The Witches

The Witches are major antagonists in DreamWorks' 20th full-length animated feature film Shrek Forever After, the fourth installment of the Shrek film series.
They are a group of malicious witches whom serve the devious and callous leprechaun Rumpelstiltskin with his scheme of constructing a massive tyrannical empire across the world and help him dispose of Shrek.
They were voiced by Lake Bell, Kathy Griffin, Kristen Schaal, Mary Kay Place, and Meredith Vieira.
== Biography ==
The Witches are seen when Fiona's parents, Queen Lilian and King Harold set their feet on Rumpelstiltskin's property, to ask him for a deal to free their daughter from her prison. They serve no purpose for this occasion or even aid Stiltskin in tricking the King & Queen into giving him the kingdom.
However, after Rumpel accomplished in cajoling Shrek into giving up the day he was born, they are given a strong role as both his henchwomen and folk, as the usurped areas across the world are overrun with them. A group of them abduct Shrek in his swamp, which is now desolated and omitted due to him never had lived there in the current timeline he is in. Shrek is taken to the palace where a vast group of witches are raving to Halloween music, that befits their nature, and eating cupcakes with Rumpelstiltskin, whom is now the emperor of the conquered land.
Rumpelstiltskin and his witches take a great indulgence in revealing the colossal mistake Shrek committed and abuse him for it, much to the latter's devastation and extreme ire. Shrek breaks free and of the chains he was in and kills a witch and hijacks her broom and inadvertently flies around the palace to find away to escape while the evil witches chase him down. They however fail and angst arises in them when Rumpelstiltskin orders to give him his Angry Wig, representing his rage of his witches immense failure.
They begin searching through the forests above the ground on their broomsticks, even across the resistance of Fiona's ogre army, but their search were futile and they received no results. Their leader holds a meeting about this issue and threatens his witches with a goblet of water (the liquid that evaporates a witch once tangible) to come up with a brilliant and impulsive idea to capture Shrek and Fiona as soon as possible. The only witch whom is killed by water announces the idea to hire a bounty hunter, but due to Rumpel's irritation and morose manners he kills her, but later thinks though the idea and accepts it.
The task is given to the efficacious Pied Piper to play his body-controlling music with his musical pipe.
After the ogres are captured and later freed when Shrek turns himself in and is held prisoner with Fiona, Rumpelstiltskin holds a great occasion for the night, to celebrate that his two greatest obstacles and jinxes are about to be obliterated and opens up the dungeon for all witches to Shrek and Fiona get incinerated by the dragon from Fiona's tower. The occasion is intervened when Puss & Donkey bestow the rebel ogres access to the palace and vanquish their adversaries. The witches use their pumpkin grenades and target-seeking chains to destroy their enemies, but the ogres are able to vindicate themselves with shields from the grenades and subdue to witches with chains. The witches are vanquished and subdued for good, but unfortunately, despite their victory, Shrek's day is expiring and he is dissipating for eternity. Fiona mournfully and tearfully shares a kiss with Shrek before he dissolves to dust and everyone watches demoralized. Fiona's curse is however broken once she discovers that it was true love and finally believes, which simultaneously breaks Shrek's curse. The world collages in a whirlwind of Rumpel's magic and everyone is taking back to their previous situation before the whole conflict ensued.
The witches are seen in the end credits at the party at Shrek's swamp, creating a rainbow in the sky with their magic broomsticks, while one of them misinterprets their broomstick to be their broom, when it was in fact Pinocchio's long nose.
== Personality ==
The Witches are seen as penurious and vile outcasts, whom have no permission to set foot in human lands. It could be because they have the same malice as Rumpelstiltskin and no wants their nature to harm humanity. Their malice is shown further when the movie takes place in Rumpel's world, where it is seen that they are extremely abusive and oppressive, when kidnapping ogres and whiping them savagely and laughing at Shrek's or Fiona's misery.
They also are shown to have a tad of cowardice, when Rumpel threatens to perish them with water if they fail him or are inadequate with advising him with his schemes, not considering that they are taller than him and have more weapons than him. The witches however support their emperor, because of his power and the liberty he bestowed to them.
At the end they seem to have diminished their malice and attained redemption when they billow iridescent powder in the sky, creating a rainbow, in the party at Shrek's swamp. They don't even try to help Rumpelstiltskin get out from the cage he is imprisoned in. It is unknown, however, if the party scene was for real or just a made up epilogue.
== Trivia ==
* It could be surmised that one of Rumpelstiltskin's witches is the culprit of Fiona's curse, which is could also have been Rumpel's first step to get King Harold and Queen Lilian to come to him in the first place.
Category:Female
Category:Humans
Category:Witches
Category:Villains
Category:DreamWorks characters
Category:Shrek characters