Donkey

**Donkey** is a meet-and-greet character at Universal Studios Florida. He is the deuteragonist of the *Shrek* film franchise, usually accompanying the title character as a sidekick. Although he considers Shrek to be a good friend, he often annoys Shrek in some way or another, usually by talking too much. At Universal Orlando Resort, Donkey appears in *Shrek 4-D* (now permanently closed, but its accompanying film is still available for viewership on DVD), once again serving as the deuteragonist as he aids Shrek in saving Princess Fiona from the ghost of Lord Farquaad. He is also the star of *Donkey's Photo Finish*, where he talks to guests and poses for photos, sometimes alongside his friends Shrek, Princess Fiona, and Puss in Boots.

## Background

Not much is known about Donkey's past, especially long before he met Shrek. In *Shrek 2*, he claims he was abused by an unknown group, mentioning that he was once used for games of Pin the Tail on the Donkey and as a piñata. The first time we see Donkey, he is the pet of an unnamed old lady who is very aggressive towards him. She is seen trying to sell him to Lord Farquaad's knights, who were looking for fairy tale creatures. Donkey didn't want to be taken by the knights after seeing the treatment of the other fairy tale creatures, and remained silent until the woman was taken prisoner when the knights believed she had gone mad.

Donkey eventually speaks, causing the knights to chase him through a forest. This is where Donkey first meets Shrek, after accidentally running into him. The ogre scares off the knights, though only because he didn't want to be bothered, not because he wanted to help. Nevertheless, this impressed Donkey, and despite Shrek's efforts to also scare him off, Donkey hoped he would be willing to protect him from now on.

Donkey later helped Shrek in regaining his swamp that had been overrun by fairy tale creatures, and rescuing Princess Fiona from a dragon-guarded castle. Interestingly, the Dragon at the castle began to develop feelings for Donkey when he tried making flattering comments to avoid being killed.

After Shrek returned to his swamp in peace, Donkey returned to the swamp as well, knowing that Shrek was upset about something after sending Princess Fiona to Lord Farquaad. After a big fight with Donkey, Shrek realizes he misunderstood what was happening when he initially believed Fiona was talking negatively about him behind his back. Donkey called in the Dragon from earlier to help himself and Shrek stop the wedding. Shrek and Fiona reconcile, but Lord Farquaad orders his men to capture both of them. Just in time, Donkey arrives with Dragon, who swallows Farquaad, spitting out his crown.

Since helping Shrek find his true love, Donkey has continued to accompany Shrek. The two have traveled to the kingdom of Far Far Away where they met Fiona's parents. They also faced off against Fiona's fairy godmother, who like Farquaad, treated Shrek as if he was a monster with no feelings of his own or any regard for others.

Even though Shrek occasionally reacts angrily to Donkey for various reasons, Donkey still considers him to be a good friend. He also believes Shrek is always capable of being a better person that he initially thinks he is.

## Park Appearances

As he does in the films, Donkey serves as the deuteragonist of *Shrek 4-D* (now permanently closed, though its accompanying film is available to watch on DVD), a motion simulator attraction set shortly after the events of the first film. He accompanies Shrek as the ogre sets out to rescue Fiona from the ghost of Lord Farquaad, who wants to make her his queen (again).

Donkey is also a meet-and-greet character at his own attraction, *Donkey's Photo Finish*, located near the exit of *Shrek 4-D*. At this attraction he interacts with guests, having conversations with them on various topics. These topics range from small talk to asking where the guests are from, or discussing other attractions at Universal Orlando Resort.

Donkey also appears on various pieces of merchandise in numerous gift shops, though he isn't always featured alongside Shrek in merchandise representing the park as a whole.

## Trivia

*For additional and more detailed information about the character of Donkey from the Shrek franchise, please refer to the Shrek Wiki Article.*

* The animatronic of Donkey used for meet-and-greets is actually a puppet. Unlike most animatronics whose controls are pre-programmed, Donkey is controlled and voiced by an unseen actor, presumably in a hidden room near the meet-and-greet. The actor can give Donkey various poses, such as different smiles for pictures, and looking in certain directions.
* Donkey is the only non-humanoid meet-and-greet character that can talk to guests.
* Donkey is voiced by Eddie Murphy in the films. Murphy returned to voice Donkey in *Shrek 4-D*.
	+ At *Donkey's Photo Finish*, he is voiced by an actor mimicking Murphy's voice, due to the character reacting to guests in real-time.
	+ For most of the Shrek video games, Donkey is voiced by Mark Moseley, who also uses an impression of Murphy's voice.
* During the holiday season, Donkey can sometimes be seen wearing a red scarf.