Shrek

Shrek is a green humanoid ogre once living alone with a resentment towards those who judged him by appearance. He would open up after meeting his best friend Donkey and wife Fiona, having a new perspective on society's views towards ogres. This would lead Shrek to become heir to the kingdom of Far Far Away, and raise three children.
He was originally created by American author William Steig in his 1990 picture book, Shrek!. Shrek was originally voiced by Chris Farley, but due to his death in 1997, the role was given to Mike Myers. In the musical, Shrek was played principally by Brian D'Arcy James.
== Biography ==
Shrek is a gigantic, green-skinned, physically intimidating ogre with a Scottish accent. In Shrek Forever After, it is revealed that he is much smaller than the average ogre. Even though much of his past is unknown, according to Shrek the Musical, it is revealed that Shrek was sent away by his parents on his seventh birthday, because it was a tradition among all ogres. (The original book also has his parents evicting from their swamp.) He is seen traveling alone, being either screamed at or teased by passers-by. The only time he receives a pleasant greeting is a wave from a young Fiona, who is promptly led away by her parents. In the book, his parents threw him away from the dark hole where he had hatched.
== Personality and Traits ==
Before meeting Donkey and Fiona, Shrek lived a solitary life, preferring not to associate himself with others due to people's fear of him, while occasionally playing on their fear to frighten away intruders. During his quest to rescue Fiona and get his swamp back, however, Shrek slowly begins to open up to his companions, revealing his insecurities about how others perceive him. With assistance from Donkey, Shrek realizes his feelings for Fiona and confesses his love for her during her wedding to Lord Farquaad. He’s fiercely protective of Fiona and his allies and he’ll go to great lengths to help them in any way.
Since marrying Fiona, Shrek would have been deathly afraid of the prospect of having children, possibly due to his own upbringing as an ogre. By the end of Shrek the Third, however, he overcomes this fear and proves to be a caring and loving father.
In Shrek Forever After, however, Shrek, despite having become a celebrity and family man, was shown to miss his days of being a real ogre and had long for the old days. During his children's first birthday, his ego was further injured due to several mishaps at the party and this cause Shrek to become so pressured this made him lose his temper and even go as far as to smash the birthday cake and lash out at Fiona in anger. Because of this, along with his feeling of desiderium, this led to him to commit a reckless and careless action in which he signed Rumpelstiltskin's Ogre for a day contract, without even realizing that he'll vanish from existence after that day was up. Upon realizing what he had done later on, he wept in regret and shame, knowing that because of his mistake he'll never see his family again. However, upon seeing Fiona again in an alternate reality, he was overjoyed at first, but that turn to dismay when she tells him that she doesn't know him. After he was able to fulfill the 'exit clause' of the contract, Shrek expressed surprise upon seeing that he's back in his own reality to the time where he was about to lash out. Upon seeing his family again, he found a great and newfound appreciation for them.
In the original William Stieg book, Shrek was much more villainous and had none of the heroic traits he has in the films. He took great pride in his ogre heritage, stole food from random peasants and liked to cause trouble for the people around him, living up to everyone's perception of him as a big, scary monster. He was also shown to be clever, as he used his magical powers to outsmart his foes.
== History ==
=== Early life ===
Shrek was born to an unnamed father and mother about thirty years prior to when he rescued Fiona. He lived with his parents before he was sent away on his 7th birthday. His father allegedly wanted to eat him by bathing him in barbecue sauce and making him sleep with an apple in his mouth, a memory that might cause his own trauma and his fear of fatherhood. Although they didn't want him to go, they had to follow the "ogre traditions”.
Shrek lived alone in a swamp in the middle of the forest. At first, he appears to like his privacy and enjoys scaring people, but never harmed them. He enjoyed his own life at his home like taking mud baths, brushing his teeth with bug paste to make breath nastier and stinkier, and farting in his pool. Even though his background is unknown, it is assumed that most ogres harm people, although Shrek wasn't violent, yet he was still thought of as an evil, intimidating, and hideous ogre to most. He does woodwork sometimes.
