History Franchise / Shrek

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 DisneyAnimatedCanon entry ''Disney/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'', 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 -- it is unclear if 2D films will regain top priority again. ''Shrek'' was the first film to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. ''Shrek'' and its sequels are Dreamworks' defining hits, "Fiona's Theme" plays during the studio's VanityPlate in all their animated films now, and the character of Shrek is now their unofficial mascot.

* BeneathTheMask: Fiona at the beginning of the movie acts like a stereotypical DisneyPrincess with Shrek. However, she slowly reveals herself as an ActionGirl who fights dirty, much like Shrek.

There is also a ChristmasSpecial, ''Shrek the Halls'', and a {{Halloween Special}}, ''Scared Shrekless''. Ride/UniversalStudios features ''Shrek 4D'' (titled as ''The Ghost of Lord Farquaad'' on some video releases), which is set immediately after Shrek and Fiona's wedding and details a ghostly Lord Farquaad's attempt to get Fiona back. Finally, there's an extensive series of [[VideoGame/{{Shrek}} tie-in games]] of [[TheProblemWithLicensedGames varying]] [[NoProblemWithLicensedGames quality]].

* [[ADogNamedDog A Donkey Named Donkey]].

* [[DubNameChange Dub Species Change]]: In some languages that don't have an equivalent for the word "ogre", Shrek is a "troll" instead. Curiously averted in the Dutch version, where "ogre" became "oger".

* CakeToppers: When Fiona looks at her and Farquuad's wedding cake toppers, she smushes his down into the cake to more accurately show his height.

** Lord Farquaad was widely rumoured to be modelled on Disney's then-CEO Michael Eisner as a TakeThat on the part of the film's executive producer (and former Disney executive) Jeffrey Katzenberg. His kingdom is a parody of [[Ride/DisneyThemeParks Walt Disney World]].

Adapted as Theatre/ShrekTheMusical, which opened on Broadway in 2008 and has since closed and launched a United States tour.

There is also a ChristmasSpecial, ''Shrek the Halls'', and a {{Halloween Special}}, ''Scared Shrekless''. Another film, entitled ''WesternAnimation/PussInBoots'' was released in 2011. It is set before the events of ''Shrek 2'', and chronicles the backstory of Puss in Boots. It's worth to note that the film is "ogre-less". Creator/GuillermoDelToro is the executive producer. Ride/UniversalStudios features ''Shrek 4D'' (titled as ''The Ghost of Lord Farquaad'' on some video releases), which is set immediately after Shrek and Fiona's wedding and details a ghostly Lord Farquaad's attempt to get Fiona back. Finally, there's an extensive series of [[VideoGame/{{Shrek}} tie-in games]] of [[TheProblemWithLicensedGames varying]] [[NoProblemWithLicensedGames quality]].

Adapted as [[index]]Theatre/ShrekTheMusical[[/index]], which opened on Broadway in 2008 and has since closed and launched a United States tour. There is also a ChristmasSpecial, ''Shrek the Halls'', and a {{Halloween Special}}, ''Scared Shrekless''. Another film, entitled ''WesternAnimation/PussInBoots'' was released in 2011. It is set before the events of ''Shrek 2'', and chronicles the backstory of Puss in Boots. It's worth to note that the film is "ogre-less". Creator/GuillermoDelToro is the executive producer. Ride/UniversalStudios features ''Shrek 4D'' (titled as ''The Ghost of Lord Farquaad'' on some video releases), which is set immediately after Shrek and Fiona's wedding and details a ghostly Lord Farquaad's attempt to get Fiona back. Finally, there's an extensive series of [[VideoGame/{{Shrek}} tie-in games]] of [[TheProblemWithLicensedGames varying]] [[NoProblemWithLicensedGames quality]].

* SpoiledByTheMerchandise: Plush toys of Shrek and Fiona's triplets were in stores and on shelves at various different retailers long before the release of WesternAnimation/ShrekTheThird, in which Fiona breaks the news to Shrek that she's pregnant.

Adapted as Theatre/ShrekTheMusical, which opened on Broadway in 2008 and has since closed and launched a United States tour. There is also a ChristmasSpecial, ''Shrek the Halls'', and a {{Halloween Special}}, ''Scared Shrekless''. Another film, entitled ''WesternAnimation/PussInBoots'' was released in 2011. It is set before the events of ''Shrek 2'', and chronicles the backstory of Puss in Boots. It's worth to note that the film is "ogre-less". Creator/GuillermoDelToro is the executive producer. Ride/UniversalStudios features ''Shrek 4D'' (titled as ''The Ghost of Lord Farquaad'' on some video releases), which is set immediately after Shrek and Fiona's wedding and details a ghostly Lord Farquaad's attempt to get Fiona back. Finally, there's an extensive series of [[VideoGame/{{Shrek}} tie-in games]] of [[TheProblemWithLicensedGames varying]] [[NoProblemWithLicensedGames quality]].

Adapted into TheMusical, which opened on Broadway in 2008 and has since closed and launched a United States tour. There is also a ChristmasSpecial, ''Shrek the Halls'', and a {{Halloween Special}}, ''Scared Shrekless''. Another film, entitled ''WesternAnimation/PussInBoots'' was released in 2011. It is set before the events of ''Shrek 2'', and chronicles the backstory of Puss in Boots. It's worth to note that the film is "ogre-less". Creator/GuillermoDelToro is the executive producer. Ride/UniversalStudios features ''Shrek 4D'' (titled as ''The Ghost of Lord Farquaad'' on some video releases), which is set immediately after Shrek and Fiona's wedding and details a ghostly Lord Farquaad's attempt to get Fiona back. Finally, there's an extensive series of [[VideoGame/{{Shrek}} tie-in games]] of [[TheProblemWithLicensedGames varying]] [[NoProblemWithLicensedGames quality]].

