The villain of the fairytale is Lord Farquaad. He is introduced near the beginning or the tale and when he is introduced he is shown from a low camera angle to make him seem superior and evil above the audience. There is also music with a slow pace that makes has the effect of emphasising the superiority. It is only at the end of this long corridor when you see him walk between 2 guards and he is actually 3 foot tall. He tries to be in complete power but even the gingerbread man gives him attitude. He has funny hair and is irregular as a villain as the audience feels they would rather laugh at him than fear him.
Like most tales of this kind the hero Shrek has a sidekick. However this sidekick is unlike the usual best friend kind of sidekick he is an irritating, tag-along Donkey, who is aptly named, Donkey. He doesn’t have a usual relationship with Shrek. He annoys him and followed him from the second he met Shrek, Although Shrek doesn’t like donkey he is grateful that Donkey doesn’t see him as a terrifying Ogre because this, on an emotional level, upsets Shrek. But this means that the audience can relate to Shrek as we could all imagine what it feels like to be an outsider
The plot of this fairytale is unlike usual fairytales. The hero is saving the princess for the villain! Usually the hero goes on the quest to save the princess from the villain.
At a part of the film there is a tournament, this tournament is funny because it is made to seem like a wrestling match. This is good because it brings humour into this part of the film instead of the seriousness it represents. Shrek and the Donkey defeat all of the challengers with a variety of stunts like tag wrestling and hitting him with a steel chair. This sort of thing would never be seen in a conventional fairy story.
As with most Tales like this there is a Dragon in the story, but unlike the fierce ferocious fire-breathing killer dragons, the Dragon in this story is a female Dragon who falls in love with the donkey. The Dragon is helpful in the story of Shrek which is good because it gives the audience a chance to enjoy seeing a good Dragon and to sympathise with it.
The princess in this story is most traditional of all the characters, she has a spell cast upon her that like most other curses that the princesses have can be cured by true loves first kiss. Her curse is hidden as she hopes to rid of it before people can find out so she decides to marry Lord Farquaad, although he is only marrying her so that he can become the king. She realises that she is in love with Shrek though. The idea of the princess falling in love with an ogre is, although unconventional a nice idea, as throughout the film the audience become to like Shrek and his irregularity.
The ending of the Film is strange in that it is conventional as well as unconventional. The princess, although cured of her curse the results are the opposite of what the audience expects to see. They get married and live happily ever after….. in a Swamp