- “Oh, yes you will. If you remember, I helped you with your Happily Ever After, and I can take it away just as easily. Is that what you want? Is it?”
- ―Fairy Godmother threatening King Harold.
The Fairy Godmother is the main antagonist of DreamWorks Animation's 2004 feature film Shrek 2. She was a fairy that ran her own business offering "happily ever afters" to customers in the form of potions that would change them in various ways. She is also the mother of Prince Charming who she hoped that would rescue Princess Fiona who was locked away in a Dragon's Keep to wait for her true love to arrive and break her spell, but arrived too late when an ogre named Shrek rescued her instead, and plots to make sure that Charming and Fiona will end up together and get rid of Shrek and prove to him that ogres don't live happily ever after.
Background[]
Years before the events of Shrek 2, Fairy Godmother used her magic to turn King Harold from a frog into a human, so he could marry Queen Lillian. Years later, they asked her to help their cursed daughter Princess Fiona get rid of her curse. Fiona was cursed by a witch, causing her to turn into an ogre every night and return to human form at sunrise. The Fairy Godmother told them to lock her away in a dragon-guarded castle where she would be rescued by her son, Prince Charming, who was supposed to kiss Fiona and break her curse.
While her past is largely unknown, she would grow to become the most successful potion manufacturer in Far Far Away. Eventually she would begin to help other fairytale characters achieve their happy endings. In particular, a local frog named Harold was smitten for the princess, Lillian. She promised to turn him human, on the condition that his first-born daughter will take her son's hand in marriage.
They later had a daughter named Fiona, but when they saw her become an ogress, they sought her help. She insisted only True Love's Kiss would break the curse, and decided to put her in a tower until her son Prince Charming is old enough to rescue her. Lillian however, unlike Harold, didn't like the Fairy Godmother, mentioning that she didn't trust her.
Development[]
In an alternate opening to the first Shrek film, there was a character named Dama Fortuna, based on the Witch from Shrek!, who narrated the first quarter of the opening through her tarot cards. Fiona, a woman born an ogress, approaches her out of desperation to be "beautiful." Fortuna gives her a beauty potion, which has no effect; but Fortuna tells Fiona she will change between human in daytime, and ogre in nighttime until she finds true love. Her role would've then played similarly to the book, telling Shrek about the princess and their future. She was going to be voiced by Linda Hunt. Despite being a different character, her name would be carried over for the Fairy Godmother.
Personality[]
The Fairy Godmother isn't like her classic benevolent counterpart who uses her magic for the heroic reasons and to give princesses their happily ever after. Instead, she is a conniving, persuasive, perfidious, prejudiced, and corrupt businesswoman with her own agenda who is only out to use others to benefit herself and her son Prince Charming. The Fairy Godmother isn't above blackmail, as she threatened Harold by taking away his happily ever after, and proudly admits that she forces others to fall in love all the time. The Fairy Godmother is also very close to some of her previous clients, like King Harold, who she uses to her own advantage many times during the film.
She has no qualms about using her magic to get what she wants, and is extremely spiteful and acrimonious to those who interfere with her plans or business, but the Fairy Godmother is no fool. She uses any and every manipulative and underhanded trick, some that make her appear more compassionate and kinder than she really is. She also has no qualms playing mind games with Shrek, trying to ruin his and Fiona’s marriage since she firmly believes that ogres can’t live happily ever after. An example being where she pretends to gently and kindly convince Shrek to "stop living in a fairytale", but once she is seen for what she really is, she is ruthless, mean, wrathful, acquisitive, greedy, evil, cruel, pompous, arrogant, and selfish, so she will stop at nothing to remove those who stand in her way.
Despite her manipulative nature, the Fairy Godmother is not without redeeming traits as she truly loves and cares for her son Charming, whom she dotes on, and wants to make king by marrying him to Fiona so that he can rule over the kingdom of Far Far Away.
Physical appearances[]
The Fairy Godmother is an old-looking lady that has gray hair with sparkles. She wears a long light blue dress with light blue glasses, purple star earrings, light blue slippers and wears four rings on her fingers, two on her right pointer and ringman, and two on her left tallman and pinky. She also carries around a wand.
At Fiona's wedding ball, the Fairy Godmother wore a red dress that matches her earrings, glasses, and slippers.
In the movie game, her role is the same as in the film, but she has a pink dress.
Powers and abilities[]
- Magic: As a magical being, The Fairy Godmother has many powers or abilities. Also, as mentioned before, she posses two basic abilities, Spell Casting, and obviously (because of the many potions that she sell) potion-making.
- Teleportation: Her method of teleportation is smoke-sparkling, which is channeled by her wand, like her other powers.
- Projection: She possesses the power of projection, which she uses to grant the people wishes, or whatever she wants.
