Shrek Forever After

Shrek Forever After

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Mike Mitchell
Produced by Gina Shay
Teresa Cheng
Andrew Adamson
Aron Warner
John H. Williams
Written by William Steig (Book)
Josh Klausner
Darren Lemke
Starring Mike Myers
Eddie Murphy
Cameron Diaz
Antonio Banderas
Walt Dohrn
Jon Hamm
Jane Lynch
Craig Robinson
Music by Harry Gregson-Williams
Cinematography Yong Duk Jhun
Editing by David Teller
Studio DreamWorks Animation
Pacific Data Images
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date(s) May 20, 2010 (2010-05-20)
May 21, 2010 (2010-05-21) (United States)
Running time 93 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $135[1][2]–$165[3] million
Gross revenue $720,875,963[4]
Preceded by Shrek The Halls
Followed by Puss in Boots

Shrek Forever After,[5] taglined as Shrek: The Final Chapter,[6] is a 2010 animated comedy fantasy-family film, and it is the fourth and final installment in the Shrek film series. The film is produced by Dreamworks Animation and is distributed by Paramount Pictures. It was released in cinemas on May 20, 2010 in Russia, on May 21 in the United States, Pakistan, Canada, India and on May 28 in Vietnam. The film was then released on June 17, 2010 in Australia and Sri Lanka and on July 2, 2010 in the United Kingdom and Ireland.[7][8] It was released in 3-D and IMAX 3D theaters.[9][10] Although the film received mixed to positive reviews from critics and opened lower than expectations, it remained as the #1 film in the United States and Canada for three consecutive weeks and has grossed a worldwide total of over $720 million, making it a commercial success. Additionally, the film is Dreamworks Animation's highest-grossing film at the foreign box office.[11]

Like the first three Shrek films, the film is based on fairy tale themes.[12]

Contents

Plot

The film begins just before Shrek rescues Princess Fiona in the first film. Desperate to lift their daughter's curse, King Harold and Queen Lillian meet with con artist Rumpelstiltskin, who requests becoming king of Far Far Away in curry exchange. Just before the deal is contracted, the king and queen learn that Fiona has already been rescued. In the present, a disgruntled Rumpelstiltskin wishes Shrek was never born and seeks revenge.

Meanwhile, Shrek has grown tired of being a domesticated family man and celebrity among the local villagers, leading him to yearn for the days when he felt like a "real ogre." It is his children's birthday party where lots of fictional characters appear. Shrek gets easily annoyed here as the 3 little pigs eat the children's cake up and a little kid called Butterpants keeps wanting him to do his infamous roar. After lashing out at his family and friends during the party, Shrek storms off and meets with Rumpelstiltskin, who offers to give Shrek a day to live like a real ogre again in exchange for a day from his childhood he wouldn't remember being erased. Shrek agrees and signs the contract, and abruptly lands in a world where he is still feared by villagers. He enjoys causing mischief until he finds wanted posters for the ogress Fiona and his home deserted. He is suddenly captured by witches and taken to Rumpelstiltskin, who is now the king of Far Far Away and uses ogres for slave labor.

Shrek realizes that the day Rumpelstiltskin erased was the day he was born, meaning he never existed in this world before and is unrecognized by everyone he knows. Furthermore, when the day ends, Shrek will fade from existence. Shrek escapes Rumpelstiltskin's castle with the enslaved Donkey. Initially terrified of Shrek, Donkey decides to trust him after seeing Shrek cry, something he had never seen an ogre do before. After Shrek explains the situation, Donkey helps him find a loophole: the contract will be rendered null and void if Shrek and Fiona share true love's kiss before the 24 hours are up. Donkey sees some waffles and is tempted to eat them but Shrek says no, accidentally Donkey dribbles on them and is cast down a hole with Shrek running after him. After speaking to many ogres who seem to live down the hole, they find Fiona who, still cursed after escaping from the tower where she was held captive, is the leader of an ogre resistance against Rumpelstiltskin 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 during his nightly ogre hunt. However, the ogres are caught in a trap instead and captured. Shrek insists Fiona kiss him, saying it will fix everything, but because Fiona doesn't love him, it is ineffective. Upon hearing that Rumpelstiltskin is offering anything desired by the one who captures Shrek with no strings attached, Shrek turns himself in in exchange for all ogres being released, but Fiona remains in custody because she is only an ogre by night due to her curse. Shrek and Fiona are set to be fed to Dragon, but Donkey, Puss and the ogres raid Rumpelstiltskin's castle, allowing Shrek and Fiona to subdue both Dragon and Rumpelstiltskin.

