Matthew Lewis’s review published on Letterboxd:
It's a great feeling when something you have high expectations for overperforms on those expectations. This last week I went through the entire Shrek series in preparation for this film, and when I hit the lulls that was Shrek the Third & Shrek: Forever After, I was honestly wondering if The Last Wish would be worth it. Turns out it was MORE than worth it; in fact The Last Wish is one of the best animated films I've ever seen.
I don't need to say what makes the animation so great. It absolutely speak for itself. Between this and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse I kinda want every new animated films to be made like this. If these two films create a revolution in the animated film industry for once I'll actually be optimistic about something.
When you consider just how much happens in this film and how many characters are in it, this shouldn't work, but this is a film where second isn't wasted. Can't think of a moment that I'd cut or shorten, everything informs something or someone. Does more in 102 minutes that some film can't do in 180 minutes.
Perhaps what impresses me the most though is the villains. The Shrek franchise overall does not have a great track record with villains, with only Shrek 2 having an especially good antagonist. The Last Wish has THREE very different antagonists that on their own could carry the film...and yet they're all here and they all work PERFECTLY. To remove one of them would just ruin the film honestly.
An absolutely tremendous film. The kind of cinema experience I yearn for. So incredible that a franchise once considered dead could come back to life like this. I'll take a Shrek 5 like this in a heartbeat.