- Electrokinesis: In her final scene in Shrek 2, she demonstrated the power of electrokinesis, combined with the ability of Spell Casting, when she throws to Shrek and Fiona a blast of electricity, and Harold gets in the firing line, causing to the blast to reverse the Happily Ever After potion or spell.
- Telekinesis: She also possesses the power of telekinesis, which she also channels by her wand, to trap Shrek in Fiona's bedroom, and Animation to give inanimate objects a life of their own.
- Animation: She can make objects talk, move, and live. She can also create animation objects by using magic.
- Flight: She can levitate and hover.
- Cloth Manipulation: She can manipulate her clothes, mean that she can transform other clothes and any design, shape, and form.
- Singing: Though it is not one of her powers, Fairy Godmother is also a good singer, as she can sing with a good voice.
Appearances[]
Shrek 2[]
Fairy Godmother meets Fiona.
One night, the Fairy Godmother is first seen physically when Fiona goes to her bedroom balcony and cries because her father King Harold was not pleased that her new husband Shrek was an ogre, her tears supposedly calling to the Fairy Godmother. Arriving, the Fairy Godmother is surprised to learn that Fiona matured. She decides to show her powers to make her pretty, but Fiona refuses kindly, much to the shock of her furniture. When Shrek and Donkey enter, Fairy Godmother and the belongings become shocked of seeing Shrek, as everyone fears ogres, like when she got startled after seeing Fiona as one when they first met, and discovers that Shrek is Fiona's husband much to her confusion as it does not mach to her. Before she could leave, she reminds Fiona that if she should ever need her, happiness is just a tear drop away, handing her a card Shrek swipes from her angrily, replying that they have all the “happiness” they need.
Fairy Godmother and Prince Charming arguing with Harold about his daughter's love for Shrek.
To learn more about why Fiona chose to be an ogre and marry Shrek, she picks up her son, Prince Charming and goes to take Harold for a ride in a carriage to discuss Charming's journey to the Dragon's Keep. When two of Fairy Godmother's brutish henchmen forced Harold into the carriage, the mother and son both confront the king, revealing that Charming traveled a long distance by horse to the Dragon's Keep to rescue Fiona. To his shock, he finds the Big Bad Wolf in her bed instead who tells him that Fiona has already been rescued and is on her honeymoon. Harold stated that it wasn't his fault, and Charming just arrived too late. The trio stop by Friar's Fat Boy where Fairy Godmother (having decided that her diet is ruined) is seen ordering two Renaissance Wraps, no mayo, and chili rings, while also asking King Harold if he wants anything and suggests curly fries or a sourdough soft taco, both of which he refuses. Prince Charming requests a Medieval Meal, which comes with a paper king's crown and a free battle-axe. The Fairy Godmother states that Fiona and Charming will be together which is what's best for both his daughter and his kingdom, also meaning that they'll have to get rid of Shrek. After they drop king Harold back to the castle, he asks what he should do about it. The battle-axe is later given to him. The Fairy Godmother demands him to use his imagination and returns to her cottage.
Fairy Godmother tells Shrek that ogres don't live Happily Ever After.
Fairy Godmother is later seen again when Shrek, who had a fight with Fiona after Fairy Godmother left the Far Far Away castle, visits her cottage with Donkey and their new friend Puss in Boots who was actually hired to King Harold to assassinate them, which to their surprise is actually a large factory where she manufactures spells and potions. They walk in on her while she's brewing a love potion singing her same song, which included "a drop of desire, a pinch of passion and just a hint of lust". Then Shrek comes in to ask the Fairy Godmother for help, but she refuses, as she stated that ogres don't live Happily Ever After, which angers Shrek, as the two glared angrily at each other. Still wanting to become a prince, Shrek has Puss and Donkey help him steal a potion from the factory, in a mess-making way to fight off the Fairy Godmother's guards. the potion was the Happily Ever After potion to be specific. After Fairy Godmother learns that Shrek stole the Happily Ever After potion, she realizes that she could use it to her advantage.
Fairy Godmother manipulates a Human Shrek to let Fiona go.
The following day, after Shrek and Donkey have drunken the potion, they transform into a handsome human man with a face resembling his ogre face and a white stallion that also resembles Donkey's true face respectively while Fiona turns into a human once again, much to her horror. Fairy Godmother and Charming set their plan in motion and go to the castle where Charming poses as a transformed Shrek while the Fairy Godmother prevents the real Shrek from finding Fiona and then makes him witness a "moment" between Charming and Fiona with her parents also being seen impressed, making him believe she's fallen for Charming. Shrek still remember everything he did for Fiona, like rescuing her from the Dragon's Keep, she uses his grief to seemingly gently convince him to stop living in a fairy tale, because Fiona was princess, while Shrek was on ogre, which would be something that no magic potion would work on. But when Shrek said she loved Fiona, Fairy Godmother told him to let her go if he truly loved her. Falling for her manipulation, Shrek left the room and the castle, walking through the streets of Far Far Away with Donkey and Puss.
