A while back, I wrote an article expressing concern about the upcoming fifth installment in the Shrek series. I was worried that the film would double down on only being a comedy and ignore the strong thematic elements of the series. In retrospect, I do have to remind myself that Shrek’s comedy is still a pillar of its identity and that dismissing it was maybe a bit much. I was just worried that the new film would be more like Shrek the Third, dismissing story and characters for jokes resulting in a flat experience, and less like the other films that bound its comedy and pathos together as a strong unit.

Here we are, a few months later, and we have our first official look at the film in the form of a short teaser. Oddly, we are getting one now since the film doesn’t even come out until December of next year, but oh well. Regarding this teaser, there have been a lot of divisive reactions about, well, everything.

Firstly, there is the design of the characters. At some level, Shrek’s original core design philosophy is both impressive and uncanny. For the early 2000s, it handled realism and human designs quite well and improved with each film. However, there is a case to be made that they are off-putting in how they focus on making the characters have realistic proportions rather than applying exaggeration. The uncanny valley is a thing you know, and while I don’t think the series went too far in that direction, it is a valid critique. As such, I’m open to a new design approach since the technology for CGI animation has grown immeasurably since the first film. In execution, however, I have mixed feelings. On paper, I don’t mind the changes in design. Focusing on a more cartoony aesthetic with the eyes and body shapes makes sense and it worked well with Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. Even so, something feels off. Maybe it’s the fact that the paintbrush aesthetic from The Last Wish wasn’t carried over. Without it, the look of the film resembles the generic style of CGI animation. Even so, my main issue isn’t that these designs look bad because they don’t. It’s more that it’s such a drastic change from the original look to the point that it feels a bit jarring. Even if the original designs for Shrek are a bit dated, we’ve just grown used to them. Changing Shrek’s look so much after nearly 25 years is a lot and it’s going to take some time to get used to. Even so, I’m not up in arms like some people are and asking for DreamWorks to change the look entirely since it probably works fine in the context of the film itself and isn’t worth getting that upset over.

The other elements of conversation are the casting of Zendaya as Shrek’s daughter and the references to modern social media. Now, Shrek has always gone hand in hand with celebrities and pop culture. In retrospect, however, these elements worked because they were crafted specifically for the context of the original films. The cast was chosen because they embodied the characters and they worked hard to put a strong and distinctive identity into their performances. Mike Myers specifically chose to perform with a Scottish accent because he felt it would improve Shrek’s overall character. Even if the actors chosen were picked because they were relevant performers, they still put in the effort to make the characters their own. Meanwhile, the pop culture references served as a satirical contrast to the Disney aesthetic the series was lampooning. Bringing modern and satirical elements to play off of the timeless and somewhat cliché elements of fairy tales was done to spice up the comedy within the context of traditional and modern elements clashing. However, once Shrek became a massive success, Hollywood took these two elements and inserted them into every animated film with reckless abandon. Random references and celebrities being in an animated film just because has been the norm for so long, mostly because studios believed that Shrek was a formula to repeat, not recognizing that these elements only really worked in the context of the film Shrek was trying to be.

In that sense, with the Zendaya casting and the references present, this teaser feels less in the vein of the older films, and more like the following animated films that tried to ape Shrek. Zendaya is a great actress, but she also doesn’t have the character range that Myers or Murphy do. She was likely cast here because she’s a recognizable name and I don’t feel that she has proven that she can bring a level of detail to a voiceover role compared to a live-action part. Voice acting is different in its process and execution compared to regular acting, and the common act of simply throwing celebrities with no experience or understanding of the practice outside of just speaking into a microphone is an issue. Many films that stuff their cast with Hollywood actors tend to make their characters feel less distinctive and alive and more like the celebrity just being there. There are even franchises like Ice Age and Trolls that simply throw recognizable people in even if they only get a few lines and it feels indulgent and unnecessary at that point. I could be wrong about Zendaya and she could do good work, but the history of Hollywood casting in animated films since Shrek justifies my skepticism and concern that she was just brought in because she’s big right now and not because she could bring something distinctive to this project. Remember how she was brought in at the last minute to replace a veteran voice actress in the role of Lola Bunny in Space Jam 2? Most people don’t, and that’s the problem.

As for the reference humor, well that’s an odd subject to discuss. While yes, Shrek is defined by pop culture references, the way we observe and discuss culture has changed so much even from the release of the fourth film in 2010. The issue with doing references now compared to even 10 years ago is that the way culture consumes and observes media has changed so much. Elements of culture can rise and fall in relevance in the span of a few weeks compared to the past, where the slower trickle of media could allow it to simmer for longer in the public consciousness. Films and shows would sit in the minds of the public longer and not burn their relevance out quickly. Focusing on modern trends and elements of culture has the added risk of said references feeling extremely outdated since those elements will likely age far quicker due to the pace of how said media is consumed and shared. Ralph Breaks the Internet is a great example of this since it sets itself inside the late 2010s internet and feels so tied to that period in referencing memes and content creators of that time. I’m not saying that having Shrek reference modern things in this movie is bad, but I feel that doing so needs to be done carefully since culture now is much more fluid. Even if something the older films referenced like the Matrix or COPS hasn’t been constantly relevant today, they are still recognized at some level because they were allowed the time to stay in culture for a while. Plus, Shrek tended to make their pop culture jokes either be subtle, such as the “that will do pig” reference from Babe, or have the execution of the joke not only be reliant on the reference, such as the absurdity of the aforementioned COPS parody. I know social media is a very prevalent element of our culture now, but referencing it feels a bit unsubtle since it is very tied to this present moment and its existence is defined by both its fluidity and content with a lack of staying power. Also, and I may be wrong saying this, but the references in the older films felt a bit more baked into the world of Shrek. Many tied into the fairy tale and medieval settings of the world, and didn’t just throw something directly from modern culture without context, and those that didn’t were more subtle in execution, as I mentioned before. Having the magic mirror act like a modern social media phone just feels off and a bit too far in terms of reference humor. That, and there isn’t a joke about the usage of social media outside of referencing Shrek memes, which just feels outdated given that the focus of meme culture for the character passed years ago, and this just feels like catch up.

This is a lot to say about a short teaser, isn’t it? Well, sure, but I feel that since Shrek is a huge figure in animation and film, there is a lot to say about him coming back and the mixed feelings about this first look. I guess my hesitancy about this is because I feel Shrek did leave off on a good note with Forever After and that a new movie would have to work hard to justify itself. Plus, we’ve gotten so many other franchises like Toy Story, Despicable Me, Kung Fu Panda, and even Ice Age come back for installments that feel more like obligations because Hollywood is only focused on nostalgia and the same cash cows they’ve had for the past 20 years. Frankly, many are just burned out with studios going back to the same wells over and over for installments that just don’t feel special anymore. I know Shrek was a huge franchise before, but I feel that the space of time since the last film has allowed some genuine introspection about the positive traits of the series and a general cultural re-appreciation of it. As a result, I feel that people want this movie to do something interesting that honors the spirit and style of the series and this initial teaser has some red flags from that perspective. I hope I’m wrong and this movie is a great return to form, but given how some recent films of long-running series like Kung Fu Panda 4 or recent MCU entries have sort of watered down what made them special or beloved, it’s valid to approach this with caution.