Once upon a time there was a lovely princess. But she had an enchantment upon her of a fearful sort which could only be broken by love’s first kiss. She was locked away in a castle guarded by a terrible fire-breathing dragon. Many brave knights had attempted to free her from this dreadful prison, but non prevailed. She waited in the dragon’s keep in the highest room of the tallest tower for her true love and true love’s first kiss. (laughs) Like that’s ever gonna happen. What a load of – (toilet flush).
Shrek 00:49-1:35
Introduction
Over the past couple of decades ever since the rise of the Walt Disney empire, our idea of fairy tales has been characterized heavily by their Disney adaptations. For many stories — such as “The Little Mermaid” or “Cinderella” — the title is synonymous with the Disney version of the story to a point that majority of viewers have never read the original version by Hans Christian Anderson or Brothers Grimm. Disney has monopolized the narrative of fairytales and built a kingdom on the sugar-coated version of the classic fairy tales that had been passed down for centuries. The romanticized, idyllic Disney version of these stories is now the primary narrative that circulates media today, with every “once upon a time” promising a “happily ever after.”
However, this is not always the case. Anti-fairy tales (or “antimärchen” in the original German) was a term that was introduced first in 1929, which initially referred to fairytales that did not have a happy ending, most famously stories like “The Fisherman and His Wife.” More recently, the definition of anti-fairy tales has shifted to describing “modern literary reworkings of fairy tales that stress the more negative scenes or motifs, since they appear to be more realistic reflections of the problems of modern society” (The Greenwood Encyclopedia 50). While Disney continues to churn out film adaptations of fairy tales — including the recent trend of live-action adaptations — there is a counter-culture of anti-fairy tales quietly brewing in the media. As we see from works like visual artist Dina Goldstein’s “Fallen Princesses” photography collection (Goldstein) and a set of New Yorker Cartoons that spoof traditional fairy tale narratives, (Mieder 92-93) audiences have become increasingly critical of the “Disneyfied” stories and messages that we grow up consuming. As our frustration over the mismatch between the ideals we were fed as children and the reality of life continues to grow, we have begun to see more and more anti-fairy tale works circulate in mainstream media.
In this analysis, I will focus on the 2001 DreamWorks’ animated film “Shrek” and explore how this film is a modern critical response to the culture of romanticized fairytales that Disney has created. I will argue that it is an anti-fairytale that subverts viewer’s expectations by first establishing influences of fairy tales in “Shrek,” then exploring how it deals with a) the beauty-and-the-beast trope and b) the damsel in distress trope by comparing the film with its Disney version as well as the original fairy tales.
Shrek as a fairy tale
“Shrek” is the first installment of the fantasy comedy franchise of the same name, released in 2001 and loosely based on a picture book of the same name by William Steig. It follows the story of our ogre protagonist Shrek as he sets out on an adventure to reclaim the solitude of his swamp by completing the task set by Lord Farquaad to save the imprisoned princess Fiona. As he continues on the journey along with his sidekick Donkey, he gradually falls in love with Fiona. The story includes many caricatures and spoofed elements of a traditional fairy tale and presents itself as a comedic parody of the classic hero’s adventure. It remixes an overwhelming amount of fairy tale references — which is part of the story’s comedic flair — complete with a cursed princess trapped in a tower, an all-knowing mirror and an onion carriage. The situation that Fiona is in as the set up of the adventure is a mishmash of fairy tale princess tropes — she is imprisoned in a tower guarded by a Dragon “waiting” to be saved by a prince while simultaneously being under a curse that can only be broken by a kiss from her “true love.”
