03-03-2025
'Shrek' Fans Have Strong Opinions About the Character's Appearance in 5th Movie: 'What Did They Do to Him?'
Shrek is back — and his new look has all of Duloc, and the internet, talking.
After a lengthy hiatus for the Shrek franchise, a new trailer for Shrek 5 dropped on Feb. 27, showing the return of Mike Meyer's Shrek and Cameron Diaz's Fiona as well as their pal Donkey (Eddie Murphy). Despite the reveal that Zendaya will voice Shrek and Fiona's daughter Felicia, many fans on social media have been more focused on how the characters from the magical land of Far Far Away have aged.
In the trailer, Shrek and Fiona return as middle-aged parents, watching as the Magic Mirror plays a 'Shrek' montage (even including a viral TikTok gif of Shrek dancing in black leather).
Since the trailer dropped, fans have taken to social media to make memes from the trailer or express surprise over the ogre and his family's new looks.
Related: Shrek and Donkey Are Coming Back to the Swamp! Everything We Know About Shrek 5 So Far
On X, one user wrote 'What did they do to him' along with crying face emojis.
what did they do to him 😭😭😭 #Shrek5
— thomas 🫧 (@lightuupthesky) February 27, 2025
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Another user shared an image from The Simpsons of Lisa and Bart Simpson's doppelgangers Brandon and Eliza along with the caption 'The Shrek 5 trailer.'
The Shrek 5 trailer:
— Aleks Phoenix (@AleksPhoenix) February 27, 2025
One fan defended the apparent changes, noting Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, a spin-off from the Shrek films, featured well-received animation.
Yall act like the new design is the worse thing ever when they've done it once 3 years ago and yall LIKED IT. #shrek5
— ✨Soap/Amy✨ (@SoapySoapster) February 27, 2025
Some others disagreed, though, referencing The Last Wish as a good change and Shrek 5's animation style as a not-so-welcomed shift.
Me, after watching Puss In Boots: The Last Wish: Ah, that was lovely. And you know what? That ending even made me feel nostalgic for Shrek! I'd actually be ok with seeing those characters again!Me, after watching the teaser for Shrek 5: Nope, I was wrong. Kill it with fire.
— Chris Hewitt (@ChrisHewitt) February 27, 2025
There have even been suggestions to encourage Dreamworks and Universal, who produce and distribute the film respectively, to make changes to Shrek 5's animation.
can we bully dreamworks to change the shrek 5 animation like we did to paramount to change sonic's animation?
— chu (@THEHORRORGOTH) February 27, 2025
Anything is possible, as fan criticism over the first Sonic movie and its original design for the blue hedgehog actually got a response from director Jeff Fowler. That movie was delayed for three months while 'design changes' were made, as Fowler shared.
The Sonic movies' TikTok account has even reacted to Shrek 5's backlash, posting a video saying 'Any green ogres looking for advice, take notes' while showing a transition from the highly-criticized original design for Sonic to the revised design of the speedy blue hedgehog that made it to theaters.
While there are not many details about the plot of Shrek 5, given the franchise's history, audiences can expect a continuation of Shrek's adventures paired with humor and plenty of pop culture puns.
Shrek 5 hits theaters Dec. 23, 2026.
Read the original article on People
