‘Shrek 5’ Trailer Has Fans Outraged Over Animation Changes: “Not My Shrek Family”

When will Hollywood learn?

I would say that the big wigs in charge of making blockbuster movies have never heard of the phrase “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” but that would be a lie. Why? Because they are constantly just rebooting and adding sequels to already established franchises. DreamWorks is kind of doing that here with Shrek.

However, I’d venture to say that no one is complaining about seeing the big green ogre back on the big screen. There’s a reason why the Shrek franchise, which consists of four movies and various other short specials, has grossed over $4 billion (with a b) since the first film hit theaters in 2001.

Though I say that, a new trailer for the newest installment of the Shrek franchise – titled Shrek 5 – has people up in arms. Is it because fans feel as though Shrek’s story has been told, and then some? Not necessarily. Could it be that they added Zendaya to the cast, and some people are suffering from Zendaya fatigue? There’s actually something to that, but it’s not why people are upset.

Fans of the beloved movie series are outraged because it appears that DreamWorks decided to update the animation style for Shrek 5, and something about it just looks off:

Far, Far Away's finest are coming. pic.twitter.com/7qn8FNIBT6

— Shrek (@Shrek) February 27, 2025

GIVE US BACK THE OLD SHREK.

That’s the overwhelming response to the trailer release, which announces that the 5th installment will be released on Christmas of 2026. Some are simply excited that Shrek (Mike Meyers), Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Fiona (Cameron Diaz) are back for another adventure, and all of the voices behind the characters are returning as well. And though that is nice, I’m somewhere right in the middle.

I’ll be there at the theater on the first day its out to see it… but how could you change the animation style five movies in?

Obviously, technology and animation have advanced since 2001, when the first Shrek movie came out. Hell, there’s been a ton of advancements since the last Shrek film (Shrek Forever After) released in 2010. So it does make some sense that the studio would try to update the look a bit, though shouldn’t it be a continuation of what fans have already seen?

The change has not gone over well so far, and many social media users are already referencing the redesign of Sonic the Hedgehog that happened back in 2019. A trailer was released for the new Sonic movie, and fans were irate when it was revealed that the character’s appearance veered away from how Sonic traditionally looked in video games. So social media basically bullied the studio into redesigning the character to look more like how Sonic is supposed to, and the whole fiasco delayed the release of the film by five months.

Could the same thing happen here with Shrek 5? Based on some initial reactions, it certainly seems like a possibility:

what’s up with their faces? pic.twitter.com/QCpoGAwS1s

— (@_jazllyn) February 27, 2025

What happened to the animation? The animation was fantastic with the previous versions. Hopefully they improve it before release. pic.twitter.com/L7SEex6G9I

— Listening To Hurry Up Tomorrow (@ListeningToAbel) February 27, 2025

Animation looks rough

— THE RED RANGER (@THEREDRANGER3) February 27, 2025

do not worry if we SHAME them enough, they will change the animation style like Paramount pictures did with sonic @Dreamworks what the heck is this?

— Joshua (@ilustriouseller) February 27, 2025

The animation looks horrible. pic.twitter.com/1FRArUA65k

— Av  (@MarioEmmet) February 27, 2025

We changed Sonic

We can do it again

— Zach Williams (@Zach1442) February 27, 2025

I’m all for trying different animation styles … BUT ITS SHREK, Imo the gritty and realistic style suited this film franchise better

— ƬIΛ (@SilentZound) February 27, 2025

It’s going to happen again! pic.twitter.com/DpaoGKUkD8

— JB17 (@JBoban17) February 27, 2025

pic.twitter.com/o3D9tN28e0

— Arcano19 (@jesus_tavo19) February 27, 2025

Not my Shrek family pic.twitter.com/kJkolsPiof

— SUAREZ (@suayrez) February 27, 2025