Shrek is an American media franchise of DreamWorks Animation, based on William Steig's 1990 picture book Shrek!. The series primarily focuses on Shrek, a grouchy ogre, who begrudgingly accepts a quest to rescue a princess, resulting in him finding friends and going on many subsequent adventures in a fairy tale world.
The franchise includes four animated films: Shrek (2001), Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek the Third (2007), and Shrek Forever After (2010), with a fifth film, Shrek 5, currently in production for a June 2027 release. A short 4-D film, Shrek 4-D, which originally was a theme park ride, was released in 2003. Two television specials, the Christmas television special Shrek the Halls (2007) and the Halloween television special Scared Shrekless (2010), have also been produced. Two spin-off films were made centered around the character Puss in Boots: 2011's Puss in Boots and its sequel, 2022's The Last Wish. Additionally, a stage musical adaptation was created and played on Broadway for more than a year (2008-2010).
In May 2010, The New York Times described the principal Shrek characters as "brilliantly realized" and said "nearly a decade after the first Shrek film they remain as vital and engaging fusions of image, personality, and voice as any characters in the history of animation. The series was a financial success, becoming the 18th highest-grossing film franchise of all time, the second highest-grossing animated franchise, as well one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time.
