The Shrek franchise is more culturally important than one might expect. It should blend into the thousands of other children’s movies that dropped around the same era, many from DreamWorks. It dropped into a competitive environment, and though it formalized the celebrity-driven animated blockbuster format, it didn’t invent it. The interesting thing about Shrek is its open spite towards its competitors. While the first couple of entries took every opportunity to ridicule Disney’s routine, the more recent entries aren’t as sharp. Shrek 5 could stand to be a bit more sardonic.
Parody movies are struggling as a genre. Spoof comedies used to be one of the most reliably enjoyable formats on the big screen. Abuse from various parties eventually forced the concept into the insufferable form of the Movie movies. Scary Movie, Date Movie, Disaster Movie, and their ilk ruined straightforward spoof films, possibly forever. Parody still has some prominence, but most seem to prefer grim subversions to playful ones. Shrek could be an exception to that rule.
Shrek 5 is Finally Happening
It’s been fourteen years since the last Shrek movie. Shrek Forever After never felt much like a conclusion, but it did end the series for over a decade. The Puss in Boots spin-off projects kept some part of the flame alive, but fans have wanted to see that ogre return. Shrek 5 is scheduled to hit theaters in 2026, but that’s far from the first date they suggested. When Shrek 2 attained box-office success in 2004, DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg imagined a series of five films. He spoke extensively on the subject 20 years ago. Katzenberg wanted to dive deep into Shrek’s world. He claimed that the third and fourth films would find new questions to answer, before the fifth and final entry would supposedly act as a prequel, explaining how Shrek wound up in his iconic swamp.
Katzenberg pitched a 2013 release date for Shrek 5 when Shrek the Third came out in 2007. That would have been on pace for the roughly three-year schedule that seemed to loosely govern the franchise. Instead, Katzenberg started to see Shrek Forever After as a good endpoint. He went back on that idea in 2014, promising more movies to come. NBCUniversal bought DreamWorks in 2016, guaranteeing the future of the franchise in some form. Around that time, they suggested a 2019 release date, but time just kept passing. Finally, Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri joined the project as a producer and screenwriter. He assures fans that they’ll be looking at their favorite ogre in 2026.
Shrek was a Parody
William Steig’s Shrek! was a 1990 children’s book that inspired the hit film franchise. It’s a broad parody of a fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm called “The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was.” The story creates a non-traditional hero to combat the usual depiction of ugliness in children’s fiction. All that is pretty and pure represents goodness and all that isn’t must be evil. To subvert that expectation, Steig created a bold, playful, and hideous hero in Shrek. He describes his title character like this:
His mother was ugly and his father was ugly, but Shrek was uglier than the two of them put together. By the time he toddled, Shrek could spit flame a full ninety-nine yards and vent smoke from either ear. With just a look, he cowed the reptiles in the swamp. Any snake dumb enough to bite him instantly got convulsions and died.
While a lot of that subversive messaging became gross-out humor, some of it remained critical to the plot of Shrek. It’s a story about a hero who would usually be the villain. Shrek goes through the traditional challenges expected of a knight in shining armor, and he’s rewarded with the traditional prize. It’s just that every aspect of his journey is as ugly as possible. Shrek and Shrek 2 took every opportunity to poke fun at Disney, even finding the occasional sharp criticism in its countless jokes. The world could use a similar mouthpiece today.
Shrek 5 Has Plenty to Make Fun Of
The old criticisms about Disney mostly still apply, but there are plenty of new ones to try out. Last year’s Wish demonstrated the soulless, tired struggle of the studio trying out the old princess gimmick. While Disney still puts out interesting things, its usual format has become a dinosaur. As long as Disney continues to trot out the old routines, they’re open for parody. It’s never been a better time to make fun of Disney. The company has a bigger stranglehold on entertainment than ever. Someone needs to shake things up again.
Shrek changed a lot of things about animated films. Some of those accomplishments were negative. The film likely holds most of the blame for the lack of good 2D animation on the big screen. On the other hand, it provided several sharp, enjoyable critiques of the usual Disney model. Shrek 5 might be a disappointment, but it could also be a satirical entry in modern blockbuster cinema that many fans have been waiting for. Everyone is used to making fun of Shrek. It’s time for Shrek to get in a few more gags.
Leave a Reply