=== Shrek ===
Shrek was living a normal day in his swamp and one evening, he noticed a group of townsfolk armed with torches and pitchforks, who attempt to hunt him down. Sneaking up from behind them, Shrek manages to send them running. When he noticed and picked up a poster that one of the townsfolk left behind, he soon threw away not really caring about it. The poster was revealed to be a wanted poster for all fairytale creatures. One day in the forest, a talking Donkey came across Shrek while being pursued by a group of guards who work for Lord Farquaad, the lord of Duloc. The Captain of the Duloc Guards declare to Shrek that he is under arrest but slowly grew fearful as the ogre approaches them. Shrek effortlessly scares them off and saves Donkey. A grateful Donkey thanks Shrek repeatedly (to the latter's irritation) and the ogre convinces him to spend the night outside of Shrek's house. However, more fairy tale creatures soon arrive and begin to overcrowd his swamp. Shrek demands to know why they have come and learns that Farquaad has dumped them all there. Outraged, Shrek takes Donkey with him and goes to Farquaad to demand his swamp back. Upon arriving at Duloc, Shrek interrupts a tournament being held by the latter to determine which knight he will send to rescue Princess Fiona. Upon noticing Shrek, Farquaad decided to challenge the knights to kills Shrek so that the one who kills him will become champion, but Shrek easily defeats all of them, with the help of Donkey. After the latter secured victory, this intrigues Farquaad and he makes a deal with Shrek: If he rescues the princess, he will give him back his swamp.
Shrek agrees and the duo set out on a journey to the Dragon's Keep where Fiona is locked away, guarded by a fearsome dragon. But first, Shrek and Donkey have to cross the only rope bridge to the castle hanging precariously over a lake of lava. Donkey is frightened and doesn't want to go any further, but Shrek swings the bridge to get him across. Once inside, Shrek puts on armor found on the bones of knights who died trying to rescue Fiona and orders Donkey to find the stairs to the tower while Shrek himself searches for the Dragon, due to having read a storybook earlier, which made Shrek guess that the princess is likely to be "up the stairs in the highest room in the tallest tower". Donkey inadvertently awakens the dragon and Shrek is forced to fight it, only to be flung by its tail right through the roof of the tallest tower. While Donkey keeps the dragon occupied, Shrek meets Princess Fiona for the first time. Disguised as a knight Shrek is mistaken by Fiona to be her Prince Charming, though Shrek is all but chivalrous and romantic. With Fiona in tow, Shrek rushes to rescue Donkey. They are chased by the dragon all throughout the keep but narrowly escape after Shrek used a clever tactic to prevent it from chasing them even further. Fiona insists that Shrek take his helmet off so that he may kiss her, but is dismayed by the fact that her rescuer is actually an ogre. Shrek appears to not care and takes Fiona by force to Farquaad.
As nightfall approaches, Fiona demands they stop for the night, but secludes herself in a small cave for reasons unknown. That night, Shrek and Donkey bond while stargazing, and Shrek confides that he chooses to live alone because most people (except Donkey) prefer to fear and stereotype him as a scary monster rather than try to get to know him. The next day, the trio continue on to Duloc and encounter the Merry men, led by Robin Hood. During their confrontation, Fiona reveals her impressive martial arts skills. After the fight, Fiona notices an arrow in Shrek's butt and orders Donkey to find a blue flower with red thorns just to get rid of it. Despite some difficulty, Fiona manages to remove the arrow and they continue their journey, even though Donkey passed out from the sight of the arrow.
Throughout the rest of the trip back Fiona warms up to Shrek and Donkey, and Shrek begins to fall in love with Fiona. After stopping to camp at an old mill, Shrek and Fiona make dinner and almost share a kiss. However, Donkey points out that sun is setting causing Fiona to quickly retire into the mill. When bringing her a flower that evening to confess his true feelings, Shrek overhears Fiona talking to Donkey about how no one could love an ugly monster (she is really talking about herself as an ogress). This caused Shrek to falsely think thinks she's talking about him. Enraged and hurt, he goes and brings Farquaad who takes her to his castle. As promised, Shrek gets his swamp back and he is by himself once again. Donkey tries to explain what happened the night before, but Shrek thought he was talking about him behind his back and yells at him in anger and leaves him behind. Despite getting back his privacy, however, Shrek began to miss Fiona. Upon encountering Donkey, and after an intense argument, he apologizes to him, after the latter reveals that Fiona wasn't talking about him. With their friendship mended, they rode Dragon (whom Donkey started a relationship with) to Duloc.
