Shrek the Ogre (Mike Meyers) was happy living by himself, in his perfectly miserable and lonely life in the swamp, scaring away any angry villagers that crossed his path. But one day Shrek’s peaceful life is invaded by a large gathering of fairy tale characters who have been evicted from their homes in Duloc by the evil (and really short) Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow). Shrek selfishly offers to use his scary ogre-ness to convince Farquaad to allow his unwanted guests to return to their homes. The fairytale characters happily mistake Shrek’s selfishness for heroism, and cheer him on.

Shrek heads to Farquaad’s castle demanding his swamp back, and Farquaad agrees, on the condition that Shrek rescues Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) from her dragon-guarded tower and brings her back for him to marry. So Shrek sets out on his quest, joined by his annoyingly-talkative new companion Donkey (Eddie Murphy). While Shrek has always insisted on his solitary life with no friends, he eventually warms to his traveling companion, and on the return voyage, Shrek even finds himself falling for the princess. The princess oddly has a lot in common with him—and Shrek is unaware that she is hiding a big secret.

The last time I watched Shrek was probably at least 5 years ago when I last reviewed the Blu-ray release. Rewatching it yet again on this new 4K Ultra HD release, the film was just a fresh and fun as ever. re-wacth this movie, I find new ways to appreciate and enjoy the many layers of humor and pop culture references strewn about the film. The movie always has be laughing out loud, thanks in large part to the talented voice cast, from Shrek’s Scottish-like accent, to Donkey’s non-stop one-liners, and Fiona’s often un-princess like comments. And it’s not just the main big-name actors—some of my favorite moments of the film center around some of the more minor characters, which are voiced by the animators themselves—I will never tire of the hilarious scene involving Farquaad torturing the Gingerbread Man! And there’s the fun Robin Hood musical number, as well as some other great pop songs throughout the film—who doesn’t want to sing along to Smash Mouth’s “All Star” in the opening credits?!. There are so many fairy tale characters woven into this film that there’s always several fun things happening both in the foreground and in the background, which makes this film perfect for repeat viewings.

Shrek has a timeless fairy tale story, but the filmmakers have mixed in a lot of more-modern pop culture and meta references to add an additional layer of humor. While some of it may be a bit dated at this point, like the characters dancing the macarena, or Fiona’s Matrix bullet time action shot, much of the film feel timeless. This is also true of the film’s excellent rock/pop musical soundtrack that is utilized along with the film’s amazing animation.

Universal’s new 20th Anniversary Edition release of Shrek brings the movie to 4K Ultra HD for the first time. While the film looks great, and there is certainly some noticeable upgrade from the previous Blu-ray release, I wouldn’t say the differences are that drastic. I think one of the main factors is the limitations of the technology at the time the film was originally made, which is now 20 years old. More-modern animated features tend to have a lot more detail in textures such as character faces or in hair like on Donkey. While the film still looks great, and there are some slight increases in detail here, it is not the same photo-realistic look that you would get in an animated film made today. One place this can be seen is in Shrek’s tunic. While the 4K picture seems to offer a bit more detail on the weave in the cloth in some scenes, in other scenes, it is not that evident. The Gingerbread Man’s prized gumdrop buttons also appear to sparkle more in some shots, but the sugar doesn’t have the same luster in others. Textures on the castle walls generally see a bit of improvement. One place where the HDR of the 4K disc really comes into play and is more evident is when Donkey and Shrek set out on their journey and The Proclaimers’ “I’m On My Way” starts to play. There is this beautiful, colorful sunrise which appears much fuller and brighter on the 4K release compared to the original Blu-ray.

The 4K disc also features a new DTS:X Master Audio soundtrack, which sounds excellent. This track not only showcases the film’s catchy pop/rock soundtrack, but really enhances the film’s action sequences and provides a generally immersive viewing experience. This is especially noticeable as Shrek and Donkey encounter the dragon for the first time. The soundscape really comes to life, with the bass roaring along with the dragon, and the sounds of flames, clinking chains, and things generally falling apart coming from every direction. In another scene when Shrek and Donkey arrive at Castle Duloc and scare the mascot who proceeds to run through the cordoned line maze, there is some nice use of the stereo channels as you hear the scared employee frantically screaming and moving back and forth across your living room. Dialogue is mainly focused in the center channel, but sounds clean and clear throughout.

