Shrek and Donkey, name a better fairy tale duo; I’ll wait. Voiced by Mike Myers (with Chris Farley) and Eddie Murphy, these two characters made the first Shrek film the massive Dreamworks Animation success it was. (And Shrek the Musical the weird moment in human history it was. Shoutout to Brian D’Arcy James…)
By roping in fairy tale mainstays like Puss in Boots, Prince Charming, and fairy godmothers, Shrek refreshes these old references with modern, if a bit lowbrow, humor. Not to mention the iconic performance of a Bonnie Tyler classic by Jennifer Saunders as the Fairy Godmother that changed humanity forever. (Holding Out for a Hero.)
Spoiler alert, I guess? If you haven’t seen Shrek, go watch Shrek. It’s as timeless as it is mandatory.
Do Ogre’s Have Birthdays? (Shrek’s Age)
You all gotta know swamp ogres have layers, harass merry men and sometimes turn human, but do they celebrate a new year of their life? As it turns out, they do!
How Old Is Shrek?
We Have to Discuss Shrek the Musical…
If you’ve seen all of the Shrek movies, you know he has kids old enough to talk and act like people. It’s safe to say this ogre isn’t a child himself, no kids with kids. Sometimes, he and Princess Fiona act like one of those old married couples, further evidence of age!
Clearly, Shrek definitely feels older than 20-something, but the movies don’t offer much to go on besides his demeanor Human-Shrek’s appearance.
Shrek the Musical positions itself as an authoritative source of Shrek lore and backstory in what Olivia Newton-John would call a “strange twist of fate.” Weird. Shrek the Musical didn’t break any new ground, but you can’t say it didn’t exist. What does it say about our question, though?
Take a listen to the song “I Know It’s Today.”; it reveals that 8,000+ days pass before Shrek rescues Fiona. We also know from the script that Fiona was locked away at age 7. After more than 8,000 days, Princess Fiona would be 30 years old (or even older). It makes sense to us.
Since Shrek and Fiona seem like the same age, Shrek is 30 years old.
To quote the user Stand-by from a Broadway World forum post from 2009: “Well, from what I’ve seen, it’s more plausible that a single woman in her 30s would marry the first ogre that comes along.”
You just can’t find wit like that on the web anymore, ladies and gents. 2009 was a magical time.