Shrek disrupts the wedding in time and tries to talk to Fiona. However, due to being hurt by Shrek's coldness from earlier, Fiona primarily tells him that it's too late for it and prepares to kiss Farquaad, but Shrek stops her and reveals that Farquaad is marrying her just to become king, to which the latter denied by pretending to be offended. When Shrek tells her that Farquaad is not her true love, Fiona demanded him of what he knows about true love and Shrek confesses his love for her which made Farquaad tell everyone in the church that Shrek is in love with Fiona, as well as make fun of him which made everyone burst into laughter, leaving Shrek embarrassed but Fiona was moved by the ogre's feelings. When the sun begins to set, Fiona reveals to Shrek that she wanted to show him something that she wanted to show him before and she reveals her ogress form, which surprised Shrek, as he realized he misunderstood what she and Donkey were talking about the night before. However, Farquaad, shocked and disgusted that his bride has become an ogre, furiously orders that her and Shrek to be taken away. As the guards grab them, Shrek finds himself overwhelmed and outnumbered, but manages to call Donkey and Dragon. They burst through the stained-glass windows of the cathedral and Dragon eats Farquaad alive. Shrek and Fiona then do true love's kiss which caused Fiona to stay an ogress permanently. She was still unsure about herself, but Shrek assures her that she's still beautiful, and they get married. Later at the end of Shrek and Fiona's wedding, they rode off in an onion carriage to spend their honeymoon which leads to the beginning of the second film.
=== Shrek 2 ===
After returning from their honeymoon, Shrek and Fiona return to their swamp to find Donkey there, who had messed the place up. Donkey tells them he is there because his wife, Dragon, has been moody lately, and he didn't think they were together anymore. Shrek then proceeds to kick Donkey out so he and Fiona can be alone, but Donkey quickly returns, however, asking what to do about the men outside his swamp. They have arrived to deliver a letter to Fiona from her parents, King Harold and Queen Lillian, who invited her and her new husband to come to their castle at the kingdom of Far Far Away to celebrate. Shrek at first refuses to go because he knows from experience they will "sharpen their pitchforks", but Fiona thinks it as ridiculous, and assures him that because they are her parents, they will love them just the way they are. Shrek still refuses, but Fiona makes him go anyway.
Donkey tags along, as well, and after a long, annoying carriage ride to her parents' kingdom, a grand entrance awaits them at the castle. When Shrek and Fiona stepped out of their carriage, all of the townspeople present gasp in shock at the sight of them, as Shrek expected. Queen Lillian expressed surprise upon seeing her daughter with Shrek, but King Harold was shocked beyond belief. As Shrek and Fiona approach them, her parents (mostly Harold) quietly bicker about Fiona's appearance. Shrek is polite as he can be and tries to make jokes, but her parents only stare at him unamused. At dinner, the mood was awkward, but when Lillian mentions grandchildren, Shrek chokes on a spoon, indicating the thought terrifies him. Harold finally cannot hold back on his prejudice and begins to insult Shrek about him being an ogre and what he's done to his daughter. Shrek responds kindly by criticizing his parenting skills, since they locked Fiona in a tower. Their fight intensifies and turns into a food fight. Fiona, humiliated by both of them, storms off to her childhood bedroom.
Shrek, feeling bad, goes to apologize to her, but finds her door is locked. He and Donkey push the door open, to find Fiona with a fairy-godmother and a room full of talking furniture. The fairy-godmother explains that she wants to make them happy, but Shrek rudely dismisses her and orders Fiona to pack her bags. Fiona accuses Shrek of not trying to get along with her father (even though Shrek was and the fact that her father started the whole fight) and Shrek says that whether or not her parents like it, he is an ogre and that won't change. Fiona tells him to think about the changes she made for him and leaves the room, heartbroken. That night, Shrek can't sleep and looks around the room, finding Fiona's childhood diary. He is petrified to find that almost all of the pages are written and signed "Mrs. Fiona Charming." Then there is a knock at the door, and Shrek unlocks it to find Harold, who apologizes and tells Shrek he wants to make it up to him. He tells Shrek to meet him in the forest in the morning so they can have some "father-son bonding." Shrek suspiciously agrees and leaves with Donkey the next morning. However, they are attacked by an orange cat wearing boots, Puss 'N Boots. Puss slashes Shrek's inner thigh and Donkey attempts to kick Puss, but proves to be no match for the feline's agility and only manages to hit Shrek in the groin.
