Shrek has become a domesticated family ogre, living happily with Princess Fiona and the triplets. Instead of scaring villagers away like he used to, a reluctant Shrek now agrees to autograph pitchforks. Longing for the days when he felt like a "real ogre", Shrek is tricked into signing a pact with the smooth-talking dealmakerRumpelstiltskin. He agrees to trade a day from his childhood in exchange for a day to exist as a real ogre again. However, Shrek suddenly finds himself in a twisted, alternate reality where ogres are hunted, Rumplestiltskin is king, Puss is obese, and Shrek has never met Donkey or Fiona. Shrek discovers he unknowingly traded the day he was born and will not exist after the day is over.
Shrek becomes entangled with an underground resistance of ogres led by Fiona. Rumpelstiltskin places a bounty on Shrek's capture, offering the "deal of a lifetime" as a reward. ThePied Pipercaptures most of the resistance excluding Shrek and Fiona. Shrek, unable to win Fiona's affection, turns himself in and offers to trade his life to free the captured ogres. The recently released ogres go back to free Shrek and Fiona. As the twenty-four hours are almost up and Shrek lies dying, Fiona kisses him, breaking the deal and reverting everything back to normal. After finding himself back at his triplets' birthday party where he previously lost his temper and stormed out, Shrek joyfully reunites with his family and friends realizing he has everything he ever wanted.
Puss in Bootsis an animated Americanaction comedy filmthat was released on October 28, 2011. The film is based on and follows the character Puss in Boots on his adventures with Kitty Softpaws and mastermindHumpty Dumpty.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wishis the sequel toPuss in Boots, that was released on December 21, 2022.
In November 2012, executive producerGuillermo del Torosaid that a couple of drafts for asequelwere already done, and that the directorChris Millerwanted to take Puss on an adventure to exotic places.In April 2014, Antonio Banderas, the voice of Puss, said that the work on the sequel had just begun.On June 12, 2014, the movie was titledPuss in Boots 2: Nine Lives & 40 Thieves. On February 26, 2019, it was confirmed that the sequel was still in development, andBob Persichettiwas set to direct the film.In August 2020, the namePuss in Boots: The Last Wishhad been trademarked by DreamWorks, revealing the new title of the sequel.In March 2021,Joel Crawfordreplaced Persichetti as director, having previously helmed DreamWorks'The Croods: A New Age.Puss in Boots: The Last Wishwas theatrically released on December 21, 2022, byUniversal Pictures.The film was originally scheduled to be released on November 2, 2018,but was delayed a month to December 21, 2018 before cancellation.It was also scheduled to be released on September 23, 2022.The story takes place afterShrek Forever Afterand follows Puss, who has burned all but the last of his nine lives, on a quest to find the mystical Last Wish in order to restore his nine lives.
Following the success ofShrek 2in May 2004, then–DreamWorks AnimationCEOJeffrey Katzenbergrevealed that theShrekstory had been outlined into five films almost from the beginning. "Before the first one was finished we talked about what the whole story of Shrek is, and each of the chapters answers questions about the first movie and gives us an insight," said Katzenberg. "Shrek 3and4are going to reveal other unanswered questions and, finally, in the last chapter, we will understand how Shrek came to be in that swamp, when we meet him in the first movie."After the release ofShrek the Thirdin 2007, Katzenberg announced that the fifth film would be released in 2013.
In May 2009, DreamWorks announced that the fourth film's title would beShrek Forever After, indicating that it would be the last in theShrekseries.Later in 2009, that was confirmed byBill Damaschke, the former head of creative production at DWA, with him saying: "All that was loved about Shrek in the first film is brought to the final film."
Josh Klausner, one of the writers ofShrek Forever After, explained in 2010 the script's evolution: "When I first came onto the project, it wasn't supposed to be the final chapter — there were originally going to be fiveShrekmovies. Then, about a year into the development, Jeffrey Katzenberg decided that the story that we'd come up with was the right way for Shrek's journey to end."
In February 2014, in an interview withFox Business, Katzenberg hinted that a fifth film could still be made. "We like to let them have a little bit of time to rest," he said of the characters. "But I think you can be confident that we'll have another chapter in theShrekseries. We're not finished, and more importantly, neither is he."