[[folder:Shrek the Musical]]
* AdaptationExpansion: The extra half-hour that the film didn't have is used to elaborate on the backstories of Shrek, Fiona, and Farquaad, as well as give more focus to the Fairytale Creatures as characters.
** Fiona's time in the tower is expanded on and we see how it' affected her outlook, namely why it makes her so eager to marry the first prince who comes. It also shows how being locked in a little room for twenty years can result in slight SanitySlippage.
** Shrek's cynicism comes from a harsh life of learning that ogres are the biggest recipients of FantasticRacism out there and having his dreams of maybe getting to be a hero crushed by that harsh life.
** Dragon doesn't really like her job, feeling she's essentially Fiona's babysitter and hating how no one will ever want to rescue her instead of the classically beautiful princess, explaining why Donkey's flirting works so well.
* AllThereInTheManual: The Fairytale Creatures get a surprising amount of characterization, sometimes even a little backstory, in the behind-the-scenes webisodes and their individual profiles on the (now defunct) "Shrekster" website, most of which isn't given in the show itself.
** Possibly due to it's half-spoken, half-sung nature, "Forever" is left off the soundtrack. The song contains a lot of Dragon's motivations (she's annoyed that she's a glorified babysitter and no one will ever want to rescue ''her'') and the reason Donkey becomes attracted to her (in stating that Fiona's not his type, he declares he "likes a big, big girl").
* AmbiguouslyGay: From the sassy Donkey, to the prissy Farquaad, to the entire pride-anthem vibe of "Freak Flag", the musical is full of this trope.
-->'''Pinocchio:''' I'm wood. I'm good. Get used to it!
* AnthropomorphicShift: Donkey, being portrayed by a live actor in costume, went from the quadruped TalkingAnimal he was in the films to an [[FunnyAnimal upright biped wearing a vest]], at least in early productions. Inverted in later incarnations as the clothes were removed and he began walking in a torso-first fashion with his forelegs held up - a stance more like that of a real quadrupedal animal on it's hind legs.
* ArcWords: "A big, bright beautiful world."
* AscendedExtra: All of the Fairytale Creatures ensemble to an extent, but especially Pinocchio.
* AscendedFridgeHorror: Pretty much any struggles you could think of with Fiona being locked in the tower with just one little room in the film are lovingly spelled out in the musical, making it clear she was mroe a prisoner than anything. SanitySlippage from isolation, having to boil her chamberpot due to lacking a toilet (or plumbing, it's implied), not much headroom when she grew taller...hell, she even admits that it's a good thing the walls were padded.
* BreakingTheFourthWall: The still-living prisoners of Dragon tell Donkey the reason they weren't incinerated is that she keeps them around to sing backup.
* BurpingContest: Shrek and Fiona bond over one.
* CastingGag: The casting of John Tartaglia, a famous Broadway puppeteer, as Pinocchio, a puppet.
* CostumePorn
* CounterpointDuet:
** Shrek and Donkey during "Travel Song."
** Shrek and Fiona during "I Think I Got You Beat."
** All three sing a Counterpoint ''Trio'' during "Who I'd Be."
* DuetBonding: Shrek and Fiona during "[[CounterpointDuet I Think I Got You Beat]]"
* EarlyBirdCameo: Puss in Boots makes a quick cameo during the Traveling Song.
* EvilIsHammy: Farquaad really cranks up his hammy tendencies, with a generous dose of [[{{Camp}} campy flair]] added for good measure.
* FantasticAesop: "Freak Flag" starts out with your typical BeYourself message, but it kind of gets derailed halfway through.
-->'''Pinocchio:''' We may be freaks, but we're freaks with teeth and claws and magic wands...and together, we can stand up to Farquaad!\\
'''Humpty-Dumpty:''' ''"We've got magic! We've got power!\\
Who are they to say we're wrong?\\
All the things that make us special\\
Are the things that make us strong!"''
* FatAdmirer: Donkey, as it turns out, as he sets the record straight during the song "Forever".
* GenderFlip: The Three Blind Mice are females in the musical, while in the films there males.
* ForTheEvulz: According to his Ballad (see below), Farquaad plans on total domination "with some torture, just for fun!"
* FreudianExcuse: Lord Farquaad's backstory is delivered in "Ballad of Farquaad" about [[MissingMom his mother]] that died when he was young and his [[ParentalNeglect distant father]] that [[ParentalAbandonment left him alone in the woods]] when he was younger. Subverted later when it turns out that his past [[UnreliableNarrator wasn't as hopeless as he made it out to be]].
-->'''Farquaad:''' No father of mine would've abandoned me in the woods as a child!\\
'''Farquaad's Father:''' ''Abandoned'' you?! You were twenty-eight! ''[[BasementDweller And living in my basement!]]''
* GiveMeASign: From "Travel Song":
-->'''Shrek:''' ''"Why me? Why me?\\
A simple answer would be fine\\
Won't someone please send me a sign?"''\\
'''Donkey:''' Oh look, a sign! Yunita Pal Avenue straight ahead!
* GoMadFromTheIsolation: Fiona in the play is a...little eccentric, due to being alone in her tower for years.
* GradeSystemSnark: Shrek gives Fiona one in "I Think I Got You Beat."
-->'''Shrek''': I've heard better, I'm just sayin' / A for effort, thanks for playing / Sad to see a princess suffer / But I had it rougher.
* HalfHumanHybrid: [[spoiler:Farquaad is half-dwarf.]]
* IWantSong: "I Know It's Today".
** Also possibly Dragon's part of the song "Forever", where she laments having to guard Fiona the whole time while people see her only as an obstacle instead of another lady who'd like to be rescued.
* LateToThePunchline: Upon arriving to Farquaad's castle, Shrek makes the CompensatingForSomething joke from the film, which receives a blank stare from Donkey. But then [[BrickJoke a bit later]], in the middle of the "Travel Song", Donkey suddenly breaks out laughing, saying he just got it.
* MadnessMantra: Fiona in "I Know It's Today:" ''"And the waiting and the waiting and the waiting and the waiiiiitiiiiiing!"''
* {{Manchild}}: Peter Pan.
-->'''Peter:''' Maybe if we all close our eyes and clap really hard!\\
'''Pinocchio:''' Oh, grow up!\\
'''Peter:''' I ''won't'' grow up!\\
'''Pinocchio:''' ''You're thirty-four and need a shave!''
* MiseryPoker: "I Think I Got You Beat"
-->'''Fiona''': Okay top this. I missed my prom.
-->'''Shrek''': My dad and mom sent me away, it was my birthday.
-->'''Fiona''': I was sent away on Christmas Eve. Haha!
* MisfitMobilizationMoment: The Fairytale Creatures all decide to band together and actually fight against Farquaad's rule during "Freak Flag."
* MoodSwinger: Fiona, especially during "I Know It's Today", in which she "seem(s) a ''bit'' bi-polar..."
* MotionCapture: How the Magic Mirror's face was portrayed on the stage.
* PrecisionFStrike: After the UnusualEuphemism below, Pinocchio ends the song "Story of My Life" with an exclamation of ''"Crap!"''
* SanitySlippage: Fiona has a moment of this in "I Know It's Today" from waiting to be rescued [[GoMadFromTheIsolation from a small room in a tower for over twenty years]].
* SassyBlackWoman: Dragon's singing voice sounds like one.
* SceneryPorn
* ShoutOut: To several other Broadway musicals.
* SissyVillain: Farquaad is played as this.
* [[SoloDuet Solo Trio]]: Fiona with her 10-year old self and teenage self in "I Know It's Today."
* StepfordSuburbia: Duloc under Farquaad's rule is well on its way to becoming this before he's dispatched. Donkey even lampshades it early on, saying that the whole place is "going Stepford."
* SuddenlyVoiced: Dragon. She even got a song.
* TakeThat:
-->'''Gingy:''' It's time we do what we should've done a long time ago.\\
'''Gnome:''' Stop mailing all those sweet but slightly threatening fanletters to Disney/TheLittleMermaid?
* [[ThenLetMeBeEvil Then Let Me Be A Monster]]: During "Build a Wall":
-->'''Shrek:''' I'm gonna be what they want.\\
I'm gonna be what they say\\
Hey world, I'll do it your way!\\
You're looking for a monster, it's your lucky day\\
I'll be what you want!"''
* TitleTheAdaptation
* TriumphantReprise: "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.
* UnusualEuphemism:
-->'''Pinocchio:''' Man I tell ya, sometimes bein' a fairytale creature sucks ''pine sap!''
** Later, "Mother Hubbard!" is exclaimed in place of a certain other, specific swear.
* VocalDissonance:
** The dainty-looking Sugar Plum Fairy speaks with a very deep, throaty voice.
** In several of the YouTube clips of the show, Dragon's singing voice is fairly high and jazzy.
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman:
** Freak Flag
** Weirdly, Donkey [[InvokedTrope uses this]] to save himself from Dragon, pointing out that he's a donkey, not a knight, and therefore shouldn't be considered a threat. Then he accidentally seduces her.
* WorldOfHam: The entire cast!
[[/folder]]

** Snow White herself starts to have a 'Snow White' moment in the third movie. She then sends the mob of animals she gathered charging after some guards.

* CrossDressingVoices: Gingy is puppeteered and voiced by a woman in each production.

** "Shrek" is the Yiddish word for "monster", derived from the German word "shreck", meaning "terror" or "fright".

** Also possibly Dragon's part of the song "Forever", where she laments having to guard Fiona the whole time.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek2}}'' (2004)

In the first movie (2001), Shrek (Mike Myers) is driven into conflict with [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar 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 (Eddie Murphy), and is forced to rescue Princess Fiona (CameronDiaz) 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 entire plan to marry a princess and become a king.

In ''Shrek 2'' (2004), Fiona, [[LateArrivalSpoiler 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 FairyGodmother. He first tries to dispose of Shrek by deploying Puss-in-Boots (AntonioBanderas), a famous ogre hunter, but the cat ends up [[HeelFaceTurn becoming friends with Shrek and Donkey]]. After Shrek drinks a potion that temporarily makes him and Fiona human, the FairyGodmother 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 [[KingArthur Arthur Pendragon]] (JustinTimberlake). 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.