However, Puss soon caves and in panic, spills that King Harold hired him to kill Shrek. Angry and feeling betrayed, Shrek remembers the Fairy Godmother and decides to go to her cottage to make himself handsome for Fiona. Puss, feeling bad for his actions, wants to accompany the ogre on his journey. Despite the fact that he was hired to kill him, Shrek willingly allows Puss to come along, finding him and his "wee little boots" adorable, much to Donkey's chagrin. During the trip, he and the cat become fast friends and purposely single a jealous Donkey out. At the Fairy Godmother's factory, the trio pose as Union workers to gain entry, however, Fairy Godmother refuses to help Shrek because in her opinion, "Ogres don't live Happily Ever After." Disguising themselves as a caterer, Shrek, Donkey and Puss raid her potion storage anyway, but cannot find a potion called "Handsome". Instead, Puss finds a potion called "Happily Ever After." After Donkey inadvertently gets the workers' attention, they steal the potion and escape the factory, and dump a huge vat of potion, turning all the workers into doves. Safe in the woods, Donkey and Shrek drink the potion. Since nothing happens, they think it doesn't work or they just weren't meant to happen. Disappointed, they decide to sleep in an abandoned shed for the night as it starts to rain. In the shed, the rain made Shrek and Donkey dizzy, and they pass out. When they awake the next morning, three young women are taking care of them, who are all smitten with Shrek.
Shrek discovers that during the night he transformed into a handsome human man and lost weight with a button nose, thick wavy hair and top round bottom and his clothes now not fitting right, while Donkey turned into a brilliant, white stallion. After stealing new clothes for Shrek from a traveling noble and his son, they return to Far Far Away with confidence, taking note of everyone's positive reactions towards them. When they hear Fiona scream upon arriving at the castle, Shrek runs inside, but cannot find her. Instead, he finds the Fairy-Godmother, who shows him her true colors. She locks Shrek in the room and tells him that if he truly loves Fiona, he'll let her go and let her be with another prince. Heartbroken, Shrek agrees and sadly travels to a bar. He then overhears the godmother, Harold and Charming discussing their plan to pass off Charming as the now handsome Shrek. He then hears how the godmother made a potion that will make Fiona fall in love with the first man she kisses, which she plans to be Charming. He then realizes that he can't let Fiona go and goes to get her back. Unfortunately, he is arrested before he can return to the castle and is imprisoned along with Donkey and Puss.
That night, however, Pinocchio, Dingy, the Three Little Pigs, the Wolf and The Three Blind Mice set them free after seeing them on Magic Mirror. With help from the Muffin Man, they create a giant gingerbread man named Mongo who helps them get back into the castle. Shrek and the others storm in just before Charming can kiss Fiona, who had earlier turned back into a human. A fight ensues, and Charming manages to kiss Fiona. But then surprisingly, she headbutts him, and she runs to Shrek. It is then revealed that Harold gave Fiona the wrong tea which was supposed to contain the potion. Charming then tosses his mother's wand to her and she tries to zap Shrek, but Harold jumps in front of him and took the blow seemingly killing himself and reflecting the blast back towards the fairy godmother, turning her into bubbles except her glasses and wand. Harold had survived, but has reverted to a frog, which was actually his true form. It is then revealed that he was the frog prince and it had been Lilian who had kissed him and turned him into a human. He then apologizes to Shrek and Fiona for everything and accepts their love.
Shrek tells Fiona that if they want their change to be permanent, they must kiss by midnight, which is only seconds away. Fiona then only hugs Shrek when the clock strikes midnight, telling him that she loves him as an ogre, and she's happy as an ogre. They change back to normal as well as Donkey, much to the latter's dismay, but then Shrek comforts him by saying "You still look like a noble steed to me." Shrek and Fiona then kiss as the castle celebrates and continues the party with a song and dance led by Donkey and Puss. During the mid-credits scene, Dragon returns, having given birth to 6 baby dragon-donkey (or "Dronkey") infant hybrids, much to Donkey's delight.
=== Far Far Away Idol ===
Shrek, along with Fiona and Simon, judges a singing contest in Far Far Away. He occasionally roasts, laughs at, and questions the various contestants. He later sings "What I Like About You" with Fiona, which pleases Simon. If you choose Shrek and Fiona as the winners, the two reprise the song.
=== Shrek the Third ===
Shrek and Fiona take on the responsibilities as King and Queen while Harold remains bedridden, due to being gravely ill. After many overwhelming mistakes and disasters, Shrek is ready to give up and leave until a messenger arrived with Shrek figuring out that someone is dying, which is Harold. Despite Harold's confidence in Shrek being a good king, he did mention of another heir named Arthur, who is his nephew, and left it to Shrek to do the right thing before succumbing to his illness and dies on his deathbed. Shrek later attended and mourned at Harold's funeral.
