The Fairy Godmother Created Fiona's Curse.
In Shrek 2 it’s clear that the Fairy Godmother has been planning to get her son into power for a long time. She’s not above using manipulation, potions, and force to get what she wants.
[It’s known that she found the cure for Fiona’s curse, and some theorize that she created the cure herself (to further her own plans)], but would it be out of character for her to curse someone? By cursing Fiona to begin with, she ensures that her parents will become dependent on her for a cure. Then she can use this to her advantage by [manipulating the cure]. If she can “remove” curses, she can likely cause them as well.
- From Redditor u/puffpastry2001
Donkey is from Pinochio
I think Donkey is Lampwick from Pinocchio, or at least one of the kids-turned-donkeys. He seems oddly close to Pinocchio and seems to have a human backstory – he’s scared of college kids, said he went to college, and told Puss that he’ll eventually learn to control his donkey noise [(an odd comment for someone who’s always been a donkey to make, but a rational one for one who became a donkey and had to learn all about his new body from scratch)].
– From Redditor u/scienceboy2000
Shrek's parents abandoned him because he was the runt
In the Shrek musical, we learn that Shrek was forced to leave home at seven years old due to “ogre tradition.” Other than this, when Shrek mentions that his father tried to eat him in the third movie, we don’t hear about Shrek’s parents.
In the fourth movie, we do see Shrek being referred to as small by the other Ogres and they show him an ability that surprised him (ears being able to be used as horns). It’s weird that he wouldn’t have been taught this ability, even before he left. Additionally, the end of the movie shows Shrek finding other Ogres in the original timeline and socializing with them normally – despite the “100-year-old tradition of isolation at a young age.”
From my point of view, Shrek’s parents were embarrassed by him not being a large “real” Ogre. So they lied to him in order to get rid of him, [the isolation tradition doesn’t actually exist].
-From Redditor u/Extent-Timely
The displaced fairytale creatures attacked and burned Duloc down
Duloc was the capital city of Lord Farquaad in Shrek. It’s prosperous, clean, has a large population, and must have a decent economy for such a big city to stay afloat.
A few years later in a Shrek miniseries, we see that Duloc has been destroyed and depopulated, but it’s never revealed how. I believe that, after the events of the first Shrek movie, the fairytale creatures took their revenge against the city, pillaging and burning it to the ground.
Evidence:
- Cities wouldn’t get abandoned that quickly otherwise. Farquaad dying would mean that the city would just have someone else take his place. It’s likely that his death could cause economic issues, but it would take more than a few years for a large capital city to be entirely empty. Historically, the only times a city has been suddenly depopulated is due to either natural disasters or… razing by an invading army.
- There is evidence of violence. The miniseries only takes place a few years after the first movie, but Duloc shows broken glass, broken furniture, burn marks on trees and houses, and abandoned carriages discarded in the streets. Clearly, a great battle had been fought there.
- There is a clear motive. The first film shows Farquaad torturing magical creatures and exacting all sorts of atrocities. If you put yourself in the shoes of these magical creatures – your own friends and neighbors turned you into the secret police for a reward. Everything you owned was seized by the state. You were forcibly relocated and could’ve died from exposure. You may have been tortured (like Gingy). Entire families were separated and murdered (Mama Bear was made into a rug). At the end of Shrek, Farquaad has been assassinated and the military leadership is in disarray. Dulac, once the oppressor, is now helpless. Your allies are already inside the palace and ready to open the gate (Shrek, Dragon, Donkey, etc). You are traumatized and full of rage – what are you going to do next?
Puss in boots couldn't kill Fionia in the alternate timeline, so he became her pet
In Shrek 4, Shrek sees Rumplestiltskin and makes a deal with him to have a day to himself where he has no family and no responsibilities. Of course, Rumple takes the day he was born so when the day ends, he’ll no longer exist.
Along the way he meets Donkey, Fiona, other Ogres, and finally Puss in Boots. We learn Ogres are being hunted down and in this reality, Fiona is the leader of the Ogres and Puss is her pet – nobody except Puss knows that she isn’t a true Ogress.
Puss in the real world is a GOOD assassin, hired by many. We see in Shrek 2 that he’s known to deal with Ogres [and goes after Shrek], but Shrek spares his life and Puss becomes his faithful companion.
