Why Shrek Forever After is an Underrated Gem

[Music] what of course he's not reviewing track four he's watching over the hedge just doesn't make sense Fran James would never pass up a Shrek girl I'm gonna be there Marco but some things you just gotta live with okay final review Shrek for funding for Schafer illness is provided by skill share - and until the end to find out how you can try Skillshare absolutely free now that's what I call the deal of a lifetime I'll tell you more later well this was a long time coming Shrek Forever After is the most underappreciated film in the entire DreamWorks pantheon sure you've got your mega minds and Eldorado's and sulfur the hedge yeah even even hedge but those have dedicated fandoms and a ton of memes to their name they are enduring cult classics to be sure but Shrek for nobody is talking about or memeing this movie everyone sees it as a mediocre or bad conclusion to the series probably construct the 3rd tapes of the entire franchise in the eyes of many seriously it's all Shrek the Third's fault if this movie didn't exist and we just had a trilogy on our hands then people would probably at least consider this a serviceable conclusion like Kung Fu Panda 3 or How to Train Your Dragon 3 but know this piece of [ __ ] ruined everything ah I wish that movie was never born but that's a story for another day aka January 1st 2019 it's the dawn of a new day and we're finally discussing how the follow-up not only redeemed the franchise but ended it off on an even higher note that it started on yeah I said it Shrek 4 is better than Shrek 1 it had no chance in hell I've ever taught me - of course but I genuinely prefer Shrek Forever After / the original film it's less funny to be sure but I think it's emotional beats and story hit even harder than the first one and a lot of that is owed to the reverence it has for the entire Shrek franchise movie number 1 in particular it feels like this movie screenwriters just really cared about the overarching story of Shrek and sending him out on a high note as of the time I'm writing this but why is shrek forever after such an amazing installment and conclusion to the legend of shrek well let's talk about that so it's no secret that Shrek for the longest time was DreamWorks his golden goose the numbers don't lie the top four highest-grossing dreamers movies in the US are the four Shrek films Puss in Boots didn't do nearly as well in case you're curious and these numbers hold up with the worldwide box office as well with the notable exception of the first movie being not quite as successful as its sequels so the Shrek sequel has made a ton of money in spite of a significant dip between two and three and an ever so slight dip from three and four logic dictates that DreamWorks keep going releasing more and more Shrek movies until the Sun blows up lord knows that's what blue skies been doing who the [ __ ] asked for five Ice Age movies but they actually stopped Shrek here they even canceled a planned fifth film for the sake of ending the story on what they thought was the perfect way to conclude Jeffrey Katzenberg himself made this decision which is weirdly out of character for him if we're being honest but lo and behold the story ended here until DreamWorks went bankrupt got sold now illumination is rebooting Shrek that's nice maybe if they made a Shrek 5 they wouldn't be in this situation it's a possibility but the thing about DreamWorks is that no matter how many subpar movies they may have made during the 2000s you can't deny that they care about the artistic integrity of their franchises they can make a terrible one-off movie here or there and some shorts or whatever but when they get an idea with a ton of merit behind it they put their Damus into developing that story further with each new installments Kung Fu Panda is a continuous narrative that flows perfectly from one movie to the next How to Train Your Dragon as a continuous narrative from one movie to the next Madagascar as utterly bonkers and not really that good as it is still tell us a continuous story that progresses from one movie to the next do you think ilumination cares about artistic integrity and ongoing narratives of course you know stupid question okay how about this do you think Pixar cares about that stuff do you think any of the Pixar sequels turned out this decade regardless of their quality were created because Pixar genuinely had a desire to continue the story of the original film the only movies you can say that about our cars three and maybe Toy Story four I mean they keep insisting it was a story-driven decision to make that movie but I'm sure Disney was salivating at the thought of a new Toy Story for the sake of merch so let's give him half a point for that everything else don't make me laugh Pixar make sequels for money illumination make sequels for money DreamWorks make sequels for art and money pretty soon but lord knows they need it Shrek 5 would have made them even more money but they didn't make it because Shrek 4 is art it is the emotional conclusion to a phenomenal overarching story that everyone perceives as a farce because the movie right before it was simply