Shrek

Lore & Background

Shrek, a solitary ogre, is angered when fairy tale creatures are sent to live in his swamp ordered by Lord Farquaad. He befriends a talking donkey named Donkey, and they set off to meet with Farquaad. The lord needs Princess Fiona to 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 named Dragon in 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.

Reader's Guide

In Shrek the Third, 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 cousin Artie, he will make him the next in line. 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, 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.

Did You Know?

• Shrek 5 was delayed multiple times, with its current release date set for June 30, 2027.
• A spin-off prequel film revolving around Donkey was revealed to be in development in April 2023.

Narrative Arc and Thematic Depth

In Shrek Forever After, 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 dealmaker Rumpelstiltskin. 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.

The Pied Piper captures 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.

Character Dynamics and Voice Ensemble

The franchise includes four animated films: Shrek (2001), Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek the Third (2007), and Shrek Forever After (2010), with a fifth film, Shrek 5, currently in production for a June 2027 release. A short 4-D film, Shrek 4-D, which originally was a theme park ride, was released in 2003. Two television specials, the Christmas television special Shrek the Halls (2007) and the Halloween television special Scared Shrekless (2010), have also been produced. Two spin-off films were made centered around the character Puss in Boots: 2011's Puss in Boots and its sequel, 2022's The Last Wish. Additionally, a stage musical adaptation was created and played on Broadway for more than a year (2008–2010).

Production History and Commercial Performance

In May 2010, The New York Times described the principal Shrek characters as 'brilliantly realized' and said 'nearly a decade after the first Shrek film they remain as vital and engaging fusions of image, personality, and voice as any characters in the history of animation.' The series was a financial success, becoming the 18th highest-grossing film franchise of all time, the second highest-grossing animated franchise, as well one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time.

Resolution and Legacy of the Timeline

Shrek 5 is currently in production for a June 2027 release. 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, and Walt Dohrn set to direct. On January 10, 2025, the film was delayed to December 23, 2026. It was also announced that Conrad Vernon, co-director of Shrek 2, would return to direct the film alongside Dohrn. On August 11, 2025, the film was delayed to June 30, 2027.