Shrek 2001: Cast, Plot and Ending Explained

Shrek (2001) is about a grumpy ogre who wants to be left alone in his swamp, and who is forced into a rescue mission when a petty ruler fills his home with fairy tale refugees. It is the film that started the series, and it is rated PG in the US, U in the UK and PG in Australia.

Shrek, voiced by Mike Myers, has built a quiet life where nobody bothers him. That ends when the short tempered Lord Farquaad banishes fairy tale creatures from his kingdom and sends them to live on Shrek's land. Along the way Shrek meets a talkative donkey who refuses to take a hint, and the two of them travel to Farquaad's town to demand the swamp back. Farquaad offers a deal: if Shrek rescues Princess Fiona from a castle guarded by a dragon, the creatures will be removed. The story begins with Shrek's swamp being overrun by fairy tale creatures and turns on the rescue of Princess Fiona.

In Shrek (2001), an ogre rescues Princess Fiona for Lord Farquaad, falls in love with her on the way back, and wins her after a misunderstanding about her curse is cleared up.

Shrek and Donkey reach Duloc, where Farquaad wants to become king by marrying a princess, so he sends Shrek to bring back Princess Fiona from a castle surrounded by lava. Shrek and Donkey get past the dragon, and Donkey wins it over with kind words. Fiona, voiced by Cameron Diaz, is disappointed that her rescuer is an ogre, but the three begin the journey back to Farquaad.

On the road, Shrek and Fiona grow close. Fiona hides a secret: because of a curse, she turns into an ogress every night. Shrek overhears her call herself an ugly beast and wrongly thinks she means him, so he turns cold and delivers her to Farquaad. Fiona agrees to marry Farquaad, and Shrek returns to his swamp feeling hollow.

Donkey convinces Shrek that he has misunderstood, and they rush to the wedding on the dragon's back. Shrek stops the ceremony and tells Fiona how he feels, and Farquaad orders his guards to seize them. As the sun sets, Fiona's ogre form is revealed in front of everyone. The dragon eats Farquaad, and Shrek and Fiona kiss, and the curse ends with Fiona staying in her ogre form. They marry in the swamp, with their fairy tale friends celebrating alongside them.

The Shrek (2001) release date in the US was May 18, 2001, followed by Australia on June 22, 2001 and the UK on June 29, 2001.

The Numbers lists the US, Australian and UK theatrical dates. No premiere date, city or venue has been reported for Shrek (2001). The US date is also the earliest domestic release listed by Box Office Mojo. For the next film in the series, see Shrek 5.

The ending of Shrek (2001) breaks Fiona's curse with a kiss, but she stays in her ogre form and accepts it as her true self.

Here is the sequence. Shrek bursts into the wedding on the dragon's back, tells Fiona how he feels, and Farquaad orders his guards to seize them. At sunset Fiona turns into an ogress in front of everyone. The dragon then eats Farquaad, so the threat to the swamp is gone. Shrek and Fiona kiss, and the curse breaks, leaving her in her true ogre form.

In my opinion the film's smartest choice is to refuse the usual reward. A conventional princess story would have restored her to human beauty, and Shrek instead lets the person Fiona hid all along be the one who is loved. This also resolves the earlier misunderstanding on the road home: Shrek overheard her call herself an ugly beast and assumed she was mocking him, and the ending shows her accepting the same shape he has.

The ending also closes the loops the opening set up. Farquaad sent fairy tale creatures to the swamp and offered the rescue deal so he could marry a princess and become king. The lava surrounded castle, the dragon that Donkey won over with kind words, and the wedding in Duloc all feed into the one moment where the dragon removes Farquaad. The party in the swamp, with fairy tale friends gathered around, fixes the problem that started the story too. The creatures Farquaad dumped on Shrek's land end up celebrating with him.

Shrek wanted to be alone, and he ends up with a settled household of Shrek, Fiona and Donkey. That group is the base for the rest of the series. By release order, Shrek 2 comes next, followed by Shrek the Third and Shrek Forever After, and each of them starts from a couple that already exists rather than building toward one. Chronologically the first film is only second in the series, because the spin-off Puss in Boots (2011) is set before it, so this ending is the first closing beat for Shrek himself even though it is not the earliest story in the timeline. If you are moving on to the sequel, see Shrek 2 next.

Shrek (2001) was not filmed on location, because it is an animated feature.

The swamp, the town of Duloc and the lava surrounded castle where the dragon lives are all drawn worlds rather than real places.

The best known piece of Shrek trivia is that Mike Myers was not the first voice of the ogre.

• Chris Farley was the first choice to voice Shrek and recorded most of his lines before he died, and he never finished the role (CBS News).
• Producers scrapped the earlier work and restarted with Mike Myers, who gave Shrek the Scottish accent used across the franchise.
• Three actors share the Blind Mouse role: Mike Myers, Christopher Knights and Simon J. Smith.
• In Australia the film opened on June 22, 2001, a week before its UK debut on June 29.
• Box Office Mojo lists the budget at $60 million and The Numbers at $50 million.