After years of silence, Shrek 5 has finally crawled out of its swamp with an official release date and a teaser trailer. You’d think fans would be overjoyed. But instead, they’re staring at their screens, rubbing their eyes, and asking the same question: What happened to Shrek’s face?
The Return of the Green Icon (With Some Extra Wrinkles)
On Thursday, Universal Pictures gave the world its first glimpse at the upcoming Shrek 5. The usual gang is back—Mike Myers as the lovable ogre, Eddie Murphy as Donkey, and Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona. Even the triplets, first introduced in Shrek the Third (2007), are here, with Zendaya lending her voice to Felicia.
Sounds great, right? A feel-good reunion? Not quite. Because instead of celebrating, fans are fixated on something else: Why does Shrek suddenly look like he’s been dealing with mortgage payments and back pain?
The teaser shows the crew standing before the magic mirror, asking the age-old question: “Who’s the fairest of them all?” The mirror, clearly having a day, responds with a montage of Shrek’s most, let’s say, unexpected moments—Shrek in glasses making a duck face, Shrek dancing in a skintight bodysuit, and most disturbingly, a buff Shrek with abs.
Cue the horrified shrieks from Shrek and Donkey.
“Ew, dad,” Felicia groans.
“Oooh, mama like,” Fiona chimes in, proving that ogre romance is alive and well.
Pinocchio, as always, tries to act innocent, only to have his nose betray him.
A Nostalgic Return or a Visual Crisis?
It’s been a long 15 years since Shrek Forever After (2010), and while fans were thrilled to see their favorite characters again, something felt… off. Shrek now sports deep forehead wrinkles, Donkey has a touch of gray, and Fiona—well, Fiona looks suspiciously the same (we see you, animators).
“Eyo why does Shrek look so old,” one fan demanded on X (formerly Twitter).
“What’s up with their faces?” another questioned, likely speaking for all of us.
Donkey, in particular, has taken the brunt of fan reactions. One person summed it up: “Bro has seen enough.” And honestly? They’re not wrong.
The Animation Style Debate: “Did They Get Botox?”
If the character redesigns weren’t enough, the animation itself has also raised eyebrows. Gone is the familiar style of previous Shrek films, replaced with something rounder, shinier, and—if you ask fans—oddly unsettling.
“Did they get botox? Why are they like that?” someone asked, possibly referring to Shrek’s suspiciously smooth cheeks.
“Why did y’all change the animation? It looks cheap,” another wrote, sparking the dreaded discourse over whether the franchise is selling out.
One desperate fan even pleaded: “Please change the animation style. Don’t make us Sonic you.”
For those who missed it, that’s a not-so-subtle threat referencing the time Paramount had to redesign Sonic the Hedgehog in 2020 after fans revolted over his original, horrifyingly human-like appearance. And given how passionately Shrek fans are reacting, Universal might want to keep that in mind.
What We Know About Shrek 5
Amid the animation chaos, one thing is certain: Shrek 5 is happening.
Eddie Murphy, in an interview last June, confirmed that he’d already recorded the first act. “We started doing [Shrek 5] months ago. I recorded the first act, and we’ll finish it up this year.” That’s as official as it gets.
The movie is set to release on Christmas 2026, giving fans plenty of time to process Shrek’s aged-up look. Walt Dohrn, a Shrek veteran who’s been with the franchise since Shrek 2, is directing—so at least someone familiar with the series is at the helm.
A New Era for Shrek—But Will Fans Accept It?
The Shrek franchise has always had a special place in pop culture. It’s goofy, self-aware, and—somehow—timeless. But the challenge now is proving that it can still capture that magic after all these years.
Fans wanted Shrek 5, and they got it. But whether they’ll embrace these new, older versions of their beloved characters? That remains to be seen. One thing’s for sure: if the backlash gets any louder, Universal might find themselves in the same situation as Paramount did with Sonic.
And nobody wants to go through that again.
