Shrek the Ogre (Mike Meyers) was happy living his perfectly miserable and lonely life in the swamp, scaring away any angry villagers that crossed his path. But one day Shrek’s peaceful life is invaded by a large gathering of fairy tale characters who have been evicted from their homes in Duloc by the evil (and really short) Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow). Shrek offers to use his scary ogre-ness to convince Farquaad to allow his unwanted guests to return to their homes, and the fairytale characters happily mistake Shrek’s selfishness for heroism. When Shrek arrives at Farquaad’s castle demanding his swamp back, Farquaad agrees on the condition that Shrek rescues Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) from her dragon-guarded tower and brings her back for him to marry. So Shrek sets out on his quest, joined by the annoyingly-talkative Donkey (Eddie Murphy). Shrek eventually warms to his traveling companion, and on the return voyage, Shrek even finds himself falling for the princess, who oddly seems to have a lot in common with him—but she is hiding a secret.

I hadn’t seen Shrek in many years, but watching it again now, I was pleased at how well the film holds up. It feels just as fresh, fun and entertaining as ever. I found myself laughing throughout and really enjoying Shrek’s adventure all over again—and it made me want to check out the three sequels again as well! This is is due in large part to the talented voice cast, and not just the main big-name actors—some of my favorite moments in the film center around the minor characters, which are voiced by the animators themselves—I will never tire of the hilarious scene involving Farquaad torturing the Gingerbread Man! There are so many fairy tale characters woven into this film that there’s always several fun things happening both in the foreground and in the background, which makes this such a great film to watch over and over again.

Shrek has a timeless fairy tale story, but the filmmakers have mixed in a lot of more-modern pop culture and meta references to add an additional layer of humor. This mix of timelessless and modern is also seen in how an excellent rock/pop musical soundtrack is utilized along with the film’s amazing animation.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment recently released this Shrek Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Combo Pack. However, as far as I can tell, this is just a repackaging of the existing 2010 Blu-ray release, along with a digital copy of the film as well as some other digital bonus material. That said, the Blu-ray still looks and sounds phenomenal. The 7.1 audio track is utilized perfectly to bring this animated world to life while also providing clear dialogue and a rockin’ soundtrack. The picture quality is nearly flawless and really showcases the film’s beautiful animation.

The on-disc bonus features include a filmmaker commentary as well as a picture-in-a-picture behind-the-scenes/video commentary, a featurette on the character of Donkey, three deleted scenes, an Easter egg featurette, some music videos and a photo gallery. New to this Anniversary Edition Combo Pack are an UltraViolet digital copy of the film along with a code to unlock over 35 minutes of fun Shrek-related shorts which can be streamed via a web browser.

The Shrek Anniversary Edition Blu-ray+Digital HD is also available as part of a new Anniversary Edition Shrek 4-Movie Collection Box Set.

What’s Included:
Film: (1:30:08)

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 1.85:1
• Audio: English 7.1 Dolby TrueHD, French 5.1 Dolby Digital 2.0, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital, English Audio Description
• Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese

DVD:

• 480p / Widescreen 1.85:1
• Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, English Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, English Audio Description
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Digital Copy:

• Digital HD Copy of the film (Redemption Deadline 6/7/2019)
  Redeemable via Flixster (UltraViolet), Google Play or Vudu (UltraViolet)
• The Best Of Shrek Shorts (Stream Online at shrekextras.com until 6/7/2018)
  Includes “A Tale of Two Friends: The Art of The Quest” (2:59), “Far Far Away Idol” (8:57), “The Ghost of Lord Farquaad” (12:30), “Puss in Boots: The Three Diablios” (13:08) and “Create with Shrek” (1:06).

