DreamWorks is responsible for blessing us with these 4 masterpieces: How To Train Your Dragon, Shrek, Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda. So today I bring you an article written solely because a meme made me a victim of its cruelest thought experiment: if you had to delete one franchise forever, which would it be?  

So, I am not the only one stuck with making a decision, I will be helping you decide which world, and its characters, vanish into thin air. To help you wrestle this nearly impossible choice (or just sit with me in the “this is way too hard” circle), let us break down what each franchise truly holds. 

SHREK 

Starting with Shrek. Shrek is awesome; the donkey who cannot read the room, the gingerbread man who had to snitch on the muffin man to Lord Farquaad to save himself and the wannabe prince charming who is a walking red flag with a supportive mum.  

But here is the catch!!! If Shrek disappears, so does every fairy tale character that exists in the premise of Shrek (or should I say Far Far Far away) that isn’t Disney’s. No three blind mice, no big bad wolf in grandma’s nightgown, no more puss in boots, humpty dumpty and more. All of it, gone with the wind! 

Even if we soften the blow and say only the major characters vanish, we still lose Fiona and her symbolism in today’s world as a trained martial artist girl boss, Donkey’s optimism, humor and inability to get a hint and Puss in Boots’ charm, kitty eyes and dreams.  

Without Shrek, the fun and visual representation of stories and fairy tales we grew up with will be gone. Hansel and Gretel, Old woman who lived in a shoe, the Pied piper and more. With Shrek gone, all these “non-Disney” characters that only existed as nursery rhymes or folklore would fade back to being nursery rhymes. Sheesh, I can’t imagine a world where I can’t say “Redonkeylous”, “Are we there yet? (in donkey’s voice)”, “I like that boulder. That is a nice boulder.” and no one gets the reference. 

MADAGASCAR  

Moving on. As a person whose spirit animal and last braincell is Mort. A world without Mort sounds like h*ll, as that takes away half of my daily vocal stimulation. While Madagascar itself is about 4 pampered zoo animals Alex, Marty, Gloria and Melman who stumble into freedom. But… 

Here is the kicker! If Madagascar disappears, so does the heart of comedy, King Julien. The iconic guy behind, “You can’t run around like a footless chicken…How’s a chicken supposed run around without feet…I’m not the chicken Maurice, why are you asking me all these questions.” The king of “move it move it”. Mort and his unsettling obsession with King Julien’s feet also vanishes from the earth (sheesh). 

And guess what, The penguins of Madagascar goes with them too. So to delete Madagascar is to delete fun in its most chaotic form. 

NEXT UP KUNG FU PANDA 

Do you really want to see Po disappear, the noodle loving panda who dreams of kung fu but can barely climb a set of stairs and yet, he is chosen as the dragon warrior.  

If Kung Fu Panda disappears, the loss is going to be devastating. No more dumpling filled training, no more furious 5 (Tigress, Monkey, Mantis, Viper and Crane), no more master Shifu and no more Master Oogway, the tortoise behind “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift” 

Without Kung Fu Panda, we lose animated kung fu battles between animals in “The Valley of Peace” a bamboo valley. Remember when Po discovers that the Dragon Scroll is blank and “there is no secret ingredient”. We lose watching the journey of a soft, cute and smooshy panda who thinks his dad is a goose that runs a noodle shop can change the world.  

Deleting Kung Fu Panda means erasing a franchise that made animated kung fu look cooler and funnier than actual kung fu (well that’s what I think at least). 

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 

Hiccup and Toothless. A boy who doesn’t fit in as a Viking warrior and his best friend, a dragon that he was supposed to hunt down. If this franchise disappears, we lose that bond entirely. No story of a boy learning to lead by love and compassion instead of just going with what ancestors and society decided was right (in this case, violence) 

Deleting this franchise means erasing Hiccup secretly building a tail fin so Toothless can fly again. No more “We’re Vikings, it’s an occupational hazard” from Gobber. No more Astrid rolling her eyes at Hiccup before realizing he’s actually changing the world. Don’t forget their love story will be gone too.  

We lose the villains, too. Drago Bludvist with his army of enslaved dragons and Grimmel, the hunter, obsessed with wiping out Night Furies. Without them, there’s no story of Hiccup and his loving heart.  

Obviously, there are tons of shows about dragons but erasing a toothless and every dragon from How to Train Your Dragon is a different kind of loss. Each dragon is a character on its own with different personalities, quirks and braincells.  

Choose Wisely. The fate of the world is in your hands…………