On top of that, the very fact that Gen Z, the generation that grew up watching and rewatching the Shrek movies, has now come of age and become the largest group of internet users by generation plays a major role. For many of them, Shrek is not just a franchise – it’s a part of their childhood, a holy relic in their generation’s temple, Shrek is love.., so changing the art style of its namesake character, his wife, and his best friend was anything but welcome.

As a result, the trailer currently sits at a 1-to-2 like-to-dislike ratio, with comments on social media (the trailer’s comments on YouTube are, of course, disabled) packed with criticism, memes mocking the new designs, and calls for DreamWorks to “do the Sonic” and redesign the characters before the movie releases in December 2026.