Donkey Shrek: The Talking Donkey and His Voice Actor

Donkey is the chatty, loyal donkey who tags along with Shrek from the first film onward, and Eddie Murphy provides his voice in every main Shrek film. The credits list the character as Donkey (voice), and in Shrek (2001) Murphy is billed second, behind Mike Myers as Shrek and ahead of Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona.

Donkey is the only name the character has in the credits (Donkey (voice)), so there are no alternate names to track.

He appears in four films: Shrek (2001), directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek the Third (2007) and Shrek Forever After (2010). He is not in the cast of either Puss in Boots film, so the spin offs are a separate watch for anyone who wants more of Donkey.

Donkey is the talker of the group, set against Shrek's gruffness. Shrek wants to be left alone, while Donkey fills every silence, and that contrast drives most of the saga's humor. If you are looking for toys or other items with his face on them, the Shrek merchandise page covers the range.

Donkey's arc runs from an uninvited traveling companion in the first film to a settled member of Shrek's family by the end of the saga. He changes less than Shrek does, but his role shifts from talker to conscience to comic relief with real stakes.

Shrek (2001) begins with Donkey meeting Shrek on the road and going with him to Duloc, where Lord Farquaad sends the ogre to rescue Princess Fiona from a castle surrounded by lava. Inside, Donkey wins over the dragon with kind words instead of fighting it, which turns a monster into an ally. Later, when Shrek wrongly believes Fiona called him a beast and hands her over to Farquaad, Donkey is the one who convinces him he misunderstood. They race to the wedding on the dragon's back, and the dragon eats Farquaad.

In Shrek 2 (2004), Donkey comes along to Far Far Away to meet Fiona's parents. Puss in Boots is hired to get rid of Shrek, but he ends up working with the group. Shrek and Donkey drink the Happily Ever After potion, and Donkey wakes up as a white stallion. When midnight passes and the potion fades, he turns back to a donkey, to his disappointment. After the credits, the dragon, who has married Donkey, arrives with several baby dragon donkey hybrids.

Shrek the Third (2007) sends him with Shrek and Puss to find Fiona's cousin Artie. A spell on Merlin's island swaps the bodies of Donkey and Puss. Still in each other's bodies, they free the captured fairy tale characters while Prince Charming takes over the kingdom. Merlin later undoes the swap, though the tails of Donkey and Puss stay switched.

In Shrek Forever After (2010), the altered timeline gives Shrek a Donkey who does not know him, which hands the friendship a second start in a world run by Rumpelstiltskin. When the timeline resets, the friendship is back where it belongs.

Donkey's closest bond is with Shrek, and the rest of his circle includes Fiona, the dragon he marries, Puss in Boots and the hybrid children he has with the dragon. Each relationship shows a different side of him.

Shrek. The two start as an odd pair, an ogre who wants solitude and a donkey who cannot stop talking. By the end of the first film, Donkey is the person who talks Shrek out of a misunderstanding that would have cost him Fiona. See the Shrek profile for the other half of that friendship.

Princess Fiona. Donkey travels with her from the dragon's castle back toward Duloc and sees Shrek and Fiona grow close before either admits it. Her profile is at Princess Fiona.

Dragon. The dragon guards Fiona's castle and could have been the film's main threat. Donkey wins it over with kind words, and it later carries Shrek and Donkey to the wedding. By the Shrek 2 (2004) post credit scene, the two are a couple with children. The Dragon page has her details.

Puss in Boots. Introduced in Shrek 2 (2004) as a swordsman cat hired to remove Shrek, Puss soon joins the trio. His bond with Donkey is a running rivalry between a cat and a donkey who share a quest, and it peaks in Shrek the Third (2007) when their bodies are swapped. See Puss in Boots.

The baby dragon donkey hybrids. Donkey and Dragon have several baby dragon donkey hybrids, shown in the Shrek 2 (2004) post credit scene, which makes Donkey a father.

Villains. Lord Farquaad, Fairy Godmother, Prince Charming and Rumpelstiltskin each oppose the group, and Donkey is usually in the middle of the plan to stop them. Their pages are Lord Farquaad, Fairy Godmother, Prince Charming and Rumpelstiltskin.

Donkey survives every film he appears in, and his last on screen state is that of a married father who is still at Shrek's side. None of the four films ends with his death, and the saga leaves him with his family and friends.

The key changes come in the middle of the series. In Shrek 2 (2004) he is briefly a white stallion before he turns back into a donkey, and the post credit scene gives him a wife in the dragon and several hybrid children. In Shrek the Third (2007), the tails of Donkey and Puss in Boots remain switched after Merlin reverses the body swap, which is the one lasting physical change.

Shrek Forever After (2010) tests him most, because in the timeline where Shrek never existed he does not recognize his friend. Once Fiona's kiss breaks the contract and Shrek returns to the moment just before his outburst, the original timeline is restored. Shrek then chooses to embrace his family and friends, and the series closes on that choice.

Shrek 5 is in production with a confirmed US release date of June 30, 2027, according to Variety; Donkey's involvement is not confirmed in the reporting so far. For the date history, see Shrek 5.

Donkey's best moments are winning over the dragon, talking Shrek round before the wedding, the body swap with Puss in Boots, the white stallion scene and the Shrek 2 (2004) post credit scene. In my view, they share one thing: his talking does something useful instead of only filling time.

First, winning over the dragon in Shrek (2001). A creature that should be a boss fight is turned into an ally by kind words, and that sets up the dragon's role at the wedding and her marriage to Donkey later. The scene tells you everything about the character: he solves problems by being friendly, and it works.

Second, talking Shrek round before the wedding. Shrek has misunderstood Fiona, and Donkey is the one who sees it. The best part is that the speech is short and practical, much like a friend telling you to get in the car and go.

Third, the body swap with Puss in Boots in Shrek the Third (2007). The film uses it for freeing the captured fairy tale characters rather than only for jokes, and it leaves the lasting detail of the switched tails.

Fourth, the white stallion in Shrek 2 (2004). Donkey is delighted by the potion and then disappointed when the transformation ends, and that disappointment is a small, human beat in a film about Shrek and Fiona choosing to stay ogres.

Fifth, the Shrek 2 (2004) post credit scene, where the dragon arrives with the baby dragon donkey hybrids. If you are watching with children, stay for it.