As the sun rises, Shrek begins to fade from existence, but Fiona, having fallen in love with him all over again, kisses him just before he disappears completely, which nullifies the contract and restores Shrek to his world just before he originally lashed out at everyone. Shrek embraces his friends and family with newfound appreciation for everything he has, truly living happily forever after.

Cast

Main
Supporting

Production

Tim Sullivan wrote the original story Shrek Goes Fourth,[13] but Darren Lemke and Josh Klausner made the rewrites, and Mike Mitchell directed the new installment, replacing Chris Miller, who directed the previous film, while Shrek and Shrek 2 are both directed by Andrew Adamson.[14] Also, all the principal cast members reprised their roles.[15]

On November 25, 2009, DreamWorks Animation announced that the Shrek series would end with Shrek Forever After being The Final Chapter.[16]

Reception

Critical reception

Shrek Forever After received mixed to positive reviews with several critics claiming that the film is better than Shrek the Third but is not as great as compared to Shrek and Shrek 2. Review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 58% of critics have given the film a positive review, based on 178 reviews, with an average score of 5.9/10.[17] Its consensus states "While not without its moments, Shrek Forever After too often feels like a rote rehashing of the franchise's earlier entries." [17] Among Rotten Tomatoes' Cream of the Crop, which consists of popular and notable critics from the top newspapers, websites, television, and radio programs,[18] the film holds an overall positive rating of 41% based on 32 reviews.[19] 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 34 reviews.[20]

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." [21] 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 3 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." [22] 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." [23] Rolling Stone film critic Peter Travers wrote "This is a fun ride. What’s missing is the excitement of new interpretation."[24] Mary Pols, film critic for Time, concluded her review with "Can an ogre jump a shark? I think so."[25] Giving the film 1 star out of 4, Kyle Smith of 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."[26]

Box office

Having it as the widest release for an animated film playing in 4,359 theaters (later expanded to 4,389) on May 21, 2010, on opening day in the U.S. and Canada, the film took #1, grossing $20,802,341. This was far less auspicious 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 analysits predictions of a $105 million opening[27] and also than the two previous films, Shrek 2, which opened with $108 million back in 2004 and Shrek the Third, which opened with $121 million back in 2007. However, it's far bigger than the original Shrek, which opened with $42 million back in 2001, and had the fourth-biggest opening for a 2010 film in the United States and Canada behind Iron Man 2, Alice in Wonderland, and Toy Story 3. 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 behind Shrek the Third, Toy Story 3, Shrek 2, and The Simpsons Movie.[28] In its second weekend, Shrek Forever After dropped only 38.9%, the second smallest second-weekend drop for the franchise (behind the original Shrek which gained 0.3%) and was #1 for two weeks in a row with $43,311,063, ahead of the two highly-anticipated films Sex and the City 2 and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. The film then grossed $13,749,371 on Memorial Day bringing its four-day weekend total to $57,060,434.[29][30] In its third weekend Shrek Forever After dropped only 41.2% and was #1 for the three weeks in a row with $25,486,465, beating out the new releases Get Him to the Greek, Killers, Marmaduke, and Splice.[31] Shrek Forever After came in third place to The Karate Kid and The A-Team during its fourth weekend at the box office, but it delivered a higher-grossing weekend than Shrek the Third. The film made $15,770,491, down only 38.1%, compared to Shrek the Third's $15,317,614 and also had the franchise's smallest fourth-weekend drop.[32]