Extras:

• Blu-ray Exclusives:
  • The Animators’ Corner* (1:30:08)
    When enabled, a picture-in-a-picture video commentary appears and disappears in the bottom right corner of the screen as the movie plays back. The commentary provides interviews with the animators, cast, storyboard artwork and other behind-the-scenes footage.
  • Shrek’s Interactive Journey: I
    Select from various locations on the interactive map to see the artwork that helped to inspire the creation of Shrek’s world. Select from “Shrek’s Swamp” (7 photos), “Dragon’s Keep” (5 photos), “Duloc” (6 photos), “The Windmill” (2 photos) and “Sunflower Field” (3 photos)
• Special Features:
  • Spotlight On Donkey (11:38)
    A look at bringing the character of Donkey to life, his personality, his evolution throughout the entire Shrek franchise, the man behind the voice, and Donkey’s singing. Includes interviews with actors Eddie Murphy (“Donkey”), Antonio Banderas (“Puss in Boots”), Mike Meyers (“Shrek”) and Walt Dohrn (“Rumplestiltskin”), DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, producers Aron Warner and Teresa Cheng, directors Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson and Mike Mitchell, and visual effects supervisor Ken Bielenberg.
  • Secrets of Shrek (3:52)
    A look at the various fairy tale and fantasy characters referenced in the film, the animators who also also provide character voices, and some of the early designs for the main characters.
  • Deleted Scenes (8:01)
    Producer Aron Warner provides an introduction for each of the three deleted scenes, which are then read/acted out by storyboard artists David Lowery, Chris Miller and Cody Cameron. Play All or select from “Fiona’s Prologue”, “The Deal” and “Fiona Gets Them Lost”.
  • Filmmakers’ Commentary (1:30:08)
    Producer Aron Warner and directors Vicky Jenson and Andrew Adamson provide a fun and interesting commentary throughout the film, giving viewers some entertaining production stories and insight into the creation of the film. The commentary is offered with English, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.
• Shrek, Rattle & Roll:
  A collection of music videos.
  • Shrek In Te Swamp Karaoke Dance Party (2:53)
    Shrek, Fiona and Donkey are joined by many of your other favorite fairy tale characters to sing a fun medley of karaoke songs in the swamp. The songs include “Just The Way You Are”, “Baby Got Back”, “YMCA”, “Stayin’ Alive”, “Dance To The Music”, “Like a Virgin”, “Feelings”, “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me”, “Who Let The Dogs Out” and “Happy Together”.
  • Baha Men – “Best Years Of Our Lives” (3:08)
  • Smash Mouth – “I’m A Believer” (3:15)
  • Shrek The Musical – “What’s Up Duloc?” (3:57)
  • DreamWorks Animation Video Jukebox (10:08)
    Watch music numbers from your favorite DreamWorks animated films. Play All or select from:
    • Shrek: “I’m a Believer” (1:17)
    • Madagascar: “I Like To Move It, Move It” (1:02)
    • Over the Hedge: “Rockin’ the Suburbs (Over the Hedge Version)” (1:58)
    • Bee Movie: “Here Comes The Sun” (1:23)
    • Kung Fu Panda: “Kung Fu Fighting” (2:35)
    • How To Train Your Dragon: “Fly Hgh” (1:51)
• Previews:
  • Coming Soon To Theaters (2:13)
    Trailer for Kung Fu Panda 2
  • Get Your Game On (1:35)
    Trailer for Kung Fu Panda World
  • On DVD
    Trailers for Megamind (2:31) and The Penguins of Madagascar (:57)
  • See It Live (1:05)
    Trailer for Shrek: The Musical

Final Thoughts:

Shrek remains a fun, highly-entertaining animated comedy with so many levels of humor to each scene that it can easily be watched over-and-over again without any diminishing returns. For those who don’t already own a copy of Shrek, this release is a Must Own. This Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Combo Pack contains top notch audio and video presentation and is loaded with fun bonus features. For those wondering if they should double-dip, the disc is identical to the 2010 Blu-ray release (even including a trailer for Kung Fu Panda 2 coming soon to theaters), and the only thing new is the digital content. Shrek is an animated classic that should be on everyone’s Blu-ray shelf!