Not wishing to rule and rather return to the swamp, Shrek, Donkey, and Puss set out to look for Arthur. As they departed from the port, however, Fiona calls out to Shrek telling him that she is pregnant, much to his horror, as he felt that he isn't ready to be a father. Shrek starts to have a nightmare of having too many babies, later seeing Donkey with a baby ogre's face as the nightmare continues. Upon waking up, Shrek admits to Donkey that mostly he's afraid of being a bad parent, since ogres aren't generally known for being kind or loving.
Shrek first finds Artie at the elite boarding school of Worcestershire Academy, where the latter was being bullied by everyone, due to being an underachiever. Shrek starts to make Artie to go to Far Far Away, but Artie becomes uneasy by Puss and Donkey's bantering of the royal duties that await him and turns the ship back. Shrek attempts to keep the ship on course, until he breaks it. And it slams into a giant rock. After being ship-wrecked, Shrek begins to lose his patience with the boy, but in light of Donkey's advice, attempts to communicate with him in "street". His attempts all fail until they run into Artie's old wizard teacher, Merlin and they stay for the night outside his home. When Merlin has them look into The Fire of Truth, it is revealed that Artie's father had abandoned him, which allows Shrek to find kinship with Artie since he too had father-issues with his own father. In the morning, Shrek and his friends are attacked by the Pirates, led by Peter Pan’s old nemesis and Charming’s right-handed man, Captain Hook. However, Shrek and his friends managed to defeat Hook and the Pirates, not before Hook tells Shrek that Fiona and the others are in trouble and that there’s no way to defeat Charming and the villains. Nevertheless, with Merlin's help, Shrek and his friends returns to Far Far Away which had a little side effect because Donkey and Puss had swapped bodies by mistake.
They see that Far Far Away is in ruins. Pinocchio (who is being used as a puppet display) informs them that Charming and the villains have taken over everything and had seized power over the kingdom as well as having locked Fiona, Queen Lillian, and the other princesses away (Except Repunzel since she had been traitor and betrayed them). Shrek also sees that Charming is also creating a play where he actually kills him. Shrek tries to confront him, but he and his friends get surrounded by the castle guards. In order to save Artie's life, Shrek boldly insulted the boy, stating that he needed a patsy loser to fill the royal job and told him to go home and says that maybe he's not much of a big loser as he thought he was. Artie was spared and he left the castle angry and disheartened. Shrek becomes disenchanted over hurting Artie's feelings just as Charming's play begins, but keeps his sense of humor and insults him, until all his friends arrive came to the rescue with Artie, who had returned, convinced the villains to give up their evil ways. Enraged, Charming attempts to kill Artie, but Shrek fights him off. Charming impales Shrek, supposedly wounding him, but it's revealed that he missed and Charming gets crushed by the tower prop that Dragon tipped over. Artie then crowns himself and assumes the role of king and Shrek now feels he is capable of being a father. The last scene shows he has become a proud parent of triplets, and though he makes mistakes, proves to be a great father. In the first Shrek movie, during a conversation with Donkey, he states people "judge me before they even know me. That's why I'm better off alone," implying that he became a recluse after trying to find acceptance among others. In Shrek the Third it is revealed Shrek has a father who tried to eat him as Shrek stated, "I should have seen it coming. He used to bathe me in barbecue sauce and put me to bed with an apple in my mouth."
=== Shrek Forever After ===
The film begins just before Shrek rescues Princess Fiona in the first film. Desperate to lift their daughter's curse, King Harold and Queen Lillian meet with con- artist Rumpelstiltskin who requests becoming king of Far Far Away in curry exchange. Just before the deal is sealed, the King and Queen then learned that Fiona has already been rescued and they immediately cut off their deal. In the present, a disgruntled Rumpelstiltskin wishes Shrek was never born and seeks revenge.
Meanwhile, Shrek has grown tired of being a domesticated family man and one of the biggest celebrities among the local villagers, leading him to yearn for the days when he felt like a "real ogre." During his children's first birthday party where lots of people appear along with all his friends, Shrek gets easily annoyed there as the 3 little pigs eat the birthday cake up and a little boy, called by Shrek "Butterpants", keeps wanting him to do his infamous roar. After losing his temper, he lets out a loud roar that nearly blows everyone around him away, only for them to not take his outburst seriously in the slightest and instead praise him. This results in a peeved Shrek smashing the birthday cake and lashing out at Fiona before storming off into the woods. While venting to himself, he meets with Rumpel Stiltskin, who offers to give Shrek a day to live like a real ogre again in exchange for a day from his childhood he wouldn't remember being erased. Shrek agrees and signs the contract, and abruptly lands in a alternate world where he is still feared by villagers. He enjoys causing mischief until he finds wanted posters for the ogress Fiona and his home deserted. He is suddenly captured by witches and taken to Rumpel Stiltskin, who is now the king of Far Far Away and uses ogres as slaves.
