nineteen jokes and references from 'Shrek' that probably went over your head every bit a kid

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There are several references that brand Duloc expect similar a Disney theme park.
DreamWorks
  • "Shrek" premiered 21 years ago, and there are some jokes and details you may have missed.
  • There are innuendos in the flick, including one near Lord Farquaad "compensating" for something.
  • "Shrek" makes a lot of references to classic fairy-tales, other movies, and, seemingly, Disney.

Before the movie starts, viewers are shown the DreamWorks logo with added Shrek ears.

The logo was rethemed for the movie.
DreamWorks

This logo change starts the picture off with an ode to "Shrek."

It especially stands out when watching the movie in 2020, since the DreamWorks logo has changed since "Shrek" was first released.

Shrek'southward very first line seems to include an implied curse give-and-take.

There are a few implied swears throughout the picture show.
DreamWorks

Our first view of Shrek shows him leaving his bathroom while maxim, "What a load of —." A toilet flushes in place of the last word, making it quite clear what the intended statement could be.

Children may not automatically presume that the flushing audio is censoring a swear, but they tin notwithstanding express joy at the bath humor.

Shrek garnishes his drink with an eyeball.

Instead of using an olive, Shrek garnished his martini with an eyeball.
DreamWorks

The offset night that Shrek and Donkey see, Donkey is left to sit outside while Shrek makes dinner.

Shrek enjoys a wide array of gross-looking foods and drinks something resembling a martini, based on the drinking glass and liquid colour.

Just Shrek'due south version of the drink uses an eyeball for a garnish instead of the more commonly used olive.

The Large Bad Wolf appears in multiple scenes wearing grandma clothes.

Storybook characters are prominent in the film.
DreamWorks

When the fairy-tale creatures appear in Shrek's swamp, viewers are treated to scenes that show many well-known characters, such every bit Tinkerbell, the bears from "Goldilocks and the Iii Bears," and the Fairy Godmothers from "Sleeping Beauty."

The wolf from "Picayune Red Riding Hood" not only appears in this scene, just also he is really laying in a bed dressed as a grandmother — in reference to his storybook tale.

In the fairy-tale, the wolf wears the clothes to fob Little Red Riding Hood, but information technology seems like he'southward only taken a liking to them in "Shrek."

The wolf is nonetheless wearing the grandmother'southward article of clothing when we see him again at Shrek and Fiona'south wedding at the finish of the moving picture.

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

The princesses are presented similar contestants on a reality show.
DreamWorks

The scene of Magic Mirror introducing eligible princesses to Lord Farquaad is packed with jokes and "Available"-fashion clips well-nigh the women.

Snow White's introduction includes the line, "Although she lives with 7 other men, she's not easy." It'southward a reference to her living with the Seven Dwarfs, merely also a somewhat dirty joke that kids likely aren't expected to understand.

Princess Fiona is introduced as "a loaded pistol who likes piña coladas and getting caught in the rain," a reference to the Rupert Holmes song "Escape" that children watching the picture show typically wouldn't know (until they hear it playing during the scene, of course).

There is a Lancelot parking-lot sign in Duloc.

The parking lot has named sections.
DreamWorks

Amusement parks like Disney Earth and Six Flags have such massive parking areas that there tend to be signs with characters on them to mark different sections of the lot.

This makes it easier for visitors to find their cars at the end of the twenty-four hour period since they tin can just head direct to the grapheme-specific area they parked in.

Duloc manifestly sets its parking lots up the same style, since Shrek and Donkey pass a sign that says, "Yous are parked in Lancelot." This is only on the screen for a cursory moment, simply it shows the effort that went into packing this movie with as much detail every bit possible.

Shrek makes a compensation joke about Lord Farquaad.

Shrek makes a few jokes virtually Lord Farquaad'due south size throughout the film.
DreamWorks

When Shrek sees Lord Farquaad's ginormous castle, he asks Ass if he thinks "maybe he's compensating for something."

Information technology's safe to say nigh kids watching volition non get the implied joke hither, just based on his confused caput tilt, Donkey didn't empathize it either.

Later in the picture show, Donkey attempts to share Shrek'south comment with Princess Fiona, maxim "Shrek thinks that Farquaad is compensating for something, which I recall ways he has a really —"

Shrek cuts Donkey off before he can finish speaking, simply information technology's clear that by now, Ass gets the joke. Perchance Shrek explained the annotate to Donkey during their journeying.

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

Duloc is set like Disneyland or Disney World.
DreamWorks

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

The offset glance viewers get of Duloc shows the Lancelot parking sign, turnstiles at the archway, and a main-street surface area, all of which announced to resemble a Disney theme park.

Duloc even has its own souvenir shop, a staple in every theme park, that sells plush Farquaad toys.

Shrek and Donkey also picket colorful, wooden dolls sing "Welcome to Duloc," which may remind viewers of Disney's "It'due south a Pocket-sized Earth" attraction.

"Welcome to Duloc" hints at a swear before breaking the rhyme pattern of the song to say something more appropriate for children.

The film potentially implied most swear words to keep information technology appropriate for children.
DreamWorks

One of the most memorable jokes in Shrek is the implied curse word during the "Welcome to Duloc" vocal.

