Shrek's journey continues

MANILA, Philippines - By now, the classic fractured fairy tale of Shrek, Fiona, Donkey, Puss-in-Boots and their adventures in the magical land of Far Far Away are well-known throughout the world. Based on the popular children’s book Shrek! by William Steig, the films have received critical praise, worldwide box-office success and the first-ever Academy Award bestowed upon an animated film. Suffice it to say, Shrek and the characters of Far Far Away have earned their rightful place in cinema and animation history.

With a lot of fairy tale territory already covered, the filmmakers at Dream Works Animation were faced with a creative and exciting challenge for the final chapter of the journey of Shrek and Fiona. Director Mike Mitchell, a veteran of both live-action films and previous Dream Works Animation films, asks: “How do we give the audience what they know and love, but at the same time give it a fresh take, make it more beautiful? We’ve taken on the bittersweet challenge of wrapping up the story of Shrek. We know fans would want to see how it ends.”

As with most continuing stories, every journey and chapter brings new experiences and opportunities for a character to grow and develop. In the case of Shrek, the next logical step seemed to be a midlife crisis of sorts. The filmmakers started to craft a final story and go back to Shrek’s roots. Producer Gina Shay says, “He (Shrek) begins to ask himself a lot of questions about what it means to be an ogre... Shrek begins to wonder who he’s become and what life might have been like if he had never rescued Fiona from the tower.”

Walt Dohrn (Rumpelstiltskin), who serves as head of story, says, “In the first film, Shrek learns to love himself; in the second, he learns what it is like being part of a family; in Shrek the Third, he comes to terms with accepting responsibility as a father and husband. In the fourth and final film, he is faced with a big question: What if his life had turned differently?”

The story: When things are going well in the happy kingdom of Far Far Away, it’s no place for this down-and-out magical dealmaker who needs to bargain for a better life when everything is going great? But even before the ink is dry on his pact with Shrek, the new kingdom is now Rumpelstiltskin’s domain. The villainous trickster lords over the land with his witch battalion...and he’s even placed a bounty on ogres, Shrek and Fiona in particular, to get rid of them once and for all. Watch how our beloved green ogre Shrek leads the battle to regain everything that matters in his life.

Returning for the adventure are Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss-in-Boots (Antonio Banderas) as well as a new faces (and ogres) and a conniving villain: Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn).

Dream Works Animation SKG presents Shrek Forever After, a Paramount Pictures release, is distributed by United International Pictures through Solar Entertainment Corp. It will open on May 20 in theaters.