Shrek realises that the day Rumpel Stiltskin erased was the day he was born, meaning he never existed in this world before and is unrecognized by everyone he knows. Furthermore, when the day ends, Shrek will fade from existence. He escapes Rumpel Stiltskin's castle with the enslaved Donkey who, initially terrified of Shrek, sympathizes with his situation and reveals that the only way to render his contract null and void is through "true love's kiss." Shrek suddenly remembers that he wished he never saved Fiona from the tower at the Dragon's Keep, and runs over to the keep. Upon entering the tower, Shrek only finds Fiona's tiara on the bed, and wonders who saved her. Later, upon returning to the forest, Donkey sees some waffles and is tempted to eat them, but Shrek tries to stop him. Donkey then accidentally dribbles on them and is cast down into a hole with Shrek running after him. After meeting many ogres, who seem to live down the hole, he finds Fiona who, still cursed after escaping from the tower where she was held captive, is the leader of an ogre resistance against Rumpelstiltskin and keeps the retired and overweight Puss in Boots as a pet. Shrek does everything he can to gain Fiona's love, but she was too busy preparing an ambush on Rumpel Stiltskin during his nightly ogre hunt. However, instead, the ogres are caught in a trap by the Pied Piper, with Shrek, Fiona and Donkey being the only ones to escape. Later Shrek insists Fiona to kiss him, saying it will fix everything, but because Fiona doesn't love him, it proved to be ineffective. It is also revealed that Fiona saved herself from the Dragon's Keep as she waited and waited for her true love, but he never came, which led to her becoming delusional over true love. Upon hearing that Rumpel Stiltskin is offering anything desired for the one who captures Shrek with no strings attached, Shrek turns himself in in exchange for all ogres to be released, but Fiona remains in Rumpel Stiltskin's custody because she is only an ogre by night due to her curse. Shrek and Fiona are set to be fed to Dragon, but Donkey, Puss and the ogres raid Rumpel Stiltskin's castle, allowing Shrek and Fiona to subdue both Dragon and Rumpelstiltskin.
As the sun rises, Shrek begins to fade from existence, but Fiona, having fallen in love with him all over again, kisses him just before he disappears completely, which nullifies the contract and restores Shrek to his world just before he originally lashed out at Fiona. Shrek embraces his friends and family with new-found appreciation for everything he has, truly living happily forever after.
=== Puss in Boots: The Last Wish ===
Shrek, along with Donkey, makes a silent cameo in a flashback in one of Puss's memories. While neither Shrek or Donkey are directly mentioned by Puss, he is shown to be returning to Far Far Away (alongside Kitty Softpaws and Perrito) to visit some old friends. He is planning to reunite with Shrek and the others.
== Powers and Abilities ==
* Superhuman Strength: As an ogre, Shrek has immense physical strength far superior to ordinary humans. He has been shown lifting a fully armored knight above his head and throwing him like a rag doll, carrying both Donkey and Fiona at once, breaking through a wooden door with little difficulty, and moving a large rock all by himself. One of his most impressive feats was grabbing Dragon by her tail, temporarily stopping her. In the first movie, Shrek was also shown fighting Lord Farquaad's knights at the Duloc wedding, trying to overpower them. But in the second movie, as a human, his strength was not strong enough at lower human levels, whilst he was being arrested by the knights and he was easily outnumbered without any efforts, until at the end when he is turned back, his tremendous ogre strength is restored. In the third and fourth films, his ogre abilities give him more power to fight off the pirates and the witches.
* Superhuman Durability: Due to his ogre physiology, Shrek can travel on foot for miles without tiring. He also survived being burned alive by Dragon and shot with an arrow in his butt.
* Master Hand-To-Hand Combatant: Despite having no martial arts training like Fiona, Shrek is a capable hand-to-hand fighter and can often hold his own against multiple opponents at once. Shrek's fighting style has been likened to a mix of Krav Maga and Irish Street Fighting
* Expert Survivalist: Living in the middle of a swamp for most of his life, Shrek has learned to live off the land to support himself and later his family. He is an excellent hunter, forager and cook, creating improvised dishes such as weed rat stew.
