Shrek’s 20th Anniversary: 20 Things You Didn’t Know About The Film

In the spring of 2001, DreamWorks released its computer-animated movie, Shrek. The movie revolves around a terrifying-looking ogre who is on the verge of losing his beloved swamp after Lord Farquaad sends unwanted mythical creatures out of his city and to Shrek’s land. Shrek then goes on to make a deal with Lord Farquaad to get his peaceful swamp back, making friends along the way.

The animation and premise of Shrek were a hit, making it one of the most successful animated comedies to date. The original film just passed its 20th anniversary and a fifth Shrek movie is set to release in 2022. With the passing of the 20th anniversary, there are plenty of behind-the-scenes tidbits that fans don’t know about this beloved movie.

Shrek Is Based On A Children’s Book

Before Shrek became one of the best movies of the 2000s, it was actually based on the children’s book Shrek! by William Steig.

The book was released in 1990 and according to its Amazon description, was “about an ordinary ogre who leaves his swampy childhood home to go out and see the world.” The movie is obviously altered slightly from the book but Shrek’s appearance and ending with Princess Fiona are the same.

Some Of The Actors Never Met Each Other While Recording

With great characters and funny quotes, fans can assume that filming Shrek was a fun time. With comedians and actors like Mike Meyers, Cameron Diaz, and Eddie Murphy voicing Shrek’s characters, the movie had an iconic line-up of funny talent.

But according to Parade, the actors didn’t record together. “They all read their parts separately,” the source wrote. This meant that all of the banter between Shrek, Donkey, and Fiona were done on separate days, so the cast likely didn’t mingle all that much.

Children Weren’t Fond Of Princess Fiona In The Test Screening

Being a DreamWorks movie, Fiona differs from the typical Disney princess. At the start of animating Shrek, animators found out that audiences didn’t resonate with the original Fiona they had designed.

According to NPR, animators “re-imagined Princess Fiona as a slightly more cartoony-looking love interest” after audiences felt she was too human-like compared to Shrek. They then shifted her as more cartoonish and it worked.

Someone Else Was Supposed To Voice Shrek

One thing that some fans may not know about Shrek is that legendary comedian and SNL star, Chris Farley, was set to voice Shrek. He even recorded most of Shrek’s dialogue for the film. In 1997, however, the comedian died unexpectedly, leaving DreamWorks at a loss for how to move forward with the character.

According to Insider, creators asked Farley’s friend and fellow comedian, Mike Meyers, to take his role and re-do the vocals for Shrek. Meyers signed on and the rest was history.

Shrek Took A Long Time To Complete

Shrek is a 90-minute film that took four and a half years to complete, according to Parade. Aside from Shrek’s funny quotes and witty comebacks, the most difficult part about Shrek was animating every scene.

The characters, multiple locations, and action scenes had to be realistic enough for computer and clay animation, taking years to complete. The same can be said for the second, third, and fourth movies.

The Original Princess Fiona Was Fired

Princess Fiona is one of Cameron Diaz’s best roles. She’s fierce, confident, and independent. However, Cameron wasn’t the film’s first actress for Fiona. What Culture noted that comedian Janeane Garofalo signed on for the role of Fiona, but without reasoning, was fired.

They brought Diaz in once Mike Meyer’s signed on, so it’s possible that DreamWorks redirected the characters’ personalities after Meyers was hired — leading to the firing of Garofalo.

A Few Days Of Voice Work, Years Of Animation

Now that fans know that the voice actors didn’t record together, it turns out that recording didn’t take very long either. During an interview with Ellen Degeneres, Cameron Diaz said that the voice work only took a couple of days compared to the work of the animators.

“I went in and I did one day, probably half a day, probably four or five hours. I did half the film — the voice of the film. And then a year later, I went back and did another five hours and did the second half of the film.”

Shrek Has His Own Star On The Walk Of Fame

Due to Shrek’s love of pop-culture references, the character would be honored to know that those in Hollywood felt he and his film deserved its own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In 2010, Shrek was awarded his own star, making him the 2,408th star on the Walk of Fame. To celebrate Shrek’s big win, his voice actor, Mike Meyers, was there (along with a mascot-version of Shrek) to accept and celebrate the honor.

A Monumental Credit In Animation

Shrek is one of the top-performing animated comedies. With five movies, specials, a musical, and multiple games — it’s an incredibly successful franchise. In fact, in 2001, Fox News noted that the Oscars added a new category to its awards, Best Animated Feature, and Shrek won.

Taking away the inaugural award at the Oscars makes the film a part of history. Shrek’s sequel (Shrek 2) also won Best Animated Feature in 2004.

Alan Rickman Chose Snape Over Lord Farquaad

Before Shrek was released, famed actor, Alan Rickman, was known for his time in Die Hard and various TV shows and plays. While in production, Alan Rickman was offered the role of Lord Farquaad.

However, Heat World noted that Rickman ended up turning down the role for the opportunity to play Professor Snape in the iconic franchise, Harry Potter. When Rickman turned down the role, John Lithgow stepped in and voiced the character instead. Farquaad went on to be the face of many memes and was a great antagonist in the franchise.

