Things You Didn't Notice in 'Shrek'

Shrek is probably one of the most popular Dreamworks films ever made. However, in the movie there are many things it is making fun of and here is the list. The movieShrek is most certainly making fun of Disney and their fairy-tales. Shrek shows that not all fairy-tales need to be traditional.

1. A lot of the Shrek characters were pulled from the nursery rhymes and the Disney cartoons, but because of copyright they could not copy the characters as an exact replica.
2. Sleeping Beauty. Princess Fiona lies down when Shrek arrives so he can kiss her awake. She looks beautiful and ravishing and we hear the background music. Then Shrek just picks her up and shakes her awake (not exactly romantic).
3. Instead of saving princess Fiona by slaying the dragon like in Arthurian literature and fairytales, Donkey and Shrek just save the princess and leave the dragon alive. On top of that, the dragon develops feelings for Donkey.
4. Shrek is no prince charming. Instead, he is an ogre. A creature, which should be feared as is in most fairytales.
5. Shrek does not go on the quest himself, he is sent by Lord Farquaad to go and save Lord Farquaad's future bride to get a swamp back.
6. Lord Farquaad is spoiled and oddly enough, short. This could be read as way they are making fun of Napoleon, but of course the creators take this character to the next level.
7. The movie makes fun of nursery rhymes such as The Muffin Man and it is made into a serious dialogue between Gingerbread Man and Lord Farquaad, which is what makes it funny.
8. The Magic Mirror does tell Lord Farquaad who is the fairest princess of them all, but in a non-traditional manner. This scene can be depicted as the the show The Bachelor. The Magic Mirror is also not very scary, yet his shape is taken from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.
9. The Wolf from the Little Red Riding Hood. Shrek opens his bedroom and we have the wolf in a nightgown asking "What?" like it is not a big deal that he is in bed wearing a old woman's pajamas. Could you imagine if that happened in the fairy-tale? That would be a interesting story.
10. Talking Animals. In many children's fairy-tales there are talking animals and we finally meet Donkey who just does not understand the word "quiet." He is the equivalent of the all the talking animals there ever was.
11. Robin Hood. He takes from the rich and gives to the poor, then to make him more annoying Dreamworks has added his own song to go with the folk theme, then Fiona kicks their butts in the forest.
12. Taking the most annoying Disney song in the world, It's a Small World After All, and turning it into a theme song of Duloc. The small animations almost sing "wipe your a@$" which makes it funny to watch. Then when the song finishes it takes Shrek's and Donkey's picture much like the rides in Disneyland when you are about to go down a hill.
13. The fact that princess Fiona turns into an ogre at night. This is much like The Swan Princess, but instead of turning into a creature that is graceful, she turns into a hideous ogre.
14. When Shrek and princess Fiona kiss for the first time, she does not turn into a beautiful princess, but she remains an ogre taking the form of her true love. Here, we see the reference to Princess and the Frog, but it has gone wrong.
15. The beginning when Tinkerbell is dropped on Donkey and Donkey repeats "I can fly" and Peter Pan says "he can fly!" this reference is taken from Peter Pan.
16. Also, in the same scene Donkey says, "You might have seen a horse fly, you might have seen a super fly, but you never seen a Donkey fly," this reference was taken from Disney's Dumbo when the crows encounter dumbo for the first time.
17. Next, when Shrek and Donkey cross the bridge to get to princess Fiona Shrek says "That'll do Donkey, that'll do," this was taken from Babe. (Babe is the movie about the pig who learns how to heard sheep.)
18. When Fiona wakes up early and starts sining to the blue bird, this is referencing Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. This of course ended terribly for the bird because it explodes, which obviously did not happen in the Disney film.
19. Remember watching The Matrix and thinking it was one of the best movies of all time? Yes, Shrek makes a references to it when princess Fiona fights against the Merry Men.
20. Then at the very end, when the Gingerbread Man is leaning against a crutch and he says "and God bless everyone," this is a reference to Tiny Tim from AChristmas Carol, which is also one of the most well-known movies and stories.
21. The idea that Shrek does not want him and Donkey to become a "we." This idea could be a reference from Oliver and Company when Oliver only wants to be friends with Dodger because he is feared as well as respected among the street dogs. Shrek at first wants to nothing to do with Donkey, but then learns to like him.
22. The Beauty and the Beast. Shrek can be seen as the beast, because he wants to be alone and in his swamp, it also seems like Shrek has accepted the fact that he is to be alone, much like the beast. "For who could ever learn to love a beast?"
23. The story book at the very beginning of the movie. Almost every Disney fairytale starts with a book opening in the beginning.
24. Another Beauty and the Beast reference is when the townspeople go to hunt down Shrek at the beginning. This is much like when Gaston gets the town to take down the beast.