* Expert Tactician: At times, Shrek displays a high degree of cunning and cleverness, using a broken sword and chains to ensnare Dragon, as well as getting the idea to create Mongo by seeing Gingerbread Man standing next to Far Far Away Castle.
* Storytelling: Shrek has adept knowledge of fairy tales and ogre lore, such as the stories of Throwback and Bloodnut the Flatulent.
* Powerful Roar: Whenever he loses his temper or he gets really fed up, Shrek has the ability to let out a roar so powerful it could cause some people to be blown backwards.
* Swallowing Lightning: In the original book, Shrek managed to swallow up an entire lightning bolt.
* Heat Vision: In the book, Shrek uses his heat vision to heat up a cold meal from a random villager he frightened.
* Fire Breathing: In the book, Shrek breathes fire on a knight when entering the castle to meet the ugly princess. This ability would carry over in the first Shrek video game for X-Box.
== Video Game Appearances ==
Shrek has appeared in every game based on the series. He is also playable in some capacity in all of his appearances. His first video game appearance was in the infamous X-Box launch title, Shrek, which was loosely inspired by his film. Here, he could navigate through various fairy tale levels with the ability to punch, kick, burp and fart. Special onions and chili peppers gave him the ability to unleash toxic farts, flame-filled belches, or the infamous fire farts. While not intentional, Shrek also runs extremely fast, with mechanics similar to the Sonic Adventure games. Unlike future games, he also doesn't speak beyond grunting noises.
Shrek is a playable character in the Shrek 2 video game as both his standard "ogre" form, and as human riding Donkey as a stallion. He's playable as an ogre in "Shrek's Swamp", "Spooky Forest", "Far Far Away", "Ogre Killer", "Walking the Path", "Jack and Jill's Farm", "Fairy Godmother's" and "Final Battle", and playable as a human in "The Mines" and "Cookie Cookie". Shrek's special ability as an ogre allows him to pick up and throw enemies and specially marked objects, and his ability as a human is Charge, which causes Donkey to rush forward while Shrek swings his sword. The latter ability has the power to break specially marked objects. This would also mark the first video game to feature Michael Gough voicing Shrek's dialogue, having previously provided the singing voice of the character in short films.
Shrek appears as an unlockable skater in Tony Hawk: Underground 2 to promote Shrek 2, as well as the game based on it, which was also published by Activision. He's unlocked by completing the story on Easy. His grotesque nature made its way into the game, as his grind special involves ear wax as lubricant, and as an alternative to spraying graffiti, Shrek burps onto walls which then makes his trademark "S" appear.
Shrek appeared in Shrek Super Slam as one of the 10 starting characters. His Super Slam has him fart so hard he creates a large explosion. Shrek is used in a tag team with Ogre Fiona against Quasimodo in the fifth Story mode chapter "Bell Brawl". He is later seen as a puppet, in a team with Pinocchio and Fiona Ogre fighting against the player, who controls Puss In Boots in the final chapter, "Puppet Panic". Shrek appears in Mega Challenge as an opponent in Challenges 30, 32 and 35 and in Tournaments 2, 6, 9, 13, 14, 20, 22, 23, 24 and 27. He is required to be used in Challenges 4, 6, 7, 23 and Bonus 1, 5 and 7. He is used during the Training Mode and the Trophy Room. He is controlled in the first Pizza Challenge and is an opponent in the second.
Shrek also appeared in Shrek Smash and Crash Racing as one of the four racers that are unlocked from the start. He rides a Swamp Beast that Donkey created by using the Fairy Godmother's wand on a snail. Shrek's personal item is a giant turkey leg.
Shrek continued making appearances in other tie-in video games. He would be playable in Shrek the Third and Shrek Forever After, being joined by other characters similar to Shrek 2. In the former, he has the abilities to lift heavy objects and certain enemies, with his special abilities consisting of his roar and "Ogre Smash." While he retains his heavy objects ability in the latter game, Shrek is limited to basic combat and pushing objects. Following these titles, he would consistently appear on mobile apps and in spin-off games.
Shrek appears as an unlockable guest racer in Madagascar Kartz. He is unlocked by completing all three cups on 150cc mode. He drives a modified barrel and has the highest top speeds of all the playable characters, but poor grip and average turbo.
Shrek's latest video game appearance was in DreamWorks All-Star Kart Racing. He is one of the default racers, and a character on the front cover of the game. He drives a kart which can be modified to include different aesthetics inspired by key elements of his movies. Michael Gough in addition to reprising his role recites quotes Shrek said in the films alongside new banter amongst the other drivers.
