The not-so-jolly green ogre Shrek has become a childhood favorite since the 2001 DreamWorks movie that spawned an entire franchise- but the earliest test footage has fans understanding why it was thrown in the dumps.
Mike Myers voiced the bright green ogre from the 1990 children’s picture book of the same name by William Steig. The storyline focuses on Shrek, a desolate, and disgruntled ogre who lives in the forest away from civilizations. Why? He hates people.
When the fantasy creatures start invading his swamp due to Lord Farquaad of Duloc exiling them, they upheave his peaceful living. In return, Shrek goes on a fairytale adventure. He must save Princess Fiona for Lord Farquaad in exchange for making them all leave.
It spawned a fairytale love story between an ogre and Princess Fiona. But she too was cursed to become an ogre at night. The Shrek franchise is a fan favorite but looks nothing like the original test footage.
Shrek test footage was stowed away for a reason
Fans were left in utter shock when the original test footage for Shrek was unearthed and released publically on Zoom Art Studio’s YouTube Channel.
FOUND MEDIA: The Shrek test animation has been found and uploaded by the original animator and YouTube channel, "Zoom Art Studio." pic.twitter.com/2lnY5iJd7R
— blameitonjorge (@blameitonjorge) November 24, 2023
The footage looks like something straight out of a video game. Made in 1995, it lacked depth, bright color, and dazzle of the 2001 movie. Shrek is also noticeably different in the test footage appearing much smaller in scale, not as bright green, and skinnier in the arms and legs. Fans also see a bird-like character who swoops in to try and rob Shrek. It’s also worth mentioning the utterly grotesque and decayed teeth Shrek has.
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On Twitter (X), some people commented, “I can see why this was this was considered a punishment project by Drewmworks employees early on.”
Another sarcastically said, “All the stars aligned for us to somehow end up with the most perfect version of Shrek.”
Others understood the creative decisions to store away the test footage, and remake Shrek. “Aside from the fact that the complete clip was finally found after almost 30 years, I can understand why they decided to remake the entire movie,” said one person.
“It’s unfortunate that we didn’t get a book-accurate design for Shrek, but the Shrek that we ended up getting has an EVEN MORE iconic design, so I’m not complaining,” commented another.
The Shrek movie did well after its 2001 release having made $491.8 million compared to its $60 million budget. Fans are eager for the franchise to continue as there are plans for a Shrek 5.
Read more of Dexerto’s TV & Movies coverage here.