However, Mr Perriam's concerns over the late Shrek's appearance on TVNZ's Seven Sharp have since been allayed and the exhibition is back on track to open at the Wellington museum on October 31.
In a recent email to Te Papa, copied to the Otago Daily Times, Mr Perriam said he was in a ''state of shock'' over the story aired on September 2, in which co-presenter Mike Hosking poked fun at Shrek.
Hosking said: ''It's just a sheep'' and he ''didn't really care'' when Shrek died three years ago.
Mr Perriam said in his email the ''Dirty Politics'' debate ''pales into insignificance'' alongside Hosking's treatment of the story.
The show also featured footage of Shrek's frozen carcass being delivered to the taxidermist - which Mr Perriam had understood was to be used in a future documentary - and the mounted Shrek straight out of a storage box at Te Papa.
''It's just like dragging Mike Hosking out of a box after two years with no clothes and no make up on,'' Mr Perriam told the ODT.
''You don't just drag a sheep out of a paddock and take it to the Christchurch A&P show and you certainly don't do that when you're putting something in front of New Zealand as a very special exhibition.''
In his email, Mr Perriam said he had not seen the finished Shrek at Te Papa and ''from what I saw of it on TV One last night it is far from what the people of New Zealand would want to remember him by.
''It is with regret that I ask for my approval for his display at Te Papa in its current form to be withdrawn.''
However, Mr Perriam told the ODT last week the exhibition would proceed as planned following ''meaningful'' discussions with Seven Sharp and assurances from Te Papa curators they would ''show the full picture'' in the display.
While the television story was ''certainly not befitting of the legendary Shrek'' and a ''huge number'' of people shared his disappointment, it was best to move on.
''The story's so big and so special for the children of New Zealand ... that we just have to get it over the line and help Te Papa as much as we can.''
Te Papa communications adviser Cherie McQuilkin said museum staff shared Mr Perriam's goal of displaying Shrek in a way which ''really reflects all of his achievements ... and his amazing life''.
Mr Perriam will visit Te Papa this week and apply the ''finishing touches'' to Shrek - particularly around his face - to restore his ''personality''.
The opening ceremony will be attended by Mr Perriam and family, as well as pupils from Tarras School.
In the seven years after his discovery on Bendigo Station in 2004 Shrek's public appearances raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Cure Kids.
His preserved body has been at Te Papa since April 2013.
