Walt Dohrn, an accomplished writer, director and storyboard artists with credits on projects like Spongebob Squarepants, Dexter’s Lab and Shrek 2, plays the role of Rumpelstiltskin in the upcoming CG sequel Shrek Forever After. You can hear part of his performance in this promo below. It’s aiming netizens at Rumpeldeals.com, that helps hype the May 21st release of the DreamWorks Animation film.

In this interview below, Shrek Forever After director Mike Mitchell calls the original Shrek “one of the greatest told fairy tales of all time.” If you count box office dollars as votes, the audience agrees. The first 3 Shrek films hold 3 of the top 6 all-time grossing animated movie slots, with Shrek 2 in the top spot.

The animation community doesn’t seem to respect this DreamWorks Animation series in quite the same way, and I’d say the visual appeal, which is mediocre, and the abundance of what you might call “cheap” pop-culture gags combine to create that dischord. Plus, the 3rd movie was pretty awful, tallying a 44% on RottenTomatoes.com, further irritating the animation community. With Shrek Forever After releasing on May 21st, do you think it will live up to Mitchell’s lofty praise for the original, or will it fall into the sequel garbage heap?

Mike Mitchell

…and here’s a clip featuring Puss ‘n Boots and Shrek

The second Shrek Forever After trailer has arrived, giving us a much clearer look at the final installment of this mega-franchise. The DreamWorks Animation film hits theaters on May 21, 2010.

The final installment of DreamWorks Animation’s CG-animated Shrek series is titled Shrek Forever After (it’s the 4th, so it’s “Four”ever). It’s being directed by Mike Mitchell, a man somewhat new to the animation world, but this franchise is bulletproof, and will bring in the big bucks no matter what. The gang is all back (Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas) and it releases on May 21, 2010.