The first look at Shrek 5 dropped days ago, and the reaction from fans across the internet has been mixed, to say the least. Many took issue with the new designs for the eponymous ogre and his supporting cast. This is seemingly becoming a hot topic within the movie sphere of social media, and it now seems it’s even spread into Universal Orlando. A video, that’s since gone viral, shows even the Donkey animatronic at the park throwing massive shade at the film, and fans are sharing humorous thoughts.
In the summer of 2024, Universal Orlando opened DreamWorks Land, to much fanfare. As part of the location, fans can meet up with some of their favorite characters, with Donkey being one of them. The animatronic mule typically greets guests and shares funny one-liners, as the Eddie Murphy-voiced character does in the Shrek films. However, I certainly didn’t expect to see it down-right roasting the early footage from the fifth film. Check out what exactly was said by watching the TikTok video shared by @epicfamilyquests:
@epicfamilyquests ♬ original sound - Candace
Seriously, I don’t know what makes me chuckle and cringe more – the fact that the comments were said at all or the fact that the Princess Fiona actress is trying her best to remain neutral. This scenario is so wild, considering the fact that Universal Pictures (alongside DreamWorks) holds ownership of this franchise. Though it does fall in line with the meta nature of the franchise, and fans seem to be enjoying the comments – and piling on with thoughts on the animation as well:
- You know it’s bad when the animatronic controller mascot of the Shrek characters are bashing the movie. - Preston fabrizio
- 'donkey looks homeless' is too real 😂 - Blue_Dragon
- Even the animatronic looks more accurate - Timmy_burch
- Fiona was fighting for her job LOL!! - miffysmama
- So you're telling me they can make the animatronic accurate but not the animation? 💀 - BeautifullyBrokenMe
- I’m actually kinda surprised that it’s a person behind the talking animatronic 😅😅😅 - Joseph_V19
I can’t help but wonder how something like this happens at a Universal-owned theme park. However, it’s hard to deny that the scenario is as funny as it is somewhat surreal. What it ultimately speaks to, though, is just how passionate people seem to be in regard to the animation design changes present in the long-awaited Shrek 5. Honestly, I’ve been surprised by some of the entities that have weighed in thus far.
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Amid the character backlash, the Sonic the Hedgehog team weighed in with a humorous video that alluded to the changes made to the titular character of that franchise early on. When that first trailer dropped years ago, many were taken aback by Sonic’s new look, resulting in the film being pushed back so that the filmmakers could make changes. Ultimately, they crafted a version of the character that was close to his video game counterpart.
When it comes to the Shrek 5 situation, at least one passionate fan took matters into their own hands by attempting to “fix” the animation on their own. The final result was praised by social media users. All in all, it would seem that franchise devotees would prefer the characters to appear closer to the way they looked in the original four films, which hit theaters between 2001 and 2010.
It’s anyone’s guess as to how the film’s creative team might respond to the critiques. To be fair, filmmakers should be able to stick to their guns, and it should be mentioned that fans have only seen a small snippet of Shrek 5 at this point. Nevertheless, I’ll admit that even I’d have to pause for a moment to process insults from an animatronic voiced by a cast member at a theme park (run by the studio I’m working for). We’ll be able to check out the film in its entirety when it opens in theaters on December 23, 2026.
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