In the alternate reality, Puss is extremely obese and gives up his life as an assassin. Why though?
I think Puss was hired to kill Fiona in the alternate reality and Fiona spared his life, [perhaps after he learned about her secret]. Then Puss decided to hang up the sword and become Fiona’s pet.
-From Redditor u/9fingeredbandit96
Puss in boots was addicted to catnip
Despite being good [seen in the Puss in Boots movies, set before the Shrek movies], Puss had an awful addiction to catnip [he was caught with it several times in his movies and TV show]. In Shrek 2-4 he’s caught with it 5 times, [once getting arrested for it]. Catnip is like marijuana to cats and is probably expensive, so at one point he realized that he’d have to turn to a life of crime in order to pay for it. So, he moved near the big city of Far Far Away and started taking shady jobs.
Dragon used to be a princess
In Shrek’s book we see an image of a blonde princess, but Fiona is a redhead. Then, a picture of a gold cup and a dragon are shown, and Shrek mentions an enchantment, but doesn’t say anything about a dragon – so why put the image there? Next a picture of a blonde girl is shown floating between a sun and moon, her skin color doesn’t change [like Fiona’s transformation would cause] she just looks asleep. Next, the dragon from before is seen surrounding a dark castle. Shrek reads about how the princess was locked away and guarded by a dragon, with the words “locked away” and “dragon” highlighted in red. Next the book depicts a dragon being seiged by knights and Shrek mentions that many tried to free her, but none prevailed. Next, the princess is shown asleep and Shrek says she waited in the keep of the highest room of the highest tower, but below the picture a sleeping dragon is shown too. The last page shows her true love as a brunette knight holding 3 flowers with a pink ribbon, then Shrek rips the page.
A few more considerations:
- The Shrek 2 book is different and clearly represents Fiona’s story, but no dragon is mentioned.
- Dragon can read, as a huge cookbook is shown in the castle.
I think that Dragon was a princess and was cursed with transforming into a dragon during the day – like Fiona’s opposite. But since her transformation was more dangerous, [nobody could rescue her and perhaps the curse became permanent and her true form].
-From Redditor u/SweetSoursop
Shrek is technically the king of Duloc
At the end of Shrek, Lord Farquuad says thata he is king now. Earlier in the story, it is said that he needs a queen to become king. That means he technically did marry Fiona. But then he gets eaten by the dragon and Fiona marries Shrek – thus, Shrek becomes king. -From Redditor u/Mr__Penguin
If you listen very carefully you can hear the priest say, “I now pronounce you husband and wife. King and Queen…” then Shrek comes through the door. So yes, [unless there are laws we’re unaware of] Shrek should technically own that kingdom when he marries Fiona. But they kinda just abandon it. -From Redditor u/Pasha1997
There is a good reason that Pinocchio wears women's underwear
In Shrek 2 they need Pinocchio’s nose to grow [to help Shrek and Donkey escape] so they tell him to lie [saying, “something crazy like, you’re wearing women’s underwear.” When he says that he wears women’s underwear, his nose doesn’t grow, but when he denies it he does.
The reason he would wear female underwear is because he’s a doll with no male genitalia, making women’s panties a better fit. -Redditor u/master_a_skywalker
Fairy Godmother is responsible for turning donkey from a human to a donkey
There is a popular theory that goes something like this – “Donkey was originally a human who went to Pleasure Island, got turned into a donkey, and escaped.”
Even in Disney’s Pinocchio, we never see how the boys who are invited to the island are transformed into donkeys. It’s implied that it’s a result of them giving into sin and vice – but there doesn’t seem to be a specific catalyst.
That is, until I noticed that Pinocchio and Lampwick don’t transform until they start to drink the beer provided on Pleasure Island. This reminds me of the Fairy Godmother’s potions in Shrek 2. The more I thought about it, it seems extremely likely that the Fairy Godmother was responsible for providing said potion – as we see her exploiting others to gain power and profit.
