Katzenberg: I want this dark and edgy. Also Katzenberg: This is dark and edgy. You're all fired.

Fun fact: The song “All Star” was only a placeholder for test screenings until a new song could be found. But test audiences loved it, and the producers kept it in.

Fun Fact: Mike Myers got a letter from Steven Spielberg thanking him for caring so much about Shrek and saving the project also William Seig was concerned that Sherk was gonna be Disneyfied even regretting selling the rights but when he saw the movie he was relieved and loved the adaption of his book

I prefer the version we got but wish I could see the Farley version. I like how Shrek turned in to almost an anti Disney movie with how it handled fairy tales and expectations for it.

Wow, this story should have its own documentary/mini series complete with the cast and production interviews. To go from development hell to nearly finished then your lead actor dieing right at the end to then save it and not only ends up a good movie but a cultural phenomenon and classic is amazing. Great job, as always.

The fact this movie came out of nowhere and became the cultural phenomen it did was amazing, I must of watched this movie about a million times due to my oldest child always having it when he was little

I have nothing against Chris Farley, but the Shrek we got with Mike Myers was absolutely perfect

Speaking of What Could Have Been, there’s a really interesting original version of Shrek 2 where he abdicates the throne and campaigns are made by Gingy and Pinocchio. I don’t think there’s enough info on it to make a video, but it would have been interesting to see

a prime example of why not having a faithful adaption of the source material is sometimes for the best

RIP 🙏 CHRIS FARLEY... he was such a huge influence for me growing up i loved how he could make everyone laugh but was able to be vulnerable too...i was devastated when he died i was in middle school then and i still wonder now what it would be like if he was still here in movies like grown ups and so many others that he couldve been the lead in and wouldve been original...on hard days i still rely on his movies to cheer me up, Tommy Boy is my ho to ❤ Black sheep is great too & i love him in Billy Madison & Dirty Work he was so great in that small role " a siagon whore bite my nose off" 😂😂😊 classic

Great job. They should put together the original film and get his brother back now. He said he would do it now if asked. Missing media is so mysterious.

While the original version would’ve been interesting to see, the original as a childhood favorite so I’m happy with what we got. Sad about Chris Farley, I heard he was gonna play Fatty Arbuckle in a bio film written by David Mamet, that would’ve been really interesting to see.

Shrek is a film near and dear my heart so I wouldn’t want to lose it, but the tragedy behind its productions makes me wish I could step into an alternate universe and see what would’ve happened if Chris Farley’s version was made. I truly hope in that world, he got the recognition he deserved

I’m glad Bob Odenkirk and others have been vocal about that Chippendale’s sketch. I know the sketch writer Jim Downey ardently defends the sketch but I genuinely think it’s a mean spirited piece that no doubt contributed to harming Farley’s mental health. I would really love to see Farley’s lines all released one day. Thanks for the video, great stuff as always

I love what the original author had to say about the finished film, "it's vulgar, it's digusting, and I love it!"

Other unrealized projects of Chris Farley (due to his passing) included his role as Atuk in a film version of Mordecai Richler's *"The Incomparable Atuk"* (which would've also had Phil Hartman as the antagonist); Ignatius J. Reilly in a film adaptation of John K. Toole's *"A Confederacy of Dunces";* a young male "height-fearing" Brachiosaurus named Sorbus in Disney's *"DINOSAUR"* (his character was changed in the final version as an elderly female named Baylene); and his first serious acting role as the tragic silent-film comedian Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle in a biopic that was written by David Mamet.

I miss Chris Farley. He was such a a great actor.

Wow, the character Shrek probably wouldve been alot different had Chris Farley lived long enough for his original lines to be completed. RIP Granted the Shrek we ended up getting with Mike Myers is truly a classic.

Wow! This was fantastic man!! You do such a great job on these. I would've never known all this stuff about the movie. My daughter was a toddler at the time this came out and she loved Shrek. So, naturally I took her to see all the films and sat with her to watch them all again when they came out on video. I can't see this franchise being as successful with Bill Murray, Nick Cage or even Farley. This to me, couldn't have worked without the vocal talents of Mike, Eddie and Cameron. Not to mention Lithgow as the villain. Who'd have thought this potential disaster would become the cash cow and household name it is today? Now that I know this backstory, I'm amazed that it ever saw the light of day, being that it languished in development hell as long as it did. Thanks again for this background on this beloved movie.

I have been binging your channel lately and waiting for this video,thanks for a good start to the morning 🔥

My girlfriend at the time talked me into going to see Shrek and I was like “why the fk would I go watch a cartoon at the theater” and wound up laughing my butt off the entire movie. It really was fantastic and a breath of fresh air. Had no idea the humor was gonna be up my alley by the movie posters. Also, as much as I love Chris Farley, Shrek wouldn’t have had the staying power. Acting just wasn’t his forte. He was physical comedy. It takes a *very* different set of skills to be a voice actor. And Janeane Garoffalo (sp?) as Fiona would have been annoying. That would have been a LOT of heavy lifting for Eddie Murphy to carry the movie, which he might have been able to pull off *because* Donkey is so perfect, but I still don’t see the original having the staying power as it is now.

