History YMMV / ShrekTheMusical

* HardToAdaptWork: Some argue this is why the show failed. ''WesternAnimation/Shrek1'' was designed to be the SpiritualAntithesis of the Disney Renaissance movies, being a self-aware parody that deliberately lampoons, mocks, and plays with many traditional Disney tropes, especially original musical numbers, which the movie goes out of its way to thwart (such as Shrek yelling at Donkey to stop singing, the bird blowing up when Fiona tries to sing to it, and Fiona beating up a bunch of thieves who attempt to do a musical number) in favor of using pop culture songs. To put it briefly, attempting to translate ''Shrek'', a deliberately ''anti''-musical film, into a traditional Broadway musical in [[FollowTheLeader the same vein]] as the Disney broadway shows was always doomed to fail to some extent, as doing so partly misses the point of the original film and why it was successful.

* HardToAdaptWork: Some argue this is the biggest problem with the musical and why it failed. ''WesternAnimation/Shrek1'' was designed to be the SpiritualAntithesis of the Disney Renaissance movies, being a self-aware parody that deliberately lampoons, mocks, and plays with many traditional Disney tropes, especially original musical numbers, which the movie goes out of its way to thwart (such as Shrek yelling at Donkey to stop singing, the bird blowing up when Fiona tries to sing to it, and Fiona beating up a bunch of thieves who attempt to do a musical number) in favor of using pop culture songs. To put it briefly, attempting to translate ''Shrek'', a deliberately ''anti''-musical film, into a traditional Broadway musical in [[FollowTheLeader the same vein]] as the Disney broadway shows was always doomed to fail to some extent, as doing so partly misses the point of the original film and why it was successful.

* HardToAdaptWork: Some argue this is the biggest problem with the musical and why it failed. ''WesternAnimation/Shrek1'' was designed to be the SpiritualAntithesis of the Disney Renaissance movies, being a self-aware parody that deliberately lampoons, mocks, and plays with many traditional Disney tropes, especially original musical numbers, which the movie goes out of its way to thwart (such as Shrek yelling at Donkey to stop singing, the bird blowing up when Fiona tries to sing to it, and Fiona beating up a bunch of thieves who attempt to do a musical number) in favor of using pop culture songs. To put it briefly, attempting to translate ''Shrek'' into a traditional Broadway musical in the same vein as the Disney was always doomed to fail to some extent, as doing so partly misses the point of the original film and why it was successful.

* UncannyValley: In some productions (including the original Broadway cast), many of the characters look a bit ''off'' compared to their animated counterparts. For example, Shrek's blend of human facial features (such as smaller eyes) and ogre prosthetics can make him look less endearing than the film version. Human!Fiona also looks more made-up and less natural than her already slightly uncanny film incarnation, with a less flattering hairstyle.

** Shrek himself. While Brian D'Arcy James puts on a fantastic performance and the prosthetic work used to bring Shrek to life is excellent, many people especially {{Webvideo/Schaffrillasproductions}} feel that being a singing character in a musical completely ruins the point of his film counterpart, who disliked singing and didn't open up to others easily.

** Shrek himself. While Brian D'Arcy James puts on a fantastic performance and the prosthetic work used to bring Shrek to life is excellent, many people especially '''Webvideo/Schaffrillasproductions feel that being a singing character in a musical completely ruins the point of his film counterpart, who disliked singing and didn't open up to others easily.

** Shrek himself. While Brian D'Arcy James puts on a fantastic performance and the prosthetic work used to bring Shrek to life is excellent, many people feel that being a singing character in a musical completely ruins the point of his film counterpart, who disliked singing and didn't open up to others easily.

** Shrek himself. While Brian D'Arcy James puts on a fantastic performance and the prosthetic work used to bring Shrek to life is excellent, many people feel that being a singing character in a musical completely ruins the point of his film counterpart, who disliked singing and didn't open up to others easily. WebVideo/SchaffrillasProductions argued that perhaps having Shrek as a non-singing character until he starts to open up to others would have better emphasized his CharacterDevelopment and also been a TruerToTheText adaptation of his film counterpart.

** Most of the songs. The whole damn musical is show-stoppers everywhere.

** Shrek himself. While Brian D'Arcy James puts on a fantastic performance and the prosthetic work used to bring Shrek to life is excellent, many people feel that being a singing character in a musical completely ruins the point of his film counterpart, who disliked singing and didn't open up to others easily. Creators such as WebVideo/SchaffrillasProductions argue that having Shrek as a non-singing character until he starts to open up to others would have better emphasized his CharacterDevelopment and also been a TruerToTheText adaptation of his film counterpart.

** Fiona. Some people praise Sutton Foster's performance to be one of the best among the cast, and find that it, along with the character's [[AdaptationExpansion additional depth and backstory]], makes her a better character than her film counterpart. Others are turned off by Musical!Fiona's more {{camp}}y aesthetic and behavior and find that it makes her too much like the Disney princesses she was meant to parody, and prefer Movie!Fiona's more natural "girl-next-door" design and mannerisms as well as her more prominent ActionGirl traits.

** Lord Farquaad, as pointed out by WebVideo/SchaffrillasProductions. While many people praise Christopher Siever's LargeHam performance and the hilarious StylisticSuck used to make him appear short (with some claiming he's more entertaining than the movie version), others dislike how Farquaad's backstory counters the main message of the ''Shrek'' franchise, given that the musical establishes him as part dwarf and yet the "heroic" characters don't stop making fun of his height, which is quite hypocritical.
* BrokenBase: Fans are divided on how good the musical and its characters are as an adaptation of the source material; some consider it more charming and superior, while others (such as WebVideo/MusicalHell and WebVideo/SchaffrillasProductions) are gleeful to tear it to pieces.

* HilariousInHindsight: It wasn't until a friend pointed it out that John Tartaglia, who has been a puppeteer most of his life, realized and appreciate the irony of playing Pinocchio, a literal puppet character.

-->'''Dragon:''' What's your name, [[TermsOfEndangerment pumpkin]]?\\

** While "Forever" is less creepy, the very beginning as Dragon appears is an exception. The ominous thrumming burns into the listener's head, setting an unsettling tone practically before they can even discern the sound.