The Fairy Godmother's schemes are exposed.
The plan works at first and a depressed Shrek, Donkey and Puss drown their sorrows at the Poisoned Apple tavern. Harold heads there too to meet with Fairy Godmother and Charming. When Charming complains that Fiona is not warming up to him, Harold wants to call the whole thing off, declaring that you can't force someone to fall in love. Undeterred, the Fairy Godmother gives Harold a love potion she was working on earlier and orders him to have Fiona drink some of it, saying it will make her fall in love with the first man she kisses, and to make sure it is Charming. At first, Harold refuses, but Fairy Godmother then blackmails him by reminding him that she helped him with his happily ever after and that she can take it away just as easily, making Harold give in. Then, when Charming calls her his mother, they hear Donkey shout, "Mother?!" and look outside to see him with Shrek and Puss, the three of them having heard the whole plan. Realizing the jig is up, the Fairy Godmother calls the trio "Thieves", bumps into the Headless Horseman and has them arrested and imprisoned while she and Charming attend the royal ball.
Fairy Godmother singing "I Need a Hero".
She then notices Fiona is not going for Charming (who's still under the impression that he is Shrek) because of his behavior, and does miss the old one, when they were both in their ogre forms. She then declares to dedicate a song to Fiona and "Prince Shrek" and sings "Holding Out for a Hero," causing Fiona and Charming to dance. The plan almost works until Donkey, Puss, and the real Shrek arrive, after being rescued by Shrek's fairytale friends so he could crash The Fairy Godmother's party; "Hey, you! back away from my wife!". With a shocked reaction, Fiona finally realizes that Prince Charming wasn't Shrek at all. An end comes to the Fairy Godmother's mendacity with Prince Charming being Shrek, she gets mad and Shrek, Donkey, Puss, and Shrek's fairytale friends fight her to grab her wand; just as Puss claims it, The Fairy Godmother quickly orders her son to kiss Fiona, telling him she's already taken the potion. But after Charming kisses Fiona, much to everyone's shock and the Fairy Godmother's relive as she believed to have won, she head bumps him and Charming goes unconscious, much to Fairy Godmother's shock, revealing Harold didn't give Fiona the potion after all, because he knew she was in love with Shrek and gave her the wrong tea.
The Fairy Godmother blows up in bubbles.
Charming manages to recover, then grabs his mother's wand out of Puss's paw and angrily and humiliated throws it to her. Enraged about how Shrek ruined her evil plan, The Fairy Godmother turns to Shrek and Fiona, as she finally loses her patients after grabbing her magic wand, exclaiming a final foolish belief message directed at Shrek, "I told you: Ogres don't live happily ever after!" She then unleashes a purple death ray from her wand, but as soon as the ray is about to hit Shrek, a redeemed King Harold jumps in the crossfire and the spell reflects off his armor, causing the spell to literally backfire and hit the shocking and terrifying Fairy Godmother instead. At first, she seems unharmed, but as she prepares to attack again, she suddenly bursts bubbles and sparkles, leaving only her damaged glasses and wand, the wand dims out confirming her death, and proving it is actually villains like her who truly don't live a happily ever after at all. The Fairy Godmother's magic gets undone, and it turns out that King Harold was actually The Frog Prince. With the Fairy Godmother gone, Shrek and Fiona decide to return to their ogre forms and remain in Far Far Away, living happily ever after at last. Also, leaving Prince Charming orphaned after the demise of his own mother.
Shrek the Third[]
Fairy Godmother's picture in Charming's "dressing room".
The Fairy Godmother doesn't appear in the third film because she faced her demise in the previous film as she clearly committed a suicide while attempting to Kill Shrek and when King Harold interfered while redeeming himself. But she is mentioned throughout the film by her son Prince Charming, who becomes the main antagonist of the film and plans to avenge her death by taking over Far Far Away as the rightful king and killing Shrek when the former blames her death on the ogre.
Charming kept mourning her death while preforming a play on stage, which ended up in a humiliation in the audience's favor for Shrek and blamed it on him who was really not the reason why his mother was dead, and swore to never stop trying to become the rightful king of Far Far Away. Though this all ended in failure as Prince Charming seemingly ends up crushed to death by a falling tower while his army of Fairy Tale Villains redeemed, perpetually ending The Fairy Godmother's evil legacy.
Shrek Forever After[]
The Fairy Godmother doesn't either make any physical appearance and is mentioned at the beginning of the fourth film, which happens before her death the second film. At the beginning of the movie, before Shrek and Donkey rescued Fiona like in the first film, Harold and Lillian go to make a deal with Rumpelstiltskin to end Fiona's curse. Harold reminds Lillian that Fairy Godmother insisted only True Love's Kiss would break the curse. Lillian then stated she does not trust the Fairy Godmother, a possible hint at the Fairy Godmother's true role in the second film. Plus, the Fairy Godmother also appears in the film during its end credits.
