The Shrek movie celebrates its 25 year anniversary in the month of May.
When the movie premiered, it was clearly an unorthodox take on the traditional family-friendly films. New animation and storytelling from DreamWorks studios applied potential risks for a chance at success. “Shrek” is a film that includes parody on happily ever-after narrations and other well known fantasy stories and fairy tales including: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, the Three Little Pigs, Three Blind Mice, and many more.
The humorous, storytelling adventure that became a global phenomenon was written by William Steig, directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, and included a star-studded cast: Cameron Diaz as Fiona, Eddie Murphy as Donkey, and Mike Myers as the titular Shrek.
Impressively, the film won 40 cinema awards while being nominated for 60 total. Shrek had six Oscar nominations, winning a historic first-ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
The soundtrack for the movie included multiple fan favorites that became synonymous with the franchise; musical hits like “All Star” and “I’m a Believer” by Smash Mouth, helped earn the soundtrack a Grammy nomination. At its peak, the soundtrack also reached number 28 on the Billboard 200, going double platinum in the U.S.
Since the original movie release, Dreamworks has produced several spin-offs, including the “Puss in Boots” series and movies, voiced by the iconic Antonio Banderas.
“Shrek” assisted in establishing the DreamWorks’ company as one of their first successful studio movies; it became a pioneer in animation that paved the way for future blockbusters like “How to Train Your Dragon,” “Kung Fu Panda” and “Madagascar.”
With its continued success and dedicated fan base, the Shrek franchise is still expanding a quarter-century later. Beloved character Donkey has been announced to also receive his own movie soon. In July 2025 during an interview, voice actor Eddie Murphy mentioned “We start in September on Donkey… and that’ll be three years from now, but we’re about two years into Shrek 5. Still in the booth and about to start Donkey in September.”
The franchise has grossed nearly four billion worldwide. It includes four, soon to be five movies, and with its popularity, created a Shrek Broadway musical, various video games and multiple attractions at theme parks across Universal Studios Orlando, Beijing and Singapore.
This anniversary year will also debut the all new Universal Kids Resort, a theme park designated for Frisco, Texas to be opened this upcoming summer. The Shrek franchise has already been announced to receive an entire section of the park as DreamWorks’ Shrek’s Swamp. The swamp land will include new attractions like Shrek and Fiona’s Happily Ogre After, Shrek’s Swamp Rompin Stomp, and Shrek’s Swamp Splash and Smash. Those with ogre sized diets can look forward to tasty treats from Swamp Snacks, while apparel and accessories will be sold at Triplets Treasures.
Shrek fanatics are also awaiting the return to the world of Far, Far Away in “Shrek 5,” as it is scheduled to release on June 30, 2027. Reuniting our beloved characters in the continued adventure, newcomers also join the original cast in this fifth edition, including global stars Zendaya and Marcello Hernandez.
Brands like LEGO have also decided to join in the swampy-festivities. In celebration of the 25th anniversary, they have announced a partnership with Shrek to release exclusive anniversary LEGO sets, available beginning June 1 in LEGO stores and online.
In the meantime, you can join the celebration and watch the film re-released in theaters beginning May 15 to celebrate their quarter of a century anniversary; rejoice in the playful, quirky, and heartwarming fairy tale adventure that is Shrek.