!!Provides examples of:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Series-wide]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Shrek]]
See [[WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}} the page]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Shrek 2]]
See [[WesternAnimation/{{Shrek2}} the page]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Shrek the Third]]
See [[WesternAnimation/ShrekTheThird the page]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Shrek Forever After]]
See [[WesternAnimation/ShrekForeverAfter the page]].
[[/folder]]

* ActionizedSequel
* ActionGirl: Fiona.
* AlternateUniverse: Due to Rumpelstiltskin's plotting, the movie takes place in a universe in which Shrek had never been born.
* AnAesop
** You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.
** Appreciate what you have.
** If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
** True love isn’t always love at first sight.
* AxeCrazy: Rumpelstiltskin. Don't be fooled by the trickster shell. Deep down, he's really a homicidal sociopath.
* AmbiguouslyGay: Cookie. Subverted and presumably averted in that Cookie is actually female.
* BadassArmy: The ogres.
* BadBoss: Rumpelstiltskin. He seems like a good one at first, letting his witches having a rave in his castle and all that. After Shrek escapes however, he drops all the niceness and starts threatening their lives, never mind that ''he'' was the one that [[BerserkButton pushed Shrek too far]].
* BadFuture: The premise.
* BountyHunter: The Pied Piper.
* BrideAndSwitch: PlayedForLaughs during a montage in which Shrek dresses as a veiled bride at a man's wedding.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: An evil variant in Rumpelstiltzkin and his obsession with wigs.
* ChekhovsSkill: How to tie knots. ("The dragon goes under the bridge...")
* ContinuityNod[=/=]ContinuityPorn
* CrazyCatLady: One of the witches at the beginning.
* CreativeClosingCredits[=/=][[spoiler:CreditsMontage]]: [[spoiler:Characters and clips from the previous three films are put together in a sequence.]]
* DarkerAndEdgier: Somewhat, though to be fair the last two films had gotten progressively LighterAndFluffier.
* DoubleEntendre:
** At the beginning of the movie, Rumpelstiltskin tears out pages from a fairytale book in Pinocchio's bookstore. How will he pay? "Maybe we can make a deal for it, little boy." "Oh, I'm not a REAL boy!" Wait for it...wait for it..."...do you WANNA be?"
** "My donkey fell in your waffle hole."
* EmpathyDollShot: A varient occurs, where [[spoiler:Shrek finds his daughter's favorite doll apparently having fallen from one of his pockets]]. It has the same "Isolated doll" factor if the circumstances aren't identical to the norm.
* EveryoneHatesMimes: [[SarcasmMode "Oh great, after mimes, magicians are my favorite people."]]
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: The subtitle ("The Final Chapter"). It is indeed "the final chapter" involving the titular ogre...[[ExactWords which didn't stop Dreamworks from making a movie about Puss]].
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Everything [[spoiler: from the start to the part where Rumpelstiltskin gets kicked out of Pinocchio's bookstore and wishes Shrek was never born is both this ''and'' backstory for him]].
* FauxAffablyEvil: Rumpelstiltskin.
* FauxdianSlip: "I don't know, any day. [[spoiler: A day from your past. A day you had the flu? A day you lost a pet? A day some meddling oaf stuck his nose where it didn't belong destroying your business and ruining your life!]] ...Just for an example."
* FisherKing: Rumpelstiltskin's luxurious palace surrounded by the barren fields and run-down city. This is likely due to simple greed as opposed to a magical connection between the king and the land though.
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Donkey yelling at Gingi, "What you talking about, cracker!?"
* [[spoiler:GoodCostumeSwitch]]: [[spoiler:The Pied Piper wears white in the DancePartyEnding. Maybe he was only evil in Rumple's world.]]
* ItsAWonderfulPlot
* KryptoniteFactor: The exit clause is hidden inside the contract, revealed not in the small print -- which at least some people would be smart enough to read, but by refolding the paper to reveal the hidden words (knowing Rumpelstiltskin's name as per the legend isn't enough, as ''everyone'' knows Rumpelstiltskin now he's king, so he had to get clever).
* LanternJawOfJustice: Brogan.
* LaResistance
* MagicCountdown: Rumpelstiltskin's sand timer, that measures the 'day' Shrek has before [[spoiler:he'll vanish away forever if he doesn't get love's true kiss]]. When it first appears, only a tiny bit of sand has fallen, even though [[spoiler:Shrek must have spent a good part of the day scaring villagers, getting captured, and being carried to Far Far Away.]]
* MagicallyBindingContract: Written by a malicious LiteralGenie. [[SchmuckBait Don't sign them]].
* ManipulativeBastard: Rumpelstiltskin.
* ManlyTears: Shrek sheds a manly tear when he saw one of his triplets doll when he was in the alternate reality and he knew they're not there at all. That is the first time we ever see Shrek cry.
* {{Metaphorgotten}}: Rumpelstiltskin makes a remark about how it's "time to pay the piper". Nothing happens. He then explains to one of the witches that he means ''literally'' pay, as he's a bounty hunter.
* MundaneMadeAwesome: The Pied Piper teaches some witches a lesson by forcing them to ''break dance''. Later he singlehandedly defeats the BadassArmy of Ogres with a full choreography and a conga line straight to Rumpelstiltskin's castle.
* TheMusicMeister: The Pied Piper is a bounty hunter who uses his flute to capture his quarry by forcing them to dance.
* NeverTrustATrailer:
** A commercial on TV (TV spot) makes it look like Donkey tries showing a trick where he shuts his eyes tight and they POP OUT THROUGH HIS NOSTRILS! [[spoiler:He is actually at an ogre dinner, where they eat plates of eyeballs like fruit, and the trick he does actually doesn't involve his own eyes!]]
** Additionally, the song featured in the trailers ([[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68uWGunx3yQ Right Back Where We Started From]]) doesn't actually appear in the movie (though a version does play over the credits), and what is suggested to be a DisneyAcidSequence actually has an explanation.
** The first TV spots that showed in the UK almost made it seem that the fat kid at the party (named Butterpants) was a sort of main character, and also had the roar scene from the party shortened down to:
-->'''Butterpants:''' Do the roar!\\
'''Shrek:''' I'd rather not...\\
'''Butterpants:''' Do it!\\
'''Shrek:''' *Roars*
** There was a hint somewhere (the art book, maybe?) that Brogan would be Shrek's rival for Fiona's love, but that never happens.
* NothingIsScarier: When Shrek bursts through the trunk of the tree that used to contain his home, only to find... nothing but a few scurrying rats. That's when you ''really'' get the feeling of "Oh, my God, what has happened to the world?"
* OrbitalKiss: Thoroughly subverted. The BigDamnKiss happens, with the camera orbit, colorful lights and everything, but then the [[CrapsackWorld world reverts to dark and bleak]].
* OrphanedPunchline: Shrek when riding in Rumpelstiltskin's carriage.
-->'''Shrek:''' And the centaur said, 'That's not the half I'm talking about!'
* ResetButton: When Shrek and Fiona [[spoiler:share TrueLovesKiss just as Shrek is fading from existence, the alternate-universe shatters around Rumpelstiltskin as all of the people within it disappear. When Shrek returns to the prime-universe, he was seen mid-roaring at the birthday party.]]
* RantInducingSlight: Shrek goes crazy from all the events going on at the triplets' birthday party.
* RunningGag: Perhaps it's a coincidence, but Rumpelstiltskin marks the ''third'' Shrek villain who is vertically challenged. [[spoiler:This carries into ''WesternAnimation/PussInBoots'' with Humpty Dumpty.]]
* SceneryGorn: The first view of the alternate-universe land of Far, Far Away-- which has been transformed from a Hollywood-like, beautiful (if commercialized) oasis into a desert wasteland with Rumpelstiltskin's palace at the center. The "Far Far Away" Hollywood sign is mostly destroyed, too.
* SchmuckBait: Donkey just after visiting the dragon's keep.
-->'''Shrek:''' There's a stack of freshly made waffles in the middle of the forest! Don't you find that a wee bit suspicious?
* SeriesContinuityError:
** The Rumpelstiltskins in ''Third'' and ''Forever After'' are nothing alike. It's certainly not a SpeciesSurname either because (thanks to a huge ArtShift) they don't even look like the same species.
** The Pied Piper appears but for a second in a throwaway gag in the first film. Again... he looks nothing like how he does in the fourth film.
** In ''Shrek 2'', we can see it takes days to go from Duloc to Far Far Away. However in Forever After, he travels the same distance three times within less than a day.
* ShoutOut:
** The witches are a cross between [[Film/TheWizardOfOz Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch of the West]] visually and the GreenGoblin in terms of fighting techniques.
** And Fiona for ''Comicbook/RedSonja'' and ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess''.
** The "Film/{{Deliverance}}" banjo theme is heard while in the trailer- er, carriage park.
** That [[WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}} nicely plated roast rat]].
** A giant ball of shields from which all the warriors jump out and attack? Ending of ThreeHundred, anyone?
** A list of the books seen on the bookshelf where Shrek replaces the book ''Shrek'' at the end of the film:
-->''[[Theatre/TheTamingOfTheShrew The Taming of the Shrek]]''.\\
''[[Literature/MobyDick Moby Shrek]]''.\\
''[[LittleLordFauntleroy Little Lord Donkleroy]]''.\\
''[[Literature/{{Cinderella}} Gingerella]]''.\\
''[[Literature/TheUglyDuckling The Ugly Shreklings]]''.\\
''[[Theatre/TheBarberOfSeville The Donkey of Seville]]''.\\
''Literature/PussInBoots''.\\
''[[AMidsummerNightsDream A Midsummer Night's Shrek]]''.\\
''[[Literature/JackAndTheBeanstalk Shrek and the Beanstalk]]''.\\
''[[Literature/TheIliad Fiona of Troy]]''.
* SlapSlapKiss: Fiona only starts warming to Shrek when they bash each other up during combat training.
* StealthPun: That carriage park screams "Witch Trash".
* ThreeDMovie
* ToothyBird: The giant goose.
* {{Tsundere}}: Fiona.
* TwoferTokenMinority: The Black/Gay chef Ogre.
* WeWantOurJerkBack: The "jerk" here is the human race. The main theme of the first two movies is how badly Shrek is treated by humans. By the beginning of the fourth film, Shrek becomes annoyed at the humans treating him nicely and longs for the days when he would run about villages scaring them.
** Nicely? They ran over his outhouse!
*** And they treated him like a circus attraction. Can you really blame him for getting tired of performing tricks for annoying kids every single day?
* WeaksauceWeakness[=/=]SuperDrowningSkills: The witches [[Film/TheWizardOfOz dissolve in water]]. Oddly, the ogre resistance never takes advantage of this; it's just used by Rumpelstilskin in a YouHaveFailedMe moment.
* XMeetsY: The film's plot can be neatly summed up as Film/ItsAWonderfulLife - in the Shrek Universe.

