The princess is voiced by Cameron Diaz

Shrek made $42.3m (�29m) in its opening weekend in cinemas earlier this year.

Craig Kornblau of Universal, which distributes the film, said the company was doing its best to keep up with demand, which has caused some stores to sell out.

"We have been completely overwhelmed with re-orders," he said.

But Disney's The Lion King reigns as the top-grossing animated film and top selling video ever.

It earned $340m (�233m) in its first six days of release on video in 1995, when the public snapped up 20m VHS copies.

Shrek DVDs have been a big seller - some $2.5m (�1.7m) in the three days - the fastest selling title this year, surpassing Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.

Lord Farquaad tortures the Gingerbread Man

Universal, which distributes the film, reports that another 4.5 million VHS copies of the movie were purchased.

Shrek is now behind three Disney films in the all-time list of animated blockbusters.

The movie features a flatulent green ogre with a Scottish accent (Mike Myers) looking for love with a talking donkey for a companion (Eddie Murphy).

He meets the beautiful Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz), and does battle with the evil Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow).

Shrek was the project of Jeffrey Katzenberg, one of the co-founders of DreamWorks

Katzenberg had a long and very public legal battle with Disney, his former employers and animated film rivals, when he left the studio.