Shrek Forever After Information

Shrek Forever After (also advertised as Shrek: The Final Chapter or Shrek 4) is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated fantasy comedy film, and the fourth and final installment in the Shrek series, produced by DreamWorks Animation. The film was released by Paramount Pictures in cinemas on May 20, 2010 in Russia and on May 21, 2010 in the United States. It was also released in 3D and IMAX 3D formats.

Although the film received mixed reviews from critics and opened lower than expected, it remained as the #1 film in the United States and Canada for three consecutive weeks and has grossed a worldwide total of over $752 million, making it a commercial success. Additionally, Shrek Forever After is DreamWorks Animation's second highest-grossing film at the foreign box office.

Plot

Before Shrek and Donkey rescue Princess Fiona in the first film (despite Shrek's deal with Lord Farquaad), King Harold and Queen Lillian " desperate to lift their daughter's curse " meet with con artist Rumpelstiltskin, who wishes to become King of Far Far Away in exchange for helping them. But before the deal is signed, Harold and Lillian learn that Fiona has been rescued. Rumpelstiltskin is then shown to have become washed up as a result and subsequently bitter towards Shrek for inadvertently ruining his plans.

In the present, Shrek has steadily grown tired of being a family man and celebrity among the local villagers, leading him to yearn for the days when he felt like a "real ogre". He takes his family to Far Far Away to celebrate his children's first birthday. Shrek gets annoyed when the three little pigs eat the kids' cake along with most of the other party food. A boy named Butterpants (who is said to be a "big fan" of Shrek) demands that Shrek roar. After he lets out a frustrated roar the entire crowd cheers, reinforcing his belief that no one considers him to be a true ogre. This coupled with the fact that the birthday cakes were decorated with a "cute" Ogre named "Sprinkles" finally makes Shrek lose his temper and smashes the new birthday cake in front of everyone, then walks out in anger. He and Fiona argue outside about his reaction which ends with Shrek rashly agreeing that he was happier before he'd rescued her.

After storming off, Shrek encounters Rumpelstiltskin. Rumpel, who had observed Shrek's angry outburst with Fiona, seizes his chance. He follows Shrek and arranges what appears to be an accident where he is trapped under his carriage. Shrek helps him and Rumpel being "grateful", gives Shrek a ride and a meal. When Shrek voices his frustrations, Rumpel offers to give Shrek a day to live like a real ogre in exchange for a day from his childhood that he would not remember being erased. Shrek signs the contract and appears in a reality where he is still feared by villagers. He takes the opportunity to cause some light hearted mischief until he finds wanted posters for the ogress Fiona and his home deserted and desolate. He is kidnapped by witches and taken to Rumpelstiltskin, now the King of Far Far Away and possibly Emperor of a good deal more, which has become derelict and run down. Rumpelstiltskin uses ogres (and some of Shrek's friends) for slavery.

Upon inquiry, Rumpelstiltskin reveals that the day he erased was the day that Shrek was born. Therefore, Shrek never saved Fiona, never met Donkey, and consequently Rumpelstiltskin was able to get Harold and Lillian to sign their kingdom away, then cause them to disappear. When the day ends, Shrek will fade from existence. Shrek escapes Rumpelstiltskin's castle with Donkey. Initially terrified of Shrek, Donkey decides to trust him after seeing Shrek cry over his erased history, something he had never seen an ogre do before. After Shrek explains the situation, Donkey helps him find a loophole: the contract will be nullified if Shrek and Fiona share true love's kiss. Shrek and Donkey first travel to the dragon's keep where Fiona was kept and find the place deserted and the lava from the crater under the castle has been drained. They soon encounter a band of ogres who are resisting Rumpelstiltskin. The ogres are led by Fiona, who is still cursed after escaping from the tower where she was held captive, and keeps the retired and overweight Puss in Boots as a pet.

Shrek does everything he can to gain Fiona's love, but she is too busy preparing an ambush on Rumpelstiltskin. She is also bitterly cynical and disillusioned about the power of true love and throws herself into planning Rumpelstiltskin's capture. While sparring with her, Fiona begins to like Shrek, but stops short of kissing him. Shrek is discouraged, but Puss encourages him to continue pursuing Fiona.

During the ambush, the ogres are captured by the Pied Piper, though Shrek and Fiona managed to escape with the intervention of Puss and Donkey. Shrek insists Fiona kiss him, saying it will fix everything, but because Fiona does not truly love him it is ineffective. Upon hearing that Rumpelstiltskin is offering anything desired by the one who captures Shrek, Shrek surrenders himself in exchange for "all ogres" being released. Fiona remains in custody because, as Rumpelstiltskin points out, she is not "all ogre" (only by night, not by day). Shrek and Fiona are to be fed to Dragon, but Donkey, Puss and the ogres raid Rumpelstiltskin's castle, allowing Shrek and Fiona to both subdue Dragon and capture Rumpelstiltskin.

