Twenty-five years on, the score for Shrek still hits differently. Varèse Sarabande and Craft Recordings are marking the milestone with a brand-new collector’s edition picture disc of Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell’s original score, arriving August 28 and available for pre-order now.
The wide-release vinyl features newly designed character artwork, with a hero image of the film’s protagonists on side A and Shrek and Fiona on side B. A Barnes & Noble-exclusive variant offers alternate film imagery. A newly reissued CD edition drops alongside the vinyl, and the score is streaming now across digital platforms.
The release arrives as Universal Pictures returns Shrek to theaters for a special 25th anniversary screening run beginning May 15. Local listings are available through Fandango and cinema websites.
When Shrek landed on May 18, 2001, it redefined what animated filmmaking could do. Irreverent, emotionally sharp, and musically inventive, it launched a franchise that became the first animated series to cumulatively surpass $3 billion at the global box office. The score was central to that achievement.
Powell described the balancing act of writing the music with characteristic honesty. “Making music for this film required us to walk a thin line between sentiment and subversion, truthful emotion and sticky sap, comedy and action, fruits and nuts,” he recalled. “But like Shrek and Donkey, we got to the other side and wondered what all the hollering had been about.”
Co-director Vicky Jenson put it plainly: “Harry and John created for us some of the most heartbreakingly beautiful themes as well as some of the most exciting passages I can remember hearing in any film.” Co-director Andrew Adamson added that the composers embraced the film’s eclectic nature and delivered something “at the same time beautiful and magical.”
Music supervisor Marylata E. Jacob spoke to the specific challenge of weaving a score around the film’s now-iconic song selections. “Our composers, Harry and John, having great wit, extraordinary talent and a keen sense of adventure, blended these songs with their original underscore to create a one-of-a-kind musical journey,” she said.
Gregson-Williams, reflecting on the franchise’s staying power, pointed to the heart of it: the relationship between Fiona and Shrek. “It’s always been irreverent,” he said. “You believe you’re in a classic fairy tale, then something happens to make you realize that it’s not the case at all.” That tension is exactly what makes the score endure.
Pre-order the Shrek 25th Anniversary Edition Picture Disc and CD at VareseSarabande.com.
LP Tracklist:
Side A:
- “Fairytale”
- “Ogre Hunters / Fairytale Deathcamp”
- “Donkey Meets Shrek”
- “Eating Alone”
- “Uninvited Guests”
- “March Of Farquaad”
- “The Perfect King”
- “Welcome To Duloc”
- “Tournament Speech”
- “What Kind Of Quest”
- “Dragon! / Fiona Awakens”
- “One Of A Kind Knight”
- “Saving Donkey’s Ass”
- “Escape From The Dragon”
Side B:
- “Helmet Hair”
- “Delivery Boy Shrek / Making Camp”
- “Friends Journey To Duloc”
- “Starry Night”
- “Singing Princess”
- “Better Out Than In / Sunflower / I’ll Tell Him”
- “Merry Men”
- “Fiona Kicks Ass”
- “Fiona’s Secret”
- “Why Wait To Be Wed / You Thought Wrong”
- “Ride The Dragon”
- “I Object”
- “Transformation / The End”