Analyse the characters of Shrek and Lord Farquaad, and write about how filmmakers use different presentational devices to create an unusual fairytale.

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                                         Shrek Coursework

In traditional fairytales, ogres are man-eating beasts. The prince usually rescues the princess; they marry and live happily ever after. How do the makers of 'Shrek' use presentational devices to reverse this tradition, to reveal the ogre as good, and the prince as evil?

 In this essay, I am going to analyse the characters of Shrek and Lord Farquaad, and write about how filmmakers use different presentational devices to create an unusual fairytale.

In conforming fairytales there are Princes such as prince charming, but they are the only kind of prince you are normally going to find, whereas the ogres and giants are a mixed breed, there is the ogre who attempts to eat the three Billy goats gruff, or the giant form Jack and the Beanstalk. In that fairytale the giant chases Jack all the way around his castle threatening to eat him. Shrek tries plea for a peaceful end to a fight and only scares the villagers off, instead of attempting to harm them. Lord Farquaad is different from other characters in his position such as Princes, Farquaad attempts to draw a queen so he can become King, and have his own Kingdom. The prince from Snow White, is attracted to Snow White for real, instead of for his own gain, and from this he saves her live.

The film opens with a modern song, with Shrek criticizing and having a laugh at the expense of normal fairytales, and then carries on with the fun by Shrek wiping his backside with an average fairytale story. The viewers are shocked by the use of this in a children's movie, an opening like this suggests that this is a modern children's movie, and creates an image of maturity for children.

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Shrek threatens to grind the bones of the villagers and also shave they're livers. This is an attempt to frighten the villagers away. He also tries frightening them by shouting at them fully to scare them away from his home, and attempting to slay him. The storybook characters react in shock, frozen in horror, and it takes Shrek to tell them what to do for them to runaway. This suggests that Shrek does not really want to hurt them, and just wants to scare them off, and have some privacy for himself.

When Shrek tries to intimidate Donkey, he reacts ...

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