So, despite the years spent in development hell, Shrek 5 does appear to be heading on its way to a release date, though as of yet it doesn’t appear that this date has been given a firm push to any particular day or month. The question a lot of people don’t appear to be asking is should this movie even be pushed? The understanding is that the demand for another Shrek movie started gaining ground the moment that Shrek: Forever After was released, which means that a lot of people have been wanting to see this happen for quite some time. But one thing that needs to be considered is whether or not the buzz is going to return. Years have passed since Shrek was a big thing, and while it’s very true that people still love the big green ogre, it’s very easy to say that while he hasn’t been replaced, his memory has been dimmed just a bit by plenty of other worthy successors. It’s possible that Shrek will manage to pull a lot of fans back without question, but should it happen?
It’s going to happen, so that question is kind of a moot point as of now, but one point to be made, that feels like a dead horse that’s being beaten over and over, and that’s the fact that Shrek: Forever After created an ending that managed to wrap up quite a few things and provide a way to let Shrek go. But as one can imagine, this isn’t enough for a lot of fans that want things when they want them and aren’t going to be satisfied until they get them. But to be fair, those that make the movies are more than willing to keep pushing any and every idea they can until there’s nothing left that can make another dime, and Shrek has been a gold mine since the first movie was released, so it’s likely that a fifth movie is going to see a few new tricks or a bunch of old tricks being pushed as new.
The reason for the cynicism is easy. Every story deserves to be told until it proves otherwise, and too many sequels have come and gone over the years that have proven this point without hesitation. One upside is that it does appear that the main characters, namely Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey, will be returning. This is a positive since otherwise there wouldn’t be much of a point n bringing this idea to light. But the question of what they’ll be doing, who they’ll be facing, and what the overall plot will be is tough to say, but it does sound as though the fifth movie will be a reboot, something to revive the franchise, which is only more confusing, not less since it means that everything that people have seen up to this point might be changed and unrecognizable. One of the only other good things to say about this movie is that there isn’t exactly a shortage of fairy tale creatures that can be used as enemies, allies, or just for a plot twist, since Shrek has made good use of many different characters that have been integrated into the story in a way that makes them even more interesting.
Right now the biggest question is why the movie has been held up for so long, even if the thought that leaving it at four movies would have been ideal since the story was ended in a manner that made it clear that Shrek had come full circle and had realized what his life was missing, and why he had to fight to keep what he’d earned. These days, unfortunately, it would appear that creativity is often being set aside to bring a franchise back in a manner that will be fought for by those that somehow didn’t think that the words ‘The End’ could mean anything. Sometimes it’s better to admit that yes, a story can stop, but not end. Stopping a story doesn’t mean forgetting it or enjoying it any less, but the need to create new, innovative ideas that might be inspired by those that have come before appears to be less of a desire than rebooting older stories does.
It does feel that Shrek 5 will be able to generate enough buzz to bring the franchise back into mind, especially since no one has really forgotten Shrek yet. But the idea of bringing back a story that has already reached such a great conclusion does feel kind of wrong in a certain way. Every story carries the possibility of being brought back to prominence, but the question to ask isn’t really whether or not it can be brought back, but if it should be brought back. Unfortunately, the promise of the money to come speaks louder sometimes.
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