Beyond these nods to classic fairy tales, Shrek is arguably a fairytale because it follows the Propp’s function of a hero’s journey; it begins with “Interdiction” of Shrek finding out and warned about Lord Farquaad’s kingdom, “Delivery” of the villain (Lord Farquaad) gaining information about princess Fiona, “Complicity” of Shrek agreeing to embark on Farquaad’s mission, “Testing” of Shrek being challenged and proving his heroic qualities, “Claim” of Farquaad making unfound claims and attempting to marry Fiona and finally the “Wedding” of Shrek and Fiona being united in marriage. Now having established that Shrek is a fairy tale, I will explore the ways in which it subverts the expectations we have of fairytales in order to prove that it is a modern-day anti-fairy tale.
Subverting the beauty and the beast trope
One of the most iconic Disney fairy tales is “Beauty and the Beast,” a movie based on the original story of the same name by Jeanne-Marie Leprince De Beaumont. This popular fairy tale is the origin of the “beauty and the beast” trope that we often see in various forms of media. The trope usually features a beast-like male who is physically ugly, mutilated, or is non-human, jaded from the world and filled with rage. The female counterpart is kind, gentle and patient, and sees the good in the man and falls in love with him, regardless of his appearance. At the end of the story, it is usually revealed that the man was cursed and with the love and acceptance of his female counterpart, he transforms back into the handsome prince he was all along. The message from stories that follow this trope is something along the lines of how “there is more than meets the eye” and “beauty is what’s on the inside, not the outside.”
This is the narrative we grow up within the Disney version, with Belle (the Beauty) slowly showing the cold-hearted Beast what it means to care for someone else. It is finally when the Beast learns how to be selfless and be a better person, with Belle expressing her love for the dying Beast that the curse is undone and — surprise, surprise — the Beast turned out to be a young, handsome prince this entire time (Beauty and the Beast). Although this Disney adaptation deviates from the original story by Beaumont here and there, the conclusion reached at the end is the same. In the original, after transforming back to a young, handsome prince, the Beast expresses that Beauty “…were the only person in the world kind enough to be touched by the goodness of my character. Even by offering you a crown, I still can’t fully discharge the obligation I feel to you,” driving the message that the beauty is what’s on the inside and that Beauty is virtuous for having been able to see past his ugly exterior (Beaumont 41).
Although this is an important message for children to learn growing up, in both the original and the Disney versions, the Beast ultimately ends up turning back into a young, handsome prince. This brings up the question of how convincing this lesson of personality over appearances is if ultimately the Beast ends up transforming into a gorgeous prince as a “reward” for Belle for having stuck with him despite him having been ugly. Although the entire point of the story should be that appearance does not matter, the conclusion in a way undermines this message, presenting a conventionally attractive prince and princess.
Shrek as a story subverts this trope and turns it around on its head. It also starts as a traditional beauty and the beast dynamic of Shrek being grumpy and unattractive while Fiona is a beautiful human princess. If this was a traditional beauty and the beast storyline, the conclusion would have been with the two falling in love, and Shrek turning into a handsome human prince. However, the story of Shrek cannot be more different. Even after the two get together and express their affection for each other, Shrek still remains an ogre, as green and as “ugly” as ever. What’s more, the big plot twist in Shrek is that princess Fiona herself is also in fact, an ogre. Fiona is under a curse where she turns into an ogre every day after the sun goes down. The only way to break this curse is for her to get a true love’s kiss, however, at the end of the movie, instead of doing so, Fiona chooses to continue being an ogre and spend her days with Shrek at his swamp rather than become a princess.
More than merely adding shock value to the storyline with the plot twist, this narrative decision to have both Shrek and Fiona end up happy together as ogres sends a better message about the lesson that “beauty is what’s on the inside, not the outside” truly means. It demonstrates better than the original or Disney version of the tale how one can be happy despite being an ogre because what matter is being happy with the people that make you happy. Therefore, I would argue that Shrek’s “happily ever after,” not only does it manages to subvert audience expectation for the beauty and the beast trope, but also deliver a more positive message about the importance of inner beauty.
