After 14 years of waiting, Dreamworks is returning to its seminal and most beloved franchise,Shrek. The series has come quite a long way over the years, initially adapted from a niche children’s book (andchanging most of the details). From there, it blossomed into one of themost successful animated franchises of all time. Spawning four sequels, a Christmas special, and evena Broadway musical,Shrekhas certainly had a happily ever after. Now, everyone’s favorite ogre is set to return to the big screen withShrek 5. While there’s plenty to be excited about, such as returning cast membersMike Myers,Cameron Diaz,andEddie Murphy, as well asthe addition ofZendayaas Shrek’s teen daughter, Dreamworks' recent teaser trailer has raised quite a few eyebrows due to the jarring change in animation. And whilethese criticisms aren’t necessarily unwarranted, the shift in design is actually far more nuanced than fans realize.
‘Shrek 5’ Uses Updated Technology
The everlasting power ofShrekcannot be overstated. Even nearly 24 years after its release, the film continues to bean important cornerstone of pop culture. Watching the movie today, it’s still hard not to appreciatethe beautiful animation, even if it might appear dated to some now. It brilliantly embraces its fantastical setting and characters, adding enough depth and detail to make them feel real. Considering how iconic the film and the franchise as a whole have become,many expressed dismay and even angerwhen Dreamworks revealed the first teaser forShrek 5. Indeed, one needn’t look long to realize just how different character design and animation is from the previous four installments. The new style is far slicker and more modern when compared to the earthy and rounded looks of the original animation. So, what happened? Why would DreamWorks so drastically change the look and feel ofone of their most successful series?
‘Shrek’ Franchise Dominates Streaming Charts Ahead of ‘Shrek 5’
The fifth installment in the hit animated franchise is in production now.
The answer actually stems from another beloved franchise produced by the studio. 2019’sHow to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden Worldwas a beautiful end to the franchiseas it had been known up to that point, but the series’ swan song launched a whole new technology at Dreamworks. As stated bythe Direct,the film was used to debut MoonRay, a groundbreaking new technology that the studio adopted. While movies likeShrekalways involved stunning techniques, MoonRay allows for animators to more precisely control a film’s elements. It gives artists greater control over lighting, textures, and allows for all-around improvements to the technique. Dreamworks has continued to use MoonRay ever since, creating films such asthe acclaimed 2024 hit,The Wild Robot. Of course, that doesn’t make the shake-up toShrek’s animation style any less jarring. However, the series has already had a long history of animation evolution.
‘Shrek’ Has Always Shook Up Its Animation
Shrek’s animation was certainlyrevolutionary at the time, but over the course of the four films, one can see how much the animation improved over time. It’s often very subtle, but if audiences pay close attention, they’ll notice that even the likes ofShrek 2made improvements to the animation (andin many ways, the storytelling). For instance, part of what made the original film so groundbreaking was its lush use of lighting. There’s a fantastic POV shot of Donkey looking up at Shrek, in which Donkey experiences naturalistic lens flair, something we would have likely seen had the movie been live action.Shrek 2takes this attention to detail and turns it up to 100. One only needs to watch the Shrek and Fiona’s honeymoon montage to see a huge quality improvement. Even more realistic and precise lighting is used, as well as improved textures. Both can be found when Shrek and Fiona are on the beach, with earthy waves washing over them and the sun realistically reflecting off of their glistening skin textures.
The introduction of Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) is another prime example, as the character is often sighted as one of DreamWorks’ crowning achievements. He is far more fluid and believable than many of the first picture’s animal characters, with his movements a beautiful and exaggerated representation of slick, cat movements. Even the Puss in Boots spin-off series adapted newer techniquesonce the films entered development. In fact, the feline-focused offshoot actually serves as the perfect segway into this new chapter ofShrek. Not only did it lay the groundwork for the new look of the film, but it showed that the Shrek world can easily adapt to a new look and updated technology. WhileShrek the ThirdandShrek: Forever Afterreceived far moremixed reviews than their predecessors,both of those films also brought about visual changes that are actually rather obvious when compared to the original two pictures.Shrek the Thirdtook the first sequel’s lighting improvements, nearly perfected them, and decorated its characters with more detail.
MoonRay Has Already Been Used in the Shrek Universe
Audiences can’t exactly be blamed for their nostalgia for the originalShrekanimation. After all, these characters are some of the genre’smost recognizable and beloved. Shaking up such a canon is certainly a risk, but theShrekuniverse has already been touched by the new style.The hit finale to the spin-off franchise,Puss in Boots: The Last Wishwas not only animated with MoonRay, but its design also leaned much closer toward traditional fairy tale design, and — while not always exact — is incredibly similar to the new style in whichShrek 5is set to be presented.Furthermore,Puss in Boots: The Last Wishwas received as one of the finest entriesinthe Shrek universein quite some time. Sure, it’s all right to mourn the loss of the original, beautiful design, but we should also give the upcoming sequel a chance before judging it too harshly. The internet certainly lends itself to allowing for more intense criticism, but it’s important to remember that the teaser is a very brief glance into what the movie holds.
Shrek 5is set to be released Christmas 2026. Stay tuned to Collider for further details!