A Disney Parody

There’s an unspoken competition between Disney and other popular animated companies, including DreamWorks, and it doesn’t take much to notice the subtle digs at Disney throughout Shrek. Entertainment Weekly noted that Shrek’s producer, Jeffrey Katzenberg, used to run Disney’s animation division. Because of this connection, there are plenty of classic jokes in Shrek that could be seen as a dig towards Disney.

While Katzenberg recognized the rivalry, he explained, “We were poking fun at people’s expectations. Certainly, it is a homage to Disney; it is making fun of those things that we all grew up with and loved. You want to make jokes that people recognize, particularly with parody.”

Shrek Creators Lawyered Up

Between Shrek’s raunchy jokes and the kingdom of Duloc looking a lot like the parks at Disney World, Shrek producers hired lawyers to watch the movie to make sure there weren’t any possible lawsuits coming their way.

According to The NY Post, co-director Andrew Adamson said, “We showed each and every scene to lawyers as we went along. We certainly did not want to be sued by Disney.” After watching, lawyers assured DreamWorks they wouldn’t have to make cuts.

It Took Animators Plenty Of Tries To Perfect Shrek

While animators were inspired by the original ogre from the book Shrek!, DreamWorks altered Shrek’s image to create the perfect ogre for the big screen.

The Artifice noted that the creative team researched “fairy-tale creatures” for the perfect appearance and it took “over 50 different sculpts for Shrek before they decided on his final look.” While Shrek was a terrifying ogre, they created him in a way that made fans sympathize with him.

John Lithgow Found The Irony In Lord Farquaad’s Height

Lord Farquaad was one of Shrek’s biggest enemies and is voiced by British actor, John Lithgow. Considering Lithgow’s incredible resume, he broke his own rule to voice the part of Lord Farquaad.

In an interview with the LA Times, Lithgow said, “I always said I would never play anyone short, and then came [“Shrek’s”] Lord Farquaad.” The actor continued saying, “There’s always something new that I hadn’t thought of.” The irony is that Lithgow stands at 6’4″ (193 cm) tall. Animators snagged Lithgow’s facial expressions for Farquaad’s.

It Took A Long Time Before Shrek’s Personality Was Solidified

The humans in Shrek assume that he is a dumb ogre with zero intelligence. But on the contrary, Shrek is quite bright. He just enjoys his downtime and moments to himself without others interrupting him.

In an interview with Inverse, directors and writers said that it took time before solidifying Shrek’s personality. Storyboard artist Conrad Vernon said, “We had gone down a road where Shrek is a nice ogre who wants to be a knight…” They soon made him into an ogre “who is misjudged, therefore he shuts himself off from the world.”

The Sequel Was Quickly Greenlit

After almost five years of working on Shrek, the creators weren’t sure how it was going to be perceived by audiences. But after the test audience raved about it, they knew it was going to be a hit in box offices.

In an interview with Inverse, storyboard artist Conrad Vernon knew that they had a hit on their hands and that a sequel was next on their list. “When it came out, it just skyrocketed. As soon as it hit big, immediately everyone was like ‘OK – start working on a second one,'” he said. The sequel came out in 2004 and is noted as one of the best movies in the Shrek franchise.

Eddie Murphy Improvised A Lot Of His Lines

Donkey is a cherished character in the Shrek franchise that fans are hoping returns in the fifth movie. Eddie Murphy’s voice and comedic timing made him the perfect actor for the role.

Because of Murphy’s talent, he improvised a few of his lines, according to The Gamer. In the movie, Princess Fiona burped, which prompted Murphy to improvise the line, “She’s as nasty as you are!”

The Idea For The Gingerbread Man

The Gingerbread Man is one of the more beloved characters in the franchise. In the first movie, Lord Farquaad is terrorizing the Gingerbread Man for information, but he refused to crack. His high-pitched voice and daredevil attitude made him fun to watch.

According to Inverse, when all the artists worked on possible ideas and storyboards, Vernon said when he focused on the Gingerbread man, he thought, “What if they were torturing the Gingerbread Man for the information? How do you torture a gingerbread man? Well, you break his legs off, you dunk him in milk…” He continued saying, “I wrote it out on a piece of paper and then boarded it out. And when I pitched it, I used that voice.” Vernon’s idea was a hit and it set the comedic tone for the film.

The Same Actor Voiced Pinocchio And The Three Little Pigs

Pinocchio and the Three Little Pigs were side characters in the Shrek franchise, but they deserved spin-offs of their own. Their voices and sense of humor added depth to the movie, compared to Shrek’s hostile personality.

Interestingly enough, actor and director Cody Cameron voiced all four characters in the Shrek franchise. He was able to separate each character and add his own spin on the pigs’ accents.

Mud Showers

In the opening scene of Shrek, Shrek gets out of bed and starts his typical day as an ogre. Shrek took a bath and a shower of sorts in the mud, proving that while it doesn’t make sense to get clean in the mud — that’s Shrek’s entire point. He loved being dirty. To add the perfect movement of a mud bath, Cinema wrote, “The effects department actually took mud showers of their own.” Their homework paid off because Shrek in its entirety is incredibly life-like.

About The Author

Lynn Gibbs
(1647 Articles Published)

Lynn is a nomad who travels the globe on the hunt for her next adventure with her husband. A lover of being outside (and finding the best latte in town), Lynn is typically hiking, walking, or jogging when she’s not focusing on her love of writing. When it comes to shows streaming on Netflix or anything Bravo-related, Lynn’s your gal.

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