In this essay, I am going to analyze the characters of Shrek and Lord Farquaad,

and write about how the filmmakers use different presentational devices to create an

unusual fairy tale. Skrek and Lord Farquaad do not play typical fairy tale roles. The ogre,

Shrek is more like a prince and Lord Farquaad is more like an ogre. The use of the

camera helps us to see the charaters in a certain way and to understand their emotions.

In traditional fairy tales the prince would be the good guy and the ogre would be

the bad guy. The giant in Jack in the Bean Stock is scary, big and threatens to kill and

eat Jack. The prince in Snow White and The Seven Dwarves is kind, loving and

gentle. He is the hero of the story.

Language is an important device, and I am going to write about how language can

create the impression of good and evil in both characters, and in films. The film, Shrek,

opens with a picture of a book and Shrek getting ready for the day in his swamp. At the

beginning of the story his voice is pleasant and you immediately like him. There is also

humor. In a conventional fairy tale the ogre would be mean. As a viewer we are surprised

to like the ogre, Shrek. This opening suggests that there will be many more surprises.

When the storybook characters arrive Shrek is mean and tries to frighten the

storybook characters and get rid of them. He was the traditional idea people feel about

ogres and said old sayings such as, Im going to grind your bones to make soup1. The

storybook characters are not afraid, they come to Shrek for advice and help. Shrek tries to

appear mean but you immediately see how kind he can be.

When Donkey approaches, Shrek roars at him and tries to intimidate him. Donkey

is not frightened and wants to be friends with Shrek. Donkey sees that Shrek has a good

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Shrek. Dir. Andre Adamson Vicky Jensen with Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz.
DreamWorks, 2002.
soul and even though Shrek tries to frighten Donkey, Donkey only laughs at him. Donkey

is smart and determined, he pesters Shrek to be his friend and wont go away. Finally

Shrek gives in and becomes friends with Donkey. The mice tease Shrek, this seems funny

because they are so small and he is so big. The mice and the donkey suggest that Shrek is

not a mean cold hearted ogre. They suggest that Shrek is not a mean cold hearted ogre.

They suggest he may look and sound mean but that is not how he is inside.

Shrek and Donkey visit Duloe, to try to reclaim Shreks swamp from Lord

Farquaad. Donkey thinks that Shrek is too kind and should not have to ask for the swamp

as the swamp belongs to him anyway. Donkey tells Shrek to be mean and intimidating.

He tells him to demand the swamp back and scare the people. Shrek and Donkey begin a

riot. Shrek says lets settle this over a pint2 and pushes over the barrels and begins

fighting with the knights. This rough behavior shows Shrek will defend himself and for

those he cares about.

When Shrek breaks into the castle to rescue Princess Fiona, he acts like an ogre

when he greets the princess. Shrek does not act like a traditional Prince when he meets

the princess. He does not kiss her and is rough, telling her to hurry up. The princess

suggests that Shrek act more like a prince and have better manners.

Although Shrek appears violent, when we learn that he has failed to slay the

dragon because Shrek sees that the dragon likes Donkey and realizes that although the

dragon looks mean and scray, he must have some good inside him.

At the beginning of the film Shrek tries to threaten the characters, Donkey and

Princess Fiona are not intimidated by Shrek or his appearance. He tries to make them

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Shrek.
frightened by reminding them that he is an ogre. Although Shrek is an ogre he acts more

like a conventional prince.

In contrast to Shrek, Lord Farquaad is cruel. He watches the torture of the ginger

bread mans buttons, making him feel bad, then throws him in the garbage. Lord

Farquaad is greedy, mean and cruel. We can see this by how he treats others and we know

he only wants to marry the princess so he can become king.

Lord Farquaad is all set to marry Princess Fiona, until he sees that when the sun

sets she turns into an ugly ogre. Lord Farquaad speaks to her in a cruel way, and he

orders his knights to get that out of my sight. Lord Farquaad calls off the wedding, but

he still proclaims himself King. Lord Farquaad is deceptive because he should only

become the king if he marries Fiona. It is clear that Lord Farquaad does not love the

Princess, but agrees to marriage because he wants to become king.

When the 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. He appears as a traditional ogre in the beginning when he

talks to the fairy tale people. As the movie goes on we can see how unconventional the

ogre Shrek is. The close-up makes Shrek seem large and the others small.

