Shrek the Musical feels like it was exclusively made for high schools to perform. The fairytale creatures getting their own song and showing up randomly in scenes feels a lot like something a high school theatre director would do to make sure the ensemble members have lines so their parents don't get mad.
shrek the musical lies in the same realm as seussical, adams family, and more that are just there to be large ensemble shows with a few standout performers and a 80 number ensemble cast
In middle school we did “Shrek the musical jr.” and that’s probably why I see it as a musical that is only fun in a middle school context, even high school feels too grown up for this show
I was in this play my freshman year of high school... It was uncomfortable as hell. The only reason I showed up was because I had a crush on the dude who played farquad
Donkey in the original film is a great example of how to do an annoying character right. You make them annoying to the other characters, not the audience.
Also, Eddie Murphy was actually FUNNY! I can forgive a lot if an annoying character makes me laugh or has touching moments with other characters, like how Donkey convinces Shrek to confess his love to Fiona without sharing her secret. At all. Boss move in my opinion...
Some additional fun facts about Shrek the Musical: -The parodying of Defying Gravity in What’s Up Duloc was improvised by Chris Sieber for the Tony performance. People loved it so much they later added it to the show. This is why it does not appear on the cast recording. - The dragon puppet and song were so poorly received they were changed in future productions. The puppet was changed to a more straightforward dragon puppet with the full body, there is now only one singer for the voice of the Dragon, and they wrote a new song called Forever which is much better than Donkey Pot Pie (although still kinda forgettable. - The inclusion of “I’m a Believer” at the end of the show was also added later in the shows run, as a response to critics and audience member disappointment around the musical not featuring any of the iconic songs from the film. This is why it feels so out of place. - Another fun fact I like is that the guy who plays Pinocchio (John Tartaglia of Johnny and the Sprite’s fame) is also the guy who puppeteers the dragon head and does live mo-cap for the mirror during that scene (this is live and not pre-recorded).
I didn't know any of that! Thanks for the fun facts 😁 and I'm not surprised about John Tartaglia puppeteering and doing the face mo cap as he's wonderful as Rod in Avenue Q 👍
Another fun fact: they initially tried to get the real shrek for this role (he even trained for it in shrek 3) but he refused and wanted to be left alone.
What’s especially hilarious about Freak Flag Fly is that the only reason it exists is to give the makeup crew time to get the makeup on Fiona. It serves no other purpose beyond that and that explains so much.
Fun fact: The performer of Fiona signed and left her bra for the stage crew when Shrek: The Musical came to my city. It's still hanging stage left to this day
As someone who almost played Farquaad in my high school’s production of Shrek (it got cancelled a week before the show due to COVID) I can tell you that it hurts. A lot.
I think Farquaad being made fun of for his size so often in the film stems from him trying to deny it or overcompensate for it, like his castle in Duloc or the ornament on his wedding cake. Farquaad makes for the perfect foil for Shrek because he acknowledges his weirdness and enjoys being himself, while Farquaad would rather imprison or exile those he deems strange, despite being "abnormal" himself. Essentially Farquaad is what he hates, which is why Shrek, Donkey and Fiona mock him for his stature.
It’s pretty clever Imagine if you had a mega man villain who tries to outlaw robots, yet works with robots himself and tries to overcompensate for it by making his lair a regular house
i really wish this was true but when the main characters are making fun of his height rather than his arrogance or hypocrisy i don't believe it's what was intended
The beetlegeuse musical even references this in the opening, he says to the audience directly something along the lines of "starting with a ballad, bold choice. And such a departure from the original source material!" As soon as that line was said I knew I'd love this adaptation
Yeah, maybe they could have done other special effects. I don't know, body switch, switch the color of the lights, put the features like nose and ears... But trying to stall time to put make up doesn't seem like a wise decision.
As a former farquaad it is very fun to ham it up, very similar to trunchbull in a way from Matilda the musical, funny enough I am doing it in about a week.