As of September 7, 2010 (2010 -09-07), Shrek Forever After has earned $238,371,987 in the United States and Canada, and an additional $482,506,963 overseas giving the film a worldwide gross of $720,878,950. This makes Shrek Forever After the second-highest grossing animated film in 2010 worldwide, behind Toy Story 3, and places it as the 38th highest-grossing film of all time worldwide as well as the third highest-grossing film of 2010 worldwide behind Toy Stoy 3 and Alice in Wonderland.[4][33] The film is also Paramount's tenth highest-grossing film at the American and Canadian box office (unadjusted for inflation).[34] Although Shrek Forever After is the lowest-grossing Shrek film in the United States and Canada, its worldwide total is still higher than the original Shrek, which grossed an international total of $484,409,218.[35] Additionally, in the foreign box office, having made $482.5 million it has out-grossed its two predecessors, Shrek the Third which grossed $476.2 million and Shrek 2 which grossed $478.6 million. It is also Dreamworks Animation's biggest foreign hit at the box office as well as the fifth highest-grossing animated film at the overseas box office.[36]

Awards and nominations

Award Category/Recipient(s) Result References
Teen Choice Awards 2010 Choice Movie: Animated Film Nominated [37][38]

References

  1. ↑ DiOrio, Carl (May 23, 2010). "'Shrek' underwhelms but tops boxoffice". The Hollywood Reporter (e5 Global Media). http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i4a68f0689d02bf9ed8c24f437d0ccb7a?src=bchallenge. Retrieved August 16, 2010. "Produced for an estimated $135 million, "Shrek Forever After" hit multiplexes amid expectations of an even more lucrative theatrical campaign." 
  2. ↑ Goodman, Dean (May 23, 2010). "UPDATE 1-'Shrek' sequel underperforms at box office". Reuters (Thomson Reuters). http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2353030520100523. Retrieved August 16, 2010. ""Shrek Forever After," with the voice cast including Michael Myers, Antonio Banderas, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, cost about $135 million to make." 
  3. ↑ Fritz, Ben (May 23, 2010). "First Look: 'Shrek' falls short on fourth go-round while 'MacGruber' bombs". Los Angeles Times (Tribune Company). http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2010/05/shrek-falls-short-on-fourth-go-round-while-macgruber-bombs.html. Retrieved May 24, 2010. ""Shrek Forever After," which cost DreamWorks Animation about $165 million to produce" 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Shrek Forever After (2010)". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=shrek4.htm. Retrieved August 22, 2010. 
  5. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0892791/
  6. ↑ Taglines for Shrek Forever After
  7. ↑ Ben Fritz (October 31, 2007). "Dreamworks Animation Announces Fall 2010 Title, New "Shrek 4"". Comingsoon.net. http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=38922. Retrieved October 31, 2007. 
  8. ↑ "2010: The Year 'Shrek 4' Made Contact Working title is 'The Next Shrek'". Zap2it.com. August 2, 2007. http://www.zap2it.com/movies/news/zap-2010shrek4release,0,223193.story. Retrieved August 2, 2007. 
  9. ↑ "Shrek Forever After: An IMAX 3D Experience Movie Overview". Fandango.com. http://www.fandango.com/shrekforeverafter:animax3dexperience_124781/movieoverview. Retrieved 2009-12-31. 
  10. ↑ "Shrek Forever After". http://www.ireland.com/entertainment/film/shrek-forever-after/443655. Retrieved 2009-12-31. 
  11. ↑ Shrek Forever After becomes Dreamworks Animation’s biggest release
  12. ↑ "Shrek Forever After: An Ogre in Midlife Crisis". Time. May 20, 2010. http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1990874,00.html. Retrieved May 22, 2010. 
  13. ↑ "DreamWorks plans 'Shrek 4'". Variety.com (Reed Business Information). March 6, 2005. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117918987.html?cs=1. Retrieved August 29, 2010. 
  14. ↑ "Mike Mitchell to Direct Shrek 4". Coming Soon.net. May 7, 2007. http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=20254. Retrieved January 13, 2009. 
