The latest movie of the Shrek franchise, “Shrek 5” is set to hit theatres Dec. 23, 2026. While the release date is still a ways away, there is plenty to keep fans talking about. The teaser trailer for the movie has many fans up in arms about the redesign of some beloved characters.
While the movie's content is yet to be released, there is some information about what is to come for the film besides new designs. Zendaya is set to be featured in the film as the voice of Felicia, Shrek and Fiona’s teenage daughter. The familiar star-studded cast of Mike Meyers, Cameron Diaz and Eddie Murphy will also return to the big screen, reprising their roles as Shrek, Fiona and Donkey, respectively.
However, the characters look much different this time. After the teaser showcased new animations of the swampy characters, fans quickly took to social media to express their distaste for the artistic choices.
“Just saw the new animation for Shrek 5 just cancel the whole thing at this point,” one fan wrote in an X post.
Shrek has been a beloved franchise since the first film’s release in 2001, and with much anticipation about a new film, fans are disappointed their favorite characters do not look the same.
The character design remaining the same can be comforting for long-time fans of the franchise, which is why so many are upset about the change. Nostalgia can be a driving factor in creating a new movie for a franchise, and so far, fans are not giving the new Shrek a chance.
One fan took to X to explain why the redesign is so upsetting.
“I appreciate the more cartoony style they are going for, but I was a really big fan of how ugly and more ‘realistic’ the old facial proportions were,” the fan wrote.
With most people feeling dissatisfied with the new designs, others note that the new character designs may be inspired by the animation of the recent Shrek franchise movie, “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” (2022).
The movie was a huge box office hit and generated buzz for a new Shrek film. Despite the success of the movie, however, Puss in Boots was not featured in the new teaser trailer. Antonio Banderas is the voice of the iconic cat, and his return remains unconfirmed. Without him present, there is sure to be even more backlash from fans.
A similar amount of criticism occurred in 2019 when the team behind “Sonic the Hedgehog” (2020) redesigned the iconic blue speed demon. Fans took to social media to share their opinions on the blue hedgehog's new appearance that it was too human-like. After much discussion on social media about the design, with most people disapproving of it, the director took notice.
Director Jeff Fowler released a statement two days after the trailer’s premiere, saying that he and the production companies were going to make changes because fans were unhappy. The movie was then delayed for three months. When it arrived in theaters, Sonic was animated more similarly to the original designs.
The TikTok account for the Sonic movie franchise owned its past experience with fan backlash and posted a video commenting on the Shrek movie. The video shows the original animations changing into the designs that hit theatres with a caption reading, “For any green ogres looking for advice.”
Whether or not director Walt Dohrn will learn from the Sonic franchise and listen to fans is unclear, but there is still a lot to be learned about the film. An official trailer has yet to be released, and the cast has not been finalized.
With over a year until the release date, reanimations are not out of the question. However, fans will have to wait and see if their opinions affect the final cut of the movie.
