Donkey (Shrek)
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| Shrek character | |
|---|---|
| Donkey | |
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| Eddie Murphy as the voice of Donkey in the first film | |
| Gender | Male |
| Type | Miniature Donkey |
| Spouse | Dragon |
| Other family | 6 hybrid "dronkey" children |
| Voiced by | Eddie Murphy, Mark Moseley (Shrek video games) |
| Film appearance | Shrek Shrek 2 Shrek the Third |
Donkey is a fictional talking donkey from the Shrek series of films, voiced by Eddie Murphy.
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[edit] Personality
Donkey enjoys a singing , idle chatter, which proves rather annoying to those around him. He also has a sweet tooth, and enjoys such foods as cake, waffles, Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Crackersand "upside-down coconut soufflé with mango chutney sauce” [1]. In a scene about Merlin's bonfire, Donkey's sweet tooth gets the best of him, for he sees only a fudge torte in the enchanted smoke.
Some of Donkey's foibles include acrophobia, colorblindness, hypochondria and cowardice. These, coupled with his impatience and short attention span, prove trying in emergencies. Furthermore, he is often naive and tactless, and even a bit dim (as in the third film, wherein he has children but doesn't understand how children are conceived).
In the "Meet the Cast of Shrek 2" segment that is featured in the Special Features part on the Shrek 2 DVD, Eddie Murphy says: "Donkey is a really positive character. He's always looking at the bright side of everything, trying to work it out. A happy-go-lucky donkey."
[edit] Film roles
[edit] Shrek
By his own oral accounts, Donkey had suffered a life of abuse and ridicule before (literally) running into Shrek, a grouchy, reclusive ogre in the first film. When Shrek defends Donkey from a pursuing group of armed guardsmen, Donkey expresses profound gratitude and takes a liking to Shrek immediately, despite the reclusive ogre's best attempts to fend him off.
Donkey follows along enthusiastically when Shrek is forced to go on a quest to retrieve the Princess Fiona from a volcanic, dragon-guarded keep for a corrupt lord. It is at this keep that Donkey unwittingly meets his future mate, Dragon — a dragoness who is infatuated with him almost immediately upon meeting him (Donkey was the only one who ever said anything nice about/to her). Donkey is initially instrumental in aiding Shrek and Fiona's relationship with one another, helping them overcome any confusion and uncertainties they have so that they finally may be together by the end of the film.
[edit] Shrek 2
Donkey was having troubles in his relationship with the dragon as she was acting strange, but he could not determine the cause, and accompanied Shrek and Fiona to the Far Far Away kingdom when they were summoned by her parents, to meet her new husband.
He and Shrek ended up drinking the "Happy Ever After" potion from the Fairy Godmother's workshop and while Shrek transformed into a human, Donkey became a large white stallion. But after the duo worked together with their friends to stop her plans to force Fiona to engage with her son, the Prince Charming, both return to their normal forms, though Donkey seemed to be quite dissapointed at returning to his original form. After the credits, Donkey and the Dragon are reunited and he meets their newborn children.
[edit] Shrek the Third
Donkey is enjoying fatherhood in Shrek the Third, but he is still first and foremost Shrek's sidekick and closest friend. When Far Far Away is in need of a new king, Donkey ventures off with Shrek in search of Fiona's cousin Arthur Pendragon, known simply as Artie at the Worcestershire boarding school where he resides. In their magical transport back to Far Far Away (aided by a slightly off-kilter Merlin), Donkey and Puss accidentally switch bodies, and Puss finds Donkey's quadrapedal form hideous. Donkey, meanwhile, can't figure out how Puss can walk with such fancy accoutrements. They must put that aside and work together, however, if they are to save Far Far Away from a vindictive Prince Charming.
[edit] Trivia
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- Steven Spielberg (Dreamworks co-founder and executive producer of Shrek) wanted his good friend Steve Martin to voice Donkey.
- Donkey guest-starred on an episode of the DreamWorks Animation-produced television series Father of the Pride. Simply entitled “Donkey”, the episode portrays Donkey as a rather conceited Hollywood actor whom all the series' characters admire.
- The filmmakers had intended to change Dragon into a beautiful pink winged mare to coincide with Donkey's metamorphosis into a handsome white stallion in Shrek 2, as the Fairy Godmother's Happily Ever After potion affects both the drinker and their “true love”. Dragon's equine depiction never made it into the final film, however, Dragon was not left in her true form either at the time; she only appeared in a post-credits scene, when everyone is "back to normal".
- At Universal Studios Florida, you can talk with an interactive donkey from Shrek and get your picture taken with him.
- One thing known about Donkey is that he likes making waffles. This is noted in Shrek when he says to Shrek "And in the morning, I'm making waffles!" and in Shrek 4-D when he says to Dragon "Let's go home and make some waffles!". He also gets "carried away" with a story about a 50-foot waffle Santa Claus in Shrek the Halls.
[edit] References
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