As the sun rises, Shrek begins to fade from existence. But Fiona, having fallen in love with him, kisses him just before he disappears, thereby voiding the contract and restoring the world to just before Shrek originally lashed out at everyone. Shrek embraces his friends and family with a newfound appreciation for everything he has, truly living happily ever after.

During the credits, a nostalgic, pop-out storybook style of pictures recaps Shrek's adventures with Donkey, Puss, and Fiona during the events of the first three films to Stevie Wonder's For Once in My Life.

Cast

|image2=Eddie Murphy Tribeca Shankbone 2010 NYC (2).jpg

|caption2= |width2= |image3=Cameron Diaz by David Shankbone.jpg

|caption3= |width3= |image4=Antonio Banderas.jpg

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|caption5= |width5= |header=Cast members of Shrek Forever After at the premiere of the film at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival |header_align=center }}

• Mike Myers as Shrek
• Eddie Murphy as Donkey
• Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona
• Antonio Banderas as Puss in Boots
• Walt Dohrn as Rumpelstiltskin
• Conrad Vernon as Gingy (Gingerbread Man)
• Aron Warner as Wolf
• Christopher Knights as Three Blind Mice
• Cody Cameron as Pinocchio, Three Little Pigs
• Jon Hamm as Brogan the Ogre
• Craig Robinson as Cookie the Ogre
• Jane Lynch as Gretchen the Ogre
• Julie Andrews as Queen Lillian
• John Cleese as King Harold
• Chris Miller as Magic Mirror, Mr. Geppetto
• Kristen Schaal as Pumpkin Witch, Palace Witch
• Mary Kay Place as Guard Witch
• Meredith Vieira as Broomsy Witch
• Kathy Griffin as Taran
• Lake Bell as Patrol Witch, Wagon Witch #2
• Jeremy Steig as Pied Piper
• Larry King (U.S.)/Jonathan Ross (UK) as Doris the Ugly Stepsister
• Regis Philbin as Mabel the Ugly Stepsister
• Mike Mitchell as Butterpants
• Ryan Seacrest as Butterpants' father

Production

Following the success of Shrek 2, a third and fourth Shrek film, along with plans for a final, fifth film, were announced in May 2004 by Jeffrey Katzenberg: "Shrek 3 and 4 are going to reveal other unanswered questions and, finally, in the last chapter, we will understand how Shrek came to be in that swamp, when we meet him in the first movie." Katzenberg announced a title for the fourth film in October 2007, Shrek Goes Fourth, explaining it: "Shrek goes out into the world, forth!" However, in May 2009, DreamWorks Animation retitled the film to Shrek Forever After, indicating that it would be the last in the Shrek series. In November, Bill Damaschke, head of creative production at DreamWorks Animation, confirmed with "All that was loved about Shrek in the first film is brought to the final film."

Tim Sullivan was hired to write the script in 2005, but was later replaced by Darren Lemke and Josh Klausner. Klausner said about the script's evolution: "When I first came onto the project, it wasn't supposed to be the final chapter " there were originally going to be 5 Shrek movies. Then, about a year into the development, Jeffrey Katzenberg decided that the story that we'd come up with was the right way for Shrek's journey to end, which was incredibly flattering." Mike Mitchell would on board to direct the new installment, shortly before the release of the third film. There were also rumors in September 2008, while the film was still in pre-production, that Tom Cruise was considered voicing the movie's villian, but these would be later wrecked. Much of the film was written and recorded in New York City.

Soundtrack

Similar to most of the other Shrek films, the film's original score was composed by British composer Harry Gregson-Williams.

Release

Shrek Forever After premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 21, 2010. It was publicly released on May 20, 2010, in Russia, while the American release followed the next day. The film was also released in IMAX 3D format.

Home media

Shrek Forever After was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack on December 7, 2010. As of March 13, 2011, the DVD has sold 3,438,198 copies and has made $57,634,242. The film is also included in Shrek: The Whole Story, a box set released on the same day that included all 4 Shrek movies and additional bonus content.

Reception

Critical response

Shrek Forever After received mixed reviews with several critics claiming that the film is better than Shrek the Third, but lacking the story-rich detail as Shrek and Shrek 2. Review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 57% of critics have given the film a positive review, based on 188 reviews, with an average score of 5.9/10. Its consensus states "While not without its moments, Shrek Forever After too often feels like a rote rehashing of the franchise's earlier entries." Another review aggregator, Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, calculated an average score of 58 based on 35 reviews.

