What Do The Critics Say?

"I walked into "Shrek Forever After" expecting another tired retread. Boy, was I wrong! "Shrek Forever After" does what all best sequels do: remind us why we fell in love with these characters, while also finding different ways for them to interact in a new adventure." Kevin N Laforest MONTREAL FILM JOURNAL "A fitting fourth film in the animated series, Shrek Forever After is a mature story of romance and regret, and yet hilarious enough for kids and grownups alike." FILM JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL "The writing is brisk and funny, the situation allows for plenty of adventure to keep our characters busy and Shrek himself takes a big lesson in learning to treasure what he's really got: crying kids and annoying villagers notwithstanding." Andrew L Urban URBAN CINEFILE "Directed with zest by Mike Mitchell and shot in 3D, this final Shrek sequel has plenty of verve. The animated journey of Shrek, his beloved, Fiona, and Far Far Away buddies Donkey and Puss in Boots is pitched to adults even more than young'uns. It's not that kids are an afterthought. Far, far from it. Wee ones are given plenty to giggle about: burping ogre babies, a flatulent father, impossibly winning talking animals, nasty villains with silly grudges and so on." Lisa Kennedy DENVER POST

"Where Shrek the Third got a bit green around the gills, this latest take, puffed up in 3D and defibrillated back to life with a snappy story, makes for some monstrously good fun." Kimberly Gadette INDIE MOVIES ONLINE "DreamWorks could be entering a period of fresh creativity. With How To Train Your Dragon and a balanced, darker-hued and very funny Shrek finale, they've found the magic again." James White EMPIRE MAGAZINE "Somehow, the big green guy manages to make the whole gang fall in love with him all over again." Jeanne Kaplan KAPLAN VS KAPLAN "The film flies by as fast as the icing on the gingerbread man melts and it feels as short as Pinocchio's nose is long. As sad as it may be to farewell these unique, memorable characters, it is a fabulous and fitting farewell as we are reminded to enjoy today and treasure everything we have." Louise Keller URBAN CINEFILE "The key, as Fiona points out, is to know when you have everything, and be grateful. It's a worthy conclusion to the tale. We can all live happily ever after." Alissa Wilkinson CHRISTIANITY TODAY

