Rumpelstiltskin tricks a mid-life crisis burdened Shrek into allowing himself to be erased from existence and cast in a dark alternate timeline where Rumpelstiltskin rules supreme.
The once hideous ogre Shrek (Mike Myers) is now living a good life with wife Fiona (Cameron Diaz) and his three children. But he soon has a meltdown in front of them and his friends during his kids' birthday party. He suddenly wants to be a real ogre like he was before he ever met Fiona. So he turns to devious dealmaker Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn) for help. At first, Shrek lives the life he once lost and everything is good. But he soon finds out that he has been set up by Rumpelstiltskin, who now rules the land with an iron fist. Teaming with friends Donkey (Eddie Murphy), Fiona, and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas), Shrek is in for the fight of his life as he tries to get his life back before time runs out.—Blazer346
Bored with his routine life as a middle-aged family father, and missing the days when he was a feared ogre, Shrek (Mike Myers) makes a deal with the rogue Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn) that ends up terribly wrong and threatens to change the lives of those he loves forever, and even his own existence.—MadMovieManiac
Bored of being a family man and celebrity amongst the villagers, Shrek (Mike Myers) makes a deal with the sneaky Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn) to relieve his days of being feared and reviled. He is then transported to an alternate reality where he was never born, he never met Fiona (Cameron Diaz) and Rumpelstiltskin rules the land. Shrek is soon in a race against time to restore his world before he vanishes for good.—Tom Daly
Shrek (Mike Myers), who now has three kids, Fergus, Farkle, and Felicia, is tired of having the doing the same thing everyday. He wishes he could be a real ogre again when people were afraid of him. After having an angry meltdown at his kids' birthday party, he meets a little man named Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn), who offers him a deal where he can be a real ogre like he used to be for one day, as long as he takes one day back from his life. Shrek agrees, and at first enjoys it, but he then realizes that he took back the day he was born, and Rumpelstiltskin tells him that when the day ends, so will he (Shrek). Now Shrek must find Fiona (Cameron Diaz) and share True Love's Kiss before sunrise in order to get his life back.
In a flashback, King Harold (John Cleese) and Queen Lillian (Julie Andrews) are about to sign the kingdom of Far Far Away over to "Rumpel" Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn), in exchange for lifting their daughter Princess Fiona's (Cameron Diaz) curse. The deal is canceled at the last second when a messenger informs the king and queen that Fiona has been rescued. In the present time, an angry Rumpel laments his loss and wishes that Fiona's rescuer; Shrek (Mike Myers), was never born.Meanwhile, Shrek has grown steadily weary of being a family man and celebrity among the villagers, leading him to long for when he was feared and had privacy. When he takes his family to a restaurant in Far Far Away to celebrate his children's first birthday, an escalating series of mishaps further injure his ego, causing him to walk out in anger.
Having observed the outburst, Rumpel follows Shrek and arranges for him to appear to save his life. Inside Rumpel's carriage, Shrek laments that he is no longer a "real ogre". Pretending to thank Shrek for his good deed earlier, Rumpel offers Shrek a deal: A Day as a "real ogre" in exchange for a day from his childhood. Shrek signs the contract and is whisked away into an alternate reality.Now feared by the villagers, Shrek takes the opportunity to cause some lighthearted mischief until he finds that Fiona is a fugitive and his home deserted and desolate. Knocked out and kidnapped by witches, he wakes up in a caged cart driven by Donkey (Eddie Murphy), who has never met him. Donkey tells Shrek he's being taken to Rumpel, now the king of the derelict Far Far Away.
Rumpel reveals that he erased the day Shrek was born, meaning Shrek never existed in this alternate time-line. Consequently, Harold and Lillian were forced to sign the kingdom over to Rumpel. When the day ends, Shrek will no longer exist. He escapes Rumpel's castle with Donkey. Initially terrified of Shrek, Donkey decides to trust him after seeing him cry over his erased history. Donkey helps Shrek find a hidden exit clause; the contract can be nullified by "true love's kiss".They soon encounter a still-cursed Fiona leading an army of ogres in a resistance against Rumpel. Shrek discovers a lazy and overweight Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) being kept as Fiona's pet. Shrek does everything he can to win over Fiona, but she is cynical and disillusioned about the power of true love after nobody rescued her, and she's too busy preparing for an ambush on Rumpel. While sparring with Shrek, Fiona begins to take a liking to him, but they stop short of kissing. Puss encourages Shrek to continue pursuing Fiona.
During the ambush, the ogres are captured by the Pied Piper (Jeremy Steig), but Shrek and Fiona escape with the help of Puss and Donkey. Shrek insists that Fiona kiss him, assuring her that it will fix everything; she reluctantly obliges, but nothing happens since she's not in love. When he hears that Rumpel is offering a wish to the one who brings him Shrek, Shrek turns himself in. Rumpel is forced to grant the wish to Shrek, and he uses it to free the other ogres. They storm the castle, battle the witches, and capture Rumpel. But Fiona has been imprisoned by Rumpel as she was never all ogre.As the sun rises, Shrek begins to fade from existence. Having fallen in love with him, Fiona kisses Shrek just before he disappears. Seeing that she's still an ogre in the sunlight, Fiona realizes her curse was broken and that she's assumed "love's true form". The alternate reality disintegrates, and everyone disappears with Rumpel being the last to vanish. Shrek is transported back to the original time-line before he lost his temper at the party. Instead of lashing out, he embraces family and friends with a newfound appreciation.
In a mid-credits scene, Rumpel is arrested by the villagers and is put in a cage as punishment.
