History WesternAnimation / SHREK

* UnexpectedKindness: Donkey is terrified when he sees Shrek for the first time, expecting to be killed and eaten, but Shrek instead saves him from the guards who were chasing him. Probably why he wasn't afraid when Shrek tried to scare him.

** Shrek and Fiona are badasses, but in the finale, they are near helpless when a pissed off Farquaad sics his knights on them, causing the two to become [[ZergRush overwhelmed by the massive army]], not helping that they're in a crowded church making it easier for the knights to trap the ogres.

* InNameOnly: The movie does carry the basics of the original book (a fairytale satire about an ogre who partners up with a donkey to rescue an ogre princess) but everything else is very different.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Seeing how Puss In Boots isn’t introduced until the sequel, this is the only film that doesn’t feature him. In addition, this film puts more emphasis on satire than the other ones and has the most adult humor. It is also the only one not to have any scenes set in Far Far Away, as it is also introduced in the sequel.

* CompensatingForSomething: Included as a ParentalBonus joke. When they first see Lord Farquaad's [[EvilTowerOfOminousness huge castle]], Shrek asks Donkey "Do you think maybe he's compensating for something?". Kids take away the meaning of [[AcceptableTargets compensating for]] [[TheNapoleon being short]], and adults take away the other. With all the other jokes in the movie specifically directed at Farquaad's height, [[InnocentInnuendo viewers might have doubted that the double meaning was really intended]], but the less innocent interpretation is apparently how Donkey understood the comment as he later says this to Fiona:
-->'''Donkey''': Shrek thinks Lord Farquaad is compensating for something, which I think means he has a really—''[Shrek stamps on his hoof]'' [[CurseCutShort OW!]]

%%* The Only Volunteer: After discovering that Lord Farqaad has deported a bunch of magical creatures to his swamp, Shrek decides to have a chat with him and asks said bunch if anyone can show him the way to Farqaad's castle. Since Shrek is an ogre, everyone except Donkey is too scared to volunteer. Shrek, annoyed by Donkey's personality makes at least two more calls before resigning and accepting Donkey as his sidekick. - Unlaunched Trope

* RopeBridge: A thin rickety one leads to the castle where Fiona is imprisoned. Donkey naturally is quite terrified to walk across it over "a boiling lake of lava!!"

-->Fiona: "THERE'S AN ARROW IN YOUR BUTT!"
-->Shrek: "[[AnnoyingArrows Huh,]] would you look at that?"

* SlidingScaleOfAdaptationModification: The first film lands on both the Type 1 (InNameOnly) and Type 3 (PragmaticAdaptation) ends of the scale. The film's story borrows very few elements from the original William Steig book save for Shrek himself and Donkey (who only appeared on one page), but the original story was only 500 words long to begin with, so some major AdaptationExpansion was done to make the book's story viable for a feature length film.

* SlidingScaleOfSillinessVersusSeriousness: The film zigzags between both ends of the scale. The bulk of the film is a silly comedy that pokes fun at fairy tale cliches. The romance and drama scenes, however, are mostly treated very seriously in start contrast.

* SoundEffectBleep: Happens at the beginning after Shrek closes the book. "Like that's ever going to happen. What a load of--" *toilet flushes*

* SpannerInTheWorks: If it wasn't for Farquaad's actions, nothing in the rest of the franchise would have happened and the plans of the other 3 villains would have been successful.
* SpeakNowOrForeverHoldYourPeace: Spoofed. Shrek goes to interrupt the wedding of Fiona and Farquaad, but Donkey, suggests him to [[GenreSavvy wait for the priest to say his "speak now or forever hold your peace" bit before barging in and shouting "I object!"]]. On further investigation, they find they missed that part, so Shrek barges in anyway.

** Shrek and Fiona are badasses, but in the finale, they are near helpless when a pissed off Farquaad siccs his knights on them, causing the two to become [[ZergRush overwhelmed by the massive army]], not helping that they're in a crowded church making it easier for the knights to trap the ogres.