The Inside Story By now, the classic fractured fairy tale of Shrek, Fiona, Donkey, Puss In Boots and their adventures in the magical land of Far Far Away are well known throughout the world. Based on the popular children's book Shrek! by William Steig, the films have received critical praise, worldwide box-office success and the first-ever Academy Award® bestowed upon an animated film. Suffice it to say, Shrek and the characters of Far Far Away have earned their rightful place in cinema and animation history. With a lot of fairy tale territory already covered, the filmmakers at DreamWorks Animation were faced with a creative and exciting challenge for the final chapter of the journey of Shrek and Fiona. Director Mike Mitchell, a veteran of both live-action films and previous DreamWorks Animation films asks: "How do we give the audience what they know and love, but at the same time give it a fresh take, make it more beautiful?" It would be a challenging task for any director. "We’ve taken on the bittersweet challenge of wrapping up the story of Shrek. We know fans would want to see how it ends," Mitchell said. Joining Mitchell on the production were accomplished producers Gina Shay and Teresa Cheng, both of whom brought an enormous amount of animation experience to the film: Shay, whose producing credits include "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" and Cheng, with over twenty years of experience in animation and visual-effects producing (most recently as producer on the holiday special "Shrek the Halls"). Executive producer Aron Warner who produced the first three Shrek films, was full of praise for the talented trio. "Mike, Gina and Teresa are a great team. They instilled a great sense of confidence, not only in me, but in the entire cast and crew." Mitchell, Shay and Cheng set about assembling a talented crew of visual development and storyboard artists, character animators, art and production designers, character model and rigging teams, layout artists, lighting teams and visual effects teams. To head-up the 3D stereoscopic effects, the filmmakers tapped the iconic Phil 'Captain 3D' McNally ("Monsters vs Aliens" & "How To Train Your Dragon"). The result was a crew that blended a number of creative minds new to the world of Shrek with a host of others with experience on the prior three films. All were Shrek fans, so there was a lot of natural enthusiasm and synergy animating the project from the beginning. Shay declares: "There’s a lot of love for Shrek on this crew. We’re all self-professed fans of Shrek and everyone brought so much of that passion to the table which resulted in a really creative, collaborative environment." When it came time to develop the story for "Shrek Forever After", the filmmakers decided to really the focus the film towards Shrek, to check in with him and see how things stand with the once-feared ogre himself. Although the green ogre is at the core of each story, some would say the character had become somewhat domesticated after three films. Now the father of three, Shrek has responsibilities, duties and obligations. He is no longer the intimidating giant we met at the beginning of the first film, who caused the people of Far Far Away to run screaming in the other direction. Now, he’s treated like a local celebrity, with townspeople treating him with awe, tipping their caps and offering cordial greetings when they see respectable Shrek in the street. As with most continuing stories, every journey and chapter brings new experiences and opportunities for a character to grow and develop. In the case of Shrek, the next logical step seemed to be a midlife crisis of sorts. "We knew we had to keep the story fresh, yet give it a new twist," says Cheng. Early in the development process, artists came up with an image of Shrek looking at himself in the mirror and staring at his old 'wanted' poster thinking to himself, "What have I become?" For the filmmakers, that proved to be a significant turning point in the development of the film’s story. "We though it was interesting that he’s not the ogre he was in the first Shrek films. He’s domesticated, he’s not scary, he’s beloved by all the townspeople," says Mitchell. "The last thing we wanted was for Shrek to lose his edge." As Mitchell was fleshing out the story beats with the crew, the possibilities seemed endless. The untapped potential of exploring the world of Far Far Away seemed limitless. But it was writer Josh Klausner ("Date Night") who came up with the concept of Shrek going back in time. What if Shrek could go back? "That turned into a very relatable wish fulfillment," says Mitchell, who directed Rob Schneider in "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo". "We all think of returning to our past, turning the clock back, to live life over." The filmmakers started to craft a final story and go back to Shrek’s roots. "That seemed like a great springboard,” says Shay ("Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius"). "He begins to ask himself a lot of questions about what it means to be an ogre. We went back to the basics and root of his journey. We knew this film really needed to be Shrek’s story, told through his eyes. Shrek begins to wonder who he's become and what life might have been like if he had never rescued Fiona from the tower." For Walt Dohrn ("SpongeBob SquarePants"), who serves as head of story on the film, the premise fits perfectly into the world of Shrek. "In the first film, Shrek learns to love himself; in the second, he learns what it is like being part of a family; in "Shrek the Third", he comes to terms with accepting responsibility as a father