Thus, Fairy Godmother, through her manufacturing of potions and magical mafia connections, must be responsible for Donkey – who was previously human – turning into a talking Donkey. Furthermore, she’s likely behind the whole “Pleasure Island” scheme, using her connections with Far Far Away’s seedy underbelly of crime and villains – including the witches – to gain power. -From Redditor u/Obversa
The reason Donkey doesn’t know his true nature is because one of the side effects of the laced beers is that they erase the memories of the person consuming them, which would be a smart move because if all of the donkeys from Pleasure Island were to say they were humans once, the authorities would have to look into that and would trace it back to the Fairy Godmother. -From Redditor u/mikemenedez
Fairy Godmother created the evil queen
The Fairy Godmother manipulates people to suit her own purpose. She promises the queen in Snow White that she’d have her own happy ending, but lied and gave it to Snow White instead, thus making the queen bitter and paranod. Afterwards, she becomes the Evil Queen. -From Redditor u/cdhelt1225
Puss in boots wiped out all the ogres in the Far Far Away territory
n Shrek 2, King Harold visits a car to seek an assassin to kill Shrek. The ugly stepsister says, “There’s only one guy for a job like that.”
This happens to be Puss in Boots. In the Shrek franchise’s original timeline, Ogres aren’t liked and aren’t seen, excluding Shrek and Fiona (who isn’t a real Ogress).
My theory is that Puss killed all the Ogres around Far Far Away [in the original timeline, and that’s why there aren’t any around anymore but Puss still has a big reputation]. -From Redditor u/9fingeredbandit96
Shrek's storybook depicts Fiona's parents
Shrek’s storybook is supposed to foreshadow Shrek rescuing Fiona, but what is it also was actually about Fiona’s parents?
The princess in the story has blonde hair, not red like Fiona. Also, she marries the knight in the end, and Fiona doesn’t [Shrek is not a knight]. We know it can’t be Cinderella, as she’s a bachelorette in Shrek and it doesn’t fit her story. We know it can’t be Rapunzel, as it is close to her story but isn’t the same and she’s not cursed, she’s kidnapped.
However, it could be Lillian. We don’t know much about her backstory aside from the fact that she and Harold had their first kiss by a lily pond and that in Shrek 4, she convinced Harold to sign away her kingdom in exchange for Fiona’s freedom before they got the news Fiona had been rescued.
In terms of the curse, [fairytales have all sorts of curses that need to be broken and Harold likely asked to become human to rescue Lillian from hers]. Also, this could explain why Lillian is openly hostile to the Fairy Godmother and Harold is much more compliant – but still fearful. But why would Lillian mistrust the Fairy Godmother is she supposedly had no knowledge of her involvement in Fiona’s curse? It could be that the Fairy Godmother had been the one to curse Lillian before.
Also, Harold and Lillian have very different ideas of how (and where) Fiona should live – he is vehemently of the idea that Fiona should live in the tallest tower of the highest castle, because her true love would be able to rescue her like he did with Lillian.
However, Lillian was against the idea because she was aware of the loneliness Fiona would face. -From Redditor u/South-Marionberry
Shrek left the ogres because he disliked their violent lives
Shrek is an outcast from the Ogre community because he didn’t enjoy the typical brutal lifestyle that the others lived. After he refused to participate in violent attacks against humans and other creatures, he was exiled. Shrek attempted to befriend several humans, but they were all afraid of him. This caused him to become bitter and soon be began to like causing chaos, but not causing physical harm. Then he eventually settled into his swamp, far away from the other Ogres.
Farquaad's subjects were happy he died
People living under tyrannical rule don’t often get to share how they really feel about their overlords, so perhaps there’s nothing surprising about this theory from Redditor /u/Walnutterzz. They suggest that people in Farquaad’s kingdom really wanted Shrek and Donkey to defeat their royal soldiers, even if they couldn’t quite show it. In fact, they even begin to cheer Shrek on at one point, encouraging him to use a chair in his fight. The Redditor also points out that when Farquaad ultimately perishes, no one seems to care.
Lord Farquaad is a dictator
It’s never entirely clear where Lord Farquaad gets his title in the original Shrek, so it’s possible he’s not a Lord at all. That’s what Redditor /u/SkullzCross thinks anyway, instead theorizing that Farquaad is a dictator. If you look at the way he rules it certainly makes a lot of sense. He acts with impunity and his command seems to be almost self-proclaimed. Also, when Shrek and Donkey first arrive in Duloc there’s something almost eerie about it. It’s too clean, too barren; almost like images we’ve seen in real-life of another square-headed dictator.