terrible shucks forever after takes the main character to a very interesting place he got everything he wanted friends love a family the story should be over right well no assuming the character can just settle down and have a happily ever after is kind of silly ideally that's what you want for a character but they're not gonna be happy every day from that on settling down and building a life with someone can sometimes make you long for the life you left behind even if you love your new life it can get exhausting I think the basic premise for this movie is immensely relatable and makes for an interesting character study for Shrek see Trek was alone so long he didn't even know that he was lonely all he had ever known was how to hold his own but now he wants to hold Fiona too and his children and donkey these are some pretty big changes in Shrek's life and having all of this happened in such a short amount of time can be overwhelming and stressful I also think the pointlessness obstruct the third plays into this to a degree as well Shrek learns practically nothing about being a father by the end of that movie so you can't expect him to be good at it now it's understandable that he'd want to briefly return to a time before he was thrust into all these new roles that of a best friend a husband a father all concepts completely foreign distract before Lord Farquaad dump those fairy tale creatures on the swamp back when the world made sense I think it's a wonderful life meet shrek is a surprisingly natural combo as a result I mean shrek is already about magic and stuff anyway so a magical contract that makes him lose his current life sure sounds good to me it's not like he's cheating on his wife he's just gonna sign a magic contract to do ogre hijinks then comeback like he never left easy-peasy but I should probably address a certain steam that some people find controversial so I'm just gonna come out and say it do the roar is funniest [ __ ] okay not only is it clearly an intentional homage to the 2005 DreamWorks Animation classic Madagascar but yeah honestly it just kind of cracks me up not sure what else there is to say oh also the scene where Shrek yells at Fiona is fine at first glance yeah what he says is jarring ly nasty you mean back before you rescued me from the Dragons keep exactly that's vicious yes I would be pretty hurt by that if I were her but people say nasty things they don't mean when they're frustrated let's be real and it takes a while for them to fully come to terms with their mistakes it's pretty common for people to not immediately regret something mean they said or did because they're overtaken by anger and they're convinced it was justified the fact that Shrek doesn't immediately regret what he said makes his eventual remorse all the more satisfying also remember he's not a regular dude he's a ocher ogres be mean I mean the whole point is Shrek - is that Shrek can't change the fact that he's an ogre she's a princess and I am an ogre yep and over so here in Shrek for when he says this I'm okay and I'm not gonna apologize for acting like one you can see how it falls in line with the Shrek we know she's not gonna be perfect at being nice and thoughtful this is new territory for him good lord his dad trying to eat him I wouldn't exactly call him an expert at this whole love and affection thing it's fine that he needs some room to grow overall this is the perfect direction to take Shrek's character arc he learned to love himself and open his heart up to others in the first two movies he learned how to I guess give a speech to a bunch of evil villains and turned them good that really helped him prepare for fatherhood and now he gets to learn the value of loving what he has and that love and connection is the ultimate source of fulfilment in a person's life so I think shirks journey throughout the movie is very interesting but he's not the only beloved ogre character with an incredibly compelling journey in this film let's talk about cookie wait what's this that's much Jimmy chunga stay cookie you silly bad shouldn't be worrying about chimichangas when there's a ruthless dictator plotting to enslave and/or exterminate your entire race okay let's talk about fuel renowned nuclear take for y'all coming right up Fiona is the best she's ever been in the entire franchise within this movie really think about it her story relevance has been on a gradual decline as these movies went along she's an essential character in the first film and there's a fairly decent chunk of death to her there even though she needs to be saved by Shora and Dunkeld she's still capable of beating the [ __ ] out of organization tight pants and she's insecure about her whole ocher curse but don't cry Fiona don't you know that Shrek like some big G like some grumpy in the end she learns to love herself for who she is and accept her ogre form body positivity then check - rolls around and I'm not gonna lie this movie's biggest flaw that I neglected to mention way back when is how much Fiona kind of gets shafted from a lot of the narrative she's a sexual destructs character arc which is a really really fantastic one but she herself does