If you haven’t read Laura’s ranking for her top three “Shrek” movies, you should go and do that and then come back here. I’m going to be reviewing the only movie not on her list, “Shrek: Forever After.”

“Shrek: Forever After” was originally released in 2010 as the fourth and final part in the “Shrek” franchise, coming as a sequel to “Shrek the Third” which had been released three years beforehand.

The Dreamworks animated movie was directed by Mike Mitchell and Mike Newell.

In my opinion, this one is the worst film in the “Shrek” franchise. All of the “Shrek” movies have their strengths and weaknesses (not “Shrek 2,” that is a cinematic masterpiece with no faults) but for me this movie has more faults than anything.

I would love to say that my dislike for this film is because I had left the targeted age range for the series, but I was 10 when this came out. Even in 2010, this movie felt like it was missing something.

The gist of the storyline is that Shrek (Mike Myers) makes a deal with a man named Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn) whilst in the midst of a midlife crisis, and accidentally erases himself from existence. In doing so, he creates a reality where he never rescues Fiona (Cameron Diaz) from her tower, never marries her and his children are never born.

Fiona, who ended up rescuing herself from the tower, is the leader of an ogre resistance group aiming to take down Rumplestiltskin, and has absolutely no interest in Shrek.

The only way to break Rumplestiltskin’s curse is to share “true love’s kiss,” a premise present in all of the other “Shrek” movies.

At the end of the movie, (should I give a spoiler alert for a movie that came out over a decade ago?) Shrek and Fiona break the spell and he is transported home. The alternate reality falls apart, as it never existed in the first place.

In the original timeline, Shrek retains all of his memories of the alternate reality, but no one else does. The film ends with Shrek appreciating his family life, and not at all wishing to be a feared ogre.

When reviewed individually, it’s a fine movie. But when it’s in the same franchise as “Shrek,” “Shrek 2” and “Shrek the Third,” it feels lackluster in comparison.

It’s an alright storyline full of fun tidbits — the pied piper scene comes to mind, or the iconic “do the roar” that swept through the internet for a while. But beyond that? It doesn’t seem to have any weight.

Shrek was the only person to go through the experience of the other reality. No one else gained anything, and all it really did was snap Shrek out of a midlife crisis — if other films are to be believed, he could have just bought a motorcycle and fixed it himself.

With personal growth being a common theme in “Shrek” movies — Shrek coming out of his shell in the first movie, Fiona and Shrek growing as a couple in “Shrek 2” and each of them having their own personal journeys in “Shrek the Third” — this film falls flat in that aspect. Everyone in those films have their own growth — side characters and villains alike.

In “Shrek: Forever After” Shrek was the only one to have any meaningful experiences. All of the other characters in the movie were seemingly frozen in time when the realities swapped. They all started at a birthday party, they all ended at a birthday party.

Don’t get me wrong, the movie is fun and full of everyone’s favorite characters as well as some new ones — Cookie and his chimichanga stand were an incredible addition to the franchise that was gone far too soon.

I will admit the comedic element in this movie is better than in “Shrek the Third,” but regardless it still doesn’t compare to the first two films.

The premise of Fiona running a resistance group of ogres by night was a really fun plotline that I wish was flushed out more, and not just used as a throwaway concept when the timeline reset.

This movie felt like it could have been more than what it was. It was a shame that everything that happened in the movie was just erased at the end, with only one person to remember it.

It felt like when you read a really good horror story and it ends with “and then they woke up.”

With a 5th “Shrek” movie reportedly coming to the big screen — Illumination’s CEO revealed in April 2023 that the studio is negotiating with “key actors” for a sequel — we can only hope for great things on the horizon.

“Shrek: Forever After” is rated PG and is available to watch on Peacock and Amazon Prime Video.

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Breanna Hanley is a reporter for The Express.