1. Write a few sentences summing up Shrek’s character
You could use something similar to this:
At the beginning of the film Shrek tries to threaten the characters that he meets, but Donkey, the mice, the fairy tale characters and Princess Fiona are not intimidated by Shrek or his appearance. He tries to make them frightened by reminding them that________________________________. Although Shrek is an ogre________________________________. 1

2. Lord Farquaad’s evil side
Watch again the scenes when Lord Farquaad tortures the gingerbread man Look in particular at:
How he is introduced to the audience
His taunting of the gingerbread man
What he does with the gingerbread man’s buttons
Where he throws him 2

3. Lord Farquaad’s evil side
The marching music makes the atmosphere tense and suggests a battle
The first shot of Lord Farquaad is of his hands, showing he “means business” 3

4. Lord Farquaad’s evil side
He throws the gingerbread man in the bin. HE is behaving like a monster.
Lord Farquaad is really enjoying torturing the gingerbread man and taunts him too before going to pluck off his “buttons” 4

5. Write about how Lord Farquaad is presented in the torture scene
How he is introduced to the audience;
What his treatment of the gingerbread man shows about his character;
Then write three sentences about your impressions of Lord Farquaad so far;
Some phrases you might use:
When we first meet Lord Farquaad there is marching music…
In contrast to Shrek, Lord Farquaad is cruel. He watches the torture of the Gingerbread Man and then… 5

6. Lord Farquaad’s evil side continued
He uses very formal language “Beautiful fair flower Fiona will you be the perfect bride for the perfect groom?”
When he comes for Princess Fiona Lord Farquaad changes abruptly from the man we saw torturing the Gingerbread man. 6

7. Lord Farquaad’s evil side continued
At the end Lord Farquaad orders the guards to “get THAT out of my sight!” and then still proclaims himself as King 7

8. Write about Lord Farquaad’s evil side
Lord Farquaad is all set to marry Princess Fiona, until he sees that when the sun sets she…
Lord Farquaad speaks to her in a cruel way and orders his knights to “get THAT out of my sight”. Lord Farquaad calls off the wedding, but he still proclaims ...
Lord Farquaad is deceptive because he should only become King…
It is clear that Lord Farquaad does not love the Princess, but agrees to marriage because he wants… 8

9. Camera shots
This is a LOW ANGLE shot to make Shrek appear like he is intimidating the soldiers 9

10. Camera shots
Close up shots show the characters emotions when Shrek and Fiona are falling in love 10

11. Write three sentences about how close up and angled shots are used to show emotion
Cover these points:
Why you think the close up shot of Shrek’s mouth is effective;
How low and high angle shots show how scary Shrek is;
The way close up shots are effective in showing emotion
You could use this as a starting point:
When a director is making a film it is important that they use a variety of camera angles to create certain effects. At the beginning of the film, Shrek scares the storybook characters away…
Close up shots are also useful for focusing the viewer’s attention on the characters emotions… 11

12. Angled and close up shots
The low angle shot makes Shrek and Donkey look unimportant in comparison to Lord Farquaad 12

13. Add this to the last paragraph
When Shrek visits Lord Farquaad’s castle, the camera moves from ground level upwards to reveal his tower. This is called a high angle shot. It is useful because it makes Lord Farquaad seem ________, and Shrek and Donkey appear ______. Low angle shots are used effectively because they show Lord Farquaad looking down on _____ and ___. 13

14. Mid-angle shots
This mid-angle shot shows that both Shrek and Donkey are on an equal footing. 14

15. Mid-angle shots
This shot shows that these two characters are “on the same level”. They are connecting. 15

16. Add this to the last paragraph
Mid angle shots are used when Shrek and Donkey are relaxing together, and when Shrek has cooked Princess Fiona a meal. These shots show both of the characters at the same time and has the effect of… 16

17. Camera shots
This shot shows Shrek’s isolation from the other characters 17

18. Camera shots
Earlier on when Shrek was trying to put up barriers to his friendship with Donkey he also turned his back 18

19. Finally for this paragraph
Sometimes a character’s back is shown instead of their face. This is used to suggest isolation from other characters. For example… 19

20. Write a paragraph about the settings in the film
A swamp traditionally would not be a place where a hero would want to live. However the makers of Shrek have presented this very differently….
On the other hand a Prince’s castle is usually shown as ______. Whereas Lord Farquaad’s castle is______. 20

21. Write your concluding sentences
Write about why Shrek is different to a traditional ogre:
Has friends
Rescues Princesses
Finds love
Gets married
You could use this to help:
After analysing the characters of Shrek and Lord Farquaad, I have come to the conclusion that although Shrek seems like a traditional ogre… 21

22. Concluding sentences
Write about how Lord Farquaad is NOT presented as a traditional hero:
Commits torture
Steals Shrek’s swamp
Rejects Princess
Falsely claims to be King
You could use this sentence to start:
Although Lord Farquaad looks like a Lord, his actions suggest he is evil. For example… 22

23. Concluding sentences
Write two sentences about how the viewer FEELS towards Shrek and Lord Farquaad.
Your could use this to help:
The story of Shrek uses presentational devices to reverse our expectations so that by the end of the film…
Write one sentence to sum up your thoughts on Shrek versus a traditional fairy tale 23