Fiona grew up eating knights
n the very beginning of the Shrek saga, we learn that Fiona has been the captive of Dragon since she was little, held atop a tall tower. One would imagine there’s a lot of upkeep on Dragon’s part to keep Fiona alive up there, including feeding her. So what does Fiona eat? According to Redditor /u/Froidster, it’s knights. As the theory describes, when we see Shrek and Fiona leave the Tallest Tower for the first time, there is a cook book nearby called “Knightly Treats,” i.e. a book of human recipes. If that’s Dragon’s equivalent of The Joy of Cooking, then it stands to reason that Fiona has grown up on a steady diet of royal soldiers.
Sir Justin is Artie's father
In Shrek the Third we’re introduced to Artie, whose backstory includes that his father abandoned him as a child. However, we never find out who his father was. Redditor /u/JohnCallOfDuty thinks they’ve identified the orphan’s dad with a clue on Fiona’s wall. Though brief, we catch a glimpse of a poster featuring Sir Justin (a play on Justin Timberlake, who voices Artie). The Redditor thinks that Sir Justin – who is a famous performer related to Fiona’s family – is Artie’s father. That explains how Fiona was able to get a signed poster for her wall, and also seems to fit the stereotype of celebs who care more about their own fame than their offspring.
Shrek had no name until he met Donkey
In the original Shrek, Donkey meets the titular ogre early on and does what any polite donkey would do in the situation: ask his name. We all know the answer to that question, but in that moment, does Shrek? Redditor /u/hamptont2010 doesn’t think so. They believe that Shrek stammering out a prolonged “Uhhhh” before finally spitting out his name is a sign that he doesn’t know the answer. The Redditor suggests that’s either because A) He doesn’t have a name, so he just makes one up on the spot, or B) It’s been so long that he’s ever had to tell it to anyone that he actually has to jog his own memory to come up with it!
The origin of the dronkeys
In Shrek 2, our characters chase after their own personal “happily ever after” with the help of a potion. In the end, Donkey finds his by becoming Shrek’s noble steed. Redditors /u/Beanzie02 and /u/Varskes_pakel don’t see it that way, however. Their theory suggests that what Donkey actually wants more than anything is to be a father, but that’s genetically impossible between he and Dragon. So, when Donkey drinks the magic potion, the Dronkeys are conceived. This explains why both Donkey and Dragon are so distressed and unprepared when she goes into labor – there’s no time to plan for an immaculate con-Shrek-tion.
Why the potion doesn't affect Dragon
The Happily Ever After potion in Shrek 2 gives those who take it the ability to transform into the ideal version of themselves. Shrek becomes human. Donkey becomes a majestic steed. But what about Dragon? What happens to her? This was a question posed by Redditor /u/MasterOfSolvery, and a very popular answer came in the comments it spawned. The short answer: nothing happened. Why? Because dragons are perfect, and there is nothing to be improved upon. Seems like there might be some crossover between Shrek fans and Game of Thrones junkies.
Shrek takes place after 1970
To be more specific, Shrek not only takes place after 1970, but in a world that could only exist after the advent of the Tic-Tac. As Redditor /u/Fallingsphere07 points out, Donkey tells Shrek that he could use a Tic-Tac after smelling his horrible breath. Well, the world’s most famous one calorie breath mint wasn’t introduced until 1968 (and renamed to its current moniker in 1970), so the entire Shrek universe must take place in a magical realm sometime thereafter. You might not like this theory, but it would be impossible to say that it stinks.
Shrek knew how his story would end
Art imitates life. And sometimes art imitates life in the art within the art… or something like that. In this rather meta theory from Redditor /u/SIIGN_Official, we learn that Shrek has known his fate from the very beginning of the first film. In Shrek‘s opening, the ogre flips through a fairy tale book that gives the background for Fiona’s cruel fate as Dragon’s captive. Then at the end, he thumbs through the last pages and reveals the title of the book, Shrek. So, if our green protagonist has had a copy of his own story the whole time, he must have known everything that was going to happen on his journey with Donkey and Fiona!