* TakeThat: The film, made by several former Disney employees, was made as a ''gigantic'' middle-finger to the company, and more specifically then-CEO Michael Eisner (whose personality and mannerisms are reflected in the villain, Farquaad). It's not an accident that the movie itself is a DeconstructorFleet of the classic installments of the Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon as well as the Disney Renaissance films.

** The Magic Mirror does this in his first and second lines, saying that Farquaad isn't a king, and then, after Thenloious smashes a hand mirror as a threat, he quickly says, "What I mean is, you're not a king ''yet''." If the trailer is anything to go by, it was originally supposed to be a different one: "Well, technically, it's not ''perfect''", with the implication being that the Mirror would then clarify that a kingdom isn't a kingdom without a king.

'''Shrek''': Well, actually, that would be a giant. Now ogres, oh, they're much worse! They'll make a suit from your freshly peeled skin; they'll shave your liver; squeeze the jelly from your eyes! Actually, it's quite good on toast.\\

[Shrek licks his fingers and puts out the torch]\\
'''Villager 1''' [sheepishly]: Right. [Shrek roars at the villagers]\\
'''Shrek''' [whispering]: {{This is the part where}} you run away. [the villagers retreat] And stay out!

-->[[spoiler:"She wasn't talking about you, okay? She was talking about... ''(hesitates slightly)'' someone else."]]
* WhamShot: Towards the climax, Donkey nervously goes to spend the night in the mill where Fiona is because he's scared of the dark. He calls for her, only to see a green figure stumbling in the dark wearing Fiona's dress. Donkey screams in alarm, until the ogress reveals ''she'' is Fiona, just bigger...and greener. Donkey needs a few minutes until he realizes that Fiona is cursed, and he's seeing what happens after the sun goes down.

---> '''Shrek''': Believe me Donkey, if it was ''me'', you'd be dead.

* PlotHole: Shrek and Donkey joke about Lord Farquaad's height, after having only seen him when he was sitting down with his legs hidden. It's possible that Donkey had seen him before, but Shrek is the first one to crack a joke.

* SoHideousItsTerrifying: Provides the trope image. Shrek exploits this trope at the beginning of the first movie to scare off ogre hunters and protect his privacy. The Allstar Smash Mouth sequence has him having a bath in a quagmire, having a shower with mud (with a clear shot of his buttocks) brushing his teeth with bug guts (the latter scene ending with [[MirrorCrackingUgly his mirror cracking]]) and, finally, roaring at the villagers who wanted to kill him (with a close-up of his teeth and saliva). However, the trope is downplayed later in the movie and sequels because he finds a love interest with AnAesop about inner beauty, his best friends get along with him without any trace of fear (well, as long as [[OhCrap Shrek doesn't lose it]]) and his ugliness is lampshaded only in gags and scenes where either his ogre physique or lifestyle are put in contrast with those of more attractive characters.

* UnexpectedKindness: Donkey is terrified when he sees Shrek for the first time, expecting to be killed and eaten, but Shrek instead saves him from the guards who were chasing him.

* AnachronismStew: A big source of the film's humor. While the medieval fairy tale setting is generally consistent with how low tech it is, there are pop culture anomalies inserted that [[RuleOfFunny fly in the face of it for laughs]]. These include the Magic Mirror hosting a Dating Show (and Farquaad later using him like a TV with a VCR), a parking lot and loudspeakers at Duloc, Shrek making offhand comments like "Hold the phone!", Shrek's outhouse having modern plumbing, and Fiona being skilled in Eastern Martial Arts, right down to performing a parody of ''Film/TheMatrix'', and the use of a modern drumset and microphone in the DancePartyEnding. The heavy use of popular music in the soundtrack also gave the film a very contemporary feel (for the early 2000s, at least).

