Shrek: Difference between revisions

In the first movie (2001), '''Shrek''' is driven into conflict with [[Getting Crap Past the Radar|Lord Farquaad]], who banishes all magical creatures from his kingdom, forcing them to seek refuge in Shrek's swamp. He teams up with an annoying talking donkey named Donkey, and is forced to rescue Princess Fiona ([[Cameron Diaz]]) for him so Farquaad would give him the swamp back. However, Fiona's previously-unknown curse, and Shrek falling in love with her, disrupt Farquaad's plans to become a king by marrying a princess.

In ''[[Shrek 2]]'' (2004), Fiona, [[Late Arrival Spoiler|now an ogress]] and Shrek's wife, travels with him to the kingdom of Far Far Away, ruled by her parents. Meanwhile, Prince Charming, who was supposed to rescue Fiona instead of Shrek, desires the kingdom for himself, helped by his mother, the [[Fairy Godmother]]. He first tries to dispose of Shrek by deploying Puss-in-Boots, a famous ogre hunter, but the cat ends up [[Heel Face Turn|becoming friends with Shrek and Donkey]]. After Shrek drinks a potion that temporarily makes him and Fiona human, the [[Fairy Godmother]] makes Charming pose as the human Shrek.

In ''[[Shrek the Third]]'' (2007), King Harold dies, leaving the ogre couple as his successors, and Shrek, unable to accept this fate, leaves Far Far Away to search for another heir to the throne, a teenage loser named [[King Arthur|Arthur Pendragon]]. Meanwhile, Prince Charming rallies various fairy tale villains and organizes a coup, taking over Far Far Away, and Fiona (pregnant with Shrek's kids) assembles her own team of fairy tale princesses to confront him.

In ''[[Shrek Forever After]]'' (2010), Shrek, now a domesticated family man, longs for the days when he felt like a "real ogre" and is duped into signing a pact with the smooth-talking dealmaker Rumpelstiltskin. Shrek suddenly finds himself in a twisted, alternate version of Far Far Away, where ogres are hunted, Rumpelstiltskin is king and Shrek and Fiona have never met. Now, it's up to Shrek to undo all he's done in the hopes of saving his friends, restoring his world and reclaiming his one True Love.

Notorious for its humor, both witty and slapstick, for turning everything we knew from fairy tales upside-down, and for a ridiculously modern feel of its medieval fantasy setting. The first film's huge success (combined with it easily outdrawing the [[Disney Animated Canon]] entry ''[[Atlantis: The Lost Empire|Atlantis the Lost Empire]]'', which opened a month later) convinced Dreamworks that 2D is dead, and scrapped their 2D films all together, "apologized" for them, and even convinced other executives in the same idea, paving the way for all films thereafter -- itthereafter—it is unclear if 2D films will regain top priority again. It was the first film to win the Academy Award's Best Animated Feature category. ''Shrek'' and its sequels are Dreamworks' defining hits, "Fiona's Theme" plays during the studio's [[Vanity Plate]] in all their animated films now, and the character of Shrek is now their unofficial mascot.

** The Spanish dub substitutes Puss' generic Spanish accent for a thick Malaga accent (Banderas is from Malaga). Keep in mind Banderas voices Puss in the English, Spanish, and Mexican versions.

* [[Acrofatic]]: Shrek -- andShrek—and all ogres -- areogres—are exceptionally nimble and agile for their size.

** She gets it from her mother, who is now a [[Retired Badass]] (she can smash through a wall with her head with no problem even in her old age.).

* [[Adaptational Villainy]]: Played straight and inverted for different characters. [[The Big Bad Wolf]] is one of the heroes (and, in the third film, so is one of the Ugly Stepsisters) while some traditionally malevolent fairytale creatures like Dragon and the ogres are for the most part sympathetic. On the other hand, Red Riding Hood is a thief while Lancelot and GuenivereGuenevere are both [[Jerkass|Jerkasses]]es who mistreat a young [[King Arthur]], and Geppetto, far from the benevolent father figure he is usually depicted as, is seen turning in Pinocchio.

* [[Arbitrary Skepticism]]: Several instances. For example, In ''Scared Shrekless'', Donkey refuses to believe that Farquaad's ghost haunts Duloc castle. Even though he has in fact ''seen and interacted with'' Farquaad's ghost.

* [[Beta Couple]]: Donkey and Dragon.

** And Friar's Fat Boy, a play on the family restaurant chain Big Boy. (At the time, Big Boy restaurants were named after the franchisee, such as Bob's Big Boy or Frisch's Big Boy.)

** There's a similar case in the original Shrek. Who's that right at the end turning the onion and mice into a carriage? {{spoiler|Hint: It's the [[Fairy Godmother]].}}

* [[The Genie Knows Jack Nicholson]]: Explains why [[Getting Crap Past the Radar|Hooters]] can exist in a pseudo-fairy tale environmenenvironment, as well as a vast majority of the [[Schizo-Tech]].

* [[Killed Off for Real]]: {{spoiler|King Harold}} in the third film. {{spoiler|Mama Bear}} in the first; note the rug in Farquaad's room (unless the dance along is canon), {{spoiler|Lord Farquaad}}, {{spoiler|[[Fairy Godmother]]}}. {{spoiler|Prince Charming's fate at the end of the third film is rather unclear, but it's possible he's dead too.}}

** Lord Farquaad and Prince Charming also have their moments (Charming especially during the climax of ''Shrek the Third'': "With soft and bouncy haaaaaaaaiiiiiiir!").

