Summary

• Shrek franchise is full of hidden humor and pop culture references, adding depth to the animated fairy tale world.
• The voices behind Shrek characters, Shrek's name meaning, and Farquaad's character have interesting origins and inspirations.
• Shrek movies showcase subtle nods to various films like Indiana Jones, The Matrix, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

One of the things that makes the Shrek franchise so great is its modern humor and pop culture references. Shrek takes on the ideas of classic fairy tales and crafts a whole new story with them. While there are classic characters like the grandmother from Little Red Riding Hood, the Gingerbread Man from his self-titled story, and even the Three Little Pigs, there is also Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey. Shrek is an ogre who isn't a villain, Fiona isn't the typical princess, and Donkey is a talking animal, but he's not helping Cinderella get ready for the ball.

The first movie hit theaters in 2001 and, thanks to its unique brand of humor for both an animated and a fantasy film, quickly proved to be a hit. Its popularity has since spawned three sequels, multiple spinoff movies, two holiday specials, a TV series, and several short films – not to mention a whole slew of toys, books, apparel, etc. As funny as Shrek is on the surface, there's also a surprising amount of hidden references and humor that's easy to miss.

Shrek is available to watch on Prime Video and Netflix.

Shrek’s Voice Is A Familiar One

A Scottish Twist on Shrek's Voice

Most people knew going into the movie that Shrek was voiced by comedic actor Mike Myers. As voice actors often do, Myers gave Shrek a unique voice that fans could easily associate with the character and the movie. What fans may not have picked up on, however, was that Myers was actually recycling a voice with a Scottish accent that he’s used in several other projects, including Saturday Night Live, Wayne's World 2, So I Married an Axe Murderer, and the last two Austin Powers movies.

The stereotype, at least in American cinema, is that fairy tale characters often have proper English accents, like Julie Andrews when she's narrating a project. Myers, however, opted not to go that route. Initially, he recorded his lines with his natural voice (via Scottish Voiceovers) when he took over the role for the late Chris Farley. During production, however, he made the choice that a working-class Scottish accent would contrast with John Lithgow's upper-class English one as Farquaad.

The Name ‘Shrek’ Is Very Fitting

The Meaning Behind "Shrek"

It's a fitting Easter egg for fans

Behind every name, there’s a meaning. While some writers will simply choose names they like, or even the names of people they know for their fictional characters, sometimes, they choose the names for their creations based on what the names actually mean. In this case, “Shrek” is actually a Yiddish word that has German origins. It translates directly to “monster” in Yiddish, but it sounds very similar to the German word, “Shreck”, which means “fright” or “terror”.

Of course, this one didn’t come from the filmmakers themselves, but rather William Steig, the author of the book on which the movie is based. Though American, Steig was born to Jewish parents who came from Austria, which means he likely knew exactly what the word meant in both languages. It's a fitting Easter egg for fans who might know either language.

The Movie Is Nothing Like The Book

Shrek's Unconventional Heroism

Many people didn't even realize that the story was inspired by a book at all

If long-time fans of the movie franchise haven’t heard of or read the children’s book that inspired Shrek, they're likely not alone. While the bare bones of the plot definitely inspired the movie, the details are quite different (and the tone is just not as fun as the movie). Many people didn't even realize that the story was inspired by a book at all.

Originally published in 1990, Shrek! follows the tale of an orange-haired ogre who firmly rejects any sort of affection despite getting a purple, beaked-nosed princess in the end by telling her how ugly she is. There are also some elements of science fiction in this fantasy as well, since this Shrek can actually shoot lasers from his eyes, something that doesn't happen in the movie.

Farquaad Sounds Like...

Decoding Lord Farquaad's Name

It's an insult that most kids aren't going to associate with the name of the fictional villain

Even the other names used in Shrek have hidden meanings, and this particular one was definitely meant to go over the kids’ heads. But for adults who still don’t get what exactly “Farquaad” sounds like, try separating the name into two words, “Farq” and “uaad.” They can also change the “ar” to a “u” to further illustrate the point. It's an insult that most kids aren't going to associate with the name of the fictional villain.

There has been some speculation that Lord Farquaad is actually based on Michael Eisner, former chairman and chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company from 1984 to 2005, because of Shrek producer Jeffrey Katzenberg's dislike of him. However, this has never been confirmed, and it's unlikely that anyone would ever do so at this point after the movie's legacy has been cemented.