The release comes packed in a standard 4K keepcase with an inner disc tray housing the 4K disc, a Blu-ray movie disc and a Blu-ray bonus disc. The release includes a code for a 4K digital copy of the film as well as a bonus Universal Rewards code that can redeemed for points towards a free digital movie or other rewards. While most of the bonus material from the Blu-ray disc has been ported over to the 4K disc as well, there is really no new bonus material for this release. The Blu-ray and Bonus discs appear to be identical to those included in the Shrek: The Ultimate Collection set released a few years ago. The main discs feature a filmmaker commentary as well as a picture-in-a-picture behind-the-scenes/video commentary (Blu-ray only), a featurette on the character of Donkey, three deleted scenes, some music videos and a photo gallery. The Bonus disc includes over 4 hours of Shrek-related shorts and TV episodes, most of which had already either been released in various Holiday collections or had been included on previous Blu-ray releases of the Shrek films before landing again on this bonus disc. Though it’s nice to get them all here in one place for those who don’t already own the Ultimate Collection release.

What’s Included:
Film: (1:30:22)

4K Ultra HD:
• 2160p / Widescreen 1.85:1
• HDR10
• Audio: English DTS:X, Spanish 5.1 DTS Digital Surround, French 5.1 DTS Digital Surround
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

Blu-ray:

• 1080p / Widescreen 1.85:1
• Audio: English Dolby TrueHD 7.1, French 5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital, English Audio Description
• Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese

Digital (code may not be valid after 3/31/2022):

• 4K digital copy redeemable via Movies Anywhere
• Universal All-Access Rewards Code (Offer may not be valid after 12/31/2025)
  Code can be redeemed for points towards a free digital movie or other items in the new Universal All-Access Rewards program. The selection of free digital titles changes every month or so, but as of the time of this review, the selection for May 2021 had not yet been posted.

Extras:

4K & Blu-ray Disc:
Most of the bonus material is available on both discs. However a few of the features are only available on the Blu-ray disc—those are noted with an asterix below. The Blu-ray disc appears to be identical to the previous release.

• The Animators’ Corner* (1:30:08)
  When enabled, a picture-in-a-picture video commentary appears and disappears in the bottom right corner of the screen as the movie plays back. The commentary provides interviews with the animators & cast, storyboard artwork, and other behind-the-scenes footage.
• Shrek’s Interactive Journey: I
  Select from various locations on the interactive map to see the artwork that helped to inspire the creation of Shrek’s world. Select from “Shrek’s Swamp” (7 photos), “Dragon’s Keep” (5 photos), “Duloc” (6 photos), “The Windmill” (2 photos) and “Sunflower Field” (3 photos)
• Spotlight On Donkey (11:38)
  A look at bringing the character of Donkey to life, his personality, his evolution throughout the entire Shrek franchise, the man behind the voice, and Donkey’s singing. Includes interviews with actors Eddie Murphy (“Donkey”), Antonio Banderas (“Puss in Boots”), Mike Meyers (“Shrek”) and Walt Dohrn (“Rumplestiltskin”), DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, producers Aron Warner and Teresa Cheng, directors Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson and Mike Mitchell, and visual effects supervisor Ken Bielenberg.
• Secrets of Shrek (3:52)
  A look at the various fairy tale and fantasy characters referenced in the film, the animators who also also provide character voices, and some of the early designs for the main characters.
• Deleted Scenes (8:01)
  Producer Aron Warner provides an introduction for each of the three deleted scenes, which are then read/acted out by storyboard artists David Lowery, Chris Miller and Cody Cameron. Play All or select from “Fiona’s Prologue”, “The Deal” and “Fiona Gets Them Lost”.
• Shrek In The Swamp Karaoke Dance Party (2:53)
  Shrek, Fiona and Donkey are joined by many of your other favorite fairy tale characters to sing a fun medley of karaoke songs in the swamp. The songs include “Just The Way You Are”, “Baby Got Back”, “YMCA”, “Stayin’ Alive”, “Dance To The Music”, “Like a Virgin”, “Feelings”, “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me”, “Who Let The Dogs Out” and “Happy Together”.
• Baha Men – “Best Years Of Our Lives” (3:08)
  Music Video
• Smash Mouth – “I’m A Believer” (3:15)
  Music Video
• Shrek The Musical – “What’s Up Duloc?” (3:57)
  Music Video
• Feature Commentary (1:30:08)
  Directors Andrew Adamson & Vicky Jenson and producer Aron Warner provide a fun and interesting commentary throughout the film, giving viewers some entertaining production stories and insight into the creation of the film.
• DreamWorks Animation Video Jukebox* (10:08)
  Watch music numbers from your favorite DreamWorks animated films. Play All or select from:
  • Shrek: “I’m a Believer” (1:17)
  • Madagascar: “I Like To Move It, Move It” (1:02)
  • Over the Hedge: “Rockin’ the Suburbs (Over the Hedge Version)” (1:58)
  • Bee Movie: “Here Comes The Sun” (1:23)
  • Kung Fu Panda: “Kung Fu Fighting” (2:35)
  • How To Train Your Dragon: “Fly High” (1:51)
• Previews*
  • Coming Soon To Theaters (2:13)
    Trailer for Kung Fu Panda 2
  • Get Your Game On (1:35)
    Trailer for Kung Fu Panda World
  • On DVD
    Trailers for Megamind (2:31) and The Penguins of Madagascar (:57)
  • See It Live (1:05)
    Trailer for Shrek: The Musical