On June 15, 2016, afterNBCUniversalpurchased DreamWorks Animation for $3.8 billion, NBCUniversal CEOSteve Burkediscussed plans to continue the franchise, as well as other DreamWorks films.In July 2016,The Hollywood Reportercited sources saying that the fifth film was planned for a 2019 release.In September 2016,Eddie Murphyconfirmed that the film was expected to be released in 2019 or 2020, and that the script had been completed.
The original story for the film was written byMichael McCullers, based on his own idea.When asked about the script in March 2017, McCullers said it featured "a pretty big reinvention" for the film series.On November 6, 2018, it was reported byVarietythatChris Meledandrihad been tasked to be the executive producer of bothShrek 5andPuss in Boots 2, with the cast of the previous films potentially returning.
In April 2023, Meledandri revealed that a fifth film was still in talks with Murphy,Mike Myers, andCameron Diazexpected to return.In June 2024, Murphy revealed that production on the film had commenced in January of the same year. He also stated that the film was expected to be released in 2025.On July 9, DreamWorks officially announced the release date for the film as July 1, 2026, with Myers, Murphy and Diaz returning, andWalt Dohrnset to direct.On January 10, 2025, the film was delayed to December 23, 2026. It was also announced thatConrad Vernon, co-director ofShrek 2, would return to direct the film alongside Dohrn.
At the same time thatShrek 5was revealed to be in development in April 2023, it was revealed that aspin-offfilm revolving around Donkey was in early talks as well.In June 2024, Eddie Murphy announced that the project was officiallygreenlitby DreamWorks, and stated that it would begin production following the completion ofShrek 5.
Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Partyis a three-minute musical short film included on home media releases ofShrek. It takes place during the last scene ofShrek(before Shrek and Fiona leave on their honeymoon), with the film's characters performing a medley of modern pop songs. Most of the voice cast from the film reprise their roles, with the exception ofEddie Murphy, who is replaced byMark MoseleyasDonkey.
Shrek 4-D, also known asShrek 3-D,Shrek 4D Adventure,Shrek's Never Before Seen Adventure, andThe Ghost of Lord Farquaad, is a4-D film/rideat various theme parks around the world. It premiered in 2003 atUniversal Studios Florida, and was released on DVD. The short takes place right after the firstShrekfilm. Lord Farquaad returns from the dead to kidnap Princess Fiona and it is up to Shrek and Donkey to rescue her.
Donkey's Caroling Christmas-tacular(promoted asDonkey's Christmas Shrektacular) is a five-minute short which was released on December 7, 2010, with theShrek: The Whole Storybox set andShrek Forever After.
This short takes place in the Candy Apple, the new version of the Poison Apple. Donkey suggests everyone sing Christmas carols. Donkey sings "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year". Shrek, Fiona, the Ogre children, and the army of ogres sing an ogre version of "Jingle Bells" (such as "Bug Cocoon, Lick the spoon. Try our cricket slurp"). Puss in Boots sings "Feliz Navidad", although he titles it "Fleas Navidad". Then everyone sings "Jingle Bell Rock" as "Fairy Tale Rock".
Shrek's Yule Logis a 30-minute short released on December 7, 2010, featured on both the Donkey's Christmas Shrektacular DVD and theShrek Forever AfterBlu-ray.
The short takes place inside Shrek's house, with the fireplace as the only place seen throughout the entire short. Shrek prevents Rumpelstiltskin from dousing the fire, Donkey does the same eye gag (seen fromShrek Forever After), Fiona puts out cookies for Santa, and Puss puts on weight from cookies and cookie dough. Other characters such as Gingy, Pinocchio, the Three Little Pigs, Cookie, the Ogre Triplets, the Dronkeys, andPied Piperappear.
Thriller Nightis a six-minute short film parody ofMichael Jackson's music videoThriller.It was directed byGary Trousdale, and released on September 13, 2011, on theScared ShreklessDVD.It was released on DVDand Blu-rayon August 28, 2012, as a part ofShrek's Thrilling Tales(DreamWorks Spooky Stories). None of the original main voice actors reprised their roles and are replaced by their replacement voice actors, with the exception ofDean Edwards, who reprisesDonkeyfromScared Shrekless.