* AdiposeRex: Shrek and Fiona during their brief stint as monarchs of Far Far Away.
* AlphaBitch: Guinevere.
* AmbiguouslyGay: Prince Charming again. [[spoiler:Arguably averted with his romance with Literature/{{Rapunzel}}.]]
* AlternativeForeignThemeSong: The movie has a different theme song for the Japanese version, called [[http://www.myspace.com/video/cholapint/w-inds-pv-love-is-the-greatest-thing/59630594 "Love is the Greatest Thing"]] by w inds.
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: Among the things the villains do on their rampage, they loot shops, terrorize citizens, cause general mayhem and destruction and... rip the stamps off of letters before mailing them.
* TheBeastmaster: Snow White. See CrowningMusicOfAwesome.
* BaldOfEvil: [[spoiler:Rapunzel, much to her embarassment. Let's just say that her "long hair" is in fact an elaborate wig.]]
* BewitchedAmphibians: In an inversion, King Harold resumes his natural frog shape.
* BlackComedy: While rehearsing his lines for the scene in his play where he kills Shrek, Charming (who is going to use a real sword to kill Shrek for real) apparently fatally stabs the guy in the Shrek costume.
* BookEnds: The cardboard tower at Charming's dinner theater gig falls and he goes through the window hole. During his staged (and failed) execution of Shrek, the much larger and heavier prop tower falls and actually crushes him.
* ByWallThatIsHoley: Happens to Prince Charming. [[spoiler:Then almost happens in the ending.]]
* CallToAgriculture: Hook's plan with planting "beautiful daffodils".
* ConfusingMultipleNegatives: Several elaborate examples.
* CoolLoser: Artie.
* CoolOldLady: Queen Lillian. Bashing a solid brick wall with her head [[spoiler:Twice!]]
* DragQueen: Kind of inverted again. Ugly Sister 'Doris' from ''Shrek 2'' is now one of Fiona's girlfriends but is ''still'' voiced by LarryKing, and her similarly ugly sister 'Mabel' is voiced by another man, RegisPhilbin.
* DramaticCurtainToss
* DreamWithinADream: Shrek's nightmare upon realizing he will become a father
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: The Cyclops has a daughter!
-->'''Cyclops:''' Who would have thought a monster like me deserved something as special as you?\\
'''Shrek:''' She's got your eye.
* EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses: Lots of princesses.
* ErmineCapeEffect: Parodied in ''Shrek the Third''. Shrek and Fiona are forced to wear ridiculously confining finery for a ceremonial dinner. Shrek has to get some poor servant to scratch his bum for him...and wouldn't you know it, that's when the curtain is raised. To top it off, the buckle on his belt pops, leading to DisasterDominoes.
* EtTuBrute: [[spoiler:Rapunzel betrays the Princesses and Fiona due to her crush with Charming.]]
* TheEvilPrince: Prince Charming.
* FauxActionGirl: The Princess Rampage showcased in the trailer of ''Shrek the Third'' ends with meek surrender at the first sign of non-mook resistance.
** Their StormingTheCastle sequence was certainly WesternAnimation/{{Madagascar}}-penguin-worthy, though.
* FreakyFridayFlip: Puss and Donkey.
* FreudianSlip: [[spoiler:When Shrek is arguing with Arthur about his becoming a king, Shrek tells him, "We're going back to Far Far Away whether you like it or not, and you're gonna be a father!"]]
* HeelFaceTurn: At some point between films Doris the Ugly Sister from ''Shrek 2'' actually turns from a barmaid in a villain's bar to one of Fiona's girlfriends. We don't know how, why or when this happened, just that it's funny because the man in drag is back.
* HighSchool: Worcestershire in medieval times and within in a fairy tale world.
* HisNameIs Arthur: Subverted [[spoiler:during the king's death.]]
* HippieTeacher: Merlin.
* HumiliationConga: What Shrek and Fiona have to endure while being acting rulers of Far Far Away.
* InconvenientItch: Shrek is trussed up in some very [[ImpossiblyTackyClothes Louis XVI-esque]] clothing for a royal appearance, and suddenly develops a horrible itch on his rear. He's scratching that itch when the curtains open, giving the waiting crowd a view they really didn't want. HiliarityEnsues when something breaks, causing DisasterDominoes.
* ItMakesSenseInContext:
-->'''Donkey:''' We went to high school, then the boat crashed, and then we got bippidy-boppity-booped by the magic man!
* {{Jerkass}}/JerkJock: Lancelot and his friends.
* KidsAreCruel
* LeftTheBackgroundMusicOn: "Just thought I'd help set the mood! You know, for your big heart to heart!"
* PaperThinDisguise
* PokeThePoodle: When the villains attack Far Far Away, there's a montage of them "rearranging" the place. Cut to the cyclops ripping stamps off unsent letters and then cramming them back into the mailbox.
* PoorPredictableRock: A sponsored commercial for Sierra Mist plays off this trope, having Shrek using paper since he claims Donkey's hoof represents rock.
* ProsceniumReveal: The opening sequence begins with Charming supposedly riding his horse triumphantly through a forest.....only for the camera to eventually pull back and reveal that he's miming trotting on the stage at a dinner theater, holding a prop horse head, and the trees going by are actually a continuously moving backdrop reel.
* PsychopathicManChild: Prince Charming.
* ThePowerOfRock: When Snow White unleashes the power of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song", causing the forest animals to attack the Huorns guarding the city gates.
* RedemptionDemotion: Dragon. While in the first film she is shown to have defeated many knights, and is barely defeated by Shrek, also [[spoiler:eating Lord Farquaad at the end]], she seems a lot weaker in ''Shrek the Third'', only able to throw one of Prince Charming's mooks away before more of them capture her. They also subdue her easily with spears in the final confrontation.
** Still... Dragon does end up [[spoiler:supplying the coup de grace against Prince Charming.]]
* RibbonCuttingCeremony: Shrek, performing one of his duties in his day as stand-in king, attempts to christen a newly made ship via the standard shattering of a wine bottle. Unfortunately, he accidentally pushes the ship off (by [[DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength leaning on it very awkwardly]]) before he can finish the ceremony. Desperate, Shrek ''hurls'' the champagne bottle at the newly-made ship, blowing a hole in it. The ship stops and starts to take on water.....and then somehow manages to ''[[EveryCarIsAPinto burst into flames]]''.
* ShowSomeLeg: ...by one of the Ugly Sisters. Still works, though.
* SorryILeftTheBGMOn: two cases in succession. Merlin's porchlight apparently plays the classic "That's What Friends Are For"; and later on, Shrek and company are attacked by treants while Captain Hook plays mood music on the piano.
* SoundEffectBleep: The third film, twice when Fiona is trying to say [[spoiler:she's pregnant]], the ship captain toots an airhorn, when Shrek chucks the horn over the side. A different, much deeper tugboat horn is then used to cover up a vulgarity from Puss.
* TemptingFate: "Someone better be dying!" [[spoiler:[[GilliganCut Cut to King Harold on his deathbed]].]]
* TooManyBabies: A nightmare of Shrek's.
* TotallyRadical: "Help! I've been captured by an ogre who's trying to relate to me!!"
* WaveOfBabies: The inevitable extension of the TooManyBabies example.
* TheWorfEffect: Dragon. That weighted chain-net clearly had her name on it.
* YourCostumeNeedsWork: Shrek passing for a mascot at Arthur's high school [[spoiler:gets spun into a ChekhovsGun.]]