This is crazy just watching Shrek with friends last Friday and someone mentioned this about Chris Farley- now I've got the story!

Great video as always ❤

I look forward to every Saturday for your videos. My new favorite channel! Keep it up brotha!

hmmm, the Fiona alternate origin is a new thing I've learned from this video. I see part of the whole locked in a tower thing and suppressing the info that their daughter is an ogre I feel like little detail kind of got spread into Shrek 2 and 4 as far as the King and Queen's reasons and what they did. The Witch potion thing was a different angle that i thought was kind of interesting as far as giving her day and night human forms. I think i prefer what we got with Meyers and Diaz with the Shrek movies that were released in our timeline. But I think I have some morbid curiosity to maybe see what a completed Farley and Garaffalo Shrek would've been like as far as style and tone. Seeing that test footage version that got leaked a while back was really creepy and a little nightmare inducing 😅. But I really wish there's some alternate timeline out there in the cosmos where Chris Farley's support network were able to help him with his addiction demons that were plaguing him back then to get the help he needed as well as fighting his body dysphoria (i think that might've been part of it, i might be labeling it wrong) and healing his pyche. And maybe see the movie as they were originally trying to make. like you mentioned with Garaffalo being a little more sarcastic and cynical with her performances and comedy, I'm kind of curious what her Fiona would act and look like in both human and Ogre forms. I wonder if they had any character designs for that or some test footage that's around somewhere. Also thank you for including the other works of the author who wrote the book version of Shrek. I saw the cover of the book, but have yet to have a chance to read the whole thing and see everything in it. The B-roll made me remember something. I have seen this author's stuff before. I think I read one of The Dr.DeSoto books as a kid. Thanks for the memory-blast.

Thanks I’ve always wanted to know the inside details on this

My day always gets better when I see a new vid from you, keep up the great work, can't wait to see what's next.

This is such an in depth video about this. I love it!

It's incredible that you have so much info on What Could Have Been movies! I love it! I'm addicted to your channel! ❤️

This is the best KZfaq channel out rn

Shrek almost certainly wouldn't have been the cultural giant that it is now, but i'd love to peek into that alternate timeline, where they made Shrek with Farley and it became a turning point in his career. Just for his sake, if nothing else.

I know this isn't a huge channel, but it's one of my favorites. Every time I see an upload notification, I genuinely get excited. Thank you and keep up the good work!

Who would have thought that the movie that was seen as punishment was the movie that made DreamWorks what it is today

Honestly I think alot of kids and maybe myself would have had nightmares of Farley Shrek

Its honestly a once in a lifetime typa movie, something like roger rabbit. We will never get another just bc of all the time effort and work put into it, shrek imo is the greatest animated movie ever

Great video-essay!

I'd love to see this version of Shrek, for the sake of film history and what we could've gotten. With most of those Farley lines, I'd be fine if it's mostly drawings.

dude the still shots look amazing.

I love this content! I think a Darren Aronofsky Batman Year One would be a dope video

It really is incredible that we got the classic that we did. I, like lots of people, was honestly blown away and charmed by the final film. The gentle boisterousness and sharp wit that Meyers brought to the character gave Shrek a little more confidence, which the character needed. He's a rebel with a cause, himself. It sounds like they really streamlined the whole story and better sold the "being accepted for who you are" theme. It's too bad we lost Chris Farley, but this film was an indictment on what eventually took him out of this existence. He was a brilliant comedian, which was sadly always overshadowed by his physical presence and push into child-like characters.

Chris Farley's voice seems like a perfect fit for Shrek! Im glad janeane garofalo was replaced, the idea of a sarcastic above-it-all princess for 90 minutes would be exhausting. great stuff as always, guys!

Rip Farley his ahrek didn't look as great but man I would love to see where his film catalog would be today

RIP, Chris Farley, he would have been perfect as Shrek.

Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, John Lithgow… that lineup was still amazing! Hard to believe no one wanted to work on it and that it was considered a punishment project. And although prince of Egypt and el dorado were financial failures they are both great and underrated!

The test footage of Chris Farley’s Shrek was leak back in 2022 and to be honest I prefer Mike Myers Shrek

Rip Chris Farley 😢

using the teenage plot for Sharktale was a top tier move

Another awesome Vid! Very interesting, I had no idea about the production of Shrek! As we said we love Chris Farley, especially his performance in 1997's 'Beverly Hills Ninja'. Also really like Janeane Garofalo, she's fantastic in anything she's in!

finally made it early. LETS GO BOSS GOT THE COFFEE ITS SATURDAY TIME FOR A BANGER. good morning my guy

OG Shrek concepts remind me of MediEvil

I was scared of Mike's Shrek when I was a kid, Imagine Chris Farley's shrek if it was done 😂

This Shrek Movie Sounded So Cool R.I.P To Chris Farley 🙏🙏 Prayers To His Family 🙏🙏

The fact that Shrek saved Dreamworks proves that Shrek is love, Shrek is life.