Deceased characters such as Lord Farquaad, Mongo, Rumpelstiltskin, Fifi, Fairy Godmother, Prince Charming and King Harold in his frog form appear as zombies. A 3D version of the short was added in October 2011 to the Nintendo Video service forNintendo 3DSowners.
The Pig Who Cried Werewolfis a six-minute 3D Halloween short film, directed byGary Trousdaleand released on October 4, 2011,for a limited time, exclusively on the Nintendo Video service onNintendo 3DS.It was released on DVDand Blu-rayon August 28, 2012, as a part ofShrek's Thrilling Tales(DreamWorks Spooky Stories).
The Three Little Pigsfind themselves in trouble when they ignore the warning signs of a new neighbor moving in next door who takes on a ferocious form during a full moon.
Puss in Boots: The Three Diablosis a 13-minute animated short film, directed byRaman Hui, and was released on the DVD and Blu-ray releases ofPuss in Bootson February 24, 2012.The short tells a story of Puss in Boots on a mission to recover a princess's stolen ruby from the notorious French thief, the Whisperer. Reluctantly accompanied by three little kittens, The Three Diablos, Puss must tame them before they endanger the mission.
Puss in Boots: The Tridentis a 4-minute animated short film, directed by Matt Flynn, and was released on the digital release ofPuss in Boots: The Last Wish: Collector's Editionon February 21, 2023 and on the 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD releases ofPuss in Boots: The Last Wishon February 28.
Far Far Away Idolis an interactive five-minute short (but with multiple endings), released on November 5, 2004 as an extra on theShrek 2DVD and VHS. It is based onAmerican Idoland guest starsSimon Cowell. Taking place right afterShrek 2ends, the film's supporting characters hold a singing competition, with Shrek, Fiona, and Simon Cowell as the judges.
Shrek the Hallsis a 22-minuteChristmas-themedtelevision special, set after the events ofShrek the Thirdbut before the events ofShrek Forever After. It follows Shrek, who has never celebrated Christmas before, attempting to make the perfect day for his family. It premiered on the American television networkABCon  November 28, 2007.
Scared Shreklessis a 21-minuteHalloween-themed television special set after the events ofShrek Forever After. Shrek challenges Donkey, Puss in Boots, and his other fairy tale friends to spend the night in Lord Farquaad's haunted castle, telling scary stories to see who can resist becoming scared and stay the longest. The special premiered on the American television networkNBCon October 28, 2010.
Puss in Book: Trapped in an Epic Taleis aninteractive specialdeveloped byDreamWorks Animation Televisionwhich debuted on Netflix in 2017, featuring the character Puss in Boots. It is Netflix's first attempt at interactive television: during the program, the viewer is given points while using their remote control or other device to decide how the narrative should proceed.
A television series, starring Puss from theShrekfranchise, debuted onNetflixon January 16, 2015.
Peacock Kids YouTube channel (formerly known as DreamWorksTV) during 2014–2016 produced several web-seriesNew Shrek,New Puss in Boots,Swamp Talk. These were later released separately on the Peacock website.
Despite the advances in computing power over the 2000s decade, the increasing usage of novel techniques likeglobal illumination,physics simulation, and3Ddemanded ever moreCPUhours to render the films. DreamWorks Animation noticed that everyShrekfilm took roughly twice the CPU hours than the previous film and thus labeled this trend as "Shrek's law". Similar to "Moore's law" the Shrek's law says, "The CPU render hours needed to complete production on a theatrical sequel will double compared to the amount of time needed on the previous film."
In 2001,Shrekrequired approximately 5 million CPU render hours. In 2004,Shrek 2required over 10 million CPU render hours. In 2007,Shrek the Thirdrequired over 20 million CPU render hours, and the 2010 3D release ofShrek Forever Afterdemanded more than 50 million CPU render hours on account of rendering an increased amount of frames.Puss in Boots, which was released only one year after the previousShrekfilm, utilized 63 million render hours.
ShrekandShrek 2have collectively raised over $1.6 billion in home video sales.Together with the rest of the films in the series with combined editions, the franchise's total revenue is over $2 billion.
