Donkey (2029 Film)

Donkey is a 2029 American computer-animated adventure comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures. It is a prequel to the Shrek franchise and the second spin-off of the Shrek film series after Puss In Boots (2011). An adaptation of The Metamorphoses of Apuleius, also referred to as The Golden Ass (Asinus aureus), it follows Donkey who was once a human named Lucius from the town of Madaurus who, while trying to perform a spell to transform into a bird, he is accidentally transformed into a donkey.
== Plot ==
The prologue establishes an audience and a speaker, who defines himself by location, education, occupation, and his kinship. The narrator journeys to Thessaly on business. On the way, he runs into Aristomenes and an unnamed traveler. The unnamed traveler refuses to believe Aristomenes' story. The narrator insults the unnamed traveler and tells a short story about a sword swallower. He promises Aristomenes a free lunch if he will retell his tale. The narrator believes Aristomenes' tale and becomes more eager to learn about magic. The narrator arrives at Hypata, where he stays with Milo, a friend and miser, and his wife Pamphile. Photis, a serving girl in Milo's household, takes the narrator to the baths, after which the narrator goes to the marketplace. There, he buys some fish and runs into his old friend Pytheas, who is now a market official. Pytheas reveals the narrator's name as Lucius. Pytheas says that Lucius overpaid for the fish and humiliates the fish-monger by trampling on the fish. Lucius returns to Milo's house, hungry and empty-handed. Milo asks Lucius about his life, his friends, and his wanderings, which Lucius grows bored with. Lucius goes to sleep hungry.
The next morning, Lucius meets up with his aunt Byrrhena in the town, and she brings him home and warns him that Milo's wife is an evil witch who wants to kill Lucius. Lucius, however, is interested in becoming a witch himself. The next day, Lucius goes to his aunt's home for dinner, and there meets Thelyphron, who relates his tale about how witches cut off his nose and ears. After the meal, Lucius drunkenly returns to Milo's house in the dark, where he encounters three robbers, whom he soon beats up before going to bed. The next day, Lucius and Photis watch Milo's wife perform her witchcraft and transform herself into a bird. Wishing to do the same, Lucius begs Photis to transform him, but she accidentally turns him into a donkey, at which point Photis tells him that the only way for him to return to his human state is to eat a fresh rose. She puts him in the stable for the night and promises to bring him roses in the morning, but during the night Milo's house is raided by a band of thieves, who steal Lucius, load him up with their plunder, and leave with him.
On a break in his journey with the bandits, Lucius as a donkey trots over to a garden to munch on what seem to be roses (but are actually poisonous rose-laurels) and he gets caught by the gardener and chased by dogs. The thieves reclaim him and he is forced to go along with them; they talk about how their leader Thrasileon has been killed while dressed as a bear. The thieves also kidnap a rich young woman, Charite, who is housed in a cave with Lucius. Charite starts crying, so an elderly woman who is in league with the thieves begins to tell her the story of Cupid and Psyche. Lucius and Charite don’t pay attention as they escape from the cave but they are caught by the thieves, and sentenced to death. A man appears to the thieves and announces that he is the renowned thief Haemus the Thracian, who suggests that they should not kill the captives but sell them. Haemus later reveals himself secretly to Charite as her fiancé Tlepolemus, and knocks out all the thieves. Tlepolemus, Charite and Lucius the ass safely escape back to the town. Once there, Donkey is entrusted to a horrid boy who torments him and turns him into a pinata but the boy is later killed by a she-bear. Enraged, the boy's mother plans to kill Donkey.
