Shrek is an American media franchise of DreamWorks Animation, based on William Steig's 1990 picture book Shrek!. The series primarily focuses on Shrek, a grouchy ogre, who begrudgingly accepts a quest to rescue a princess, resulting in him finding friends and going on many subsequent adventures in a fairy tale world.
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).
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.
Films Film U.S. release date Directed by Screenplay by Story by Produced by Main series Shrek Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman and Roger S. H. Schulman Aron Warner, John H. Williams and Jeffrey Katzenberg Shrek 2 Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury and Conrad Vernon Andrew Adamson, Joe Stillman, J. David Stem and David N. WeissAndrew Adamson Aron Warner, David Lipman and John H. Williams Shrek the Third Chris MillerCo-director:Raman Hui Jeffrey Price, Peter S. Seaman, Chris Miller and Aron Warner Aron Warner Shrek Forever After Mike Mitchell Josh Klausner and Darren Lemke Gina Shay and Teresa Cheng Shrek 5 Walt Dohrn and Conrad VernonCo-director:Brad Ableson Michael McCullers Gina Shay and Chris Meledandri Spin-offs Puss in Boots Chris Miller Tom WheelerBrian Lynch, Will Davies and Tom Wheeler Joe M. Aguilar and Latifa Ouaou Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Joel CrawfordCo-director:Januel P. Mercado Paul Fisher and Tommy Swerdlow Tommy Swerdlow and Tom Wheeler Mark Swift Donkey Charlie BeanCo-director:Matt Flynn Rebecca Huntley
Main films
Shrek (2001)
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.
Shrek 2 (2004)
The second film opens with Prince Charming on a quest to rescue Princess Fiona from the Dragon. When he gets there, he finds the wolf from Little Red Riding Hood and The Three Little Pigs in 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. The Fairy Godmother and 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 called Puss in Boots. They have a lengthy quest to search the Fairy Godmother's cottage to get a love potion. Shrek and Donkey drink the potion and they become something quite unexpected. Shrek becomes human and Donkey becomes a horse. 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 a frog after 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 the Third (2007)
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, 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 Forever After (2010)
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.
Puss in Boots films Puss in Boots (2011)
Puss in Boots is an animated American action comedy film that 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 mastermind Humpty Dumpty.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is the sequel to Puss in Boots, that was released on December 21, 2022.
In November 2012, executive producer Guillermo del Toro said that a couple of drafts for a sequel were already done, and that the director Chris Miller wanted 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 titled Puss in Boots 2: Nine Lives & 40 Thieves. On February 26, 2019, it was confirmed that the sequel was still in development, and Bob Persichetti was set to direct the film. In August 2020, the name Puss in Boots: The Last Wish had been trademarked by DreamWorks, revealing the new title of the sequel. In March 2021, Joel Crawford replaced Persichetti as director, having previously helmed DreamWorks' The Croods: A New Age. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish was theatrically released on December 21, 2022, by Universal 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 after Shrek Forever After and 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.
Future Shrek 5 (2027)
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.
Donkey (2028) At the same time that Shrek 5 was revealed to be in development in April 2023, it was revealed that a spin-off prequel film revolving around Donkey was in development as well. In June 2024, Eddie Murphy announced that the project was officially greenlit by DreamWorks, and stated that it would begin production following the completion of Shrek 5.
In May 2025, it was revealed that Chris Meledandri would be producing the film and that Christopher Knights, voice of the Three Blind Mice, would be editing the film. In July 2025, Murphy stated that voice recording would commence in September and that the story would centered on his character, his dragon wife and their hybrid kids. He noted the film was expected to be released in 2028.'Shrek' Donkey Spinoff Movie Firmly Happening, Eddie Murphy Says In June 2026, the film was officially titled Donkey and was announced to be releasing on June 30, 2028. It was also announced that it would be directed by Charlie Bean, co-directed by Matt Flynn and produced by Rebecca Huntley. The story was revealed to be taking place before the first Shrek film.
Short films
Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party (2001) Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party is a three-minute musical short film included on home media releases of Shrek. It takes place during the last scene of Shrek (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 of Eddie Murphy, who is replaced by Mark Moseley as Donkey.
Shrek 4-D (2003)