Proppian Characters Hero Shrek Hes the protagonist youre

Proppian Characters Hero – Shrek (He’s the protagonist, you’re expected to support him on his quest) Princess – The quest to prevent Fiona marrying Prince Charming Princess Father – The Fairy Godmother (She wants Fiona to marry her son, the prince, and tries to stop Shrek preventing this) False Hero – Prince Charming (He is Fiona’s love rival) Dispatcher – Fiona’s father (He puts Shrek on a fake quest in attempt to get rid of him then leads Shrek to realising Fiona is set to marry Prince Charming) Donor – Fairy Godmother’s potion factory (Shrek, Puss & Donkey steal the potion from here that helps them to storm the castle and stop the wedding) Villain – Fairy Godmother (Tries to get Fiona to marry the Prince) Helpers – Donkey, Puss in Boots & Gingy

Todorov’s Theory of Equilibrium = Shrek and Fiona have just got married and have been invited to Fiona’s parents’ castle in Far Away. Disruption of Equilibrium = Fiona’s father sends Shrek on a fake quest so he can get rid of him and Fiona can marry Prince Charming. Recognition of Disruption = Shrek realises that the king wants to get rid of him. Shrek goes to get the ‘Happily Ever After’ potion and then rescue Fiona from the castle, however he finds Prince Charming is pretending to be him resulting in Charming and Fiona having to get married. Attempt to Repair = Shrek, Donkey, Puss and the giant gingerbread man storm the castle. They get in and a fight breaks out. Fiona head-butts Prince Charming and the king gets turned into a frog. Fiona escapes with Shrek. New Equilibrium = Shrek and Fiona are returned to their ogre forms and are now happily married with the king’s blessing. Donkey and the Dragon now have children together.

Binary Opposition Ogre vs Human vs Nature Good vs Evil Rich vs Poor (possibly) Royalty vs Common Person

World Views and Conflicting Systems of Thought The King doesn’t seem to follow along with Shrek’s ideas of true love and acceptance. Much of the film mirrors the kind of society that we live in and makes a parody of our world. The world is an imaginary, self-contained ‘perfect’ world.

Film Form Lighting is high key and the colours are very vibrant, this removes a lot of realism from the world of the film and makes it bright and interesting for the target audience (Children). The mise-en-scene is mainly what is expected of a medieval setting but there anachronistic elements added like to Far Away sign designed to mirror the Hollywood sign. This makes the world relatable and recognisable to a young audience. Uses popular music (I Need a Hero). Fluid camera movements, a range of different shot types makes it interesting for the person watching it.

Is the Viewer meant to be Passive or Active? The main audience for the film are expected to be quite passive. This is because it’s a children’s film therefore it is pure entertainment. There are certain jokes in the film that are aimed at adults so the child viewer may have to be a little more active to spot these.

How is the narrative structured to explore themes of representation of oppositions? The king disapproves of Shrek and Fiona’s relationship (an idea of opposition)

Purpose of the narrative structure It helps to tell the story in a simple way that is clear and easy to understand for the young target audience. It is told in a linear way to help with this.

Experimental Narrative? The film’s narrative is in no way experimental. It sticks to a formula that has been used many times before and is well known. I does also mock its use of the stereotypical fairy-tale formula.