A man arrives at the mother's house and announces that Tlepolemus and Charite are dead, caused by the scheming of the evil Thrasillus who wants Charite to marry him. After hearing the news of their master's death, the slaves run away, taking Lucius with them. The large group of traveling slaves is mistaken for a band of robbers and attacked by farmhands of a rich estate. Several other misfortunes occur to the travelers until they reach a village. Lucius as the narrator often digresses from the plot in order to recount several stories that he learns of during his journey. Lucius is eventually sold to a Gallus priest of Cybele. He is entrusted with carrying the statue of Cybele on his back while he follows the group of priests on their rounds, who perform ecstatic rites in local farmsteads and estates for alms. While engaging in lewd activity with a local boy, the group of priests is discovered by a man in search of a stolen donkey who mistakes Lucius aka the Donkey of the story for that of his own animal. The priests flee to a new city where they are well received by one of its chief citizens. They are preparing to dine when his cook realizes that the meat that was to be served was stolen by a dog. The cook, at the suggestion of his wife, prepares to kill Lucius in order to serve his meat instead. Lucius' untimely escape from the cook coincides with an attack by rabid dogs, and his wild behavior is attributed to their viral bites. The men barricade him in a room until it is decided that he is no longer infected. The band of Galli eventually pack up and leave. Soon after, the Galli are accosted by an armed troop who accuse them of stealing from their village temple, and are subsequently detained (with the treasures returned). Lucius is sold into labor, driving a baker's mill-wheel. Lucius, though bemoaning his labor as a donkey, also realizes that this state has allowed him to hear many novel things with his long-donkey ears. Lucius is then auctioned off to a farmer. The farmer duly fights a legionary who makes advances on his donkey, Lucius, but he is found out and jailed. Lucius comes into the legionary's possession and was lodging with a decurion. He is then sold to two brothers, a confectioner and a cook, who treat him kindly. When they go out, Lucius secretly eats his fill of their food. At first a source of vexation, when the donkey is discovered to be the one behind the disappearing food it is much laughed at and celebrated.
Again he is sold, and he is taught many amusing tricks. Rumor spreads, and great fame comes to Lucius and his master. As it happens, a woman is so enamored with the sideshow donkey that she bribes his keeper who reveals to have a romantic crush on Donkey. Donkey, not being interested and finding it weird, runs away to Cenchreae, eventually to nap on the beach.
Lucius wakes up in a panic during the first watch of the night. Considering Fate to be done tormenting him, he takes the opportunity to purify himself by seven consecutive immersions in the sea. He then offers a prayer to the Queen of Heaven, for his return to human form, citing all the various names the goddess is known by to people everywhere (Venus, Ceres, Diana, Proserpine, etc.). The Queen of Heaven appears in a vision to him and explains to him how he can be returned to human form by eating the crown of roses that will be held by one of her priests during a religious procession the following day. In return for his redemption, Lucius is expected to be initiated through the Navigium Isidis into Isis' priesthood, Isis being the Queen of Heaven's true name. Lucius follows her instructions and is returned to human form and, at length, initiated into her priesthood.
Lucius is then sent to his ancestral home, Rome, where he continues to worship Isis under the local name, Campensis. After a time, he is visited once more by the goddess, who speaks again of mysteries and holy rites which Lucius comes to understand as a command to be initiated into the mysteries of Isis. He does so. Shortly afterwards, he receives a third vision. Though he is confused, the god appears to him and reassures him that he is much blessed and that he is to become once more initiated that he might supplicate in Rome as well. The film concludes with the goddess, Isis, appearing to Lucius and declaring that Lucius shall not become a human as he will rise to a prominent position as a sidekick but he has to wait and see whose sidekick he is. He wakes up from his vision and he gets found and sold to an Old Woman who discovers on a wall a wanted fairy tales creatures poster and thus starts the events of the first movie. 
== Cast ==
* Eddie Murphy as Donkey/Lucius
* Tessa Thompson as Photis
* Helena Bonham Carter as Pamphile
* Ralph Fiennes as Milo
* Lupita Nyong'o as Byrrhena
* Pedro Pascal as Tlepolemus/Haemus the Thracian
* Zendaya as Charite
* Bill Hader as Thelyphron
* John C. Reilly as Aristomenes
* Tom Holland as Pytheas
* Andy Serkis as Thrasillus
* Meryl Streep as Old Woman, the old woman who gets Donkey to sell him to Lord Farquaad. She was originally voiced by Kathleen Freeman.
* Idris Elba as Gallus Priest
* Stephen Fry as Decurion, The Roman officer who briefly owns Lucius.
* Cate Blanchett as Isis/Queen of Heaven
Category:Films
Category:DreamWorks Animation
Category:20th Century Fox films
Category:Shrek
Category:Shrek films
Category:Prequel films
Category:Films about animals
Category:2029
Category:2029 Films