not receive nearly as much focus she just doesn't seem to have much of a presence here compared to the first movie where she could be funny badass heartfelt and the subject of a dynamic character change but ultimately I do kind of give Shrek two a pass in this regard because the final decision of the movie is hers she has the chance to return to her beautiful princess form and live the life she's always dreamed about but she actively says no I want to be an ogre and live out my life at the Shrek in the swamp karaoke dance party now that's wholesome Shrek the third is an embarrassment to nature fiona has no purpose to this story at all she's just baby mama she gets nothing she loses or rather we the audience lose good day sir this movie signified a shift in focus from the beautiful unlikely romance that was at the heart of the first two movies - stupid garbage with no coherent messages or emotion shrek forever after comes in and says hey let's make fiona like a vital part of the story again and so she is a ton of the narrative revolves around her for the first time since the first movie so they do something neat by inverting her story arc instead of being a princess by day who's ashamed of being an ogre at night she embraces her warrior ogre side and hides the fact that she becomes a princess during the day nobody rescued her in this timeline and it really got to her emotionally and psychologically she lets Shrek know through no uncertain terms how brutal it was to live in that Tower all these years which is something we didn't really touch on in the first movie here it's like oh [ __ ] the Shrek movie is dark did you live all alone in a miserable tower did you cry yourself to sleep every night waiting for a true love that never came and I know they you sleep by candlelight because every time you close your eyes you're afraid you're gonna wake up back in that talent Wow um yeah I can see how she became a jaded warrior who rejects this whole princess nonsense this is just tragic and again Shrek one kind of cost over a lot of this oh wait a minute Shrek the musical covered her time in the tower in a comedy song because this musical is a complete show also they make fun of her being bipolar and then they proceeded to rhyme that verse with I'm a very gifted bowler why are you the way that you are I hate so much about the things that you choose to be okay back to good Shrek products fiona has had it rough in this universe now only did she have all this tower [ __ ] to go through but after rescuing herself she finds out that her parents were Thanos a tyrannical elf baby man rules the land and the remaining ogres will be hunted down and defeated well [ __ ] I don't want revenge for my parents and ogre kind hell yeah it organized a revolution why not forget all this happily ever after him Prince Charming nonsense oh yeah real quick before you say Prince Charming would have saved her in a world where Shrek didn't exist no no no Prince Charming what I got eaten by the dragon yet goof that's my head cannon anyway not sure what happened a fairy godmother but maybe Rumble took care of her I don't know who knows though a lot of commenters told me that in actuality Charming wouldn't have bothered saving Fiona since he and mummy were only ever after the crown anyway and Fiona don't have it no more so yeah that's a better head can and clearly I need to study the Shrek lore some more but I think the real question about Rumple ruled society is what happened to Lord Farquaad Z just chillin over there and do lock while wakes McGee owns far far away are they gonna fight that's the spin-off Disney Plus series I'd like to see forget Loki Marvel Studios Farquaad baby I'm getting really sad trapped here okay back to phione overall it's just really novel to see a woman who was so hell-bent on the idea of true love solving everything rejected and entirely in favor of making things better on her own and that leads to some compelling drama because we know that true love really is the way to win the war and fix everything so watching Shrek try and went over a world weary stoic Fiona who has no interest in love whatsoever is really neat hey Scott hey all he has to adapt to her current needs and show his dedication to her cause of liberating the kingdom freeing all ogres and taking down Shane Dawson the seeds for this are planted when a his romantic gestures don't work he trains with her instead it's a wholesome montage and their dimension displaced connection is made clear not only the puts but to the audience as well I got more stuff to say about over lady but we'll save the rest for later for now I want to turn the spotlight over towards a life fully devilish villain imagine thinking Prince Charming isn't the worst villain in the series this post was made by the Rumpelstiltskin gang as a matter of fact the villains are a great way of telling the quality of the Shrek film you're watching pretty good II God like more irritating than the mumps it's great Rumpelstiltskin is completely new fascinating take on the Shrek villain rather than being some pompous fool in an inexplicable position of power or a bad [ __ ] who's basically a world famous celebrity