Shrek is one of the most loved and lucrative animated movie franchises of the past few decades, with the series becoming a modern classic after the runway success of the first two movies in the franchise. The film relied heavily on subverting the tropes that modern audiences has come to associate with the Disney Princess movies, acting as subtle parodies of these movies while also bringing in a modern twist.
Due to Shrek’s iconic and influential status, there are several interesting behind the scenes stories that any fan of the ogre and his friends really ought to be aware of.
10 Lord Farquad’s Return
Lord Farquad is one of the most memorable villains in the franchise and, perhaps in an effort to tie up the Shrek series finale, there were initially plans for the character to return in the final movie.
John Lithgow was even slated to return in the movie, returning in the alternate world of the film. However, the character only ended up appearing in a post-credit scene.
9 Marriage Counselling
The final Shrek movie largely revolves around a crisis in Shrek and Fiona’s marriage, with Shrek growing weary of his life as a family man and missing his past life as a terrifying and intimidating ogre.
Due to the film’s plot, the creators consulted marriage counselors in order to get a clear picture of how the characters ought to act, allowing for a more realistic interpretation of the issues being experienced by the characters.
8 Change Of Director
It’s common knowledge that, after Shrek 2, the quality in the series began to decline. Fans typically see Shrek the Third as the worst in the franchise, with many believing the series had run out of ideas at this point.
Perhaps there is also a correlation with a change in director, as the third film in the franchise was also the first to not feature Andrew Adamson as director.
7 Mongo’s Roar
One of the best scenes in Shrek 2 is the dramatic race to the castle to save Princess Fiona from kissing Prince Charming, with Jennifer Saunders’ incredible cover of Holding out for a Hero playing in the background.
In the scene, Shrek uses Mongo, a giant gingerbread man, to storm the castle. When Mongo is hit with a catapult ball, he lets out a cry that is identical to Godzilla’s iconic roar.
6 David Bowie’s Changes
The Shrek soundtrack is one of the best movie soundtracks of all time, with the songs featured across the first two movies featuring such a wide variety of musical genres that anyone could enjoy the Shrek soundtracks.
In Shrek 2, a young artist named Butterfly Boucher recorded a cover of David Bowie’s Changes and the legendary British sinter was so impressed with it that he even provided backing vocals for the cover.
5 Antonio Banderas’ Multiple Languages
Antonio Banderas’ Puss in Boots is one of the best aspects of Shrek 2, with the Spanish actor’s fantastic voice perfectly suiting the character and design of the Puss in Boots character.
One could hardly imagine anyone else voicing the character. Fortunately for fans of the Italian and Spanish versions of the film, Antonio Banderas also provided his voice for those versions.
4 Shrek’s Accent
Mike Myers’ original plan when voicing Shrek was to have the character speak in Myer’s own voice. It took Myers a while to settle on an acceptable voice for the ogre, with Myers trying out several different Canadian accents before settling on Scottish.
Mike Myers based the accent on the voice his mother would use when reading stories to him as a child. Additionally, the decision to give Shrek a Scottish accent also cost $4 million dollars, with much of his dialogue having to be re-recorded.
3 Alan Rickman Was Almost Lord Farquad
John Lithgow’s legendary performance as Lord Farquad is iconic and, as a result, it would be difficult to imagine anyone else in the role. However, John Lithgow wasn’t always the first choice to play the vertically challenged villain.
The initial plan was to have the late great Alan Rickman portray Lord Farqaud, but Rickman had to turn down the role due to scheduling conflicts with his role as Severus Snape.
2 Voice Actors Never Met Each Other
This may be surprising to some due to how well the actors did in voicing the characters, but John Lithgow confirmed that he never got to meet his co-workers when recording lines for the movie as Lord Farquad.
Lithgow expressed disappointment at this due to the fact that he was a big fan of their work. That being said, the lack of a meeting between actors didn’t impact their performances in the roles.
1 Mike Myers Wasn’t Going To Voice Shrek
This may be the most surprising fact on this list, but originally Mike Myers wasn’t going to voice Shrek. Initially, the plan was to have Chris Farley in the role, with the SNL actor even recording most of his dialogue for the role.
However, after the unfortunate death of Chris Farley, the role was recast and given to Mike Myers. Shrek’s sarcastic use of air quotes in the film was a homage to Farley.
About The Author
