19 jokes and references from ‘Shrek’ that probably went over your head as a kid

• “Shrek” premiered in 2001, and there are some jokes and particulars you will have missed.

• There are innuendos within the movie, together with one about Lord Farquaad “compensating” for one thing.

• “Shrek” makes numerous references to traditional fairy tales, different motion pictures, and, seemingly, Disney.

Earlier than the film begins, viewers are proven the DreamWorks emblem with added Shrek ears.

This emblem change begins the film off with an ode to “Shrek.”

It particularly stands out when watching the film in 2020, because the DreamWorks emblem has modified since “Shrek” was first launched.

Shrek’s very first line appears to incorporate an implied curse phrase.

Our first view of Shrek exhibits him leaving his lavatory whereas saying, “What a load of —.” A rest room flushes instead of the final phrase, making it fairly clear what the meant assertion may very well be.

Youngsters could not robotically assume that the flushing sound is censoring a swear, however they will nonetheless chuckle on the lavatory humor.

Donkey adapts a preferred film quote to make it about Shrek.

The phrase “a lean, imply, combating machine” was popularized by the 1981 struggle comedy “Stripes,” however it is a bit of a cliché now.

Donkey modifications the phrase to raised describe Shrek by calling the ogre “a imply, inexperienced, combating machine.”

Shrek garnishes his drink with an eyeball.

The primary night time that Shrek and Donkey meet, Donkey is left to take a seat exterior whereas Shrek makes dinner.

Shrek enjoys a big selection of gross-looking meals and drinks one thing resembling a martini, primarily based on the glass and liquid colour.

However Shrek’s model of the drink makes use of an eyeball for a garnish as a substitute of the extra generally used olive.

The Large Unhealthy Wolf seems in a number of scenes sporting grandma garments.

When the fairy-tale creatures seem in Shrek’s swamp, viewers are handled to scenes that present many well-known characters, similar to Tinkerbell, the bears from “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” and the Fairy Godmothers from “Sleeping Magnificence.”

The wolf from “Little Purple Driving Hood” not solely seems on this scene, but in addition he’s really laying in a mattress dressed as a grandmother — in reference to his storybook story.

Story continues

Within the fairy-tale, the wolf wears the garments to trick Little Purple Driving Hood, but it surely looks as if he is simply taken a liking to them in “Shrek.”

The wolf continues to be sporting the grandmother’s clothes after we see him once more at Shrek and Fiona’s marriage ceremony on the finish of the film.

The Magic Mirror’s introductions for the eligible princesses have some innuendos and references that appear to be meant for adults.

The scene of Magic Mirror introducing eligible princesses to Lord Farquaad is full of jokes and “Bachelor”-style clips in regards to the ladies.

Snow White’s introduction consists of the road, “Though she lives with seven different males, she’s not simple.” It is a reference to her dwelling with the Seven Dwarfs, but in addition a considerably soiled joke that children possible aren’t anticipated to grasp.

Princess Fiona is launched as “a loaded pistol who likes piña coladas and getting caught within the rain,” a reference to the Rupert Holmes music “Escape” that kids watching the film usually would not know (till they hear it enjoying in the course of the scene, in fact).

There’s a Lancelot parking-lot sign up Duloc.

Amusement parks like Disney World and Six Flags have such large parking areas that there are typically indicators with characters on them to mark completely different sections of the lot.

This makes it simpler for guests to seek out their vehicles on the finish of the day since they will simply head on to the character-specific space they parked in.

Duloc apparently units its parking tons up the identical approach, since Shrek and Donkey move an indication that claims, “You might be parked in Lancelot.” That is solely on the display for a quick second, but it surely exhibits the trouble that went into packing this film with as a lot element as doable.

Shrek makes a compensation joke about Lord Farquaad.

When Shrek sees Lord Farquaad’s ginormous citadel, he asks Donkey if he thinks “perhaps he is compensating for one thing.”

It is secure to say most children watching is not going to get the implied joke right here, however primarily based on his confused head tilt, Donkey did not perceive it both.

Later within the film, Donkey makes an attempt to share Shrek’s remark with Princess Fiona, saying “Shrek thinks that Farquaad is compensating for one thing, which I believe means he has a very —”

Shrek cuts Donkey off earlier than he can end talking, but it surely’s clear that by now, Donkey will get the joke. Possibly Shrek defined the remark to Donkey throughout their journey.

Duloc appears to be a parody of the Disney theme parks.

The land of Duloc appears to be modeled after one of many best-known examples of a magical kingdom — Disney.

The primary look viewers get of Duloc exhibits the Lancelot parking signal, turnstiles on the entrance, and a main-street space, all of which seem to resemble a Disney theme park.

Duloc even has its personal memento store, a staple in each theme park, that sells plush Farquaad toys.

Shrek and Donkey additionally watch colourful, picket dolls sing “Welcome to Duloc,” which can remind viewers of Disney’s “It is a Small World” attraction.

“Welcome to Duloc” hints at a swear earlier than breaking the rhyme sample of the music to say one thing extra acceptable for kids.

One of the memorable jokes in Shrek is the implied curse phrase in the course of the “Welcome to Duloc” music.

The picket dolls sing the road, “Please hold off the grass, shine your sneakers, wipe your … face.”