that we had to cancel for being transphobic Rumple is a societal reject no one likes him he's a sleazy little bugger but at the same time he's just so fun to watch and funny I mean come on well how about the day I met Donkey no there's a day I'd like to take back I love his design I love his wings I love his voice you know that one name you see in the opening credits of a ton of spongebob episodes yeah that one Walt Dohrn is just an animator who recorded a temporary track of rumple's dialogue to be replaced by some random celebrity but his scratch track was so good that they figured yeah let's just use that why not a decision that could have been perceived as lazy actually turned into one of the characters best attributes his voice is vibrant slimy cold and delightfully evil all at once his mannerisms are distinct and quirky without being annoying and overall he raises the stakes way higher than they've ever been Rumple literally rules the entire world and Shrek will cease to exist by the end of the day that's the Naenae and the other movie Shrek who technically just walk away from the main conflict and go home he'd lose Fiona sure but then he just returned to the status quo he has his precious swamp that's all he needs but nah bro in this movie there is no swamp the entire world is thrown into decay and the fate of everyone and everything hangs in the balance not just Rex loved life this guy did what no other villain in the Shrek series ever managed to do he won he outsmarted the good guys and took charge of the entire kingdom yeah charming did that too but it lasted like 15 minutes so what I have who cares not only does Rumple keep the stakes consistently high throughout the entire film but he manages to be quirky and fun the whole time you want to hate the sniveling twerp but at the same time it's like good for him he earned that victory I mean look at this scene towards the end Shrek turns himself in to get any wish he desires and he wishes for the freedom of all ogres poof they free but uh-oh it didn't work for Fiona you agreed to free all ogres but Fiona isn't all ogre [Music] witness said it better myself I'm not even sure what else I can say about this guy he's just a great villain and I don't understand why people dislike him is it because he looks nothing like how he did in Shrek the third say it with me now kids this movie is not canon thank you namaste I guess that's all I have to say about mumble wilt Flynn I kept talking about this little bounty hunter buddy for a second here the Pied Piper holy [ __ ] the imagination here is off the chain he's a flute Tooting bounty hunter who captures people by forcing them to dance with his magical melodic music and he lifts your socks up for you that's an amazing concept for words you will never hear about Shrek the third the Pied Piper sequence is so entertaining and fun and if you really want to complain any appearance struck one and therefore it's a continuity error may I remind you that he was probably some other guy with a magic flute use your imagination anyway I love the way the villains in this movie are framed that they're kooky mania being a perfect complement to the overall dark tone hey speaking of such a thing let us discuss that now Oh were you expecting the humour music section in the video that's nice now let's go this is the alternate dimension where humor and music were never born I'll be the first to admit that this movie is not as funny as Shrek 1 or 2 not that as jokes generally don't lands they're mostly solid though there are a couple clunkers here in there [Music] and know is that it's more so the fact that this movie chooses not to attempt jokes all that often it prioritizes its dark tone above all else and is one of those weirdos who genuinely cares about the emotional and personal impact of a Shrek movie story and character development I love it it's easy to simply write this off as a comedic franchise or sprinkles of drama on top but I don't think that's what Shrek is at all that's how I describe Madagascar which prioritizes its comedy above all else without really considering story at all but Shrek much like Kung Fu Panda has always felt like a comedy drama franchise to me and for the final installment to be much darker and take itself a lot more seriously than you'd expect for this series I really admire that it ups those stakes I talked about earlier this shouldn't be a farty farce you know why because it's awesome take a look at this scene for the beginning of the movie before Shrek signs his life away the party scene is a perfect summation of what the Shrek franchise has become after a certain movie whose name won't be mentioned in this household loud annoying babyish watered down and neutered beyond all belief the fact that it takes place of what used to be the seedy and dark poison Apple really drives it all home it Eights me just as much as it irritates Shrek except do the roar kid he's funny I shouldn't merely endorse because I mean come on but yeah this scene is an intentional mockery of all the [ __ ] its predecessor set up the spin-offs and the merch and the means well Shrek has had enough of being a meme he wants to be