Despite being family-friendly movies, the Shrek films have plenty of jokes aimed at a grown-up audience. In 2001, Shrek arrived to change the world of animation, then dominated by Pixar and Disney. Thanks to Shrek, DreamWorks established itself as a strong competitor to Pixar in feature film computer animation.
Shrek introduces the world to the title ogre (voiced by Mike Myers), who finds himself on a mission to rescue Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz). Accompanying him is Donkey (Eddie Murphy), who, much to Shrek’s annoyance, becomes his companion and loyal friend. The rest of the movies follow Shrek and Fiona’s life together and the many obstacles they face.
The Shrek movies are a different take on fairy tales, changing classic stories and characters and adding jokes that aren’t always innocent. Every Shrek movie (and the spinoffs, as well) has jokes for both children and adults, and the latter ones are some of the funniest and most memorable gags in all four movies.
“Do You Think Maybe He’s Compensating For Something?”
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Duloc’s castle in Shrek
The villain in Shrek is Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow), the narcissistic and cruel ruler of Duloc, whose defining physical traits are his weird haircut and his short stature. Lord Farquaad’s height is used for many jokes throughout Shrek, but one of the best is an adult joke that probably flew over the heads of many young viewers.
When Shrek and Donkey arrive in Duloc, they stare at Farquaad’s castle – and it’s a very big castle that actually looks more like a tall fortress. Shrek asks Donkey, “Do you think maybe he’s compensating for something?” after pointing out how big the castle is.
Donkey seemingly doesn’t quite get the joke, and they continue walking to Duloc’s entrance. To young viewers, this question will refer to Farquaad’s short stature, but grown-ups will know it’s about something else.
Snow White Isn’t “Easy”
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Snow White in her glass casket in Shrek
When Lord Farquaad learns from the Magic Mirror that he needs to marry a princess in order to become a king, the mirror shows him three single princesses. The Magic Mirror presents them as if it were a dating show, giving some brief and basic details about each one. Bachelorette no. 2 is Snow White, and her description includes a mention of the seven dwarves.
The Magic Mirror says that, although Snow White lives with seven men, “she’s not easy”, before a sting that leaves some of Farquaad’s guards briefly confused before they nod. It’s a quick joke, but one that adults will immediately catch.
Lord Farquaad Asks The Magic Mirror To Show Fiona
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Lord Farquaad in bed with a drink in Shrek
While Shrek, Donkey, and Fiona make their way back to Duloc, Farquaad is having some alone time in his bedroom. Farquaad is in bed, shirtless, having a drink, and asks the Magic Mirror to show him Fiona again. The Magic Mirror is visibly uncomfortable, but shows him the princess again.
Farquaad is suddenly surprised and takes a quick look under his sheets, pulling them closer to his chest. It’s a subtle joke that won’t mean anything to younger audiences and can be very easily missed even by adult viewers, but once you notice it, it’s difficult to unsee what Farquaad is actually doing.
Fairy Godmother’s Potions
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Shrek 2 Puss looking at the Fairy Godmother’s potions
Shrek 2 introduces new villains, one of them the Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders), who wants to end Shrek and Fiona’s marriage so she will marry her son, Prince Charming (Rupert Everett). Shrek, Donkey, and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) go to the Fairy Godmother’s potion factory, but she refuses to help them because, according to her, ogres don’t deserve happy endings.
However, they end up infiltrating the factory and taking a closer look at all the potions made there. These include some innocent but funny remedies, such as Toad Stool Softener, Elf-a-Seltzer, and Hex Lax, but there are other, hidden potions such as a blue bottle labeled as “Fiagra.”
Puss’ Bag Of Catnip
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Shrek 2 Knights confiscating Puss’ catnip
After drinking the “Happily Ever After” bottle, handsome Shrek, handsome Donkey, and Puss are found and arrested by the royal knights. Their friends learn of their arrest through the TV show Knights, a parody of Cops, where Shrek is shown being peppered (with real pepper, not spray).
Puss is held against a wall, and one of the knights confiscates a dime bag of catnip from his belt, which Puss says isn’t his. In the world of Shrek, catnip might be as bad as illicit substances, but luckily, Puss doesn’t face more trouble related to that bag of catnip.
Riding A White Bronco
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Shrek 2 handsome Shrek and riding on handsome Donkey
Before the pepper and the catnip, there’s a very quick, somewhat subtle, and very easy-to-miss joke at the beginning of Knights. The voice of one of the knights is heard as he requests backup, saying they got a “white bronco heading east into the forest”, referring to handsome Shrek riding on handsome Donkey, a white horse.
This line is a reference to O.J. Simpson’s infamous chase in 1994. Simpson was in a white Ford Bronco driven by his friend, in which he was running away from the police. The joke won’t be clear to those not familiar with O.J. Simpson’s chase, but it’s a great gag.
Frankincense and Myrrh
Shrek the Third
Shrek 3 stoner college students
Shrek the Third sees Shrek, Donkey, and Puss going on a mission to find Fiona’s cousin, Arthur (Justin Timberlake), so he can take the throne of Far Far Away. They find him at Worcestershire Academy, and once there, they walk past a carriage that looks like an old, 1960s Volkswagen van, but in medieval style, of course.
When the door opens, smoke comes out along with two very relaxed students, with one telling the other not to burn all his frankincense and myrrh. As seen in Shrek 2 with the catnip joke, there’s no weed in the world of Shrek, but some people smoke frankincense and myrrh.
Donkey’s “Trip”
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Puss talking confused in Shrek 3
Shrek, Artie, Donkey, and Puss meet Merlin (Eric Idle), Artie’s retired magic teacher, who is very strange and a bit confused. Merlin transports them back to Far Far Away through magic, but the spell has unexpected consequences when Puss and Donkey switch bodies.
This surprise switch leads Donkey to say he hadn’t “been on a trip like that since college”, implying that Donkey has tried some psychedelic substances at some point… and also that he went to college, which might be the most surprising part of this joke.
Waffle Hole
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Donkey about to taste the waffles in Shrek Forever After
Shrek Forever After did things differently by introducing Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn), who tricks Shrek into signing a deal that takes him to an alternate timeline where he was never born. Shrek has to reunite with Fiona, now the leader of the ogres, a terrified Donkey, and an obese Puss.
When Donkey finds a stack of waffles in the forest, he runs to them, but Shrek stops him, as he knows it’s a trap, but Donkey still falls for it. Shrek follows him, and they end up in the underground town of ogres, where Shrek finally reunites with Fiona.
However, when in front of her, Shrek tells Fiona that his “donkey fell in your wafflehole”, with Fiona making a face of disgust. It’s a quick joke, but it will make more than one grown-up gasp.
Donkey’s Warning To Cookie
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Shrek holding Donkey hanigng upside down in Shrek Forever After
Before Fiona shows up and Shrek brings the “wafflehole” up, Donkey delivers a great joke that doesn’t get enough attention (mostly because a lot is happening when he says it). The ogres carry Donkey with the intention of cooking him, with Shrek trying to convince them not to.
Donkey tells one of the ogres, Cookie, that he goes “down smooth” but comes out “fighting”, and yet this still isn’t enough for them to let him go. If anything, it should have made the ogres laugh, but the audience can appreciate the joke more than they do.
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