Pete Hammond of Boxoffice gave the film 4.5 stars out of 5 writing "Hilarious and heartfelt from start to finish, this is the best Shrek of them all, and that's no fairy tale. Borrowing liberally from Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life, this edition blends big laughs and emotion to explore what Far Far Away might have been like if Shrek never existed." James Berardinelli of Reelviews awarded the film 3/4 stars stating "Even though Shrek Forever After is obligatory and unnecessary, it's better than Shrek the Third and it's likely that most who attend as a way of saying goodbye to the Jolly Green Ogre will not find themselves wishing they had sought out a more profitable way of spending 90-odd minutes." Writing her critique for Entertainment Weekly, Lisa Schwarzbaum graded the film a B- claiming "Everyone involved fulfills his or her job requirements adequately. But, the magic is gone, and Shrek Forever After is no longer an ogre phenomenon to reckon with." Rolling Stone film critic Peter Travers wrote "It's a fun ride. What's missing is the excitement of a new interpretation." Mary Pols, film critic for Time, concluded her review with "Can an ogre jump a shark? I think so." Giving the film 1 star out of 4, Kyle Smith of the New York Post wrote that "After the frantic spurt of fairy-tale allusions and jokes in the first three Shreks, this one inches along with a few mostly pointless action scenes and the occasional mild pun."

Box office

Shrek Forever After earned $238,736,787 in North America, and $513,864,080 in other countries, for a worldwide total of $752,600,867. It is the 46th highest-grossing film, the fifth highest-grossing of 2010, the second highest-grossing 2010 animated film (behind Toy Story 3), and the second lowest-grossing Shrek film.

North America

Shrek Forever After had the widest release for an animated film (4,359 theaters - later expanded to 4,389). On its opening day (May 21, 2010) it took first place, grossing $20.8 million, which was lower than the opening days of the last two Shrek films. The film then opened in three days with $70,838,207, lower than box office analysts predictions of a $105 million opening and also lower than the two previous films of the franchise. Anne Globe, head of worldwide marketing for DreamWorks Animation, said they were happy with the film's opening since it debuted at #1 and also had the fifth best opening for an animated film at the American and Canadian box office. Shrek Forever After was in first place for three consecutive weekends.

In North America, it was the eighth highest-grossing film of 2010, the fourth highest-grossing DreamWorks Animation film, 2010's third highest grossing animated film, trailing Toy Story 3 and Despicable Me and the lowest-grossing Shrek film. Executives at DreamWorks Animation were impressed because the film earned $238.7 million in North America, although it was the fourth film in the series, seemingly being outgrown by its fans.

Outside North America

Having made $513.9 million, it is the highest-grossing Shrek film, DreamWorks Animation's second biggest hit (behind Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted), and the seventh highest-grossing animated film. It topped the weekend box office once, on July 16-18, 2010, with $46.3 million. In Russia and the CIS, its second highest-grossing country, it had a $19.7 million opening weekend which was a record among animated films. It earned $51.4 million in total. Third in terms of total earnings came the United Kingdom, Ireland and Malta, where it opened with £8.96 million ($13.6 million) and finished its box office run with £31.1 million ($51.1 million).

Accolades

Award	Category/Recipient(s)	Result	References
Teen Choice Awards 2010	Choice Movie: Animated Film	rowspan="9"
Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards 2010	Fave Movie
37th People's Choice Awards	Favorite Family Movie
38th Annie Awards	Animated Effects in an Animated Production
	Music in a Feature Production
	Voice Acting in a Feature Production (Cameron Diaz)
	Storyboarding in a Feature Production
	Production Design in a Feature Production
2011 Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite Animated Film
	Favorite Voice From An Animated Movie (Eddie Murphy)
	Favorite Voice From An Animated Movie (Cameron Diaz)	rowspan="2"
37th Saturn Awards	Best Animated Film

Video game

See Shrek Forever After (video game) for more information Shrek Forever After is an action-adventure video game based on the movie of the same name. It was released by Activision on May 18, 2010.

Cancelled sequel

Following the success of Shrek 2 in May 2004, Jeffrey Katzenberg revealed that the Shrek story had been outlined into five films almost from the beginning. "Before the first one was finished we talked about what the whole story of Shrek is, and each of the chapters answers questions about the first movie and gives us an insight," said Katzenberg, "Shrek 3 and 4 are going to reveal other unanswered questions and, finally, in the last chapter, we will understand how Shrek came to be in that swamp, when we meet him in the first movie." After the release of Shrek the Third in 2007, Katzenberg announced that the fifth film would be released in 2013.

In May 2009, DreamWorks Animation (DWA) announced that the fourth film's title would be Shrek Forever After, indicating that it would be the last in the Shrek series. Later that year, that was confirmed by Bill Damaschke, head of creative production at DWA, with him saying: "All that was loved about Shrek in the first film is brought to the final film."

Josh Klausner, one of the writers of Shrek Forever After, explained in 2010 the script's evolution: "When I first came onto the project, it wasn't supposed to be the final chapter "? there were originally going to be 5 Shrek movies. Then, about a year into the development, Jeffrey Katzenberg decided that the story that we'd come up with was the right way for Shrek's journey to end..."

Spin-off

See Puss in Boots (2011 film) for more information Puss in Boots is a computer-animated feature film that was released on October 28, 2011. The movie is based on and follows the character of Puss in Boots on his adventures with Kitty Softpaws and mastermind Humpty Dumpty before his first appearance in Shrek 2.