Shrek Forever After (2010)

Shrek Forever After (2010)

5/10

Starring

Mike Myers

Eddie Murphy

Cameron Diaz

Antonio Banderas

Julie Andrews

 

 

Directed by Mike Mitchell

This fourth movie takes a better swing at the Shrek franchise than Shrek the Third. While it’s not as much fun as the first or second films, it still had its moments.
I didn’t laugh as much as I did watching the first two films, but I was intrigued by the new dimension the story took. The plot isn’t groundbreaking—we’ve seen this kind of storyline before: a character grows tired of their life, wishes for something different, and only then realizes they didn’t appreciate what they had until it was gone.

That said, the writers made smarter choices here than in Shrek the Third. In Shrek 2, we were introduced to a bunch of new characters, but their screen time was limited. The focus remained on Shrek and Fiona. Similarly, this film shifts the focus back to Shrek and Fiona, but it still lacks a truly compelling villain.

In Shrek 2, the Fairy Godmother stood out as a foe. Her motives—trying to secure the best for her son—were relatable and gave the conflict depth. From her perspective, her actions even made sense. By contrast, the villain here, Rumpelstiltskin, has a much simpler, clichéd goal: he just wants to rule.

The movie begins with a flashback to Fiona’s parents moments before Shrek saved her in the first movie. They’re about to sign their kingdom away to Rumpelstiltskin, who promises to save Fiona with his magic. Just as they’re about to finalize the deal, a guard interrupts with news that Fiona has already been rescued.

Fast-forward to the present, and we see Shrek struggling with the pressures of fatherhood and his new life as a local celebrity. Frustrated at his children’s birthday party, he wanders off and encounters Rumpelstiltskin, who pretends to be trapped under a carriage. Spotting Shrek’s vulnerability, Rumpelstiltskin tricks him into signing a contract. Shrek trades away one day from his past in exchange for a single day where everything goes back to how it used to be.

At first, Shrek enjoys the change, but he soon discovers that Rumpelstiltskin has tricked him. The day Rumpelstiltskin took was a pivotal one, erasing everything Shrek had accomplished. As a result, Shrek’s friendships with Donkey and Puss never happened, he never rescued Fiona, and his children don’t exist. Devastated, Shrek teams up with Donkey—after convincing him they were friends in another life—to find a way to undo the contract. Together, they must stop Rumpelstiltskin, who has since taken over as king of Far Far Away.

The only area where this film surpasses the first two is in animation quality.