I made a TINY change to Donkey's character design for SHREK 5... but does it work?

@no_the_robot

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Promoted product

Shrek (franchise)

Why it worked

The video taps into nostalgia for a beloved franchise and a common critique of modern animation's move towards hyperrealism, using a clear visual demonstration to support its point.

Summary

The creator discusses a subtle change made to Donkey's character design for a hypothetical Shrek 5, focusing on the eyes. They demonstrate how using the original Shrek 1 eyes on a Shrek 5 screenshot creates a jarring, uncanny valley effect.

Structure

1Introduction of the Shrek 5 Donkey redesign concept
2Critique of the new design's eyes
3Demonstration of kitbashing original eyes onto the new design
4Comparison to 'The Shaggy Dog' movie for uncanny valley effect
5Conclusion on losing Donkey's original appeal

Product placement

Shrek (franchise) - appears as animated characters and in promotional material. Removing it would change the video's subject. DreamWorks Animation - appears as a logo/studio name. Removing it would not change the video.

Call to action

More animation breakdowns on my page

On-screen text

Original caption

Donkey looks way more appealing in Shrek 5… but that might be the problem👀 Without using AI, I kitbashed and painted in Donkey’s eyes from Shrek 1 over the screenshot of Shrek 5 and the result is interesting. Are you excited for this new DreamWorks Animation movie? #shrek #animation #dreamworks #movies #educational

More from @no_the_robot

More breakout videos from this creator.

I made a TINY change to Donkey's character design for SHREK 5... but does it work? I THINK THE REDESIGN FOR SHREK SPECIFICALLY LOOKS GOOD. IT'S REALLY DONKEY I THINK IS SKEWING OUR ENTIRE PERCEPTION OF THESE CHARACTER DESIGNS. 99% OF THE CHANGES THEY MADE PERFECTLY FINE. THINGS LIKE MAKING REALISTIC WITH THE LIGHTING, BEHIND LIKE THAT, CAN SEE THERE'S AND OF THIS LITTLE PAINTERLY EFFECT ON HIS FUR. IS MORE REFINED, HIS SNOUT IS MORE PRONOUNCED. IT'S REALLY JUST DONKEY'S EYES THAT ARE SO JARRING. A LITTLE EXPERIMENT THE EYES FROM DONKEY FROM SHREK 1, KITASHED IT ONTO THIS SCREENSHOT AND KIND OF PAINTED IT TO BIT MORE NATURAL. DESIGN I CAME NOW, I'M NOT SAYING IT'S FIXED. I DON'T THINK BE FIXED. THESE MORE LIKE HUMAN LIKE EYES ON DONKEY. KIND OF HEARKEN BACK TO THAT UNCANNY VALLEY STYLE THAT WE HAVE ON THE ORIGINAL DONKEY. HONEST WITH OURSELVES, THESE ARE HUMAN EYES ON DONKEY. MOVIE WITH TIM ALLEN WHERE HE'S THAT POSTER THAT THEY JUST PUT THE HUMAN EYES ON THE SHAGGY DOG. UGH. THAT HAUNTS THE INSTINCT TO CORRECT DONKEY'S EYES AND MAKE HIM MORE APPEALING HAS VERY PURE INTENTIONS, BUT IRONICALLY, DO LOSE THAT UNCANNY VALLEY-NESS OF DONKEY THAT WE'VE TO KNOW AND LOVE

Transcript

I think the redesign for Shrek specifically looks good. It's really Donkey. I think is skewing our entire perception of these character designs. 99% of the changes they made perfectly fine. Things like making it realistic with the lighting, behind like that. You can see there's and of this little painterly effect on his fur. Is more refined, his snout is more pronounced. It's really just Donkey's eyes that are so jarring. So I did a little experiment. The eyes from Donkey from Shrek 1, kitbashed it onto this screenshot and kind of painted it to look a bit more natural. This is the design I came up with. Now, I'm not saying it's fixed. I don't think art needs to be fixed. These more like human-like eyes on Donkey, kind of hearken back to that uncanny valley style that we have on the original Donkey. Because let's be honest with ourselves, these are human eyes on Donkey. Like that movie with Tim Allen where he's that poster that they just put the human eyes on the Shaggy Dog. Ugh, that haunts me. The instinct to correct Donkey's eyes and make him more appealing has very pure intentions, but ironically, do lose that uncanny valley-ness of Donkey that we've come to know and love.