The all-inclusive Shrek: The Whole Story Boxed Set comes out on DVD and Blu-ray today and it includes all four Shrek titles plus the brand-new, limited edition Donkey’s Christmas Shrektacular which features all of the beloved Shrek characters performing classic holiday songs as well as ‘Shrek’s Yule Log’ which has the Shrek characters making short, funny appearances in front of a crackling virtual fireplace.

Shrek

DreamWorks Animation was kind enough to treat a select few of us to experience a special event in honor of the release of the box set on the Glendale campus of the studio with a tour, a first look at the special features of the box set and opening remarks from CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg.
 
We started our day in the studio’s digital dailies room where filmmakers review their work. We were shown scenes from the original versions of Shrek and then the same scenes from the new, re-mastered blu-ray editions of the movies and the newer scenes were sharper, brighter and sounded amazing.
 
Next, Jeffrey Katzenberg came in to welcome us all to the studio and to talk to us a bit about the Shrek movies over the years and what they have meant to DreamWorks Animation. He talked about how it was important for them to find their own path with animation and their own brand which would be different from Disney or Pixar, something distinctive and not like anything else that anyone does. He called Shrek their ‘North star’ how it showed them what a DreamWorks animated movie could and should aspire to be.
 
What the Shrek series has become is the most popular and financially successful animated franchise in movie history. The entire series has earned $2 billion worldwide and gone on to become the most successful animated franchise of all-time, and the fifth most successful film franchise of all-time, behind Star Wars, Harry Potter, James Bond and Batman. Shrek 2 is the most successful animated film in history domestically, and Shrek Forever After is DreamWorks' highest grossing international film of all-time. The original Shrek won the first ever Academy Award for Best Animated feature.
 
After the opening remarks, we were given a tour of the beautiful DreamWorks Animation campus. The 16-year-old studio has a fitness center, game room and a health conscious cafeteria for all of its employees to enjoy free lunches every day. We were also shown a panel-by-panel storyboard of how an actual animated movie goes from initial idea through to completion. The whole process can take up to 3 to 4 years.
 
All in all, it was a great day and I have to say that the new Shrek series on blu-ray looks and sounds incredible.