Close-up shots are also useful for focusing the viewers attention on the characters

emotions. The close-up camera shots of Princess Fiona and Shrek smiling shows their

human qualities. Everyone looks better when they smile.

Tension is created when Lord Farquaad is introduced. Instead of focusing on his

face, the camera shows how small he is and what a big head he has compared to his body.

This suggests he thinks he is great and can have and do anything he wants.
 When Shrek visits Lord Farquaads castle, the camera mover from ground level

upwards to reveal his tower. This is called a high angle shot. It is useful because it makes

Lord Farquaad seem large and powerful, and Shrek and Donkey appear small and weak.

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 cooked Princess Fiona a meal. These shots show both of the

characters at the same time and have the effect of making them equal and showing

friendship.

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

and goes inside, she is hiding and wants to be alone. Shrek walks away from Donkey,

showing he wants to end their friendship.

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 Shreks swamp. The swamp

looks very basic and does not have many quality things. The swamp looks lonely and

isolated just how you would expect an ogre to live. Donkey runs away and finds himself

in Shreks swamp. Shrek does not hurt Donkey but it does take a while for them to

become friends. Lord Farquaad lives in a castle but it does not seem like a traditional

castle, full of splendor and happiness. We see the ginger bread man being tortured.

When we first meet Shrek, it is obvious that he is supposed to look like an ogre

because he lives in a modest camp, his bad breath and poor hygiene habits, like pulling

wax out of his ears to make a candle. He bathes in the mud and uses toothpaste that he

squeezes out of a leaf plant.

a nice horse, and if he marries a princess he will become king. He lives in a castle and is

surrounded by nice things.

Lighting is used to persuade the viewer to think of a character in certain way.

When Princess Fiona leaves Shrek, Shrek sits with his back to the camera and stares at

the moon. Darkness is used here to create a feeling of gloom and sadness.

The images of light are used throughout fully too. Shrek and Princess Fiona are

often pictured walking through meadows, this creates the feeling of happiness and

relaxation. The brilliant light at the end of the film suggests that Shrek and the Princess

live happily ever after.

When we first meet Lord Farquaad, and the hooded figure, there is marching

music this makes the viewer feel that he is powerful. The loud organ suggests something

is about to happen. The lyrics in the songs throughout the movie convey messages. One

song called Im a Believer explains how important it is to be open minded and not

judge people by how they look.

When Shrek overhears the conversation between Donkey and Princess Fiona, he

misinterprets the conversation, at this moment the music is slow and suggests a sad

mood. The song about broken dreams and promises is how Shrek feels when he overhears

the conversation between Donkey and Princess Fiona. The effect of having Donkey and

the dragon crying shows us friendships can be formed by anyone.

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 ogre

sign, and follows him back to the swamp he is showing us Shrek is approachable.
Donkey turned the tournament scene into a comedy by his good natured behavior and

making good natured jokes while they were fighting the knights. The tournament scene

shows that if you push Shrek, he will defend himself. Shrek and Donkey are friends, they

depend on each other and even though Shrek appears to find Donkey annoying he also

seems to like having Donkey around. Donkey shows us Shreks good qualities of

friendship and caring.

After analyzing the characters of Shrek and Lord Farquaad, I have come to the

conclusion that although Shrek looks like a traditional fairy ogre he is more like a typical

prince. Shrek rescues the princess, falls in love and has meaningful friendships. Shrek is

kind and considerate of other peoples feelings throughout the movie.

Although Lord Farquaad looks like a Prince, his actions suggest he is evil. Lord

Farquaad is very mean, he tortures the ginger bread man, steals Shreks swamp, makes

his knights put there lives on the line, turns Princess Fiona down when he finds out she

has an ugly side, and claims to be king even though he did not marry Fiona.

The story of Shrek uses presentational devices to reverse our expectations, so that

by the end of the film Shrek, although he is the ogre seems like a prince and Lord

Farquaad, although he is a Lord, seems more like an evil mean ogre. When we see Lord

Farquaad in his castle instead of being surrounded by pleasant images, it shows him

torturing the ginger bread man and showing how mean spirited he really is.

Perhaps the message of the story is that you can not judge a book by its cover. It is

interesting how the filmmaker did not make the characters of Shrek and Lord Farquaad fit

into traditional roles. The other characters in the movie, Donkey and Princess Fiona help
us to understand the characters of Shrek and Lord Farquaad and that they are not what

they look like.