There’s A Nod To Chris Farley

The Original Voice of Shrek and His Legacy

Mike Myers was not the first actor cast to do the voice of Shrek. That honor instead went to Chris Farley, who even recorded the film’s dialogue before his untimely ing in 1997. He actually died while the film was still in production and with some of his lines still left to record. The filmmakers felt that trying to finish the project as it was without Farley would not have been appropriate, so they opted to delay its release and instead have the role entirely redone with a new actor.

Because Farley was such a beloved comedic actor, however, they didn't want to ignore that he had been attached to the project completely, and found a way to honor him in some of the animation. They added in a shot of Shrek doing air quotes, as a nod to one of Farley’s popular Saturday Night Live characters.

Peter Pan Tried To Sell Tinkerbell

His Dubious Dealing is a Subtle Nod to Disney

There is a scene in the movie in which Donkey is hit with pixie dust and flies momentarily away from the Duloc knights who are rounding up all of the fairytale creatures. Fans will notice that the pixie dust came from a small fairy trapped in a cage who looks remarkably like Peter Pan's Tinkerbell. Holding that cage is a young boy dressed like Peter Pan. When Donkey starts flying, the same boy shouts “He can fly!”

This is a delightful joke for Disney fans who have seen different versions of these characters. However, if fans look closely early on in the scene, it’s clear that Peter Pan was actually trying to sell his fairy friend to the knights before her cage got knocked over. That doesn't exactly paint him in the best light.

Geppetto Tried Selling Pinocchio

And The Dark Side of Disney Characters Continues

Pinocchio becomes a more prominent character later on in the franchise

In the same scene where Peter Pan is shown trying to sell off Tinkerbell, the audience can also see what looks like Geppetto trying to sell Pinocchio. Clearly, in this universe, he’s very disappointed with his creation for some reason. It's also interesting to note that it seems to be perfectly reasonable to sell magical beings or creations since both Peter and Gepetto are trying to rid themselves of Tinkerbell and Pinocchio.

As fans are already aware, Pinocchio becomes a more prominent character later on in the franchise. Still, it seems the puppet might still be mad at Geppetto for the attempted sale because the audience doesn’t see much of his creator after this first scene even though Pinocchio reappears. Of course, other parts of the franchise demonstrate that Gepetto used Pinocchio to put on shows and earn him money, so for this version of Gepetto, making money might have been more important than his puppet becoming his son.

Farquaad Turned Mama Bear Into A Rug

The Dark Fate of Mama Bear in Shrek

This extremely dark joke is very easy to miss the first time (or first few times) fans watch the movie. In the scene where all of the fairytale creatures are rounded up, the audience can see that Mama Bear, Papa Bear, and Baby Bear (of Goldilocks and the Three Bears) have all been captured. They are together in cages. Later, in Shrek’s swamp, the audience sees some of those bears again, but not the entire family. They only see Papa Bear and Baby Bear sitting together by the fire, crying.

Just what happened to Mama Bear is revealed further down in the movie’s timeline. A bear-skin rug with a pink bow still on the head can be seen in Lord Farquaad’s chambers. It's clear that the character meets a horrible end thanks to Lord Farquaad and his knights once the rug is spotted.

The Big, Bad Wolf Has A Special Relationship With A Knight

Redefining Little Red Riding Hood's Big Bad Wolf in Shrek

Shrek offers a unique take on Little Red Riding Hood's Big, Bad Wolf. For one thing, the wolf is never seen out of his clothing that he used to disguise himself as Red's grandma. If the wolf is there, so is his nightgown and bonnet. The Big, Bad Wolf also seems to have found happiness with one of the knights that might have worked for Lord Farquadd.

It's never made completely clear if the two characters are in a full-blown romantic relationship or are just really good friends, but the audience can interpret the ending of the movie as they like. At the end of the movie, during Shrek and Fiona’s wedding, the Wolf can be seen embracing and smiling at the knight, who apparently gets very emotional at weddings. Soon after, they are seen on the dance floor with each other.

Farquaad’s Plan Didn’t Really Make Sense

The Flawed Logic of Lord Farquaad's Rule in Shrek

There doesn't seem to be a point to his decisions other than to give him an excuse to be the movie's villain

The entire setup of the movie is that Lord Farquadd wants to remove all fairytale creatures from his realm. The entire world, however, seems to be built on those very fairytale creatures. Lord Farquaad even lives in a castle surrounded by knights and likes to gaze into a magic mirror, which would seem to imply he's part of the fairytales himself.

There seems to be a big gray area as to what constitutes a “fairytale creature”, and Farquaad’s reasoning behind banishing them (to make the area more perfect) is weak. He also decides he needs to marry a princess in order to make himself King of the same land he already rules over anyway. There doesn't seem to be a point to his decisions other than to give him an excuse to be the movie's villain.