Donkey’s behaviour and the mice’s behaviour suggest that Shrek is not the typical scary Ogre that he seems to be. Donkey and the three mice did not fear Shrek at all.
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 that he should be more violent and just take his swamp back. When Shrek is about to be attacked by the knights, he tries to settle the dispute ‘over a pint’ as a last resort to non-violence. This suggests that although Shrek is a large strong character, he does not want to resort to violence.
When Shrek breaks into the castle to rescue Princess Fiona, he acts like an Ogre when he greets the Princess. Instead of waking her with a kiss like a Prince would do, he shakes her till she wakes up and carries her around disrespectfully. The Princess is angry that the knight that has come to rescue her is not following traditions. This suggests that the Princess was hoping for a traditional Prince.
Although Shrek appears violent, when we learn that he has failed to slay the dragon because it is on his ‘to-do list’. This suggests that Shrek would rather not kill the dragon, as that would require violence. Shrek just wants to rescue the Princess without resulting in violence.
At the beginning of the film, Shrek tries to threaten the characters that he meets, but Donkey, the 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 Shrek is an Ogre, he is not a typical Ogre as he tries not to be violent and shows that he has feelings too.
In contrast to Shrek Lord Farquaad is cruel. He watches the torture of the Gingerbread Man, and then Lord Farquaad taunts him showing that he is cruel. He tortures the Gingerbread Man himself by taking off his buttons and putting him in milk. The gingerbread calls him ‘a monster’ and Lord Farquaad throws the gingerbread man in the bin. By watching this scene it gives you a really bad impression and makes you think that he is not the typical fairy tale Prince.
Lord Farquaad is all set to marry Princess Fiona, until he sees that when the sun sets, she is an Ogre-like creature. Lord Farquaad speaks to her in a cruel way, and he orders his knights to ‘Get that thing out of my sight.’ Lord Farquaad calls off the wedding, but he still proclaims himself King. Lord Farquaad is deceptive because he should only be king if he marries a Princess. He wanted to marry a Princess only so he could become king and have power and authority.
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 by roaring at them. There is a close up of Shrek’s face to show his scary expression.
Close up shots are also useful for focusing the viewer’s attention on the characters emotions. An example of when a close up is effective is when Shrek and Princess Fiona have their romance scene. Close ups of thier facial expressions show that they are in love.
Tension is created when Lord Farquaad is introduced. Instead of focusing on his face, the camera shows parts of his upper body and his feet.
This suggests that he is a big important Prince as it shows close ups of him striding along very proudly.
When Shrek visits Lord Farquaad’s castle, the camera moves from ground level and then upwards to reveal his tower. It is useful because it makes Lord Farquaad seem big and Shrek and Donkey appear small.
Low angle shots are effectively used because they show Lord Farquaad looking down on Shrek and Donkey whereas in the tournament scene they show Shrek looking up to Lord Farquaad who is sitting high in his seat.
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 romance.
Sometimes, a character’s 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 the cave. She turned her back and walked away at a fast pace. She did this because she didn’t want Shrek and Donkey to ask anymore questions. Another example is when Shrek turns his back to Donkey to try and show him that there friendship is over.
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. You see it as a muddy, grotty place to live and you would expect this to be the home of an Ogre, which it is. You see Shrek bathe in mud and do other disgusting things which will make you believe that Shrek is like a typical Ogre. Donkey only goes to the swamp because he has nowhere else to go. Lord Farquaad lives in a big, beautiful castle in which you would expect to see a happy, splendid castle but instead there is torture, hooded figures and violence.
When we first meet Shrek, it is obvious that he is supposed to look like an Ogre because he is green; he has peculiar ears and a deformed face. He lives in a dirty swamp and he is very unhygienic.
Lord Farquaad seems like a typical Lord. He wears expensive clothes that you would expect a Prince to wear, he lives in a castle and he would become a king if he marries a Princess.
Lighting is also used 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. Darkness is used here as it brings your attention to the moon which is effective as it adds a certain romance to the scene.
The images of light are used thoughtfully too. Shrek and Princess Fiona are often pictured walking through meadows. They are pictured walking through the woods on a sunny day, with birds chirping and the Princess chirping to show that the Princess and her surroundings are all happy even though they are in the presence of an Ogre.
The brilliant light at the end suggests that something very magical and tremendous is happening. The light is so bright that it broke all the cathedral windows.
When we first meet Lord Farquaad, and the hooded figure, there is marching music. The music tells the viewer that something fearful and of importance is coming.
When Shrek overhears the conversation between Donkey and Princess Fiona, he misinterprets the conversation. At this moment, the music is slow. The slow music is suggesting that the scene is sad and upsetting.
There is a song about broken dreams and promises to show everyone in the scene are sad and heartbroken. The effect of having Donkey and the dragon crying is to show that during that scene, everyone is unhappy.
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, it shows us that Shrek does get slightly irritated but he is too soft to get rid of Donkey permanently. Donkey turns the tournament scene into a comedy because of his fighting techniques. The tournament shows us Shrek’s power of being a real Ogre as he easily beats Lord Faquaad’s best knights but he becomes the ‘hero’ in Duloc and not a big scary Ogre.
Shrek’s relationship with Donkey is very odd because they are two completely different characters who slowly build up a friendship together. Donkey makes us believe that Shrek is not a typical man eating Ogre because he is never scared of Shrek and tries to find out Shrek’s true feelings.
After analysing the character of Shrek and Lord Farquaad, I have come to the conclusion that although Shrek seems like a traditional Ogre, he isn’t one because you soon find out that he doesn’t like to be violent, he rescues the Princess, he makes friends, he has feelings and he finally falls in love.
Although Lord Farquaad looks like a Lord, his actions suggest that he is evil. Examples of his evil nature are that he tortured the Gingerbread man, steals Shrek’s swamp, tells his knights to kill Shrek, rejects the Princess and falsely claims to be the king.
The story of Shrek uses presentational devices to reverse our expectations, so by the end of the film Shrek is the hero who marries the Princess, and Lord Farquaad is the evil beast who is eaten by the dragon. Viewers are happy that the Ogre wins in the end and that the Prince doesn’t.
Perhaps the message of the story is that you can’t judge a book by its cover.