Shrek the Musicalis amusicalbased on the first film of the franchise. After a try out inSeattle, Washington, it began performances onBroadwayfrom November 8, 2008, before opening on December 14. Despite mixed reviews, the musical received eightTony Awardnominations includingBest Musical.At the time, the most expensive musical on Broadway ran for over a year and closed, at a loss, on January 3, 2010, after 478 performances.
A re-imagined version of the show ran as a tour of theUnited Statesfrom July 2010 to July 2011. The second tour launched in two months. AWest Endproduction opened inLondon,United Kingdomin June 2011, to positive reviews. It received fiveLaurence Olivier Awardnominations includingBest New Musical.A differently staged production ran in Israel in 2010, with international productions running since 2011 in Poland and Spain,and since 2012 in France.The show was soon to premiere in Brazil,Italy,Australia,and  Philippines in 2012.
The title role was played byBrian d'Arcy Jameson Broadway, andNigel Lindsayon the West End. Other notable performances includeAmanda Holden(West End),Sutton Foster(Broadway) andKimberley Walsh(West End) as Princess Fiona,Christopher Sieber(Broadway) andNigel Harman(West End) as Lord Farquaad, andJohn Tartaglia(Broadway) as Pinocchio.
Dark Horse Comicsreleased in 2003 three thirty-two-page full-color comic books featuring Shrek, Donkey and Fiona,Shrek #1,Shrek #2,andShrek #3.The comics were written byMark Evanierand illustrated by Ramon Bachs and Raul Fernandez.
Ape Entertainmentalso released under itsKiZoiclabel five full-color comic books, a fifty-two-pageprequeltoShrek Forever AftertitledShrek(2010), and four thirty-two-page books:Shrek #1(2010),Shrek #2(2010),Shrek #3(2011), andShrek #4(2011).
Far Far Awayis one of the seven themed lands inUniversal Studios Singapore, and it consists of many locations from theShrekfranchise, including the forty-meter-tall Far Far Away Castle.
Shrek's Faire Faire Awaywas one of the three areas at theDreamWorks Experience-themed land at the Australian theme parkDreamworld. It opened in 2012 and it consisted of a fixed arm, rotating plane rideDronkey Flyers, a kite flierGingy's Glider, a swing ridePuss in Boots Sword Swingand a carouselShrek's Ogre-Go-Round. The area was replaced by a section ofKenny and Belinda's Dreamlandin early 2023.
AShrek-themed attraction, calledDreamWork's Tours Shrek's Adventure! London, opened in 2015 atLondon County Hallas the first of six attractions initially planned over nine years. This "Immersive Tunnel" from Simworxis built in collaboration withMerlin Entertainments. The 1,900 square metres (20,000 sq ft) live interactive walkthrough adventure presents an original story written by DWA, along with a character courtyard, also featuring characters from several other DreamWorks Animation's franchises.
Multiple Shrek Water attractions opened atDreamWorks Water Parkon October 1, 2020, these attractions are called Far Far a Bay Wavepool, Forbidden Waters Hot Tubs, Dragon and Donkey's Flight, Swamp & Splash, Shrek's Sinkhole Slammer.Dreamworks Waterpark also includes themed decorations that are  balloons of Shrek and Donkey hanging from the ceiling of the waterpark.
Universal Studios Florida'sDreamWorks Landwill include a recreation of Shrek's cottage, Shrek's Swamp Meet, Shrek's Swamp for Little Ogres, Mama Luna Feline Fiesta, King Harold's Swamp Symphony, and the kiosk Swamp Snacks.
An underground fandom of theShrekfilm series emerged on the Internet. With the fanbase described by some as having an ironic liking towards the series, there have been several sexually explicit memes based on the titular character. The most notable example is a 2013metamemebased on a fanmade video called "Shrek is love, Shrek is life". Fans of Shrek are known as "Brogres", a take on the name "Bronies", the fans of the showMy Little Pony: Friendship Is Magicoutside of the shows intended audience.A "Shrek Filmmaker" movement ofSource Filmmakeranimators making videos based on the Internet's obsession towards the character has also occurred.
Since 2014,Madison, Wisconsinhas celebrated the annual Shrekfest with costume and onion-eating contests, themed merchandise, and other festivities.In November 2018, comedy group 3GI, organizer of Shrekfest, released ashot-for-shotparodyremakeof the filmShrekmade by a crew of over 200 artists, titledShrek Retold.