It’s Nostalgia Ruining ‘Shrek 5,’ Not the Animation Redesign

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  via Via Universal Pictures

• Shrek was introduced to the world back in 2001, and no one ever expected it to succeed as much as it did. Now, four sequels, two spin-offs, and many memes later, Shrek is a household character known to many generations. The film’s audience varies from children who love Shrek thanks to his online presence to devoted adults who still cherish the brilliant movies they grew up on.

  Despite the overall love for the franchise, or even because of it, the trailer to the fifth movie generated a lot of backlash, with the main issue being the shift in animation style. After four films in which the characters barely changed, the new redesign introduced a change that was too much for the audience to handle. As usual, people online were not afraid to express their concern, and the trailer was the target of heavy criticism.

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  via Via Culture Crave

• While we can all go on and on about what changes exactly make Shrek and his family look so different this time around, the issue isn’t really about the changes made in the animation. The issue is that the audience has not changed since the last release of a Shrek film. 

  When Shrek was initially introduced to the world 25 years ago, the movie was aimed, much like most animated films, for a young audience. The people who went to see the movie and fell in love with it were kids. Children who enjoyed the dynamic between Shrek and Donkey, and thought it was hilarious that this time the guy who saves the princess is not a charming prince, but an ugly ogre. While parents who accompanied their kids to the theatre also enjoyed the film’s many cinematic easter eggs and winks to adult eyes, it is clear that the movie was meant to be loved by a young audience. And so it was.

• Now, here we are, decades later, and a new movie is about to grace the screens. This time around, the people who will probably head to the theatre are the same children who watched the first movie, except that now they are full-grown adults. The same full-grown adults who left many disappointed comments about the new trailer.

  Even though Shrek 5’s target demographic is still children, the audience who is actually invested in the franchise is the adults who grew up with the movie in the first place. The trailer is being watched by adults who are being lured into watching a movie that should make them feel like children again. So naturally, in the name of nostalgia, they don't want anything to change or feel different. The slightest shift in Shrek's eyes, Donkey's facial shape, or Fiona’s apparent Botox is reminding people how much time has passed since the first time they were introduced to the characters, and that makes them mad.

• When Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, the second film in Shrek’s successful spin-off, was introduced in 2022, a character redesign was also a major element. Puss, the main character, looked quite different from how he appeared in the Shrek films, yet the redesign was not only accepted, but the audience was quite happy about it. The difference between that acceptance and the backlash over Shrek 5 raises many questions. What changed between then and now? How come that redesign is great, while this one is ruining the movie?

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  via Via r/Shrek on Reddit

• Similarly, with Toy Story 5 currently drawing positive reviews, it's worth remembering that the franchise has undergone its own significant animation evolutions, most notably between the first and third films. Some characters look completely different from their first appearance in Toy Story 1, yet we don’t recall anyone complaining. 

  The main reason for the lack of criticism comes from the fact that we were all kids when these movies came out, and the last thing our young minds paid attention to was the shift in animation style. We cared about the plot, the exciting new adventures, so we didn’t care so much about Woody or Jessy’s makeover. It didn’t play a part when it came to the audience, which is not something that can be said this time around.

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  via Via Noticinepop

• The same can be said about Puss in Boots. While it is a Shrek spin-off, it was first introduced in 2011 and was watched mainly by children. Even the 11-year gap between the first Puss in Boots and the second was short enough that the sequel was still a family film, mainly watched by children. And they, too, did not care much about the character’s redesign.

  Had the Shrek 5 trailer been seen by the young audience the movie is intended for, we probably wouldn’t have heard as much criticism about the animation changes. When an animation studio releases so many sequels to a single franchise that was initially meant for children, those children are going to grow up. Twenty-five years have passed since Shrek 1, and the kids who went to see it are now adults who are not ready to let their love for the characters go, especially if they are getting new content. The complaints about the changes and the redesign are just another side effect of the lack of original content Hollywood is so intent on not fixing. Maybe by the time Shrek 8 comes along, these studios will learn their lesson, and perhaps even allow some of these franchises, and their audiences who have outgrown them, to rest.

  
   

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