* AmbiguouslyGay: Prince Charming. Being voiced by the openly gay RupertEverett doesn't help. There is a huge ParentalBonus in the scene where he talks to his mother about his reluctance to marry Fiona. Apparently, he is not interested in women at all...
* AreWeThereYet: Donkey on the way to Far, Far Away at the beginning of the movie.
-->'''Shrek:''' [[LampshadeHanging The Land of Far]], ''[[LampshadeHanging Far]]'' [[LampshadeHanging Away]], donkey? ''That's'' where we're going! Far...FAR...''away''.
* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever: [[spoiler:Mongo the Giant Gingerbread Man.]]
* BecomeARealBoy: Parodied, with a YankTheDogsChain thrown in.
-->* zap*\\
'''Pinocchio:''' I'm a real boy! ... ''[singing]'' I'm real, I'm real, I'm -\\
* zap*\\
'''Pinocchio:''' ...Aww!
* BerserkButton: "Not the gumdrop button!"
* BigNo: From Shrek and Gingi when Mongo falls into the moat. In slow motion, even.
* BigShutUp: Parodied in the prison cell scene:
-->'''Stallion!Donkey:''' I have the right to remain silent!
-->'''Hunk!Shrek:''' Donkey, you ''have'' the right to remain silent. What you lack is the capacity.
* BilingualBonus: Puss in Boots cursing in Spanish after falling off Donkey in his stallion form.
** Specifically he said, "¡Hey tu, pedazo de carne con patas, ¿Como te atreves a hacerme esto?" which approximately translated, means, "Hey, you meatbag with legs, how you dare do this to ''me''?"
* BitchInSheepsClothing: Fairy Godmother.
* BittersweetEnding: Although the day was saved, King Harold was turned back into a frog.
* {{Cameo}}: When Shrek and Fiona are kissing on the beach, a wave washes over them and suddenly Fiona is replaced by a certain red-headed mermaid princess. Fiona promptly tosses her way out to sea where she is attacked by a shark.
** Joan Rivers as herself and Simon Cowell as himself for the "Far Far Away Idol" parody on the DVD.
* ComedicSociopathy: The opening montage is quite sweet and funny. But during the parody of ''Film/FromHereToEternity'', Shrek unintentionally ends up frolicking with a [[CaptainErsatz lookalike]] of the Disney/LittleMermaid. Fiona's response? She throws Ariel back into the sea, ''where she gets eaten by sharks''. [[RuleofFunny Neither ogre shows much concern about this]].
** A milder example: Immediately following that scene, the newlyweds enjoy a mud bath... lit up by the glow of several fairies trapped in jars. To add insult to injury, Shrek and Fiona playfully begin farting, much to the discomfort of the contained fairies.
*** In all fairness, Shrek and Fiona never do worse than this, [[MoralDissonance but it does display a certain disregard for other people]].
* CuffsOffRubWrists
* CutenessProximity: {{Invoked}} intentionally by Puss-in-Boots' as his ultimate weapon, used to devastating effect - see PuppyDogEyes.
* DefeatMeansFriendship: Puss invokes this directly as a matter of honor.
* DragQueen: Inverted - in the Poison Apple, the barwoman is an Ugly Sister and she really is technically a woman but her face is effectively a man's and she is even voiced by a man (LarryKing in the USA, JohnathanRoss in the UK).
-->'''King:''' Excuse me, I'm looking for the ''ugly'' step-sister...?\\
''[Doris turns around to show a woman whose face is remarkably male with poorly applied makeup]''\\
''' King:''' Ah...''there'' you are!
* DiegeticSwitch: The FairyGodmother sings "Holding Out For A Hero" for Fiona and Charming ... which becomes the background music for Shrek, Donkey, and Puss StormingTheCastle.
* DramaticIrony: Shrek wasn't the "hero" the Fairy Godmother's song was about. In fact, given her decidedly ''un''heroic intentions, the choice of song itself can only be seen as deeply cynical.
* EasyComeEasyGo: Pinocchio in BecomeARealBoy shown above.
* [[ThreateningShark Everything's Even Worse With Sharks]]: The fate of the CaptainErsatz Little Mermaid in the opening sequence...
* FairyGodmother: Is actually the antagonist.
* FantasticRacism: [[AffablyEvil The Fairy Godmother]] comes across as one of these.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: The lady-frog in [[BadGuyBar The Poison Apple]] asking the King of Far Far Away if she's seen him before. And before that, it's mentioned that his and the Queen's first date was a peaceful walk among the lily pads, something that frogs are fond of hopping on.
** When Fiona sees that Shrek is an Ogre, he [[DeadpanSnarker asks her if she was expecting Prince Charming]], to which she replies with a BluntYes. As the sequel reveals, the real Prince Charming ''was'' supposed to come to her rescue.
* FunnyBackgroundEvent: After The Fairy Godmother catches Shrek and co. spying on them, you can see some local Knights giving the HeadlessHorseman a sobriety test just before Shrek and his pals break past them. What's particularly amusing is that they appear to be giving him the "touch your nose" test. You know, [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext to a man who has no head...]]
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Probably unintentional, but Far Far Away's postal service and police department being named F.F.A.P.S. and F.F.A.P.D. are hard to miss.
* GilliganCut: In ''Shrek 2'', after Shrek, Fiona and Donkey are invited to Far Far Away:
-->'''Shrek:''' We're not going, and that's final!\\
''Cut to the last of the luggage being loaded''
* GoodTimesMontage: The opening sequence.
* HeroicSacrifice: The gingerbread giant, and King Harold.
* [[HoistByHisOwnPetard Hoist By Her Own Petard]]: FairyGodmother.
* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: The {{mooks}} in the potion factory start shooting at Shrek, who is barely moving due to running against a conveyor belt. None of them hit.
