All Spooky Shrek Shorts Ranked

The 2001 animated classic “Shrek” has withstood the test of time, and is often shared with young views of new generations. The 2004 sequel “Shrek 2” still has a secure spot as one of my all-time favorite animated movies, as well as one of my favorite comedies in general. Sense then, I haven’t really been on bored with any of the Shrek sequels, spin-offs or specials … that is with one exception … Shrek’s Halloween specials. 

It was in 2010 that we were treated to their very first Halloween special titled “Scared Shrekless”, which was an animated anthology of Halloween shorts staring all our favorite Shrek universe characters. While there was nothing subtle about this Halloween special, it was still very funny, bursting with quality animation, and has all the good stuff that both kids, and the young at heart, still love watching around this time of year. Another collection of shorts was released on DVD under the title of “Shrek’s Thrilling Tales”. So, for this October, I thought it would be fun to rank this little collection of Spooky themed Shrek shorts on my personal scale of least favorite to absolute favorite. 

 

#7 “Boots Motel” 

In this little lampoon of the 1960 classic “Psycho”, Donkey and Puss in Boots find themselves at a mysterious hotel, secretly run by Prince Charming, who’s out for revenge. Of all the spooky Shrek shorts, this is the only one that lacks any kind of narrative or linear structure, as it’s kind of all over the place, with our two leads giving different interpretations of the events … and it gets rather insane. The imagery and animation in this segment is as over the top as it gets, with a giant waffle eating donkey stealing the show. While this short has its amusing moments, I personally would have preferred a straight forward story without it getting so jumbled between story tellers.  

 

#6 “The Pig Who Cried Werewolf” 

Now it’s time for the Three Little Pigs to stand out in their own short, this time revolving around the lead pig getting a busted leg, and is forced to pass his time spying on his rather suspicious neighbor, who’s none other then the big bad wolf. Now, he has to convince his brothers that this neighbor transforms into a monster whenever the moonlight is out. The set-up is a fine mix of “Rear Window”, “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” and obviously various Werewolf stories. However, in a funny twist, it’s the wolf who’s cursed to transform into a human whenever the moon is out … and a rather crazy human at that. While I miss the main Shrek characters, and the pig’s voices can get annoying, this short still has effective build-up, and an amusing pay-off.   

 

#5 The “Scared Shrekless” Wraparounds 

In-between all the goofy shorts in the “Scared Shrekless” special are individual scenes with all the Shrek characters, as their either celebrating Halloween night in the swamp, or preparing to tell stories in the abandoned, and supposedly haunted castle of Lord Farquaad. Honestly, I find these in-between moments to be just as fun, if not funnier then the actual shorts, with the most Halloween imagery on display, characters out trick or treating, and there’s some amusing jabs at famous staples from the franchise. I especially loved seeing that singing box from the first movie, and how it’s become a little more disturbed over the years.    

 

#4 “The Bride of Gingy” 

Following in the tradition of “The Bride of Frankenstein”, or “The Bride of Chucky”, comes yet another “Bride Of” story, and subsequently one of the funnier spooky Shrek shorts. One rainy night, the Ginger Bread Man arrives at the bakery of the muffin man, and hops to create a perfect girlfriend. Despite being warned not to use too much sugar, Gingy proceeds to make the most loving bride possible, and when his creation comes too … a night of love slowly escalates into a night a frights. As expected, his girlfriend gets too clingy for poor Gingy, and after an accident in the bakery, he finds himself facing an army of zombies. It’s a really fun short, with constantly building momentum, lots of funny jokes, and the climax might just get a little spooky for little viewers.     

 

#3 “The Ghost of Lord Farquaad” 

Set right after the events of the first movie, Shrek and Princess Fiona are ready to go out on their honeymoon. Unfortunately, their arch enemy Farquaad arrives on the scene as a phantom, and whisks Fiona away to be his figurative queen of the underworld. 

Thus, the chase is on, as Shrek and Donkey venture through a spooky forest, a haunted graveyard, and battle a giant stone dragon in order to rescue the captive princess. This is the longest of all the shorts, and feels the most like a mini-sequel to the original classic. It was originally presented as a 4D ride at universal, but it has more than enough goulash highlights to pass as one of Shrek’s spooky Halloween shorts. While the 3D shots can be distracting at times, the short still moves with an exhilarating pace, the action scenes are a lot of fun, the jokes are great, and the locations are beautifully detailed.   

 

#2 “The Shreksorcist” 

The Toy maker Geppetto is having trouble getting Pinocchio under control, and thus a special babysitter is called for. As such, Shrek arrives one chilly night to discipline the out-of-control child. While a straight forward satire of “The Exorcist”, the atmosphere, visuals, and jokes are perfected in this short. It’s hard to explain, but I just love the overall mood and feel of this short, and despite hitting every predictable reference to “The Exorcist”, I still find this the funniest of these shorts by far, with an especially hilarious punchline at the end.

 

#1 “Thriller Night” 

It’s once again Halloween night, and Shrek finds himself at the mercy of his friends who all want to watch a bright and fluffy musical. In an effort to compromise Shrek’s needs for thrills, Puss and Donkey put on a scary musical, which has the backward effect of raising all their previous villains from their graves. 

In my view, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” is the all-time greatest song to listen to at Halloween parties, and I found this to be an immensely fun spoof, as well as loving tribute to the classic music video. Some of the lyrics are appropriately changed around to fit with both the characters and setting, but it still keeps the same beat, tone, atmosphere, and bouncy fun of its source material. It even contains some additional material that worked for a modern update, including flashy colors, and backup singers that came in the form of Witches, rats and black birds. It’s all around a great way for kids to be introduced to the classic song, and for us familiar’s, it’s a fun homage, and one that’s shore to thrill.

Thanks for reading my countdown … and continue to make every day in October feel like Halloween!