a monster again damn it I used to be an ogre now I'm just a jolly green joke so the rest of the movie takes place in a post-apocalyptic hellscape where he's hated hunted down constantly belittled and rejected and overall having a bad time it allows this film to fall far more in line with the atmosphere at quieter sides of Shrek 1 and especially - Shrek is once again on the outskirts of society but in a completely fresh way compared to the previous instalments so I love the dark brutal almost gothic aesthetic of this movie it heightens the intense drama being felt by our main characters and the resistance they're mounting we've still got our funny man villain who's currently on top of the world so having him hold on to most of the movies humour for us is a good idea but Shrek and the gang have a way bigger threat than they've ever faced and a very adult romance that rekindling the last thing we need is a stupid-ass wizard playing new-age music to set the mood for us are we cringing yet speaking of music this movie sure does have it and it's okay I like the song choice in Shrek is terrorizing the village and the cover of I'm a believer at the very end is phenomenal otherwise it's kind of forgettable but not garbage so that's a plus again with this tonal shift I'm not sure this movie really could have gotten away with the usual pop culture music implementation and shrunk films a small price to pay for salvation I mean just look at all this atmosphere this movie makes you uncomfortable by taking familiar elements from across the Shrek series and warping them beyond recognition that's what you get in this bizarro alternate timeline shrek swamp is all dried out and barren since he never lived there far far away is in complete shambles not just the Babyshambles prince charming established in the last movie but like real shambles and then there's Fiona's tower no lava no dragon just completely abandoned and decaying it's like oh [ __ ] I guess things really are screwed huh gingy has gone off the deep end donkey is really scruffy looking and downtrodden since he was basically sold into slavery Puss was clearly the inspiration for fat Thor though I think this movie handles that plotline way better than in games it personally oh and you know what hearing donkey light up when Shrek tells him he's a Dada on the other dimension is just the most wholesome thing I've ever heard and you have little mutant donkey dragon babies I do you saw what happened she's gonna think I'm crazy I'm a daddy that's another great aspect of the movie the glimmers of Hope present in a dark grim scenario I really like the gung-ho attitude of the other ogres and the rebellion and oh hey oh they're ochres it's so cool to see a whole civilization of them and see how tiny Shrek is compared to these other ones it's a great visual expression about in experiences with this whole war thing oh one more thing I have to bring up is the animation hot damn it's stunning the glow up from the first three movies to this one is really something to write home about it feels like Shrek finally made the jump to an HD console and I was just in awe love the visuals action set-pieces and just how overall bright and she's just she's just shiny it is so yeah here we have a visually stunning and a dramatic Shrek movie that sacrifices a lot of the humor and music the franchise is generally known for I guess I understand why this decision alienated some people but there are those who choose to ignore the dramatic tone and atmosphere because Shrek was only ever just a spoof of Disney fairy tales to them no comedy well then why bother watching am i right and honestly that's kind of a regressive outlook to have on the series as a whole Shrek is a carefully constructed well told intricately plotted narrative with a ton of nuanced depth and you know what I'm just gonna go ahead and say it layers and being the conclusion to an emotional expertly told fairy tale which has just that one terrible middle chapter we could rip out of the book this movie ends things off by taking us back to the beginning I loved the mattock and narrative consistency between installments that doesn't feel like a road rehash that is a fine line to walk and many sequels completely fumble it but Shrek Forever After calls back to the series roots so expertly in a way that enhances its own unique story so as a result nothing here feels like leftovers it's remarkable so let's talk some story right off the bat this film expertly weaves its way into the Shrek saga by giving us some organic connective tissue between the events of Shrek 1 & 2 the king and queen desperate and tired of waiting for this true love nonsense the fairy godmother insisted on for no malicious self-serving purposes I'm sure they turned to the dealmaker Rumble Stiltskin to lift Fiona's curse this may be our last hope besides he does come highly recommended by King Midas they're about to sign their kingdom away but then nope someone saved the princess so now we've established why this new baddie is beef with shrunk and it's funny to see that the book that opens up every real Shrek movie is a literal book this pathetic man baby is reading in the