* ImprovisedZipline: Prince Charming uses one during his opening montage
* IndyHatRoll: Puss-in-Boots during the scene in the potion factory pulls this off, complete with requisite hat-grab.
* KillItWithWater: the HeroicSacrifice of Gingi's giant.
* LightIsNotGood: The Fairy Godmother and Prince Charming
* LovePotion: Fiona's fairy godmother orders the king to pour it into Fiona's drink so that she will fall in love with Prince Charming instead of Shrek.
* ManChild: Prince Charming.
* MoralDissonance: See ComedicSociopathy above.
* MyCard: The FairyGodmother's card - also a means of communication.
* OddlyNamedSequel2ElectricBoogaloo: In the DVD menu, Donkey asks why the movie is just named Shrek 2, and starts coming up with alternative Donkey-related subtitles, like "[[DayOfTheDead Day of the Donkey]]", "A Donkey Will Rise", "Too Fast, Too Donkey'' and "[[Film/TheMatrixReloaded Donkey Reloaded]]". This soon gets on everyone else's nerves.
--> '''Donkey:''' How about "Shrek 2... The '''REAL''' Jackass Movie?!"
--> '''Everyone:''' No!
--> '''Donkey:''' How about "Shrek 2: Donkey Reloaded?"
--> '''Everyone:" NO!!
--> '''Shrek:''' How about this? "Shrek 2: [[DudeWheresMyCar Dude, Where's My Donkey?]] Oh, there he is, cut from the movie because HE TALKS TOO MUCH!"
--> '''Donkey:''' ... [[CompletelyMissingThePoint What kinda title is that?]]
* ParentalBonus: Many.
** "That bush that looks just like Shirley Bassey..."
* PerspectiveMagic + EurekaMoment: After breaking out of Far Far Away prison, Gingy's standing on a parapet (with the Far Far Away castle far off in the distance behind him) gives Shrek an idea how they will go about StormingTheCastle.
* PreciousPuppies: Fiona's Bichon.
* PrinceCharmless: Prince Charming.
* TheReveal: [[spoiler:Harold's DisneyDeath HeroicSacrifice at the end of the movie eventually reveals his true form as the Frog Prince. Unlike the original fairytale, neither his wife nor his daughter knew of his true form. This is because Harold gained this form through a deal with the Fairy Godmother instead of Lillian kissing him, and Fiona's ArrangedMarriage to Prince Charming was an end result of that.]]
* RockyRollCall: During the dinner scene with Fiona's parents:
-->'''Queen:''' Harold!\\
'''Fiona:''' Shrek!\\
'''Shrek:''' Fiona!\\
'''King:''' Fiona!\\
'''Fiona:''' Mom!\\
'''Queen:''' Harold!\\
'''Donkey:''' Donkey!
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: After Shrek and Fiona get off the carriage and the townspeople are shocked:
--> '''Donkey:''' Uh... Why don’t you guys go ahead. I’ll park the car.
* SeparatedByACommonLanguage: The slightly, er- ''intellectually subnormal'' giant gingerbread man raises eyebrows in Scotland, where the word "mongo" is an extremely offensive pejorative term for someone who is mentally handicapped. But Mongo was also the name of a guy in ''BlazingSaddles''.
* ShoutOut: Numerous:
** To ComicStrip/{{Garfield}} when Puss mutters into his milk "I hate Mondays."
** During Shrek and Fiona's honeymoon, they receive a [[Film/LordOfTheRings ring with text that glows when it is heated]]. Later during the same honeymoon, Fiona removing something covering lower part of her loved one's mouth to kiss him while he is hanging from a tree certainly bears a striking resemblance to [[Franchise/SpiderMan a certain crawly character]].
** When Shrek is fleeing on Donkey into the forest in a segment of ''[[Series/{{COPS}} KNIGHTS]]'', there is a helicopter shot of the sequence and a voice is heard saying "We've got a white bronco headed east into the forest. Requesting backup." This is a direct reference to the infamous 1994 California highway chase where cops were chasing OJSimpson in a white Ford Bronco, a notorious low-speed chase. The montage's camerawork and overall appearance resembles the appearance of ''COPS''.
* SittingSexyOnAPiano: The FairyGodmother does this at one point.
* SorryILeftTheBGMOn: It turns out that the voice over narration describing Charming's quest is done by Charming while on the quest.
* ThatPoorCat: When the "Happily Ever After" potion takes effect on Shrek and he faints, we hear a cat howl... presumably because Shrek landed on Puss-In-Boots when he passed out.
* ThirdActMisunderstanding
* TookAShortcut: In a non-video game example, Shrek, Donkey, and Fiona have to travel to the Kingdom of '''Far, FAR Away''', which apparently takes an exceedingly long time. Yet when Shrek is [[spoiler:arrested after drinking the Happily Ever After Potion]], his whole gang back at The Swamp (where it's already getting dark) witness this on television and get to Far Far Away during the same evening, well before midnight.
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: Given how everyone else reacts when they see Shrek and Fiona (fleeing in terror, attacking in terror, or staring in StunnedSilence), the heralds who deliver them the invitation at the beginning are ''remarkably'' unfazed by the sight of their princess-turned-ogre and her similarly-formed husband. [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg And the talking donkey.]]
* VictoriasSecretCompartment: From which the FairyGodmother draws the LovePotion.
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Everybody loves the FairyGodmother - she seems quite nice and she's very famous for her potions and [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything happy endings]].
* WhiteStallion: Donkey, after drinking the Happily Ever After potion. It doesn't stick.
* YouShallNotPass: Puss-in-Boots holds off a pack of guards as Shrek rushes to stop the FairyGodmother's evil plot, in payment of his debt to Shrek. He's not honestly in much danger from them, but that makes him holding them all off no less impressive, especially for a normal-sized housecat.