and husband. In the fourth and final film, he is faced with a big question: what if his life had turned our differently?" "Once we integrated those concepts into the story, we realized what a complete circle this makes in terms of the story arc serving as a natural conclusion and ending to the series of Shrek films," adds 2002 Oscar ® winning executive producer Aron Warner ("Shrek"). For Mitchell, relating to the story and Shrek’s feelings were easy. A father of two toddlers, he could empathize with Shrek the dad, having to forego the life of an ogre for that of a Saturday afternoon soccer shuttle driver. "I have a two year old and a four year old. When I took this job, my second boy was born. It really is a life-changing experience and it is very hard to be cool when you have a diaper bag strapped across your shoulder and a pacifier around your neck." Now happily married with three kids, Shrek’s life has become mundane and very routine (at least in his eyes). Feeling somewhat nostalgic for his ogre bachelor days, Shrek makes a deal with the proverbial devil, who in this particular case is none other than the classic fairy tale tempter Rumpelstiltskin. The newest villain to the world of Shrek, Rumpelstiltskin is after one thing: the kingdom of Far Far Away. Capitalizing on Shrek’s longing for his ogre days, Rumpel makes Shrek an offer he can’t refuse; to live a day free of responsibility, as a 'real' ogre. In exchange, all Shrek has to do is give Rumpel a day from his past." As you'd guess, Rumpelstiltskin always has something up his sleeve. "The result is nothing short of catastrophic," says Mitchell ("Surviving Christmas" & "Sky High"). "Everything the audience knows about Shrek, Fiona and the fairy tale characters is turned upside down and thrown into an alternate reality. And, nobody in Far Far Away knows who Shrek is. They just see him for what he is; a big, scary ogre." It’s hard to believe that nearly a decade has passed since Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz first brought to life the characters of Shrek, Donkey and Princess Fiona in "Shrek", which grossed $US484 million at the box office and sold more than 50 million DVDs. Joined by Antonio Banderas as Puss In Boots in "Shrek 2", the foursome have delighted audiences for nearly a decade with their unique vocal talents and their take on these characters’ alter egos. "I love the message of these movies," says two time Canadian Comedy Award winner Mike Myers (2000 & '03). "The lessons that Shrek has to learn and has learned are ones that we all can relate to. To be able to inhabit a character and convey that process is an amazing journey for me as an actor." "When I first met Fiona, she just was this young princess trapped in a tower and I’ve watched how she’s grown over the last four films," Cameron Diaz (whose next role is playing June Havens in "Knight And Day") said. "We've seen what a wonderful mother and partner she’s become and how she’s grown as this person and as an ogre and accepted herself for who she is and embraced that and brought the people that she loves into her life." "The thing that stuck out with me more than anything is that I’m still having an emotional reaction to Shrek and Fiona and wanting them to get together," says 2007 Golden Globe winner Eddie Murphy ("Dreamgirls"). "You get so caught up in the story, that you kind of have to remind yourself that you’re watching animation!" "When they came up with this story of an alternative reality and all the characters not really knowing each other, it was almost like it started from the beginning, almost like a new movie," says Antonio Banderas ("The Other Man"). "I thought it was just a fantastic concept, and the re-imagination of Puss as this spoiled, pampered pet is inspired." With such established villains as Lord Farquaad, Prince Charming and Fairy Godmother, all of whom proved extremely memorable foils to Shrek and Fiona, the production team had its work cut out in creating yet another antagonist intent on ruining Shrek and Fiona’s happiness. In 1812 under the "Tales of Children and the Home", the brothers Grimm published their first book of fairy tales. Among the most memorable of the tales was the story Rumpelstiltskin. The end result of the fairy tale tells a cautionary tale of bragging and the consequences of promises and deals. The story of Rumpelstiltskin has endured nearly two hundred years. In the great storytelling tradition of the past, DreamWorks Animation created a modern fractured fairy tale in Shrek. "We pretty much knew from the onset that Rumpelstiltskin would be our villain," says Warner, who produced "Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare" in 1991. "We just didn’t know what kind of villain he’d turn out to be." In developing Rumpel, the filmmakers wanted to get as far away as possible from the previous villains. "Farquaad, Fairy Godmother and Charming are very eloquent characters," says Dohrn. "We went to the opposite end of that spectrum and went for a character that was ratty and scummy, but charming at the same time." So who is the character based on? A Mike Hernandez caricature of Art Director Max Boas! "We all ended up laughing and loving it," character designer Patrick Mate ("Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron") recalls, "and we said 'Okay, uh, let’s do it.' We picked the look of Rumpel because the caricature was just perfect for the design we were looking for." Allegedly, Rumpel’s hair is also partly based on art director Max Boas's hair. Dohrn joked: "Rumpel’s kind of got that Max hair a little bit, a little like he just woke up all the time." What's It All About?

