The Shrek 20th Anniversary and That One Time I Ugly Cried While Watching This Franchise

Shrek is a cultural phenomenon that stands the test of time. And 20 years later, it’s still one of the best franchises out there. From its cast to the music, it’s funny, vibrant, and often crude in a manner that flies over the heads of children but that adults get. It was one of a kind back in 2001, and it remains so in 2021.

And even though I think that sequels usually are a bummer, I’ve genuinely enjoyed the Shrek sequels. But there’s one that, years later, still makes me a ball of emotion and makes me ugly cry. I’m talking about Shrek Forever After, the 4th installment in the series, which was basically an AU of the world we know and love.

In Shrek Forever After, Rumplestilskin makes it so that Shrek never rescued Fiona from that tower and Dragon’s Keep. She rescued herself, and in doing so became a more solitary and restrained individual who had a rebellion to lead instead of a kingdom or family. And when Shrek finds her, all he wants to do is break the spell and get back to who they were before.

But things go awry when it’s revealed that true love’s kiss will fix it all. And Fiona, who has never met Shrek in this reality, just doesn’t feel like that. It becomes even more apparent that she and Shrek are two completely different individuals who somehow fit in another lifetime, but maybe not so much in this one, when they start working together.

And by the end of Shrek Forever After, when the sun is about to rise and the spell is to become permanent, it becomes obvious that things aren’t going to go according to Shrek’s plan. Personally, I was ok with this. Yes, I was sad, but I knew in my heart that they’d be ok because this was an animated franchise that’s never let me down on the things that mattered. So I kept watching.

Then the moment came, one of the most singular moments in the Shrek franchise. While laying in Fiona’s arms, Shrek tells her about his day:

You know what the best part of today was? I got the chance to fall in love with you all over again.

And then the waterworks began.

Shrek could’ve said so many things to her in his last moments. But he chose to tell her that last bit as a reminder to himself and to Fiona, that the kind of love they share is boundless. And if he were to disappear and never come back, he wanted her to know that it was worth it, every last second with her was more than enough.

It only gets more feels-inducing when Shrek is reunited with Fiona after Rumplestilskin’s spell is broken. In the middle of this party, surrounded by friends and family, they share the following dialogue:

Shrek: You know, I always thought I’d rescued you from the Dragon’s Keep.

Princess Fiona: You did.

Shrek: No. It was you who rescued me.

And here come the waterworks again.

Fiona changed Shrek. She gave him purpose, helped him grow, and made him understand that he was worthy of love. Her love. And Shrek Forever After was a reminder of all of that. It’s the reason why this series holds such a special place in my heart. Because yes, it’s a story about a big scary ogre, but it’s also a story about love and finding your community, even in a band of misfits just like yourself.

That’s why Shrek and its sequels stand the test of time and why, years later, the fandom surrounding it is still going strong.

(image: Dreamworks)

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