* AcademyAward: The film won the first ever Oscar for Best Animated Feature, and was also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay
* ADateWithRosiePalms: Lord Farquaad in bed ordering a disgusted magic mirror to show him the princess... again!
* AdaptationExpansion: Adapted from a children's book approximately 500 words long; almost nothing in the movie other than the characters of Shrek and Donkey -- [[AscendedExtra who appeared for only one page as a random encounter]] -- actually came from the book.
** As did Princess Fiona since at the end of the book [[spoiler:Shrek meets a princess ogre (Fiona) who is even uglier than he is.]]
** Also, the dragon made a brief appearance under different circumstances, and the role of the Knight from the book and Lord Farquaad from the film are suspiciously similar -- both are {{Jerkass}} versions of characters who would usually be the good guy in fairy tales, who end up acting as the primary villain.
* AsceticAesthetic: Duloc.
* ArcWords: Really really!
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: Given the source, one of the lines from one of the Three Little Pigs.
-->'''Pig:''' He Huffed, and he Puffed, and he...signed an eviction notice.
* AstonishinglyAppropriateInterruption
* BeastAndBeauty: Shrek and Fiona in the first movie, subverted.
* BerserkButton: [[spoiler:Shrek whistles for Dragon to give Lord Farquaad his JustDesserts just one second after Fiona got threatened.]]
* BrokenAesop: The whole point of the first film is "It doesn't matter what you look like, it's what inside that counts"... which doesn't stop an army of "short" jokes at Farquaad's expense (and suggestions that he may be CompensatingForSomething), or the fact that in the end Fiona ends up in the shape that will be the most appealing to Shrek.
** Fiona's transformation could be viewed as one more physically compatible with Shrek. Fiona's human head would fit in Shrek's mouth (which was pointed out in the DVD commentary during the AlmostKiss). Then again, we have the Donkey and Dragon pair-up... which is equally disturbing and might just qualify for the 'what's inside that counts' [[HotSkittyOnWailordAction to an extreme]].
** Whatever's inside Farquaad is persecuting all fairy tale creatures and uprooting them from their homes. He's earned the right to be made fun of.
* CompensatingForSomething: The first movie includes this as a ParentalBonus joke with Shrek saying this to Donkey.
-->'''Shrek:''' (while looking at Lord Farquaad's huge castle) "Do you think he's maybe compensating for something?"
** Kids take away the meaning of [[AcceptableTargets compensating for]] [[TheNapoleon being short]], and adults take away the other.
* ComedicSociopathy:
** Shrek and Fiona making nearby animals into balloons for each other and then letting them float away, and allowing a tree Donkey is walking on to snap back and fling him away.
** In addition to the balloon animals, Fiona also causes a bird to spontaneously combust when it tries to hold a note as long and loud as the one Fiona sings... ''then'', she cooks the birds' eggs.
** Notice at the end of the movie, only two of the three bears - Papa Bear, and Baby Bear, specifically - are freed with the other fairy tale creatures... because if you look closely, Farquaad made a rug out of Mama Bear. For some, this would also qualify as an instance of Fridge Horror.
* ComplainingAboutRescuesTheyDontLike: Fiona ''is'' this trope for a lot of the first movie. Shrek didn't slay the dragon first. Shrek can't recite a poem. Shrek needs to save his ass. Shrek won't take off his helmet. And the worst part, to Fiona: Shrek was sent to rescue her for ''someone else''.
* {{Constellations}}: Shrek tells Donkey the names the ogres give to several constellations.
* CurseCutShort[=/=]LastSecondWordSwap: From the Robin Hood song:
-->"I like an honest fight and a saucy little maid"\\
What he's basically saying is that he likes to get--PAID!
** The Disney-esque "Welcome to Duloc" song.
-->"Please keep off of the grass"\\
"Shine your shoes, wipe your--''(bend over and turn around, exposing butt-cracks)'' [[SubvertedRhymeEveryOccasion FACE]]!"
** Also, an example without LastSecondWordSwap is at the very beginning, while Shrek was using his outhouse. "What a load of--" [[SoundEffectBleep ''(flushes)'']]
* CurseEscapeClause: Fiona was cursed to be an ogre at night and a human during the day. The curse was broken by TrueLovesKiss. Good thing it wasn't just ''any'' true love...
** The second implies it was ''supposed'' to make her permanently human. The phrasing is "love's true form".
* DoesThatSoundLikeFunToYou:
-->'''Donkey:''' I don't get it, Shrek. Why didn't you just pull some of that ogre stuff on him? You know, throttle him, lay siege to his fortress, grind his bones to make your bread? You know, the whole ogre trip.\\
'''Shrek:''' Oh, I know. Maybe I could have decapitated an entire village, put their heads on a pike, gotten a knife, cut open their spleens and drink their fluids. Does that sound good to you?\\
'''Donkey:''' Uh, no, not really, no.
* DoubleEntendre: Shrek makes this when he remarks on the short Lord Farquaad's tall castle, when saying "Do you think maybe he's compensating for something?"
* EngagementChallenge: Shrek saved princess Fiona from a castle situated [[ConvectionSchmonvection over a smoldering volcano]] in the first movie. She was O.K. with marrying him until finding out he was an Ogre, and he was just working as a champion for Lord Farquaad. In keeping with the whole theme of subverting fairy tales in the movies, she turns into an ogre as well and marries Shrek anyway. On top of that, [[BetaCouple the (female) dragon who was guarding the princess ends up with Shrek's sidekick Donkey]].
* FantasticNatureReserve: Shrek's swamp, very much against his wishes.
* FantasticRacism: Farquaad. The trope's name has never been so appropriate: Farquaad hates ''all'' "fairy tale creatures" and has them evicted and forced into Shrek's swamp. His "perfect kingdom" would have nobody but humans.
** Nobody but ''Muggles''. Some pretty human-looking wizards and a witch are exiled to the swamp too.
* FemaleMonsterSurprise
* FoeTossingCharge: Makes an appearance during the wedding scene. The eponymous ogre and Fiona find themselves beset by {{Mooks}}; Shrek starts 'wading' through them, throwing them off as necessary. They manage to slow him, but we never get to find out the ending thanks to a GunshipRescue moment.
* FrenchJerk[=/=]JustAStupidAccent: Although in most retellings, Robin Hood is an English Saxon fighting the tyranny of French-descended Normans, in ''Shrek'' he inexplicably has a French accent. And is a jerk to boot.
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar:
** "Farquaad", natch.
** The aforementioned diminutive lord asking a disgusted magic mirror to show him Princess Fiona... [[ADateWithRosiePalms again.]]
** Arguable example: When Dragon has Donkey wrapped in the coils of her tail and flirts with him, she at one point lowers her snout below the level of his waist. Donkey objects to her apparently petting his tail... [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything but her head is placed in front of him, not behind...]]
** The inclusion of the LeonardCohen song "Hallelujah." The lyrics to that song are highly sexual, and, despite sounding like a love song, it's actually a song that compares the Jews losing their covenant with God with a man breaking up with a woman he really loved.
* GirlInTheTower: Lampshaded
* GoLookAtTheDistraction: Fiona sending Donkey to get a specific flower while she treats Shrek's arrow wound.
* GunshipRescue: [[spoiler:Dragon swoops in to take out Lord Farquaad just in time to rescue Fiona]]. See BerserkButton, above.
* HeroicNeutral: Shrek's motivation - he just wants his swamp back!
* InducedHypochondria: Shrek and Fiona psych Donkey into feeling ill so they can spend one more day together.
* InsultMisfire: Upon seeing Shrek for the first time...
-->'''Farquaad:''' Ugh, it's hideous!\\
'''Shrek:''' Well, that's not very nice. It's just a donkey.\\
'''Donkey:''' Huh?\\
'''Farquaad:''' Indeed.
* ItIsDehumanizing: During this exchange, after Shrek and Fiona have their falling out...
--> '''Farquaad:''' "You don't have to waste good manners on the ogre. It's not as if it has ''feelings.''"
--> '''Fiona:''' "No. You're right." (pointedly at Shrek, in anger) "''It'' doesn't."
* ItsAllUpstairsFromHere: Lampshaded, Shrek points out that Fiona will be at the top of the highest tower. Donkey asks how he knows and Shrek says he "read it in a book".
* ItsQuietTooQuiet: Shrek says this when he and Donkey first enter Duloc.
* IveGotAnXAndImNotAfraidToUseIt: "I'm a donkey on the ''edge!"''
* {{Jerkass}}: Lord Farquaad.
* JustDesserts: [[spoiler:Lord Farquaad's demise.]]
* KillItWithFire: Played with at the beginning: One member of the [[TorchesAndPitchforks angry mob]] waves a torch in Shrek's face, hoping to scare him. Shrek snuffs the flame out with his fingers.
