Shrek

Beat Sheet by: Rosalie Ierardi

Act 1

Opening Image: A narrator reads from a book to reveal the plight of a princess under an enchantment that can only be broken by love's first kiss.

Theme Stated: Suddenly, the book is slammed shut and the narrator laughs, "Yeah, like that's ever gonna happen!" Another theme is stated in the midpoint: "Sometimes things are more than they appear," Shrek says.

Setup: Shrek emerges from his outhouse. He's an ogre who lives in a swamp. He's of a gentle sort, but he prefers to be left alone. Lord Farquaad, diminutive ruler of the surrounding territory, has ordered that all “fairy tale creatures” be rounded up and relocated. One such creature, a talking donkey, latches onto Shrek after escaping from Farquaad's minions. Later that night, Shrek finds his swamp overrun with “relocated” fairy tale creatures.

Catalyst: Infuriated by this invasion of his privacy, Shrek goes to confront Lord Farquaad. Farquaad, who seeks to marry a princess so he can claim the title of King, has decided to marry the lovely Princess Fiona, who is guarded in her castle by a fire-breathing dragon. He holds a tournament in his capitol city of Duloc to choose the bravest knight to fetch her. When Shrek walks in on this tournament, the knights turn against him, but Shrek defends himself admirably. Farquaad is so impressed that he asks Shrek to take on the quest.

Debate and Decision: Shrek's not after any princess -- he just wants his swamp back. But Farquaad makes an offer: If Shrek retrieves the princess, Farquaad will see to it that Shrek gets full ownership of his swamp.

Act 2-A

Break Into Two: Shrek agrees to Farquaad's deal. With the loquacious Donkey at his side, Shrek sets off.

Start B-Story: Shrek rescues the princess from the castle and escapes the dragon -- who has, strangely, developed an affection for Donkey. Here, Princess Fiona enters the story. Shrek is not at all the handsome knight she was expecting, and both Shrek and the Princess seem anxious to be rid of each other as soon as possible.

Fun And Games: Princess Fiona enters the story. Shrek is not at all the handsome knight she was expecting, and both Shrek and the Princess seem anxious to be rid of each other as soon as possible.

MidPoint: At Fiona's insistence, the party stops to make camp for the evening. Fiona takes shelter inside a cave, while Shrek and Donkey sleep outside. As the two of them talk, we discover that Shrek has isolated himself to escape the rejection he's experienced his whole life. The stakes are raised for Shrek here -- he's really quite lonely, and this journey has given him a chance to make some friends. “Sometimes things are more than they appear,” Shrek says.

Act 2-B

Bad Guys Close In: This is the homeward journey with Fiona. Fiona is revealed to be a martial artist during a tense encounter with Robin Hood and his Merry Men. Shrek gets hit by an arrow, which Fiona removes for him. An attachment seems to be growing between Shrek and Fiona. As the party nears Duloc, they begin to remember the real purpose of their journey, which is to deliver Fiona to Lord Farquaad. Shrek has fallen in love with Fiona, but if he doesn't tell her soon, she will be wed to Farquaad. As usual, Fiona disappears just before sunset. Donkey discovers her enchantment -- every night, she is transformed into an ogre. The spell can only be broken by love's first kiss, at which point Fiona will assume “love's true form”.

Losing Hope: Shrek decides to confess his love to Fiona. He arrives at her door as she is talking with Donkey. “Who could ever love a beast so hideous and ugly?” she says, lamenting her plight. Shrek thinks she's talking about him and retreats, deeply hurt.

The Darkest Moment: Fiona decides to tell Shrek the truth, just as the sunrise transforms her into her beautiful self again. Moments later, Shrek arrives. “I heard you talking with Donkey last night,” he says. Fiona can't understand why Shrek is so upset. “I thought you'd understand,” she says. “Of course,” Shrek says scathingly. “Like you said, who could ever love a hideous, ugly beast?” Fiona is stung, but there's no time to make amends, for Shrek has brought Farquaad with him. Fiona leaves with Farquaad; Shrek takes the deed to his swamp and goes his way. Furthermore, Shrek makes it clear that Donkey is no longer welcome to be his companion.

Act 3

Break Into Three: Donkey confronts Shrek at his swamp. Donkey explains to Shrek that Fiona hadn't been talking about him the night before, but doesn't reveal Fiona's curse. Donkey and Shrek eventually forgive each other. Best of all, Donkey has brought the Dragon with him, and the three friends rush to stop Farquaad's wedding to Fiona.

The Final Battle: Shrek breaks up the wedding, just as the sun goes down and Fiona transforms. Shrek stares for a moment, then responds: “Ay, well, that explains a lot!” Disgusted, Farquaad cried for his guards. Shrek and Fiona are swarmed; Farquaad puts a knife to Fiona's throat and swears to have her locked away forever. Suddenly, Donkey and the Dragon crash through a window, scattering the guards. The Dragon reaches down and swallows Farquaad in one gulp.

Final Image: Shrek confesses his love for Fiona. They share love's first kiss, and Fiona's enchantment is broken... but when the magic is over, she is still an ogre. “I'm supposed to be beautiful,” Fiona says sadly. Shrek smiles and tells Fiona that she is beautiful. Shrek and Fiona ride happily away in their onion-shaped carriage, as Donkey and the fairy tale creatures party in Shrek's front yard. Shrek didn't get quite the prize he set out for -- he's gotten something better.