Shrek

In the 2001 DreamWorks animated film Shrek, Shrek is a big, green, grumpy ogre who loves his peaceful solitude in a swamp. Voiced by Mike Myers, he goes on a quest to rescue Princess Fiona for Lord Farquaad in exchange for getting his swamp back. Along the way, he befriends Donkey and falls in love with Fiona.Character Traits and BackgroundBig, green, and intimidating ogrePrefers living aloneVoiced by Mike Myers (originally recorded by Chris Farley before his passing)Based loosely on the book Shrek! by William SteigJourney in the FilmSwamp Disruption: Fairytale creatures are banished to his swamp by Lord Farquaad.The Quest: Makes a deal with Farquaad to rescue Princess Fiona.Companionship: Reluctantly travels with Donkey.Romance and Acceptance: Falls in love with Fiona, accepts himself as an ogre, and marries her at the end.Shrek is an award-winning character whose franchise completely redefined modern animated cinema. He is famous for his Scottish accent, onion-layered personality, and massive pop-culture legacy.Behind-the-Scenes FactsThe Accent: Mike Myers originally recorded the voice in his normal accent before convincing the studio to let him re-record everything with a Scottish accent.Massive Cost: Re-recording Shrek's lines with the Scottish accent cost the studio an extra $4 million to $5 million in animation adjustments.Oscar Winner: The film won the very first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film in 2002.Physical Inspiration: The animators used a live alligator to study movement patterns for Shrek's mud shower scene.Key Lore and PhysiologyOnion Metaphor: Shrek famously explains to Donkey that "ogres are like onions" because they both have layers.Ogre Strength: He possesses immense physical power, effortlessly defeating Lord Farquaad's entire squad of knights in a wrestling-style brawl.Diet and Habits: He enjoys eating eyeballs, making candles out of his own earwax, and using swamp mud as toothpaste.