  15. ↑ Mike Sampson (August 2, 2007). "Shrek 4 set for 2010". JoBlo.com. http://www.joblo.com/shrek-4-set-for-2010. Retrieved August 3, 2007. 
  16. ↑ Susan Wloszczyna (November 25, 2009). "First look: 'Shrek Forever After': Fourth, final film is first in 3-D". usatoday.com. http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2009-11-24-shrek-forever-after_N.htm. Retrieved June 1, 2010. 
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Shrek Forever After Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/shrek_goes_fourth/. Retrieved 2010-06-12. 
  18. ↑ "Rotten Tomatoes FAQ: What is Cream of the Crop". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/pages/faq#creamofthecrop. Retrieved 2010-05-21. 
  19. ↑ "Shrek Forever After (Cream of the Crop)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/shrek_goes_fourth/?critic=creamcrop. Retrieved 2010-08-13. 
  20. ↑ "Shrek Forever After reviews at Metacritic.com". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/Shrek4. Retrieved 2010-05-21. 
  21. ↑ Hammond, Pete (2010-05-05). "Shrek Forever After Movie Review". Boxoffice Media, LLC. http://www.boxofficemagazine.com/reviews/theatrical/2010-05-shrek-forever-after. Retrieved 2010-05-21. 
  22. ↑ Berardinelli, James (2010-05-19). "Shrek Forever After - A movie review by James Berardinelli". Reelviews. http://www.reelviews.net/php_review_template.php?identifier=2084. Retrieved 2010-05-21. 
  23. ↑ Schwarzbaum, Lisa (2010-05-20). "Shrek Forever After – Movie – EW.com". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20386387,00.html. Retrieved 2010-05-21. 
  24. ↑ Travers, Peter. "Movies -- Reviews -- Shrek Forever After -- Rolling Stone.com". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media LLC. http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/;kw=14342,155027. Retrieved 2010-05-21. 
  25. ↑ Pols, Mary (2010-05-20). "Shrek Forever After: An Ogre in Midlife Crisis". Time, Inc.. http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1990874,00.html#ixzz0oaiIL8h0. Retrieved 2010-05-21. 
  26. ↑ "Fourth ‘Shrek’ is pure drek". The New York Post. NYP Holdings, Inc.. 2010-05-21. http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/movies/shrek_from_page_Kx2OHEjVoKj8E2aY5p92BJ#ixzz0oajZGqqQ. Retrieved 2010-05-21. 
  27. ↑ 'Shrek' kicks off the sure-to-be successful summer kid flick biz
  28. ↑ "‘Shrek Forever After’ roars to top of box office". msnbc.com. 2010-05-23. http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/37302907/ns/today-entertainment/. Retrieved 2010-05-23. 
  29. ↑ "'Shrek' better than 'Sex' with $43M at box office". abcnews.com. 2010-05-30. http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=10783771. Retrieved 2010-07-11. 
  30. ↑ "‘Sex’ no match for ‘Shrek’ at box office". msnbc.com. 2010-05-31. http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/37436302/ns/today-entertainment/. Retrieved 2010-05-31. 
  31. ↑ ""Shrek" laughs its way past two new comedies". reuters.com. 2010-06-06. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6530TD20100606. Retrieved 2010-07-11. 
  32. ↑ "'Karate Kid' Kick-Starts the Summer, 'A-Team' B-Listed". boxofficemojo.com. 2010-06-14. http://boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=2817&p=.htm. Retrieved 2010-06-14. 
  33. ↑ 2010 WORLDWIDE GROSSES
  34. ↑ PARAMOUNT All Time Box Office
  35. ↑ Shrek Box Office
  36. ↑ "'Shrek 4' is DWA's biggest foreign hit". Variety Magazine. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118023790.html?categoryid=19&cs=1. Retrieved 2010-09-07. 
  37. ↑ "First Wave of "Teen Choice 2010" Nominees Announced". The Futon Critic. June 14, 2010. http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2010/06/14/first-wave-of-teen-choice-2010-nominees-announced/20100614fox01/. Retrieved June 15, 2010. 
  38. ↑ "Winners of ‘Teen Choice 2010‘ Awards Announced; Teens Cast More Than 85 Million Votes". http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/08/08/winners-of-teen-choice-2010-awards-announced-teens-cast-more-than-85-million-votes/59453?utm_campaign=WP-TWITTER&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitter. 