== Comic Books ==
Alongside the films and video games, Shrek has appeared in a number of comic books from 2003-2016. Shrek himself is akin to his behavior in the first film- being closed off, gross, menacing, and overall grumpy. He begrudgingly gets involved with many odd events and encounters, where he often comes out on top through equally strange or dangerous outcomes. In these scenarios he is often tagged with Donkey and Puss in Boots, who further bounce off of his confusion and frustration in given situations. Above all else however, he is shown to truly care for the well-being of his family- trying to create a comfy life for his kids and aiding Fiona in a local soapbox derby. Sometimes, Shrek will also have fun with his friends, engaging in fishing trips, telling scary stories, and visiting local fairs.
His characterization remains consistent through all the different published issues. Alongside his personality, he is shown to retain his strengths seen in the films. These include his overwhelming stench, which is also shown to create creatures called the Pants Phantoms at especially bad moments. They are nasty flatulence monsters that attack unsuspecting bystanders with their horrendous smell. Shrek can also breathe an unbearable storm of stinky fumes from his mouth, which was used to fend off the Blefuscu army from attacking Lilliput. However, despite his strong abilities, he is progressively taken less seriously by his surroundings. This limits Shrek's intimidation towards others, which is especially noticed by his parents- both of whom were ashamed of their son's status as a "cute ogre."
== Trivia ==
* The name "Shrek" is derived from the German word Schreck, meaning "fright" or " terror".
* Originally, Shrek was supposed to be voiced by Chris Farley, but he died in December 1997. He had done 80% / 90% progress (95% according to his brother Tom) of finishing the project. Prior to that in 1991, Steven Spielberg bought the rights for Bill Murray to voice him, but it was scrapped due to the closure of Amblimation. In addition to Farley and Murray, Nicolas Cage, Johnny Depp and Robin Williams were also considered until the role went to Mike Myers.
* Shrek was the second character in the main film series to say "dude" after Donkey in Shrek the Third.
* Of all the characters, Shrek has been injured in the groin more than any other character, with four onscreen, and is also one of the only two that have been kicked there (the second one is Thelonious, but he had been kicked just once). Shrek being kicked in the crotch.
* Shrek makes a brief appearance in a Kung Fu Panda 3 commercial that spoofs the Snickers advertisements. In it, Monkey, a member of the Furious Five, and Po, the Dragon Warrior, aren't themselves when they are hungry, with Monkey becoming Shrek and Po becoming Donkey respectively. Shrek as he appears in the Kung Fu Panda 3 Snickers commercial.
* Shrek can be spotted as General Monger's medal of order on his right chest in every scene in Monsters vs. Aliens.
* Shrek has also made a cameo as...
** A Plush in the 2014 direct-to-video CGI animated short, Rocky and Bullwinkle.
** A Guy in a Shrek costume in the mini-series The Pentaverate, which Myers starred in (and once again voiced Shrek). This was his first (technically) physical appearance since Shrek Forever After in 2010. Shrek in his cameo in The Pentaverate.
* In the Latin Spanish dub, Shrek was supposed to be voiced by three different Mexican actors. In the casting, those actors were Adal Ramones, Manuel "El Loco" Valdés and Rafael Inclán. However, none of these actors voiced Shrek in the final film, being the Mexican voice actor Alfonso Obregón who voiced Shrek ever since the first film.
** Aditionally, Rafael Inclán is a cousin of Alfonso Obregón.
* In the Brazilian Portuguese version of two first movies, he was voiced by the famous actor and comedian Bussunda.
** However, due to his death in June 17th, 2006, Bussunda was replaced by Mauro Ramos beginning with Shrek the Third. He had originally voiced Shrek in the trailers and was originally going to voice him in the first film.
* Shrek was meant to have a cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 as one The Collector’s displays. However, scheduling prevented the team from getting Myers to voice, so the scene was scrapped.
* Shrek was allegedly supposed to appear in Puss in Boots: Nine Lives & 40 Thieves, the original sequel to Puss in Boots. What role he would've had is currently unknown.
* Shrek was added along with Fiona and Donkey in DreamWorks' new theatrical opening, which also features several characters from other DreamWorks films.
* According to his character bio in the Shrek 2 video game, Shrek is 8’0” tall and weights 450 lbs.
* Shrek knows how to play the organ, as shown in Shrek In The Swamp Karaoke Dance Party.
Category:Dreamworks Characters
Category:Shrek Characters
Category:Characters voiced by Mike Myers
Category:Ogres