* [[Lost in Translation]]: In some versions, like the norwegianNorwegian one, Shrek is called a "troll". This is because of there not being an equivalent to the word "ogre" in their vocabularies.

* [[Sequel Reset]]: The first movie literally ended with [[Happily Ever After]], but the sequels have been putting that off ever since. The second film reveals there was in fact an actual Prince Charming that was supposed to break the curse on Fiona, and that her royal parents are still around; the action picks up after the lovers' honeymoon as they're forced to meet her parents, causing another go-round of problems regarding Shrek's self-esteem. The amusing new characters as well as ones who got expanded roles helped mitigate this for audiences, but reaction to the third film (where Shrek now has to get out of being king if he ever hopes to live out his life in the swamp, and the loose end of 2 involving Prince Charming's fate is brought up) suggests the formula is wearing thin. And the fourth movie does a [[Reset Button|total resentreset]] with time[[Time travelTravel]].

* [[Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome]]: King Harold in ''Shrek 2'' has a good example of a non-death [[Heroic Sacrifice]], as he throws himself in the path of the [[Fairy Godmother]]'s wand to save Shrek and Fiona, which reflects the spell and turns the Fairy Godmother into bubbles. The result is that his previous 'happy ending' is removed and he is turned back to the frog he was. But he's still alive at the end of the movie, and his wife doesn't mind his being a frog at all. Unfortunately, within the first act of ''Shrek the Third'', King Harold, well, [[Incredibly Lame Pun|croaks]].

* [[Torches and Pitchforks]]: In the opening scene of ''[[Shrek]]'', the ogre is obviously used to angry mobs coming to drive him out of his hut, as he easily scares one of them off, even prompting them at one point, [[This Is the Part Where|"This is the part where you run away."]] He later [[Lampshade Hanging|hangs a lampshade on it]] when speaking to Donkey.

* [[The Ugly GuysGuy's Hot Daughter]]: A rare gender reversal with the stout, homely looking [[Fairy Godmother]] being mother to the handsome Prince Charming.

== Shrek ==

* [[Adaptation Expansion]]: Adapted from a children's book approximately 500 words long; almost nothing in the movie other than the characters of Shrek and Donkey -- [[Ascended Extra|who appeared for only one page as a random encounter]] -- actually—actually came from the book.

** Also, the dragon made a brief appearance under totally different circumstances, and the role of the Knight from the book and Lord Farquaad from the film are suspiciously similar -- bothsimilar—both are [[Jerkass]] versions of characters who would usually be the good guy in fairy tales, who end up acting as the primary villain.

What he's basically saying is that he likes to get--PAID! }}

"Shine your shoes, wipe your--''(bend over and turn around, exposing butt-cracks)'' [[Subverted Rhyme Every Occasion|FACE]]!" }}

* [[Curse Escape Clause]]: Fiona was cursed to be an ogre at night and a human during the day. The curse was broken by [[True Love's Kiss]]. GoodThe thingsecond itfilm wasn'timplies justit was ''anysupposed'' trueto make her permanently human but then again, that was supposed to be the result if she kissed the Human Prince love..Charming.

'''Donkey:''' Uh, no, not really, no. }}

* [[Girl in the Tower]]: Lampshaded.

'''Farquaad:''' Indeed. }}

'''Shrek:''' Huh? [[Unusually Uninteresting Sight|Oh, would you look at that]]. }}

* [[Minsky Pickup]]: Robin Hood's song.

'''Shrek:''' Alright, Donkey, I forgive you... ''for stabbing me in the back!'' }}

* [[Taking a Third Option]]: When Donkey is cut off on a small bridge segment by Dragon, he has two apparent options, neither of them good: He can jump (or fall) off into the lava, or be eaten. Instead, ''he seduces the dragon.''.

'''Pinocchio:''' ''You're thirty-four and need a shave!'' }}

* [[Counterpoint Duet|Counterpoint Trio]]: Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey during "Who I'd Be.".

Are the things that make us strong!"'' }}

'''Farquaad's Father:''' ''Abandoned'' you?! You were twenty-eight! ''[[Basement Dweller|And living in my basement!]]'' }}

'''Donkey:''' Oh look, a sign! Yunita Pal Avenue straight ahead! }}

* [[Madness Mantra]]: Fiona in "I Know It's Today:": ''"And the waiting and the waiting and the waiting and the waiiiiitiiiiiing!"''

* [[Solo Duet|Solo Trio]]: Fiona with her 10-year old self and teenage self in "I Know It's Today.".

'''Gnome:''' Stop mailing all those sweet but slightly threatening fanletters to [[The Little Mermaid]]? }}

I'll be what you want!"'' }}

* [[Triumphant Reprise]]: "Big Bright Beautiful World.". The first version is a cynical opening number about how it's awesome being anything ''but'' an ogre. The reprise is a tender song about how Shrek's life has become worthwhile.

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Not to be confused with [[User:Looney Toons|Looney Toons]], whose last name is pronounced "Shrek" but is spelled with a few more letters. No matter how much amusement the whole deal givesgave his late mother.

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