External links

Preceded by
Shrek the Halls (2007)		 Shrek Forever After
2010		 Succeeded by
Puss in Boots: Story of an Ogre Killer (2011)
Shrek
Shrek (2001) · Shrek 2 (2004) · Shrek the Third (2007)  · Shrek Forever After (2010)
Book
Shrek! · William Steig (author)
Spin-offs
Shrek the Halls (2007) · Scared Shrekless (2010) · Donkey's Christmas Shrektacular (2010)  · Puss in Boots (2011)
Theme park attractions
Shrek 4-D (2003)  · Donkey's Photo Finish  · Enchanted Airways
Characters
Shrek · Donkey · Princess Fiona · Puss in Boots · Gingerbread Man · Arthur Pendragon · Lord Farquaad · Fairy Godmother · Prince Charming · Ugly Stepsisters
Video games
Shrek · Shrek: Hassle at the Castle · Shrek Extra Large · Shrek Super Party · Shrek 2 · Shrek SuperSlam · Shrek Smash n' Crash Racing · Shrek the Third · Shrek: Ogres and Dronkeys · Shrek n' Roll · Shrek Forever After
Miscellaneous
Music · Shrek the Musical · List of films
Films directed by Mike Mitchell
1990s
Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999)
2000s
Surviving Christmas (2004) · Sky High (2005)
2010s
Shrek Forever After (2010)
DreamWorks Animation
Computer-animated
films
Antz (1998) · Shrek (2001) · Shrek 2 (2004) · Shark Tale (2004) · Madagascar (2005) · Over the Hedge (2006) · Shrek the Third (2007) · Bee Movie (2007) · Kung Fu Panda (2008) · Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008) · Monsters vs. Aliens (2009) · How to Train Your Dragon (2010) · Shrek Forever After (2010) · Megamind (2010)
Traditionally animated
films
The Prince of Egypt (1998) · The Road to El Dorado (2000) · Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002) · Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003)
Films produced with
Aardman Animations
Chicken Run (2000) · Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) · Flushed Away (2006)
Upcoming films
Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) · Puss in Boots (2011) · The Croods (2012) • Madagascar 3 (2012) • The Guardians of Childhood (2012)
Computer-animated
TV series
Father of the Pride (2004–2005) · The Penguins of Madagascar (2008–present)
Traditionally animated
TV series
Toonsylvania (1998) · Invasion America (1998) · Alienators: Evolution Continues (2001) · Neighbors from Hell (2010–present, with 20th Century Fox Television)
Television specials
Shrek the Halls (2007) · Merry Madagascar (2009) · Kung Fu Panda Holiday Special (2010)
Direct-to-video
Joseph: King of Dreams (2000) · The Penguins of Madagascar: Operation: DVD Premiere (2010)
Shorts
Shrek 4-D (2003) · The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper (2005) · Hammy's Boomerang Adventure (2006) · First Flight (2006) · Secrets of the Furious Five (2008)  · B.O.B.'s Big Break (2009) · Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon (2010)