| Shrek (1995-1997 film) | |||||||
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General information
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| Title |
Shrek | ||||||
| Length |
Unknown | ||||||
| Release Date |
N/A | ||||||
| Release on DVD |
Unknown | ||||||
| Genre |
Fantasy/adventure/comedy | ||||||
Production information
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| Directed by |
Rob Letterman and J.J. Abrams | ||||||
| Produced by |
John H. Williams | ||||||
| Starring |
Chris Farley | ||||||
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| — | |||||||
Shrek was an early version of the 2001 film which had been in active pre-production for two years. The film was based on the 1990 children's book, Shrek!, written and illustrated by cartoonist William Steig. It was to star late actor Chris Farley, and would've been a "dark and edgy" story with unsettling yet endearing visuals. The project went through many revisions in both story and technology. This version would ultimately be scrapped in 1997 after the death of Farley that December.
Proposed Cast[]
- Chris Farley as Shrek
- Eddie Murphy as Donkey
- Janeane Garofalo as Fiona
- Alan Rickman as Lord Farquaad
- Marion Ross as Shrek's Mother
- Linda Hunt as Dama Fortuna
- Tom Kenny as The Mugger
Production[]
The film, having been initially picked up by Steven Spielberg in 1991, was to be a hand-drawn feature. Bill Murray was set to voice Shrek and Steve Martin was cast as Donkey. However, due to Spielberg's company, Amblimation, folding after the release of Balto, the film was scrapped and the rights expired. In 1995, the project would be revived and pitched to DreamWorks by producer John H. Williams. Then-head of DreamWorks Animation, Jeffery Katzenberg would approve the pitch, and help produce the film alongside Williams. Originally, Nicolas Cage was the top choice to voice the titular character of Shrek. He would quickly turn it down out of fear of kids thinking he was an ogre in real life. Comedic actor Chris Farley would soon be hired to voice the character, and had significant input in the overall creative direction of the story.
Storyboard featuring Shrek's design from the 1997 revision
The story itself would see many revisions during development and pre-production. However, the basic structure of Shrek being a teenage ogre struggling with his parents and trying to prove himself capable to them was kept during Farley's involvement. Shrek befriending Donkey and Fiona, as well as his confrontation of Lord Farquaad would've helped the ogre grow stronger as an individual- and more importantly, make his parents proud. Other details such as Fiona being dethroned by Farquaad, Donkey being cursed by a witch to talk, and Shrek being a second-generation Dulocian were present in-and-out during development. Shrek and his parents also would've lived in a garbage dump near a village called Wart Creek, and the ogre kept rotting fish stashed in his bedroom.
Pre-production officially commenced in 1996, with animator Rob Letterman alongside then-unknown VFX genius J.J. Abrams as the directors. Plans were initially set to make Shrek a live-action/CG-I hybrid, with miniature sets and motion-captured characters composited onto the scenes. According to designer Barry E. Jackson, there was also a push to make the film "creepy yet endearing," and would be reflected with the design of Shrek himself. An animation test was created and designed by Jackson under direction of Letterman and Abrams to convince Katzenberg of the darker approach. In 1997, Andrew Adamson (who was involved early on as a consultant) and Kelly Asbury were assigned to direct the film. However, Asbury left a year later to co-direct another DreamWorks film, Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron, and was replaced by Vicky Jenson, although Asbury would later co-direct the sequel. That same year, after a year of planning and animating, the test was screened to Katzenberg alongside storyboards of the entire film. The screening went extremely poorly, with him stating, "It looked terrible, it didn't work, it wasn't funny, and we didn't like it." The project would then be moved to Pacific Data Images, who was in the process of completing another DreamWorks film, Antz. Shrek would be realized as a fully computer-animated film, with most of the miniature sets serving as inspiration for the final designs.
At this time, Chris Farley had recorded roughly 80-90% of his lines, with PDI providing test animations for the latest revision. Unexpectedly, Farley would pass away from a drug overdose on December 18, 1997. When the film began production in 1998, Mike Myers would be cast after other actors were considered. Because of his love of fairy tales, Myers agreed to take part in the project. However, he requested that the film be reworked to better fit his sensibilities, effectively removing all of the original elements and themes from the Farley version. Shrek's parents would be written out, Fiona was now the princess of a then-unknown territory, Duloc would be reworked as a Disneyland-inspired cityscape, Donkey would not be cursed, and the darker tone would be abandoned in favor of a more romantic vibe. Among these changes was the removal of actress Janeane Garofalo as Fiona, and Linda Hunt as Dama Fortuna, who was also cut entirely.
Traces and Leaks[]
Shrek's now infamous close-up from the 1996 animation test
Several pieces of concept art were present in the 2001 DVD release of Shrek, although they are intertwined with concepts for the final film. Some traces of the original version can be spotted in some behind the scenes footage- including the HBO First Look of the Making of Shrek. These are limited to the miniatures supposedly used for the original hybrid approach, but some textures of Shrek's original model can be briefly spotted. Otherwise, little if any traces of the original version survived in the final cut.
Unlike with most animated films, DreamWorks has not publicly released official animation tests of the preliminary designs. Beginning in 2015, many storyboards, early models, and screenshots would surface to the public online. Many of these feature snippets of Chris Farley's original dialogue, which reveal many of the abandoned themes not present in the final film.
On November 23, 2023, the animation test completed in 1996 was released on YouTube by designer Barry E. Jackson. Beforehand, only the initial storyboard and a handful of screenshots were found, which depicted Shrek encountering a Mugger in a preliminary Duloc. Sometime after, the video was abruptly put on private due copyright concerns. Later, the test was made public again after Jackson consulted with his lawyer. Several high quality screenshots were found beforehand, with a few lower quality clips also being discovered prior to the release of the test.
Trivia[]
- This would be the only installment of the Shrek franchise that had a drastically different version than the one that was ultimately made.
- Puss in Boots: Nine Lives & Forty Thieves would eventually follow.