bookstore and look at Pinocchio works here good for him I'm so glad he and the gang landed on their feet and got jobs in Far Far Away that's just awesome as the opening progresses we see more of that sort of meta commentary about the state of the Shrek franchise I talked about earlier Shrek is tired of kiddie [ __ ] the third he wants to go back to being an all-star again those were the days the shuck signs rumbles deal and gets his chance to be his old self giving us a reprise of that iconic line this is the part where you you wraps it all up with a mundane jewel seemingly perfectly content with being alone and hated but then things go off the rails fiona is wanted the swamp is gone and Shrek gets captured by Mabel this is where it comes across donkey and we get a fascinating dynamic change where Shrek has to convince donkey to befriend him we also see the ugly underside of Shrek's desire to be hated we're an angry mob does their whole angry mob thing that's rough buddy so after some very well done villainous exposition scenes and an action music escape sequence Akins are the ones in the first two movies finally Shrek and Donkey are free and back together except danse lee is not about to trust this weirdo giant monster who just sang a weird unfunny song by [ __ ] so shrink sits alone entirely utterly alone he notices his daughter's doll in his pocket and it all hits him at once the importance of love and affection the value of his family how wrong he was to leave them behind and so for the first time in the whole series he cries I can't stress enough how vital this is it's probably written on the 10 commandments that Shrek does not cry even during the Hallelujah sequence which is the scene in every Streck movie where there's a super sad song cuz Shrek is alone and about to lose all the good things in his life even during sad posting hours Shrek doesn't cry they even make a point of this in Shrek 2 or he gets donkey to cry in order to activate the fairy godmothers card Shrek does not cry probably due to toxic ogre masculinity so it's no coincidence that this moment this rare occurrence of emotional vulnerability is what finally gets donkey to trust him and now we get a less explicit callback to the first film not through dialogue or a familiar location but a classic dynamic donkey is once again Shrek's only friends and confidant which means their dynamic is the best it's been since well the original again I kind of ignored this since donkey was really funny and struck two but he hasn't served the same crucial narrative purpose there as he did in the first movie he's just a wacky sidekick for Shrek and eventually push to play off of it's hard to stress just how important donkey was to the original film's narrative however and finally we get a return to that same heartfelt unlikely friendship together they find out that true love's kiss will break the spell and Shrek races - Fiona's tower to save her but it's too late she's Shrek observes her room now in tatters in complete decay he sees the tally marks counting her days alone in the tower the crown emblematic of the regal status she left behind the handkerchief she was supposed to give him as a token of thanks all was sparse piano rendition of the franchise's main theme lingers in the background it is haunting then donkey find some waffles turns out it's a trap shock and dr. donkey smirks find a bunch of other ogres and fiora who does not want romance in the slightest no siree but donkey fell in your waffle hole but shamrock can't give up he tries to woo her with again the same imagery from the first movie frog balloons yeah that doesn't work but once again donkey is a great help in a troubled Romeo because the only thing that the owner cares about it so cold so Shrek decides to commit to the cause he trains with Fiona and they actually start kindling something under the bridge and finally into the castle oh my god the wholesome meter is off the charts and puss can tell that the spark is there oh yeah also it's really cute the donkey is the one who wants to keep puss another great reversal of the original dynamic Drake could we keep him so sheets is finally gonna tell Fiona everything he knows about her and while she's initially very mistrusting her guard begins to get lowered as Shrek tells her more and more expressing their love letting her know that he's the person she's waited for her entire life and that nothing's gonna stop oh [ __ ] flute guy this is bad you and all your friends are about to be enslaved cookie read the room luckily donkey and puss managed to save Shrek and Fiona even though all the other ogres are captured Fiona is naturally upset and while Shrek tries to convince her that true love's kiss will solve everything she doesn't believe him their kiss doesn't work Oh Shrek if only there was someone out there who loved you Fiona's heart has been completely hardened by all the trauma she endured in the tower waiting for a true love that never came and giving up on the idea of true love altogether look at this absolutely brilliant exchange don't you get it it's all just a big fairy tale Fiona don't say that it does exist think about who's saying what