* KissingDiscretionShot: Done at the end of the movie, combined with BreakingTheFourthWall. Also subverted, as Shrek covering up the camera leads to an {{Idiosyncratic Wipe|s}} to Shrek and Fiona kissing in their own wedding.
* LaserGuidedKarma: Farquaad gets what he deserves at the wedding and [[spoiler:gets eaten by Dragon. Dragon burps out his crown a few seconds later.]]
* LateArrivalSpoiler: Didn't know [[spoiler:Fiona was turned into an ogress]]? Then don't look at the covers of any of the sequels.
* LovesMeNot: Fiona does this with a sunflower Shrek left at her doorstop, but to decide whether she should tell Shrek her deep, dark secret: "I tell him, I tell him not..." She plucks the last petal on a "I tell him!" but [[spoiler:the sun rises just then and she returns to human form before she can find Shrek.]]
* MajorInjuryUnderreaction:
-->'''Fiona:''' There's an ''arrow'' in your butt!\\
'''Shrek:''' Huh? [[UnusuallyUninterestingSight Oh, would you look at that]].
* MinskyPickup: Robin Hood's song
* MoralDissonance: see "Comedic Sociopathy" above.
* MistakenForOwnMurderer: Donkey, unaware of Fiona's curse, thinks that an ogre ate her when he finds one in her room. She manages to calm him enough to explain.
* MirrorCrackingUgly: Shrek's mirror can't withstand his smile.
* MutilationInterrogation: Played for laughs when the Gingerbread Man gets both of his legs broken of and his head dipped into a glass with milk. Lord Farquaad then crushes one of the legs in his hands, but the other leg is later reattached with frosting, making it neccessary for Gingy to walk with a candy cane.
* TheNapoleon: Lord Farquaad.
* NoodleIncident: When going into hero worship mode of Shrek shortly after Shrek unwittingly saved Donkey's butt from Farquaad's men, Donkey mentions another time before meeting Shrek that he nearly had his nosehairs burned off. However, Shrek tried to muffle his mouth, to no avail. The only thing that was revealed was that it had something to do with eating rotten berries and his undergoing indigestion.
* OffscreenTeleportation: Rather subtle because the distances involved were so small, but in the scene where Donkey and Shrek are arguing underneath the moon, Donkey demonstrates an unusual knack for getting in Shrek's face no matter which way the ogre turns.
* OneSideOfTheStory: The movie pulled off a two-sided version of this. Shrek [[OutOfContextEavesdropping half-overhears]] a conversation between Fiona and Donkey, but misses the most significant part: that Fiona turns into an ogre at night. The next day Shrek and Fiona both assume that Shrek heard the whole conversation and each jump to a false conclusion: Shrek jumps to the conclusion that Fiona was talking about ''him'' when she said "who could love a beast so hideous and ugly", and "ugly and princess don't go together", and when Shrek confronts her about this the next morning, Fiona jumps to the conclusion that Shrek is disgusted with the fact that she becomes an ugly ogre at night. This crushes both their romantic feelings for each other, and Fiona goes to Duloc with Farquaad and Shrek goes back to his swamp.
** [[OneDialogueTwoConversations This conversation is skillfully crafted]] to become two separate scenes based on whether or not you know the piece of information; the audience is aware of it at the time.
* OutOfContextEavesdropping: As mentioned under OneSideOfTheStory, Shrek is about to confess his love to Fiona, when he overhears Fiona talking to Donkey, saying that no-one could love a monster like an ogre. Of course, he is unaware that she is talking about the curse that turns ''her'' into an ogre, which she conveniently doesn't explicitly mention again until just ''after'' Shrek gets disgusted and leaves.
* OutrunTheFireball: In the first movie, Shrek, Donkey, and Fiona use this trope as they reach the bridge leading away from the dragon's castle, and the dragon takes one last shot at them with her fiery breath.
* ParentalBonus: Farquaad is a caricature of Disney CEO MichaelEisner; see also MeaningfulName and DoubleEntendre above.
** Apparently caricatures of Micheal Eisner [[InkSuitActor look remarkably like John Lithgow]].
* PunctuatedForEmphasis: "Ogres. Are ''not''. Like ''cakes''!"
** "I live alone! ''My'' swamp! ''Me''! Nobody else, understand?! ''Nobody''! Especially useless! Pathetic! Annoying! ''Talking DONKEYS''!!!"
* RadialAssKicking: Happens with Fiona and the Merry Men as well as the wrestling scene in the arena.
* RageAgainstTheReflection: Fiona in the first film, upon seeing her ogre reflection in a bucket of water.
* ReasonYouSuckSpeech:
-->'''Donkey:''' (to Shrek) You know, with you, it's always "Me, me, me!" Well, guess what?! Now it's my turn! So you just shut up and pay attention! You are mean to me, you insult me, you don't appreciate anything that I do! You're always pushing me around or pushing me away!\\
'''Shrek:''' Yeah? Well, if I treated ya' so bad, why did you come back?\\
'''Donkey:''' 'Cause that's what friends do. ''They forgive each other!''\\
'''Shrek:''' Alright, Donkey, I forgive you... ''for stabbing me in the back!''
* ReferenceOverdosed
* ReptilesAreAbhorrent: Subverted. The dragon seems evil and ferocious at first, but then she falls for Donkey and it's shown she has a softer side.
* RescueIntroduction: Shrek and Donkey meet Fiona when rescuing her from the tower.
* RopeBridge
* RoyalDecree: When Shrek first encounters the soldiers, they try to read him the prince's decree outlawing all fairy-tale creatures, but get intimidated by him looming over them.
* ShipperOnDeck: Donkey to Shrek and Fiona.
* SnipeHunt: Donkey is sent off to find a blue flower with red thorns to keep him from distracting Fiona and Shrek while they dealt with the arrow in Shrek's behind. Taken further as Donkey turns out to be colorblind. Donkey actually ''finds'' the flower, too, so it's uncertain Fiona was sending him to find something she expected he'd fail to find. She does say explicitly, though, that the flowers are "for getting rid of Donkey".
** He doesn't just ''find'' the flower, he wanders through a whole copse of them, complaining that his task would be infinitely easier if he could discern color, and he only brings back the right flower because he grabs one - ''any'' one - in a panic when he hears Shrek yell. The other characters don't even react weirdly, making it a relatively subtle sight gag.
* SpeakNowOrForeverHoldYourPeace: Spoofed in the first movie. Shrek goes to interrupt the wedding of Fiona and Farquaad, but Donkey tells him he has to wait until the priest does his "speak now or forever hold your piece" bit before barging in and shouting "I object!". On further investigation, they find they missed that part, so Shrek barges in anyway, just in time to create an AlmostKiss.
* StandardFemaleGrabArea: After showing [[ActionGirl impeccable fighting skills]] early in the movie, Fiona can only call helplessly for Shrek when grabbed this way at [[spoiler:her wedding]]. Granted, Farquaad does eventually put a knife to her throat but only after 20 seconds or so of her doing nothing while Shrek, who is also grabbed, actually fights back.
* SubvertedRhymeEveryOccasion: "Please keep off of the grass,[=/=]shine your shoes, wipe your...[=/=]...Face!"
** Which technically does rhyme with the line that follows: "Duloc is, Duloc is, Duloc is a perfect place!"
* SuddenMusicalEnding
* TakingAThirdOption: 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.''
* ThemeMusicPowerUp: Halfway through the wrestling match in Duloc, Joan Jett's "Bad Reputation" kicks in, and both [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Shrek AND Donkey start to kick ass and take names]].
* ThisIsMySide: Shrek and Donkey, at one point.
* TreeBuchet: Shrek does this to Donkey in the first movie.
* TurnYourHeadAndCough: When Donkey learns that Shrek has been hit by an arrow, Donkey panics at the thought of Shrek dying from it and shouts irrelevant medical advice, including "keep your feet elevated", a plea for somebody to perform the Heimlich Maneuver, and "turn your head and cough."
* YouMonster: The Gingerbread Man to Farquaad: "You're a monster!"
** Farquaad: "I'm not the monster here, ''you'' are! You and that fairy tale trash poisoning my perfect world!"
* WeddingDeadline: Subverted.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: So, um, what happened to Farquaad's kingdom?
** And the refugees in the swamp?
*** In the HalloweenEpisode, they go back to Farquaad's kingdom to find it's now a ghost town.
*** Some of the refugees would reappear in later films (Pinocchio, the Three Little Pigs, Big Bad Wolf, Pied Piper).
* YouAndWhatArmy: Inverted. Shrek says this to the leader of a group of soldiers, who turns around and sees that the rest of his troops had run away, leaving a lot of their weapons behind.