Donkey repeatedly annoys Shrek by following home, running into his house, bouncing on his chair, singing and peering through his window. The blind mice tease Shrek by jumping all over him, nibbling at his ear and knocking things over. Donkey and the mice’s behaviour shows that Shrek isn’t really scary at all, he is not as frightening as an ogre should be.
Shrek and Donkey visit Duloe, to try and reclaim Shrek’s swamp from Lord Farquaad. Donkey thinks that Shrek is too kind and should not have to ask as the swamp belongs to him anyway. Donkey tells Shrek to go to Lord Farquaad and demand for his swamp back. Shrek threatens to kill the villagers then offers to solve the dispute over a pint. This shows he isn’t really as violent as his stereotype makes out.
When Shrek breaks into the castle to rescue Princess Fiona, he acts like an ogre and shakes her awake roughly. She responds by telling him what he should be doing, according to traditional fairy tale. This further suggests that ‘Shrek’ is going to be totally different from other fairy tales.
Although Shrek appears violent, when we learn that he has failed to slay the dragon and gives the reason ‘It’s on my to-do list’. This shows he doesn’t have any intention of killing the dragon.
At the beginning of the film Shrek tries to threaten the characters he meets, but Donkey, the blind mice, the storybook characters and Princess Fiona are not intimidated by Shrek or his appearance. He tries to make them frightened by reminding them that he is an ogre. Although he is an ogre Shrek isn’t very violent, dangerous or ‘ogre-like’.
In contrast to Shrek, Lord Farquaad is cruel. He watches the torture of the gingerbread man, and then teases him by saying ‘Run, run, run as fast as you can’ when he has just taken his legs off. Lord Farquaad then threatens to take off his buttons. When his men came in with the magic mirror Lord Farquaad throws the Gingerbread man in the bin and shuts the lid.
I think Lord Farquaad has a very evil mind. He is power crazy and wants a powerful kingdom. He is a torturous creature who likes to watch others suffer.
Lord Farquaad is all set to marry Princess Fiona, until he sees that when the sunsets she transforms into an ugly ogre. Lord Farquaad speaks to her in a cruel way and orders his knights to ‘Get that out of my sight’. Lord Farquaad calls off the wedding, but he still proclaims that he is king. Lord Farquaad is deceptive because he should only become king if he marries a princess. It is clear that Lord Farquaad doesn’t love Princess Fiona, but agrees to marriage because he wants to be king.
When a director is making a film it is important that he/she uses a variety of camera angles to create certain effects. At the beginning of the film, Shrek scares the storybook characters away and a close-up is used here to show his big mouth and rotten teeth.
Close-up shots are also useful for focusing the viewer’s attention on the characters emotions. It shows Princess Fiona and Shrek smiling so we can see how happy they are. This is important so we can get involved with their emotions.
Tension is created when Lord Farquaad is introduced. Instead of focusing on his face, the camera shows only his upper body to give the impression that he is tall.
When Shrek visits Lord Farquaad’s castle, the camera moves from ground level upwards to reveal his tower. This is called a high angle shot. It is useful because it makes Lord Farquaad seem big and powerful, and Shrek and Donkey appear small and inferior.
Low angle shots are effectively used because they show Lord Farquaad looking down on Shrek and Donkey.
Mid angle shots are used when Shrek and Donkey are relaxing together, and when Shrek has cooked Princess Fiona a meal. These shots show both of the characters at the same time and have the effect of them being together. It reinforces their connection.
Sometimes, a characters back is shown rather than their face. This is used to suggest isolation from other characters. For example when Princess Fiona leaves Shrek to go inside, Shrek feels rejected, like the princess doesn’t like him. So his back is shown. And when Shrek shows that he wants to end his friendship with Donkey you can see him walking off, blocking Donkey and us from his face.
Presentational devices are also used to influence the viewer, and to make them see a particular character in a certain way. The story begins in Shrek’s swamp, which is a dark, dank, gloomy and solitary place. This is the expected home for an ogre as they are supposed to be evil and not live in fine splendid castles or palaces. Donkey only goes into the swamp because he wants to be friends with Shrek.
Lord Farquaad lives in a large, walled town with his castle in the middle. I would expect a castle to be a very large, grand, happy and splendid place but Lord Farquaad’s is quite different. There is torture, hooded figures and a lot of violence.
When we first meet Shrek, it is obvious that he is supposed to look like an ogre because he is big, green and ugly. He is bald and has rotten teeth, some of which are missing. He bathes in mud, not water and for candles he pulls wax from his ears.
Lord Farquaad seems like a typical Lord. He wears tights and a tunic. They are both styled and coloured to give a royal effect. His home is a grand-looking walled town with a castle in the middle, where Lord Farquaad lives. He wants to marry a princess so he can become a king.
Lighting is also to persuade the viewer to think of a character in a certain way. When Princess Fiona leaves Shrek, Shrek sits with his back to the camera and stares at the moon. I think darkness is used here to represent how Shrek feels inside. It gives the impression that Princess Fiona was his sunshine.
The images of light are used thoughtfully too. Shrek and Princess Fiona are often pictured walking through meadows. I think they are pictured walking through the woods on a sunny day with the birds chirping and the princess singing to show what a happy time they have when they are together. I think the bright light at the end is supposed to suggest that everyone is happy and everything is all right.
When we first meet Lord Farquaad, and the hooded figure, there is marching music. This gives a sense of impending doom and suggests that this isn’t going to be a pleasant scene.
When Shrek overhears the conversation between Donkey and Princess Fiona, he misinterprets the conversation. At this moment, the music is slow which suggests that the mood is very sad and upsetting. A song about broken dreams and promises accompanies the music. This is to show that Shrek really cared about and loved the Princess and he feels that she has broken his heart and dreams.
Donkey is an important character in the film, as he helps us to understand the character of Shrek. When Donkey refuses to listen to Shrek, ignores the ‘Beware of the ogre’ sign and follows him back to the swamp, this shows us that Shrek isn’t really the nasty, evil, selfish character that stereotypes make him out to be.
Donkey turns the tournament into a comedy. He does this by jumping on one of the big barrels and making it roll, flattening some of the knights, among other ways.
Shrek has a very on/off relationship with Donkey. Donkey looks up to Shrek and wants to be his friend. Shrek, however, finds Donkey very annoying. In the end Shrek stops pushing Donkey away and welcomes his friendship.
Donkey makes us believe that Shrek is a good guy by doing things that annoy him, like following him home, running into his house, jumping on his chair and singing through his window. When Shrek doesn’t really do anything about it we know that he is not evil.
After analysing the characters of Shrek and Lord Farquaad, I have come to the conclusion that although Shrek seems like a traditional ogre he is really a kind, loving soul who has good friends, rescues the Princess without causing much harm to anyone and finds love and gets married.
Although Lord Farquaad looks like a Lord, his actions suggest that he is evil. He steals Shrek’s swamp and makes him rescue Princess Fiona to get it back, he tortures the Gingerbread Man, rejects the Princess when he finds out he secret and falsely claims kingship.
The story of Shrek uses presentational devices to reverse our expectations, so that by the end of the film the viewers know that Shrek is the good guy and Lord Farquaad is the evil guy.
Perhaps the message of the story is that you can’t judge a book by the cover.