The wooden dolls sing the line, "Delight keep off the grass, polish your shoes, wipe your ... face."

Given that before saying the discussion face, the toys pause and the front end row turns effectually and shows their rear ends, you probably thought that final word was going to reference a different body part.

The use of the word "face" breaks the rhyme pattern of the song, drawing extra attention to the joke.

One of the best-known lines from the film is actually a "Babe" reference.

There are references to other children's movies.
DreamWorks

"Baby" (1995) is a popular children's moving picture from the 1990s starring a grunter named Babe.

A well-known quote from the picture is, "That'll do pig. That'll exercise." Shrek instead says "That'll exercise Donkey. That'll practise."

It's a quick line that children at the time may accept noticed, but since the "Babe" references are a few decades old now, today's viewers may think it's a "Shrek" original.

A bird blows itself up trying to match Princess Fiona's vocal range, and Fiona fries up that bird's eggs for breakfast.

She makes breakfast with the eggs afterward the bird blows up.
DreamWorks

The morning time after Shrek and Donkey rescue her, Fiona sings with a bird she finds in the forest.

The scene is certainly morbid, but it seems to be a dark parody of when Disney princesses sing with animals, equally the bird is able to magically whistle in perfect harmony with Fiona's voice.

Even so, Fiona'due south song range proves to be a flake too much for the bird, who explodes trying to hit a loftier annotation.

That definitely doesn't tend to happen for Disney princesses, and none of them would be likely to follow Fiona's lead in stealing the eggs from the bird's nest to make breakfast for Donkey and Shrek.

Monsieur Hood and his Merry Men seem to imply that he enjoys sleeping with the women he rescues.

Monsieur Hood's song and dance is filled with references.
DreamWorks

The arrow quiver, outfit, and proper name are likely enough to brand viewers understand that Monsieur Hood is meant to resemble Robin Hood, but they as well blatantly land he "steals from the rich to give to the needy" in case viewers missed the parody.

He and his Merry Men intermission into an elaborate song and trip the light fantastic toe with numerous references including a "Riverdance" sequence and some "West Side Story"-style snapping.

The lyrics of the song further explain their heroic feats, but one line might surprise older viewers who catch information technology.

Monsieur Hood sings, "I similar an honest fight and a saucy little maid." This line is immediately followed past his Merry Men singing, "What he's basically saying is he likes to go—" but Monsieur Hood cuts them off and says "paid," seemingly implying that the word they were going to sing may take been "laid."

Shrek refers to applied science that likely doesn't be in his globe.

Shrek says, "Hold the phone."
DreamWorks

Afterwards Fiona fights off Monsieur Hood and his Merry Men, Shrek says, "Hold the phone."

He and Donkey are both surprised past Fiona's fighting power and it's clear from the context and how the other characters react that they know Shrek's argument ways he wants Fiona to intermission and explain what just happened.

However, phones don't appear to be in this movie, so it's unclear how Shrek knows what a telephone is or understands the phrase.

Shrek calls Donkey a jackass while they're fighting.

PG-rated films may contain material that isn't suitable for young audiences.
DremWorks

While Shrek and Donkey fight, Shrek calls Donkey a jackass.

The word means male ass — which Donkey is — simply it's also an insult that means a stupid, annoying individual. It'due south unclear how Shrek intended to use the word, but it seemingly works either fashion.

This may exist surprising in an animated children's moving-picture show, just that (along with a few other jokes and references) is probable why the motion-picture show is rated PG instead of G.

There are cue cards suggesting guests' reactions during Fiona and Farquaad's wedding.

The wedding is run similar a Goggle box bear witness filmed in front of a live studio audience.
DreamWorks

Television shows filmed in front of alive audiences volition sometimes have cue cards that tell people how to react during sure scenes.

Fiona and Farquaad's wedding does the same, with cue cards at the front of the church building that say things like "Revered Silence," "Reverence," and "Express mirth."

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

The carriage that Fiona and Shrek climb into subsequently their nuptials is made out of an onion.
DreamWorks

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

This is potentially a reference to the onion-peeling scene in the Norweigan playwright Henrik Ibsen'southward play "Peer Gynt" from the 1800s. The play besides follows an anti-hero, which Shrek is often characterized every bit past fans.

The onion reference comes into play over again at the end of the movie when Shrek and Fiona climb into a magical carriage that a fairy godmother makes out of an onion — rather than from a pumpkin, which is the case in many "Cinderella" fairy tales.

Gingy, the gingerbread man, makes a reference to "A Christmas Ballad."

Like Tiny Tim, Gingy went through a lot during the film.
DreamWorks

By the finish of the movie, Gingy had suffered quite a bit. Being tortured past Lord Farquaad and his men left him injured to the point where he has to utilize a pikestaff — well, a candy pikestaff that is.

Gingy's small figure and reliance on his pikestaff may remind viewers of Tiny Tim from Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol."

But if that wasn't enough to become the reference beyond, Gingy says Tiny Tim's exact catastrophe line from the story: "God anoint u.s.a., every one!"

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