Shrek: character analysis and cultural impact

Shrek: Dating, Marriage, Parenting and Family Interaction

In the movies, Shrek 1, 2 & the Third, themes relating to dating, courtship, engagement, marriage, child bearing and family interactions can be found throughout each film. The fairytale couple, Shrek the ogre and Fiona the beautiful princess/turned ogre, eventually lives out the "happily ever after" story, but must first overcome some real-life struggles with each other, friends, family and children.

The first film primarily deals with first love, courtship, engagement and marriage, with Shrek rescuing Fiona, the damsel in distress, and their quest for love despite the many obstacles to their relationship. The complications they face are obvious from the start of the first movie and continue throughout the trilogy. One major stumbling block is Shrek's opinion of himself, as he clearly has poor self-esteem issues. In the first film, Shrek doesn't feel he is worthy of Fiona's love; in the second, he doesn't think of himself as a worthy husband, and in the third, he struggles with worthiness as future king and becoming a father. In the beginning, Shrek is a loner and tries to keep to himself, more out of fear of rejection than anything else. And his friendship with Donkey brings out some critical points about how Shrek views himself. Upon rescuing Fiona, he is supposed to deliver her to Lord Farquaad, and perhaps because of self-esteem issues, never dreams of keeping her for himself.

On the other hand, Fiona has a very clear mindset on how she thinks "true love" is supposed to happen to her. Shrek and Fiona's relationship is seemingly doomed from the start because Fiona believes that upon rescuing her from the dragon-guarded tower she has been locked in for years, her knight is supposed to render "love's first kiss" and they are to be married and live happily ever after. When Shrek delivers none of the elements in Fiona's perfect dream, she begins to wonder if there is something wrong with her that is hampering the start of her first love relationship.

As the two work things out about themselves and each other, Shrek and Fiona are able to come together as a couple and appreciate one another's strengths as well as weaknesses. In marrying Shrek, Fiona's "true form" takes the shape of a female ogre, and the two seem like a match made in heaven.

Of course the underlying theme of friendship with Donkey runs through all three films as well, and he seems to pull the viewer through the inner thoughts and feelings of the romantic couple, even though in the second and third movies he seems to particularly ignore their need for privacy, but in a funny way. The progression of dating/courtship to engagement and marriage continues from the first movie to the second, where the happy couple meets Fiona's royal parents and Shrek must come to terms with "the inlaws." Fiona's parents, King Harold and Queen Lillian, have sent messengers to invite the newlyweds to a royal ball. The royals can't wait to meet their new son-in-law, and long to be reunited with their daughter. Unlike his naive spouse, Shrek is convinced this is a bad idea, and he reverts back to some of his character flaws that were displayed in the first movie: self doubt, uncertainty, and fear of the first impression an ogre makes on others. He tries to express these concerns to Fiona, but she insists that as a married couple they need the support and blessing of her parents.

Shrek's fears are well-founded, for at first glimpse of his daughter and her new ogre husband, King Harold concludes Fiona has made a huge mistake in marrying Shrek. He has secretly made a pact with the Fairy Godmother that her son (Prince Charming) will be Fiona's intended. To bring the plan to fruition, King Harold hires mercenary hit-cat Puss in Boots to do away with Shrek, and when the plot fails, Boots switches sides and another example of friendship is started in the storyline. Shrek, Donkey and Boots find a way to set things right, and by the end of the second movie the newlyweds are once again together and living in marital bliss. Shrek 2 addresses the myth about living "happily ever after" by exploring the challenges of in-laws. The viewer is shown a realistic version of what happens after courtship and marriage, the idea being that you don't just marry your spouse, you marry their whole family. While it is implied that a parent's blessing enhances a romantic relationship, Shrek 2 proposes the idea that preserving a marriage is more important than dissolving it to satisfy a selfish parent. In this case, King Harold works hard to get Shrek out of the picture so that Fiona can wed Prince Charming, but Fiona decides to stick with her ogre husband, and the "ugly" couple's happiness seems to reinforce the belief that it's what is on the inside that counts, and physical looks shouldn't matter.

The third Shrek movie continues the natural progression of Shrek's adult life. After falling in love and getting married, then meeting the in-laws, Fiona expresses in Shrek the Third her desire to someday have a family. Shrek is quite taken aback and protests that he would be a bad father. In addition to this dilemma, Fiona's father passes away and leaves Shrek with the choice to either find the long-lost heir or assume the throne himself. Since Shrek has absolutely no desire to serve out royal duties, he vows to set off with Donkey and Boots on a quest to find the late king's distant relative, Artie. At their ship's departure, Fiona informs Shrek that he is indeed going to be a father, and Shrek begins to have serious (but humorous) nightmares about baby ogres disrupting his simple life with Fiona. Shrek is terrified of becoming a father since "No one ever says, 'Sweet as an ogre,'" but gradually begins to warm up to the idea. After finding Artie, he begins to get some fatherly practice relating to the young difficult teen. Artie talks about the struggle of growing up fatherless, and Shrek shares some of his own problems as a young child in relation to his father: "My father tried to eat me." We see how much positive change has occurred in Shrek's individuality (thanks to marriage and friendship) when the ogre encourages Artie to "be your own man, ignore people who call you names, and trust who you are." Artie later uses Shrek's own message to convince the film's villains to switch sides, so it appears Shrek's "parenting" verbal skills did make an impression on the young teenager. "Just because people treat you like a villain doesn't mean you are one," Artie says. "The thing that matters most is what you think of yourself." Under Shrek's nurturing and influence, Artie appears to grow from being a difficult, somewhat timid teenager to a young man who is self-assured enough to be the future king of the land of Far Away. At the end of the movie, both Shrek and Fiona are shown sharing the tasks of raising their three baby ogres. Donkey also has offspring in the third movie (half dragon, half donkey) and is shown being affectionate with them. A third example of parenting is shown when the Cyclops guard says of his daughter, "Who would have thought a monster like me deserved something as special as you?" As for the main character, Shrek's fear of becoming a parent seems to dissipate throughout the course of the movie, and he settles into the role of fatherhood just as sweetly as he has that of husband and best friend in the previous films.