** Donkey has an OhCrap when he notices the dragon for the first time and screams "DRAGON!" before running for his life.

* CompensatingForSomething: Included as a ParentalBonus joke. When they first see Lord Farquaad's [[EvilTowerOfOminousness huge castle]], Shrek asks Donkey "Do you think maybe he's compensating for something?" Kids take away the meaning of [[AcceptableTargets compensating for]] [[TheNapoleon being short]], and adults take away the other. With all the other jokes in the movie specifically directed at Farquaad's height, [[InnocentInnuendo viewers might have doubted that the double meaning was really intended]], but the less innocent interpretation is apparently how Donkey understood the comment as he later says this to Fiona:
'''Donkey''': Shrek thinks Lord Farquaad is compensating for something, which I think means he has a really—[Shrek stamps on his hoof] [[CurseCutShort OW!]]

* CompensatingForSomething: Included as a ParentalBonus joke with Shrek saying this to Donkey.
-->'''Shrek''': ''(while looking at Lord Farquaad's huge castle.)'' Do you think maybe he's compensating for something?
** Kids take away the meaning of [[AcceptableTargets compensating for]] [[TheNapoleon being short]], and adults take away the other. Initially viewers may have reasonably doubted that the double meaning was intended, but it is effectively confirmed later on when Fiona first sees Duloc:
--->'''Fiona''': That's Duloc?\\
'''Donkey''': Yeah, I know. You know, Shrek thinks Lord Farquaad is compensating for something, which I think means he has a really—[Shrek stamps on his hoof] [[CurseCutShort OW!]]

-->'''Fiona''': That's Duloc?
-->'''Donkey''': Yeah, I know. You know, Shrek thinks Lord Farquaad is compensating for something, which I think means he has a really—[Shrek stamps on his hoof] [[CurseCutShort OW!]]

* 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?"

* ParentalBonus: Farquaad is a caricature of Disney CEO Creator/MichaelEisner; see also MeaningfulName and DoubleEntendre above.

* MeaningfulName: Shrek comes from the German word "schrek," which means "to scare." Fittingly, Shrek is a large ogre who enjoys scaring villagers.

* LovesMeNot: Variation. Fiona does this with a sunflower Shrek left at her doorstop 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. Naturally, he appears seconds later, and because of his eavesdropping on her the night before and offended by some comments she made to Donkey that seemed at least very insensitive towards him (Shrek), he's ''not'' happy.]]

* 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. Naturally, he appears seconds later, and because of his eavesdropping on her the night before and offended by some comments she made to Donkey that seemed at least very insensitive towards him (Shrek), he's ''not'' happy.]]

-->'''Donkey''': [[SarcasmMode Wow, that was really scary]] and if you don't mind me saying, [[LampshadeHanging if that don't work, your breath will certainly get the job done]], 'cause you definitely need [[YouNeedABreathMint some Tic Tacs or something 'cause your breath STINKS.]]."''

->''"[[SarcasmMode Wow, that was really scary]] and if you don't mind me saying, [[LampshadeHanging if that don't work, your breath will certainly get the job done]], 'cause you definitely need [[YouNeedABreathMint some Tic Tacs or something 'cause your breath STINKS.]]."''
-->-- '''Donkey'''

[[caption-width-right:350:[[Donkey: [[SarcasmMode Wow, that was really scary]] and if you don't mind me saying, [[LampshadeHanging if that don't work, your breath will certainly get the job done]], 'cause you definitely need [[YouNeedABreathMint some Tic Tacs or something 'cause your breath STINKS.]]]]]]

* TheDreaded: Dragon [[spoiler: before her HeelFaceTurn]]. Even Shrek, an grown Ogre who can send entire mobs fleeing and can take on a dozen soldiers at once attempts to avoid the Dragon when rescuing Fiona.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: This film deconstructs the old fairy tale story of knights fighting dragons by showing what actually happens when a human goes up against a giant, [[BreathWeapon fire-breathing]] monster: they get burnt to death, as the array of burnt skeletons in the castle confirm. Shrek and Donkey ultimately escape from Dragon not by defeating her in a straight fight, but by outsmarting her.