History WesternAnimation / ShrekForeverAfter

* BrideAndSwitch: PlayedForLaughs during a montage in which Shrek dresses as a veiled bride at a man's wedding.

* BrickJoke: Shrek says he's not going to eat Rumpelstiltskin because he "already had curly-toed weirdo for breakfast." [[spoiler:When Rumpel is finally caught, the ogres say exactly what they're having for breakfast.]]

* BreadEggsBreadedEggs: -->'''Donkey:''' I mean, I cry all the time. Just thinking about my grandma. Or thinking about baby kittens. Or thinking about my grandma kissing baby kittens. Or... a little baby grandma kitten.\\

* BreadEggsBreadedEggs:

* ForWantOfANail: In the beginning, Fiona's parents were literally ''seconds'' away from signing away [[HeroicSacrifice their kingdom and lives]] for Fiona's freedom, only for a messenger to break in reporting that someone saved Fiona, causing them to tear up the contract and leave Rumpelstiltskin in the dust. [[spoiler:In the alternate timeline where Shrek was never born, the messenger didn't arrive since Fiona wasn't rescued by anyone, causing the contract to be signed and letting Rumpelstiltskin take over.]]

-->'''Rumpelstiltskin''': "Maybe we could make a deal for it, little boy."\\

* AccidentalHero: The opening reveals that Shrek was this for Fiona's parents and their kingdom. The two were about to make a deal with Rumpelstiltskin to "make all their problems go away" in exchange for the crown, but then a messenger announced at the last moment that their daughter had been rescued. In the alternate timeline, [[spoiler:the deal goes through, and Harold and Lillian ''disappear''

* RageBreakingPoint: Overwhelmed by the chaos during his kids' first birthday party, Shrek vents his anger with a roar and storms off.

* AnAesop:
** You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.
** Appreciate what you have or it may end up becoming what you once had.
** If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
** True love isn’t always love at first sight.
** {{Be careful what you wish for}}.

* AteItAll: At the party, the three pigs ate the cake that was meant for the party.

* FakeBetterAlternateTimeline: When Shrek wants to be feared again, Rumpelstiltskin puts him into another timeline. He gets to be feared again, which he likes, but then it turns out that in this timeline, he was never born. This means that his kids (naturally) don't exist, Rumpelstiltskin became king after killing Fiona's parents, Puss has become a pampered FatSlob, and Fiona becomes a warlike leader of a rebel group of ogres.

* WoundedGazelleGambit: What Rumpelstiltskin uses to meet Shrek. He's trapped under his carriage à la Wicked Witch of the East, with one of the front wheels off.

->''[[Music/StevieWonder ♫ For once in my life, I have someone who needs me\\

Somehow I know I'll be strong! ♫]]''

** Near the end of the storybook, the supporting villains from ''WesternAnimation/ShrekTheThird''[[note]]One of the sentient trees, two witches, a midget (which might be that movie's Rumpelstiltskin), the cyclops, Captain Hook, and an executioner[[/note]] are seen in the page of Far Far Away finally at peace, in reference to the final scene where [[HeelFaceTurn the villains had turned a corner from]] [[BadassPacifist Arthur Pendragon's]] [[YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre speech]].

* GrandFinale: The movie was intended to act as "the final chapter" in the ''Shrek'' franchise, though recently there have been rumors about a fifth one in the works or even a reboot.

** The Rumpelstiltskins in ''The Third'' and ''Forever After'' are nothing alike. It's certainly not a SpeciesSurname either because (thanks to a huge ArtShift) they don't even look like the same species.

** The Pied Piper appears but for a second in a throwaway gag in the first film. Again... he looks nothing like how he does in the fourth film.

** The Pied Piper shows off his abilities by playing the riff to [[Music/BeastieBoys "Sure Shot"]] and making the witches break out in dance. Jeremy Steig, who performs the Pied Piper's fluting in the movie, is the artist behind the song that "Sure Shot's" main riff is sampled from. Coincidentally, he's also the son of the author behind the original ''Shrek'' book.

** Appreciate what you have.

** Near the end of the storybook, the supporting villains from *WesternAnimation/ShrekTheThird*[[note]]One of the sentient trees, two witches, a midget (which might be that movie's Rumpelstiltskin), the cyclops, Captain Hook, and an executioner[[/note]] are seen in the page of Far Far Away finally at peace, in reference to the final scene where [[HeelFaceTurn the villains had turned a corner from]] [[BadassPacifist Arthur Pendragon's]] [[YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre speech]].

** The Pied Piper shows off his abilities by playing the riff to [[Music/BeastieBoys "Sure Shot"]] and making the witches break out in dance. Jeremy Stieg, who performs the Pied Piper's fluting in the movie, is the artist behind the song that "Sure Shot"'s riff is sampled from. Coincidentally, he's also the son of the author behind the original Shrek book.