right here if this were Shrek one fiona would be the one insisting on the power of true love while Shrek would dismissed the notion outright he literally wipes his ass with this notion but this scene which paints a picture of a woman jaded by the harsh reality of the world and a man who's grown to understand the true kind of love is downright incredible and speaks to the changes both of these characters have gone through I mean damn this is it people this is the rain scene for Megamind this is the moment where everything the movie has carefully set up soars into an incredible unflinchingly honest moments where we want to side with the guy who's tried to pour his heart out and express his love but we perfectly understand why the woman won't give him a chance you really want Shrek to change Fiona's heart but you can't blame her for not trusting or believing him she asks him where he was when she needed him while he could just say well I don't exist in this timeline then he'd have to get into the ugly truth of white time line even happened he wished to be free of her for a day he considered her a burden on his life which was a horrible horrible mistake shrek has no rebuttal here because he doesn't deserve one he is the one who made this error in judgments this incorrect action is a result of his fallacy it was his blunder the occurrence was his slip that was his miscalculation the villain has managed to concoct a scenario where true love is practically impossible to bloom shrek has no choice but to give up on getting his life back so much like scott in the cinematic classic it's awesome baby he instead moves on and tries to improve this universe since he can't return to his own one herein lies one of the most brilliant story beats of the film Shrek turns himself into Rumple in order to get a wish but he isn't here to get his life back instead he wishes for the freedom of all the ogres he saves Fiona's cause and keeps hope alive for this twisted universe he has no real reason to this isn't his universe this isn't his Fionna he'll be dead in a few hours anyway what's the point Rumple even kind of mocks him for this wish I don't know not much of a storybook ending the noble Shrek turns himself in to save a bunch of filthy ogres but a noble happy ending doesn't matter to shrek anymore he chooses to accept the end of his old life and wish Fionna to safety closing the door on returning home but hopefully ensuring that she gets a happily ever after oh god damn it yeah like I said earlier Fiona isn't all ogre so she didn't count frigging oof and the imagery here while they're chained apart coupled with the music while the villain laughs at them this story is a [ __ ] epic why am I the only one who sees that but yeah this is what finally causes Fiona to appreciate Shrek he's put his own selfish needs before hers the entire movie but now he's finally genuinely done something in service of her needs just like in Shrek 1 when he saved her from a sham of a marriage just like in Shrek 2 when he put everything on the line and changed who he was just to make her happy here the story concludes with Shrek illustrating that he loves her so much he's accepted his impending death just to keep the last spark of hope within her alive that is remarkably powerful and at least twist sensational climax where the ogres bust rumple's one remaining ball donkey and Dragon reenact that one scene from the game Shrek and Fiona work together to chain dragon up and something something chimichangas we won everyone's excited except Shrek is dying for realsies this time not for fake C's like a bowl of the movie and so Fiona says goodbye as Shrek accepts his fate grateful for the life he's already lived with Fiona sure does it may have been there has to be something I can do you've already done everything for me Fiona he thanks her for all the amazing things she's given him their wonderful life their beautiful family and lets her know that one day she'll have a family of her own in this now liberated world and this is the last thing he says you know what the best part of today was I got the chance with you all over again what a perfect way of putting it because watching this engaging heartfelt well-written incredibly powerful adventure unfold I got the chance to fall in love with the Shrek franchise all over again they share a kiss as Shrek disappears but Fiona remains an ogre true love's kiss was real all along the world around Rumpelstiltskin crumbles and we go back to reality up there goes gravity we're back at the party where Shrek is finally reunited with his family having grown to appreciate the life he has and the people who really made everything worthwhile and then they drop the single best line in the entire series on us you know I always thought that I rescued you from the Dragons keep you did know it was you that rescued me Wow so that concludes the story of shrank with a bonus rendition of I'm a believer as the cherry on top of this delicious Jimmy chunga I don't know why the ogres are here since this is a different timeline but whatever it's a curtain call use your imagination and then the credits which showcase the most iconic moments throughout