The Satire of
A Look at the plot:
- Which woman do you want? show (hyperbole)
- Shrek's motives start out with him wanting to be left alone (irony)
- Donkey sees Shrek as a friend (irony)
- Shrek goes to complain to Lord Farquad about sending all of the fairytale creatures to his house, but ends up on a quest to save Fiona (irony)
- Saves (kidnaps) Fiona and they end up falling for each other (more irony)
- Fiona saves Shrek and Donkey from Robin Hood (irony)
- Fiona chooses to remain an ogre for Shrek (even more irony)
A Look at Donkey (the "steed")
- sees Shrek as a friend even though he's rude 99% of the time
- kind
- not majestic at all
- goofy
- loyal
- kindhearted
- marries a dragon
A Look at Fiona (the princess)
- strong and can defend herself (can fight)
- *not* vain
- actually traumatized by being left in a tower for all those years
- smart
- originally believes the "prophesy" but learns that things don't always go as planned
- tries to be the dainty princess she's meant to be but isn't and embraces it in the end
A Look at Shrek (the "hero")
- antihero
- ugly
- wants to be alone
- rude
- wants to be feared (evil, or at least not good)
- crochety
- good on the inside, but "bad" on the outside
is a parody of the classic fairy tale trope.