Inside Chris Farley’s Lost Version of Shrek

Taking a look at the original version of Shrek starring Chris Farley.

0:00 Intro
0:35 Steven Spielberg
1:13 Original Dark Tone
1:45 Shrek Test Footage
2:33 Original Story
3:20 Chris Farley
5:08 Production Problems
6:26 Mike Myers
7:37 Princess Fiona
8:09 What Could Have Been?

#shrek

[roberttreacy]

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.

[michaelbiscay]

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

[MackEastwood]

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

[evanthomas]

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.

[reobeem]

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.

[HighFlyingEYE]

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

[Omar-wqdz]

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

[Diana-gwcu]

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

[Omar-wqdz]

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

[freshparkfilms]

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

[BenjiJayGeeJay]

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

[bensneb]

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.

[Undeadmetalhead]

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

[voxfoxclips]

There is a timeline where Nicholas Cage literally accepted every role offered to him and we got NICHOLAS CAGE SHREK.

[VideoHeadMan]

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.

[jimbobaggins]

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

[detroitdiezel]

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.

[StrtchLou]

I feel like having Mike Myers play in place of Chris Farley was a really good move. Not only did they work on SNL together but they were both amazing, Chris Farley was hilarious, truly an amazing soul, i’m sure Mike had wanted to do this well for Chris.❤️ both amazing actors and comedians.

[TheMAHfilms]

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

[DaniMacYo]

Chris Farley will always be a national treasure of comedy gold. But Shrek would not be the same without Mike Myers it’s perfection with Mike.