S is for...Shrek!

So my post today is about one of my favourite modern fairy tales, Shrek! By my notes it looks like it might be quite a long one too, but I'll make sure I break it up with plenty of pictures! I'm going to look through all of the posts I've done so far, and see what fairy tale features Shrek has.
Taken from here
Shrek, like a lot of other fairy tales, begins with 'Once upon a time...' and of course ends with a happy ending. I love Shrek, because it is a fairy tale that makes fun of fairy tales - in a good way! I like how it incorporates a lot of different fairy tales all in one. It's interesting to see different fairy tale characters interacting with each other!
There are two castles in the Shrek movies, that I can remember seeing! There is Lord Farquaad's castle in the first movie, which is hilarious because it's so huge! When Shrek sees it, he asks Donkey if he thinks Lord Farquaad is compensating for something, and we later find that it's his height!
Taken from here
Terrible picture, but I can't find any close up shots of the castle!
The next castle in the Shrek movies is Fiona's parents' castle, in their kingdom 'Far Far away', which is just the best name for a kingdom ever. Their castle is a lot more traditional than Farquaad's. 
Taken from here
Quests are also frequent in the Shrek movies. In the first one, Shrek goes on a quest to rescue Princess Fiona from the dragon, so that Lord Farquaad can marry her and Shrek can get his swamp back. Obviously he doesn't exactly fulfil his quest, as he falls in love with Fiona himself! A much better outcome, in my opinion. In the second one, Shrek's quest is to gain the blessing of Fiona's parents, mostly her father, because he is disapproving of Shrek. This quest turns into another quest to save Fiona (again) from Prince Charming and his mother, the fairy godmother. This ends with Shrek and Fiona happier than ever, with her father's blessing. In the third film, Shrek must find Arthur, the heir to the throne, so that he can become King instead of Shrek. And in the fourth film, Shrek must find a way to reverse the wish he made to erase the day of his birth, causing him to cease to exist! 
Taken from here
Of course I have to mention Dragon, because for once the dragon is the good guy! Well, not at first, but she is later! And of course, she and Donkey fall in love, and they have little mutant Donkey-Dragon babies that are so cute! 
Awwww!
Taken from here
I also love how all of the knights that are shown in the Shrek movies are shown as either stupid or cowardly. In the first movie, they all run screaming from Shrek, and in the second they attempt to stop Mongo, the giant gingerbread man (amazing idea, by the way!) by drenching him in foam. 
Taken from here
I like how in Shrek, certain roles are reversed. Some of the villains in Shrek were originally good characters in older fairy tales. Examples of this are the fairy godmother, who plots against Shrek throughout the second movie, and her son Prince Charming, who is obviously a very important character in most fairy tales, but in Shrek he is percieved as very vain, a mummy's boy and slightly stupid. Rapunzel is also seen as a villain in the third film. 
Taken from here
I love the third movie where all of the fairy tale princesses get together to hold a baby shower for Fiona. I just love seeing all of the different princesses together, and seeing their personalities. And it's absolutely hilarious when they all use their various 'princess powers' to escape from the castle - particularly when Snow White uses her singing! 
Taken from here
I love the Shrek movies, because instead of just ending when they get married, we get to see their happily ever after, and the ups and downs of it. I also love the fact that it is different from regular fairy tales because instead of them becoming beautiful, they become 'monsters'. Hope you've enjoyed my Shrek post, I'll leave you with one last picture to keep you going (and because I couldn't resist!)
Taken from here

Comments

  1. PR21 April 2012 at 17:37

    Oh no I just said awww out loud! Great post, love the shrek movies :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Laura Clipson21 April 2012 at 20:23

      Me too, I watched Shrek 2 last night, lots of preparation! :)

      Delete
  2. Rob Z Tobor21 April 2012 at 18:14

    I have never seen Shrek, I was expecting Sinbad the Sailor.

    T next

    Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Crocodile

    ReplyDelete
  3. Miss H21 April 2012 at 20:40

    I adore the Shrek movies too!! I agree with all your reasons as to why they are awesome!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Laura Clipson21 April 2012 at 20:42

      I love everything about them, they're just great :)

      Delete
  4. Ghadeer21 April 2012 at 23:15

    They're the cutest movies!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Tina22 April 2012 at 00:11

    I so love the Shrek movies...of course my favourite being Donkey!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Laura Clipson22 April 2012 at 11:55

      I love Donkey, he's so funny! And a great, much needed friend for Shrek! :)

      Delete
  6. Stephanie23 April 2012 at 00:53

    One of my all-time favourite movies! I absolutely loved the first one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Laura Clipson23 April 2012 at 10:45

      Me too, it's so good! I just love how it turns classic fairy tales around, and makes them into something better! :)

      Delete
  7. S. L. Hennessy23 April 2012 at 16:46

    I LOVE Shrek. It's such a great blend of all the fairy tales together. And so so clever.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Laura Clipson24 April 2012 at 16:38

      Me too, I love the way they do it, and the way they reverse which characters are good and which ones are bad :)

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WEP August - Change of Heart

Image
So I actually wrote this piece for April's WEP, but I was ill so didn't get to post it in the end. I'm quite glad, as it suits this month's theme so much more. Change of Heart ‘Are you ready for this?’ Paul asked. Brian nodded, trying to steady his shaking hands. ‘You’re the only one who can defeat him,’ Molly said. ‘We believe in you.’ She stepped back to join Paul. Brian balled his fists as he looked at the huge stone doors before him. He took a deep breath and pushed them open. Before the doors closed, Brian glimpsed Paul and Molly turn and begin to walk away. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness inside. With a whispered word he created light in the palm of his hand, raising it so it would light up the room. It was empty apart from another doorway, much smaller than the first, hidden away in the corner. Brian marched through it and found himself in a large chamber, lit by many flickering candles mounted along the walls. Someone stoo
Read more

IWSG - July 2018

Image
The Insecure Writer's Support Group is a group of writer's who post once a month about their insecurities, and then visit each other to offer help and support. It's been a long time since I last posted, back in April. I really can't believe it's July already; this year so far seems like it's been both really short and really long. There are a few reasons why I've been absent for so long; I've had a few health issues, nothing serious but it's been one illness after another this year. Then I was in a car accident in May, thankfully Jamie and I came out unhurt, but the car spent a month getting repaired. We've also been house hunting this year, we found two houses we really wanted but unfortunately both fell through.  So, overall, it's been a bit of a rough year, and because of this I haven't got much writing done. However, I'm an optimistic person and I'm hopeful that the worst is over, so it's time to get back i
Read more

The Beginnings Blogfest!

Image
Today's the day of the Beginning's Blogfest , L. G. Keltner 's first blogfest! I love the idea for this one, and knew what I was going to write about straight away. I want to write about the beginning of my writing journey. A year ago, I had no direction. I had no blog, I didn't write, all I did was work and play games. I had no motivation because I didn't know what I wanted to do. I had wanted to be a teacher, but after two failed PGCE interviews I was losing faith in the idea - maybe teaching wasn't what I was supposed to be doing. Then, last January, an idea struck me, seemingly out of nowhere. What if I tried to get into Journalism? I was good at writing, spelling, and editing, and I thought I would enjoy it. So I looked into it, and decided that it sounded like something I would want to do. I got some work experience at a volunteer magazine, writing articles for them, and most importantly, I started my blog. I thought it would be a good way to prac
Read more