Shrek Forever After premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 21, 2010, and was theatrically released by Paramount Pictures in the United States on May 21, 2010.

Despite opening below expectations, it debuted as the top-grossing film at the box office, a position held for three consecutive weeks in the United States and Canada.

In a flashback, King Harold and Queen Lillian have lost hope of their daughter, Princess Fiona, being freed from her curse after so many years of her being at the Dragon's Keep.

He has a magical contract that will seemingly lift the curse if they give him the Kingdom of Far Far Away, but when Harold is about to sign it, a messenger reveals that Fiona has been rescued by Shrek.

In the present, Shrek has grown tired of being a family man and a celebrity, longing for the days when he was feared and had privacy.

While he is celebrating his children's first birthday in Far Far Away, a series of mishaps leaves Shrek so angry that he storms out in a rage and lashes out at Fiona.

Now feared by villagers, Shrek causes some mischief until he discovers that Fiona is a fugitive and his swamp is deserted and desolate.

Donkey helps Shrek find a hidden exit clause; the contract can be nullified by "true love's kiss".

Shrek unsuccessfully tries to woo Fiona, who has since lost hope of finding true love after not being rescued, and is too busy preparing an ambush on Rumpel.

During the ambush, most of the ogres are captured by the Pied Piper, who was hired by Rumpel, but Shrek and Fiona escape with Puss and Donkey.

Donkey, Puss, and the freed ogres storm the castle; they capture Rumpel and defeat his witch army, while Shrek and Fiona take down Dragon.

As the sun rises, Shrek begins to fade from existence, but Fiona, having fallen in love with him, kisses him before he disappears.

The alternate reality disintegrates, making everyone disappear, and Shrek finds himself transported back to the original timeline at the moment before he lost his temper at the party.

[9] National Geographic Kids claimed that a deleted scene of Shrek the Third in which a talking tree explained to Arthur Pendragon that he was the next in line for the Far Far Away throne could be used in the fourth film.

Then, about a year into the development, Jeffrey Katzenberg decided that the story that we'd come up with was the right way for Shrek's journey to end, which was incredibly flattering.

The site's critical consensus read, "While not without its moments, Shrek Forever After too often feels like a rote rehashing of the franchise's earlier entries.

"[44] Pete Hammond of BoxOffice gave the film four and a half out of five stars and wrote, "Hilarious and heartfelt from start to finish, this is the best Shrek of them all, and that's no fairy tale.

Borrowing liberally from Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life, this edition blends big laughs and emotion to explore what Far Far Away might have been like if Shrek never existed.

[47] Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a "B−" grade, saying "Everyone involved fulfills his or her job requirements adequately.

"[72] Following NBCUniversal acquisition of DreamWorks Animation in 2016, President and CEO Steve Burke discussed plans to revive the franchise.

[75][76] In April 2023, four months after the release of a spin-off sequel Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, executive producer Chris Meledandri confirmed that a fifth film is planned, with the original cast in talks to return.