Not a damsel in distress
Another common trope that always appears in fairy tales is the female protagonist being the “damsel in distress.” This appears very frequently within fairy tales that it’s difficult to pinpoint a singular tale that exhibits this trope the best. Take Snow White for example — in the Disney version of the tale, after having been put in a slumber by the evil witch, Snow White waits for her Prince Charming to come to rescue her since only her true loves kiss to bring her back to life (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs). In the original, by Brothers Grimm, it is a lot less romantic with it being revealed that Snow White had a piece of the poisonous piece of apple lodged into her throat and accidentally jolting her brought her back to life. Nevertheless, it was still the same narrative arc in that it was the prince — having bought Snow White in her coffin from the dwarves after falling love with her at first sight — who prompted her to come back alive and therefore “shall be my wife.” (Grimm 89).
This damsel in distress trope in fairy tales presents us with a female protagonist that waits around for the arrival of their Prince Charming and needs to be saved by them. Growing up with this as a primary storyline not just in our fairy tales but included in all sorts of media content that had been influenced by it, it has contributed to creating a culture in which girls’ primary purpose is to be patient and wait for their Prince Charming.
Princess Fiona in Shrek is set up as the classic damsel in distress. We are introduced to her through Lord Farquaad’s all-knowing mirror — who presents the different princesses that Farquaad can choose in a dating show format — that Fiona “is a fiery redhead from a dragon-guarded castle surrounded by hot boiling lava,” who is quite literally waiting for someone to come save her. Yet, when we meet her, we find out that she is nothing like the typical damsel in distress. Fiona is motivated, intelligent and strong, capable of anything, if not more than either Shrek or Farquaad. What is more, she has a story arc of her own in the movie beyond just being saved, actually being a cursed half-ogre trying to find a way to continue being a princess full-time. She has a journey of self-discovery in the narrative as well, giving more nuance and depth to the princess character who is very one-dimensional in most Disney fairy tales. Fiona is no damsel in distress and she needs no saving. She is powerful and independent, incredibly capable on her own, and it is purely through her choice that she ends up with our hero at the end rather than just because she was “saved” by him.
Conclusion
Shrek is a comedic masterpiece that while clearly setting itself up as a fairy tale, manages to spoof almost every classic fairy tale element and still deliver an incredible tale of a hero’s (and heroine’s!) journey. It subverts tropes of beauty and the beast and damsel in distress that audiences have grown wary of over the years and provided a satisfying alternative to it while cleverly pointing out the flaws of these inherently sexist stereotypes. By doing so, Shrek manages to utilize the fairy tale storyline to point out the problems with fairy tales, establishing itself as one of the best anti-fairy tales in modern history. That said, it is important to note that the fact that it is an anti-fairy tale means that it is not a happily ever after. Shrek was wrong when he said “Like that’s ever gonna happen. What a load of -” in the opening of the movie. There is a happily ever after — just not the happily after we have come to expect, it’s even better.
Work Cited
Beauty and the Beast. Directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, Walt Disney Pictures, 1991.
Brother Grimm. “Snow White” The Classic Fairy Tales. Edited by Maria Tatar, 2nd ed., W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2017, pp. 283-300.
Goldstein, Dina. “Fallen Princesses.” Dina Goldstein, 12 May 2022, https://www.dinagoldstein.com/dina-goldsteins-fallen-princesses/.
Jeanne-Marie Leprince De Beaumont. “Beauty and the Beast.” The Classic Fairy Tales. Edited by Maria Tatar, 2nd ed., W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2017, pp. 283-300.
Mieder, Wolfgang. “Grim variations from fairy tales to modern anti-fairy tales.” The Germanic Review: Literature, Culture, Theory 62.2 (1987): 90-102.
Shrek. Directed by Vicky Jenson and Andrew Adamson, DreamWorks Animation, 2001.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Directed by William Cottrell, David Hand and Wilfred Jackson, Walt Disney Pictures, 1937.
The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Folktales and Fairy Tales. United Kingdom, Greenwood Press, 2008.