the entire franchise and also Shrek the third scenes it's just one big love letter to Shrek and I absolutely adore it so now the movie's over wow what an incredible witty emotional well-written masterpiece I'm so glad I got the critical respect it deserved shrek forever after is a true return the form for the series this story takes the emotional strengths of the first two movies re tools them to fit into a unique twisted setting and tells a compelling powerful story that gives an immense feeling of closure for the characters and narrative as a whole but it feels like nobody agrees with me on this sentiment like why are you booing me I'm right it's okay to not like this movie it's fine if you come to shrek for light-hearted comedy and this movie wasn't what you were looking for but for the love of all things holy stop calling this movie a simple cash grab if it were a cash grab it wouldn't have ended the series Shrek the third with a cash grab that tainted everyone's view of Shrek and made everyone think it was some stupid kiddie [ __ ] this movie is the conclusion of a compelling story it is not an Ice Age sequel it is not a despicable me qual it's an artistic achievement that may or may not work for you but it wasn't conceived out of cynical laziness get that thought out of your head and I know no one's gonna agree with me about that I mean people want letterbox don't even think it's better than Shrek the third 2.6 vs. 2.5 huh that stings but unlike the trash pile that is Rotten Tomatoes it's hard to argue with this site's rankings I guess people really do hate this movie the most and I'm alone on this one I mean I know pinions be opinions and all that and everyone has their own but I really thought other people had this opinion that wasn't the only one but maybe I am if it's true what they say if there's nothing to be done no one else thinks this is great let alone on par with one is it true what they say this is how the world is to be told that this great film is worse than boss baby in Shark Tale it'll always be like this if it's true what they say [Music] be on my way [Music] but who are they to say what the truth is anyway cuz the ones who rank the films always say the fourth is bad but that's really just because that dump third one made the bad and the ones who made this film we're so proud of what they did and it didn't go this hard just to get treated like [ __ ] so I'm asking if it's true I'm asking me and you and you thank you I believe our ratings matter more than anything they say we should all log into letterboxed gibecute scores today I believe this is the way also give shred 3 a bad score message number is 2 I I believe this movie's awesome and I'm not the only guy others like this movie not just I I believe that we are many I believe that they are few [Music] and listen for the few to tell the many what is true [Music] so I asked you if it's true what they say I'll be on my way [Music] what to do is it true is it true Wow that's the take man that's it that's the one mrs. Obama I've done it I've talked about the entire Shrek franchise thank you shake Thrillist now I am free to watch all of the reviews of Shrek not if I have anything to say about it and I do oh yeah mrs. Obama I'll be right back cuz now it's time to bring everything we've learned over the course of the past year full circle it's time to talk about Shrek 1 and conclude this series with a retrospective also I'll talk about the musical I guess sure but before we get to that I need to tell you about the deal of a lifetime and it involves Skillshare an online learning community with thousands of classes covering dozens of creative and entrepreneurial subjects Premium Membership gives you unlimited access so you can join the classes and communities that are just right for you whether you want to fuel your curiosity creativity or even career skill share is the perfect place to keep you learning and thriving oh great you exclaim another service I have to pay for don't love your tone but actually know you can get Skillshare absolutely free for two months you can watch so many classes and learn so many new skills in that time all without paying anything see what I mean when I say this is the deal of a lifetime there are actually no downsides to signing up and once those two months are over you can go about your merry way or stick with Skillshare for a measly $10 a month well worth the amount of knowledge it provides for instance right now I'm watching Jake Bartlet's animating with these and After Effects class a perfect set of lessons for any aspiring animators it's helping me get a better grip on After Effects than any other lessons I've watched if all this sounds good click the link in the description to get your free trial of Skillshare today [Music]

Channel: Schaffrillas Productions

Views: 3,889,361

Rating: 4.9477839 out of 5

Keywords: Shrek, Fiona, Shrek Forever After, DreamWorks, Donkey, Puss in Boots, Rumplestiltskin

Id: tcYs6SpbGsc

Length: 42min 37sec (2557 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 06 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/pizzapastamammamia]

The moment we've all been waiting for.