Chris would body that role he had a good voice and A great idea how to play shrek

That would have been so much better. Not that Mike did a bad job, I just really liked Chris.

So it was reworked 3 times the 2d version the cgi mocap hybrid one that was in the test footage than the almost fully complete Chris Farley version than that got reworked into the final one

To be honest didn’t think I’d like this video, but really interesting! Another great video!!

Wouldve been really neat to see Bill Murray Shrek

If chris farleys shrek was the shrek we had today, it wouldve been a movie I would not have watched

5:56-5:59 Actually, the Prince of Egypt was a box office hit.

Nick Cage shrek would have been wild

Are there any copies of the draft for early Shrek available online?

I can't help but wonder how the Chris Farley, Shrek would have faired.

We got Snyder's Justice League. Will we eventually get to see Farley's Shrek?

At least we have a tiny bit of Farley shreak voice and animation but I hope the original version gets released In some form eirther the mocap hybrid one or the one Farley recorded

Speaking about Animated movies that were reworked from the ground up, have you already made a video about The Emperor's New Groove and its original version?

That test footage looks like the Mucinex booger

Echoing other comments I’ve seen on vids covering this, I think the Shrek I’m seeing just through the lens of the limited lost media would have been something closer to Igor (2008), ultimately ugly and quickly forgotten about rather than cultural icon we got instead. I don’t think this would have likely saved Farley’s career. The re-design of Shrek being on the right side of the uncanny valley where his CGI looks clean, like he could be a living person with green skin instead of Mucinex’s cousin does wonders for the relatability and staying power of the series.

Both actors are a great fit for Shrek (although Chris Farley's version could have been totally different, not bad but different, Nicholas Cage would never work, he's IMO not a good choice for VO work) but Steve Martin as donkey? Nah never Steve Martin is a great and hilarious actor but Eddie Murphy was the PERFECT fit for donkey.

Perfect storm

I SERIOUSLY wish we could have gotten a full Farley Shrek movie.

Can you do the what could have been live action simpsons movie please?

I wouldn't call the failed animation test a huge waste of money. It did exactly what it was intended to do: show Jeff Katzenberg what his initial vision would look like and how horrifying it would be. In fact given how much money the Shrek franchise has generated I would call it money well spent. It's part of the creative process, creators of all sorts have way more "failures" on the path to success than consumers ever get to see.

R.I.P. Chris Farley.

There has to be a bunch of animatics of the full what-would-have-been film.

Myers’ version of Shrek is definitely what was better for business. I have a feeling that Farley’s version would have only fed into the image people had of him . The Chippendales sketch from SNL is really hard to watch now as it created his career but destroyed him as a person.

Could you please make a video about what Could have been the original deadpool2

I hope that threre is even a little bit of footage on the one Chris did before his death not the test animation the one after that sad that it hasn’t been fully completed

There’s no question why Gerafolo was replaced. She’s got a permanent axe to grind and it has no place in a film with a plot for kids. No issues with her fight; Maybe when she throws her finite money at it and takes the risks.

If Chris hadn’t died I don’t think his version of Shrek would have been as popular.

It’s good that Mike Myers brought over the funny Scottish accent of the FFB over to Shrek.

Hello I have subscribed to your KZfaq channel

Any plans on covering what would’ve been the original 4th “the Mummy” movie with the original cast coming back?

"I was only 9 years old....."

Apparently they recorded the entire movie with his voice. I’d love if they’d release a version of his recorded voice in full, just so we can have a chance to watch it all, instead of clips they released.

Mike did a fantastic job! However this movie among others, leaves to the imagination of what could hav been had Chris gotten some help and was still with us today. 😢

God, motion capture has come a long way.

Chris Farley left us too soon.

And then Shrek 3 came out, starring Mike Myers, and Justin Timberlake.

You should do a video on the original script for doctor strange and the multiverse of madness

Wow, just passing right by the movie that could have been staring Murray and Martin. I don’t think that would have had anywhere near the impact culturally as even the Farley one, but man am I interested in what that script looked like.

"30 years old, eating a steady diet of absolute monarchy cheese, and living in a SHACK DOWN BY THE SWAMP!"

Can You Do A Video On Me And My Shadow?

The Prince of Egypt was Sooooooo good, the fact that it failed in box office is a crime

Well I prefer what we got and speaking of Tim Burton how about doing the cancelled sequel to Tim Burton’s Planet of the apes and the original script for Beetlejuice 2 as to what we’re getting?

I miss Chris...

I really wish Chris would have lived to voice him 😢

At the very least, the ethos of original inspiration was preserved in the Final Cut

"Mad TV" movie theater ticket taker sketch.

Katzenberg, Weinstein, and Kennedy keep popping up