Thriller Night[]
The Fairy Godmother also appears as a zombie in Thriller Night. In this short Halloween film, the Fairy Godmother appears as one of the zombies who dance with each other in a parody of the late Michael Jackson's well-known song, "Thriller". The whole ordeal turns out being a nightmare that Shrek had while sleeping during the trailers' showcase at a movie theater in Far Far Away, which makes sense if you take into account that it would've been impossible for the Fairy Godmother to become a zombie as she exploded at the end of Shrek 2.
Video games[]
Shrek 2[]
The Fairy Godmother appears as the main antagonist and final boss in the game, though her appearance is somewhat different. She has a pink dress (instead of blue like the film) and looks far older than in the film as well. And in the movie she has blue wings. In the game she has pink wings. In the movie she has a blue, purple wand. In the game she has a blue wand. In the movie she wears earrings. In the game she wears no earrings.
She is faced twice within the game; she fights Red Riding Hood when the player breaks into her cottage and has to fight her on conveyor belts and again at the end of the game. She makes Trolls and Elves do her bidding and players eventually have to fight her in two periods. She fires lightning laser blasts and is protected by a magical bubble. Eventually the players overcome her and she blows up. In the Shrek 2's PC Game, the battle between Shrek and the Fairy Godmother is very simple, Shrek throws food at her and at the point in which she has no life, she blows up. Unusually, at least in the PS2 version, Fairy Godmother took her defeat well, even saying "Oh well, I guess a fairy godmother doesn't win everything." as she vanishes.
Shrek Smash n' Crash Racing[]
The Fairy Godmother never actually appears in the game, but pictures and statues of her can be seen around the track. Also, at the beginning of Tournament mode, Donkey finds the Fairy Godmother's wand in which he uses it to turn various objects in karts. Fairy Godmother appears on the billboard in the Downtown of Far Far Away track. Racers can crash through the billboard to find a secret shortcut. Fairy Godmother's potion factory is also a playable race track and is known as Inside the Potion Factory. In this track, numerous pictures and statues can be seen of Fairy Godmother.
Shrek Forever After[]
Rumpelstiltskin has changed Shrek's world and the ogre is in search for Princess Fiona's tiara at the Dragon's Keep. Rumpelstiltskin realizes that if Princess Fiona kisses Shrek before his "ogre day" is over, life goes back to normal and Rumpelstiltskin wouldn't be king anymore. So Rumpelstiltskin decides to negotiate with a greedy woman who would do his bindings if she could be "queen for a week". The devious woman was the Fairy Godmother.
When Shrek arrives at the "odd" Dragon's Keep, he discovers that Dragon is missing and that someone else is staying at the castle; the Fairy Godmother. She stands before Shrek, Donkey, and Puss in her usual blue dress, but it's ripped and covered in dirt. It seems that as king, Rumpelstiltskin hasn't been good for her business. The Fairy Godmother is also found wearing Fiona's tiara and parsing herself in a mirror (saying, "Ah! Fit for a fairy queen!"). Eventually, Shrek calls her "Granny" and she doesn't respond well, saying that that's no way to treat their "new queen". Soon, an epic battle begins with witches, poison apples, potions, and fire. Eventually, the Fairy Godmother surrenders and gives Shrek back Fiona's tiara and as she flies away from the castle, she screams in anger and says, "This doesn't mean anything, you know! I'm still the queen! You hear me?! THE QUEEN!".
Trivia[]
- It is quite possible that she is actually the one that had cursed Fiona as part of her plan. However, (if this was the case) it would have gone horribly wrong since Shrek saved Fiona and not Charming.
- The Fairy Godmother is the first DreamWorks villain to use the term "bloody".
- She is the spoof of the real Fairy Godmother from the fairy tales.
- The Fairy Godmother serves as a dark parallel to King Harold. Both are obsessed with perfection and tradition and think they're doing what is best for their children. However, while King Harold learns that his daughter loves Shrek for who he is and already has what is best for her, and gives them his blessing, the Fairy Godmother thinks that only princes and princesses can be together and tries to make Fiona marry her son so they can rule the kingdom. If King Harold hadn't accepted Shrek and Fiona's love and gave them his blessing, he would've ended up like the Fairy Godmother.
- In the Shrek 2 video game, her dress is pink/purple/magenta instead of blue. Why they changed its color is unknown.
- She was originally slated for her to appear as the main antagonist in Shrek, but she was cut for unknown reasons a used later in the film's sequel.
- The Fairy Godmother is the third DreamWorks Animation character to be a female antagonist, following Mrs. Tweedy from Chicken Run and Eris from Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas.
