“If you’re wondering on how to watch Shrek movies in order, we have a clear guide both in terms of chronological and release timeline.”
Shrek, the word means a lot to many people, even more so to those who have been through thick and thin for the past two decades, which has seen the release of multiple movies in this animated franchise. Surprisingly, Shrek, created by DreamWorks studio, even rivals famous franchises like Star Wars and Harry Potter when it comes to popularity, as its fandom is quite huge.
Seeing so many pop culture references instilled in the movie, many might want to give it a go, either through curiosity or after getting a highly praised recommendation from a friend. In either case, you would need a direction to start the franchise rather than watching any movie you can find on a streaming service, or else you might get confused.
It might not seem like such a big deal given there are only a handful of main films released in the franchise, but if you want to go all in with your experience, there is a term called chronology, which connects all the timelines in the story, making you connect many dots over time. So, here’s how you watch Shrek movies in order, both chronologically and by release date, depending on your preference.
Shrek Movies in Release Order
As far as audiences are concerned, the Shrek movie franchise comprises only five movies that have each seen a theatrical release in their respective years, but there are other titles that were released as short films and specials. Although they’re not entirely necessary, we’ll mention them just in case so we can discuss them thoroughly in the chronological order section.
- Shrek (2001)
- Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party (2001 — short film)
- Shrek 2 (2004)
- Shrek 4-D (2004 — short film)
- Far Far Away Idol (2004 — short film)
- Shrek The Third (2007)
- Shrek Forever After (2010)
- Donkey’s Christmas Shrektacular (2010 — short film)
- Puss in Boots (2011)
- Thriller Night (2011 — short film)
- The Pig Who Cried Werewolf (2011 — short film)
- Puss in Boots: The Three Diablos (2012 — short film)
The reason we included the short films alongside the main movies is solely due to the fact that every short film somehow brings out the best of the franchise by either including several characters from the movie, which came out around the same time as the short film or through references which only make it more interesting.
Shrek Movies in Chronological Order
Now, here’s a thing. Shrek took some weird turns in storytelling and ended up releasing some movies later which work as the introduction of the franchise and a backstory to some characters, which would be considered prequels in a sense. So, here’s the chronological order of Shrek animated movies.
- Puss in Boots
- Puss in Boots: The Three Diablos (short film)
- Shrek
- Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party (short film)
- Shrek 4-D (short film)
- Shrek 2
- Far Far Away Idol (short film)
- Shrek The Third
- Shrek Forever After
- Donkey’s Christmas Shrektacular (short film)
- Thriller Night (short film)
- The Pig Who Cried Werewolf (short film)
We intentionally skipped a few TV specials, such as Shrek the Halls, because seeing all these multiple titles stacked together would feel overwhelming. Instead, you could watch the recommended ones above and see if you have time for the other one.
Do You Need to Watch Shrek in Order?
This question often arises in the fandom because although the initial four movies have been released in the exact order they should be, many might have come across someone mentioning that Puss in Boots is a prequel to the entire movie series.
So, we would recommend you watch Shrek in chronological order, but you can ignore most of the short films unless you can spare time for them. Regardless, it would elevate your experience to another level if you watch them in chronological order rather than release order.
How Many Shrek Movies Are There?
Technically, there are more than 10 films in the Shrek franchise if you consider the shorts. However, if you only want to know the main movies and not any side stories, then so far, five movies have been released, including the prequel Puss in Boots, and another film is set to release sometime soon, as not an accurate date has been set.
Where to Watch Shrek Movies?
Apparently, Shrek is not easily available to stream for most countries as Hulu is streaming them, and it is not available in every region, like India and a few other countries. So, those who can’t find the movies on Hulu can get the movies in another way. We’ll add a link below to make things easier for you.