Provided that earlier than saying the phrase face, the toys pause and the entrance row turns round and exhibits their rear ends, you most likely thought that final phrase was going to reference a unique physique half.

Using the phrase “face” breaks the rhyme sample of the music, drawing further consideration to the joke.

Among the finest-known strains from the movie is definitely a “Babe” reference.

“Babe” (1995) is a well-liked kids’s film from the Nineteen Nineties starring a pig named Babe.

A widely known quote from the film is, “That’ll do pig. That’ll do.” Shrek as a substitute says “That’ll do Donkey. That’ll do.”

It is a fast line that kids on the time could have seen, however because the “Babe” references are a couple of many years previous now, at this time’s viewers might imagine it is a “Shrek” unique.

A hen blows itself up attempting to match Princess Fiona’s vocal vary, and Fiona fries up that hen’s eggs for breakfast.

The morning after Shrek and Donkey rescue her, Fiona sings with a hen she finds within the forest.

The scene is actually morbid, but it surely appears to be a darkish parody of when Disney princesses sing with animals, because the hen is ready to magically whistle in good concord with Fiona’s voice.

Nonetheless, Fiona’s vocal vary proves to be a bit an excessive amount of for the hen, who explodes attempting to hit a excessive word.

That positively does not are likely to occur for Disney princesses, and none of them can be prone to observe Fiona’s lead in stealing the eggs from the hen’s nest to make breakfast for Donkey and Shrek.

Monsieur Hood and his Merry Males appear to suggest that he enjoys sleeping with the ladies he rescues.

The arrow quiver, outfit, and identify are possible sufficient to make viewers perceive that Monsieur Hood is supposed to resemble Robin Hood, however additionally they blatantly state he “steals from the wealthy to offer to the needy” in case viewers missed the parody.

He and his Merry Males break into an elaborate music and dance with quite a few references together with a “Riverdance” sequence and a few “West Facet Story”-style snapping.

The lyrics of the music additional clarify their heroic feats, however one line may shock older viewers who catch it.

Monsieur Hood sings, “I like an trustworthy combat and a saucy little maid.” This line is instantly adopted by his Merry Males singing, “What he is principally saying is he likes to get—” however Monsieur Hood cuts them off and says “paid,” seemingly implying that the phrase they had been going to sing could have been “laid.”

Shrek refers to expertise that possible does not exist in his world.

After Fiona fights off Monsieur Hood and his Merry Males, Shrek says, “Maintain the cellphone.”

He and Donkey are each shocked by Fiona’s combating means and it is clear from the context and the way the opposite characters react that they know Shrek’s assertion means he needs Fiona to pause and clarify what simply occurred.

Nonetheless, telephones do not seem to exist on this film, so it is unclear how Shrek is aware of what a cellphone is or understands the phrase.

Shrek calls Donkey a jackass whereas they’re combating.

Whereas Shrek and Donkey combat, Shrek calls Donkey a jackass.

The phrase means male donkey — which Donkey is — but it surely’s additionally an insult which means a silly, annoying particular person. It is unclear how Shrek meant to make use of the phrase, but it surely seemingly works both approach.

This can be shocking in an animated kids’s film, however that (together with a couple of different jokes and references) is probably going why the movie is rated PG as a substitute of G.

There are cue playing cards suggesting friends’ reactions throughout Fiona and Farquaad’s marriage ceremony ceremony.

Tv exhibits filmed in entrance of stay audiences will typically have cue playing cards that inform individuals react throughout sure scenes.

Fiona and Farquaad’s marriage ceremony does the identical, with cue playing cards on the entrance of the church that say issues like “Revered Silence,” “Reverence,” and “Chortle.”

The movie has many onion references, which can have some roots in a play from the 1800s.

Shrek compares himself to an onion whereas explaining ogres to Donkey. He says that ogres, like onions, have layers.

That is probably a reference to the onion-peeling scene within the Norweigan playwright Henrik Ibsen’s play “Peer Gynt” from the 1800s. The play additionally follows an anti-hero, which Shrek is commonly characterised as by followers.

The onion reference comes into play once more on the finish of the film when Shrek and Fiona climb right into a magical carriage {that a} fairy godmother makes out of an onion — slightly than from a pumpkin, which is the case in lots of “Cinderella” fairy tales.

Gingy, the gingerbread man, makes a reference to “A Christmas Carol.”

By the top of the film, Gingy had suffered fairly a bit. Being tortured by Lord Farquaad and his males left him injured to the purpose the place he has to make use of a cane — nicely, a sweet cane that’s.

Gingy’s small determine and reliance on his cane could remind viewers of Tiny Tim from Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.”

But when that wasn’t sufficient to get the reference throughout, Gingy says Tiny Tim’s actual ending line from the story: “God bless us, each one!”

Friends seem like dancing the Macarena at Shrek and Fiona’s marriage ceremony reception.

There’s loads to have a look at throughout Shrek and Fiona’s marriage ceremony reception. Lots of the fantasy characters seen earlier within the film reappear right here.

The Large Unhealthy Wolf (in grandma garb), Pinocchio, and the Three Little Pigs may be noticed within the viewers, and Snow White’s Seven Dwarves are the marriage band.

Friends may be seen dancing in many various types throughout this ending sequence, however one which stands out is a bunch of friends who seem like doing the Macarena, an iconic dance from the Nineteen Nineties that is usually carried out to a Spanish music.

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