Shrek: This is what Ogre looked like 5 years before release!

Shrek is the iconic animated saga of an entire generation that allowed DreamWorks to compete with Pixar and Disney. A scathing parody of our favorite fairy tales, the story of a green and cynical ogre who must rescue Princess Fiona, trapped in a watchtower by a dragon, along with her faithful companion, a luxurious donkey, was a dazzling success. An official selection of the Cannes Film Festival and the first to receive an Oscar for Best Animated Feature, Shrek entered the legend – and will be entitled to a fifth opus, more than 14 years after the last part (and more than 23 years after the first!).

But the original idea for the film was completely different… After being considered lost for more than 20 years, the first animation tests of the project have recently appeared on the Internet. Although the first full-length film was released in 2001, a different version was originally developed in 1995. This original version starred Chris Farley (not Mike Myers) as the green hero, bringing him to life using early motion capture technology.

Now Zoom Art Studio, involved in the film’s production design, has released the missing footage online. The clip shows Shrek dancing to James Brown’s “I Got You (I Feel Good)” as he attacks the knight.

A very different version

The description of the video reveals that the original idea Shrek was a “dark and brooding low-budget film,” far from the fairy tale parody that became the final product. As seen in the images, the ogre’s design was also leaner, with an emphasis on his exaggerated facial expression.

• Disney Style Shrek: Fiona would look like Warcraft and Donkey would be as cute as Olaf!

Chris Farley With many of his lines recorded for the film before his death in 1997, new footage may one day resurface, giving more context to the original film and its plot.

Shrek 5 is currently in development, and its spinoff franchise, Puss in Boots, has released its final installment, The Last Quest, in 2022.

The first three episodes of Shrek can be watched on Netflix. The fourth, in turn, is available on MyCanal.