After challenging an evil dragon, rescuing a beautiful princess and saving your in-laws’ kingdom, what’s an ogre to do? Well, if you’re Shrek, you suddenly wind up a domesticated family man. Instead of scaring villagers away like he used to, a reluctant Shrek is now a local celebrity who begrudgingly agrees to autograph pitchforks. What’s happened to this ogre’s once powerful roar? Longing for the days when he felt like a 'real ogre', Shrek is duped into signing a pact with the smooth-talking dealmaker, Rumpelstiltskin. He suddenly finds himself in a twisted, alternate reality of Far Far Away, where ogres are hunted, Rumpelstiltskin is king, Witches run wild, Donkey doesn't recognize him, he and Fiona have never met and, Puss In Boots is: well, he's fat. Now, it’s up to Shrek to undo all he’s done in the hopes of saving his friends, restoring his world and reclaiming his one True Love.

The Verdict "In a reflection of life, the journey of the worlds favourite Ogre Shrek, has had its ups and downs. Now the final chapter closes the door on a group of characters millions of cinemagoers of all ages have grown to love. It's a franchise that has been profitable for both Dreamworks and the fans. "Shrek" first hit the bigscreen in 2001 immediately capturing the hearts of those who were privy to the unfolding of an unlikely romance between an Ogre and a Princess. A box-office gross of $US484 million assured fans a sequel was on the books. "Shrek 2" saw Fiona's father, the King, attempt to breakup the happy union by enlisting the help of Fairy Godmother, Prince Charming and Puss In Boots. While the sequel grossed a massive $US920 million and we couldn't wait for the next edition. With the death of King Harold, it looked as though the kingdom would have its first Ogre on the throne, but Shrek wasn't sure he was the Ogre for the job. "Shrek The Third" achieved a mixed result. The box-office dipped to $US799 million, the critics weren't happy and inwardly, many fans felt the same. With the writing on the wall, Dreamworks wisely chose to end the franchise, announcing a final chapter, "Shrek Forever After". Many are now saying Dreamworks left the best for last. Fans have already parted with $US312,045,583 and the reviews are better. In this final edition, Shrek is facing a midlife crisis. Suddenly he's questioning everything he has, up till now, loved, appreciated and admired. Conflicted with memories of 'what if' he snaps, turns his back on those he loves the most and storms out. In a classic 'out of the frying pan and into the fire' senario, Shrek finds himself in an alternative world full of danger and fighting for his and Fiona's life. Last chance. Don't miss it. 4 STARS." The Production Team

Director Writers Producers Original Music Cinematography Film Editor Art Direction

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Mike Mitchell Josh Klausner & Darren Lemke Teresa Cheng & Gina Shay Harry Gregson-Williams Yong Duk Jhun David Teller Max Boas & Michael Hernandez

Who Is Playing Who?

Mike Myers Eddie Murphy Cameron Diaz Antonio Banderas Julie Andrews Jon Hamm John Cleese Craig Robinson Walt Dohrn Jane Lynch Lake Bell Kathy Griffin Mary Kay Place Kristen Schaal Meredith Vieira Ryan Seacrest Cody Cameron Larry King Regis Philbin Chris Knights Conrad Vernon Aron Warner Jasper Andrews Ollie Mitchell

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Shrek Donkey Princess Fiona Puss in Boots Queen Brogan King Harold Cookie Rumpelstiltskin/Priest/Krekraw Ogre Gretched Patrol Witch/Wagon Witch #2 Dancing Witch/Wagon Witch #1 Guard Witch Pumpkin Witch/Palace Witch Broomsy Witch Father of Butter Pants Pinocchio/Three Pigs Doris Mabel Blind Mice Gingerbread Man Wolf Ogre Baby Ogre Baby

Run Time 93 minutes Rated PG [AUST] Copyright ©2010 - Paramount Pictures - All Rights Reserved ©1999-2010 All Rights Reserved - The Movie Pages & impact Internet Services. Protected by Australian and International Copyright. Trademark Laws and Intellectual Property Rights apply.