Blu-ray Bonus Disc:
This bonus disc was originally included as part of the Shrek: The Ultimate Collection Blu-ray release. Subtitles are offers in English SDH and French.

• Shrek’s Short Films (24:59)
  Play All, or select from:
  • Shrek In The Swamp Karaoke Dance Party (2:51)
    Same feature that appears on the main Blu-ray
  • Far Far Away Idol (9:00)
    The characters show off their singing skills in the Far Far Away Idol signing competition.
  • Puss in Boots: The Three Diablos (13:06)
    Puss in Boots sets out on a mission to recover a princess’ crown jewel that was stolen by the notorious French thief The Whisperer. He is joined by three of the robber’s captured henchmen—three little kittens whose cute, adorable appearance is misleading.
• Shrek’s Halloween Favorites (51:03)
  Play All, or select from:
  • The Ghost of Lord Farquaad (12:34)
    Originally created for the 4-D Shrek Experience at Universal Studios, Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey are on their way to the hotel where Shrek and Fiona will spend their honeymoon when they encounter Lord Farquaad’s ghost! Farquaad sends his henchman, Thelonious, to bring Princess Fiona to him where he will force her to become the queen of the ghostly world. Now, Shrek and Donkey must save the princess.
  • Scared Shrekless (25:30)
    Halloween is Shrek’s favorite holiday, but instead of the usual tricks or treats, Shrek ups the ante and challenges the gang to spend the night telling scary stories. The last one to be Scared Shrekless wins.
  • Thriller Night (6:08)
    Shreked-out parody of Michel Jackson’s Thriller.
  • The Pig Who Cried Wolf (6:49)
    In this Rear Window inspired short, a wheelchair-bound Heimlich grows suspicious of new neighbor the Big Bad Wolf.
• Shrek’s Holiday Favorites (1:05:00)
  Play All, or select from:
  • Shrek the Halls (28:02)
    Shrek buys a copy of Christmas For Village Idiots to try create the perfect Christmas celebration with Fiona, but his plans are interrupted by Donkey and the other fairytale creatures.
  • Donkey’s Caroling Christmas-tacular (6:39)
    Donkey, Shrek and The Far Far Away friends sing along to Christmas carols and holiday songs.
  • Shrek’s Yule Log (30:19)
    Animated Yule Log with Shrek and the gang popping in from time to time.
• The Adventures Of Puss In Boots TV Episodes (1:55:20)
  5 episodes from the TV series. Play All, or select from:
  • Episode 1: Hidden (23:04)
    Puss must protect the magically veiled city of San Lorenzo after he exposes it to the world by accidentally reversing an ancient protective spell.
  • Episode 2: Sphinx (23:04)
    Puss accidentally gives the orphans a magic sugar that proves to be dangerous—and the only cure is guarded by a powerful Sphinx.
  • Episode 3: Brothers (23:04)
    When Toby’s ninja brothers try to get him to steal San Lorenzo’s treasure, he must decide between them and his friendship with Puss.
  • Episode 4: Duchess (23:04)
    The Duchess, who wants to rule the world by harnessing the power of sorcerers, captures Artephius…and it’s up to Puss to rescue him.
  • Episode 5: Adventure (23:02)
    Puss is tricked into going on a qust with an old firned, Jack Sprat. What starts out as a mission to save a princess soon tuens dangerous.

Final Thoughts:

Shrek remains a fun, highly-entertaining animated comedy with so many levels of humor to each scene that it can easily be watched over-and-over again without any diminishing returns. For those who don’t already own a copy of Shrek, this 4K release is a Must Own. The 4K disc provides a slight increase in the picture and sound quality from the previous Blu-ray releases, but the age of the film proves to be a limiting factor, ultimately not yielding that same photo-realistic look you would see on newer animated films. There is no new bonus material included on this release—the Blu-ray and Bonus discs appear to be identical to those included in the Shrek: The Ultimate Collection set. However, the release does include a 4K digital copy of the film, and wealth of great bonus material on the discs, much of which appears on the 4K disc as well. Shrek is an animated classic that should be on everyone’s physical media shelf!