One of the most infuriating parts of this show to me is that they made a song called “Forever” for Dragon. It’s a wonderful song that goes super hard and has a ton of passion in it. I love how it’s basically Dragon just venting about her own situation and then being completely blindsided when Donkey expresses genuine interest in her. I think it’s my favorite song from the whole thing! … and yet it isn’t in the definitive version of the show. Because why let Dragon have heart and character in a moment that’s fierce, yet just vulnerable enough for some sympathy?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe "Forever" was actually written for a later version of the show where they corrected a lot of other questionable lines and such. The only reason none of those changes are in the proshot on Netflix or in the official recording was because those changes hadn't been made yet. I personally prefer "Forever" to "Donkey Pot Pie" for the record; it's such a beautifully crafted song in comparison to Dragon just expressing how she's going to eat Donkey but immediately loves him after he compliments her teeth lmao
Fun fact: Originally the opening song was supposed to an original song. They just put in all star by smash mouth as a holder til the new one came in. But the test auidance liked it so much they kept in All Star. Also DreamWorks then contacted All Star to do I'm a believer at the end of the movie.
Fun fact: Fiona, in “I think I got you beat” says that she was sent away on Christmas Eve. In “I know it’s today, she says “Day number 8423”. That number of days would put the musical’s timeline in late January/Early February. Duloc’s environment is that of a more northern place, and the Shrek Christmas special has snow, so therefore it should be snowing during the musical. Some girl in my theatre production pointed this out (She really liked math and biology for some odd reason) and it was the dumbest thing I’d ever heard but for some reason it stuck with me.
This should have been a self aware parody of musicals similar to "The Guy Who Doesn't Like Musicals" with as many new jokes about it being a musical as possible. Then the music should be entirely inspired by the moive's orginal soundtrack. Hell like you said the movie could even be a somewhat new plotline of shrek refusing to take part in the musical and verbally getting frustrated with the songs and interrupting while people sing. Maybe it would be a little to similar to "the guy who doesn't like musicals" but i think that would be better than this dumpster fire.
Now I am thinking of the new plot being like a meta in universe musical that the characters from Shrek the Musical are being cast in to retell the story of Shrek. And Shrek not wanting to be a part of it. Maybe the guy making this musical or in charge of it is actually the villain luring Shrek to kill him on stage for revenge or something. Like maybe it turns out to be Prince Charming in disguise and this hypothetical alternate musical is a sort of replacement for Shrek the Third.
@@JMandJJ7797 I like this idea, I love the idea of a musical taking place in the story takes place in, and it reminds me of the "Avatar Play" in Avatar the Last Airbender. That was pretty fun.
Shrek the Musical is pretty much exclusively a high school musical. I remember watching mine and it was well done. The dragon was amazing and puppeteered by one guy.
My high school’s dragon was a bunch of cardboard boxes in the shape of a dragon carried around by a couple guys. The singing was done by a girl in a dragon princess costume, who stood on the side of the stage, away from the action.
I recently watched the shrek school musical and the dragon was just a girl with a red sparkly dress, a cape, and a dragon mask Not as cool but I understand that my school was just having to work with the budget they have
So I can't speak for the original musical itself, but when my high school performed it, it was done so well that I couldn't even hate on it. Our Shrek actor was literally perfect for the role. Hope you're doing well, Dalon.
I just thought about what you said about Shrek being an anti-musical character and I just realized something (and stay with me on this), that's _EXACTLY_ what they did with Scrooge in A Muppet Christmas Carol. The opening number, "Scrooge," has everyone singing about how awful of a person he is while he's just walking to work. He doesn't get a big "I'm not so bad" song or even an "I just want to be left alone song." He just gets taunted and jeered through this entire number as the town gets together to express how much they hate him. Hell, he's even the one who ends the song and gets everyone to leave the number after it's over just by one look. The second song, while he's in it, he only has speaking lines. "When Love is Gone" he only sings because he remembers it, but that also works to show that for the first time in years he's being vulnerable before closing himself off again after telling the spirit to leave him. The only song he really sings in is "A Thankful Heart" and the ending song, showing he's learned to open up to and embrace people.
Holy fuck you're right. I've watched that movie for years (VHS copy, baby) and I never noticed that! (Also why is "When Love is Gone" so good like holy shit I appreciate the emotion more now as an adult and like holy fuck.)
The only person I actually care about in the musical is John Tartaglia. He played Pinocchio, Magic Mirror, and was the puppeteer for the dragon. His work in puppetry and theater is pure inspiration for me.
Re: the "Shrek is about celebrating your differences but everyone makes fun of Farquaad" thing, I think the point the movie was TRYING to make was that Farquaad isn't just a short guy trying to make it in the world, he's actually denying the fact that he's different at all (cake topper is taller than Fiona, bed is really big despite him being small, etc.). His entire identity is about denying who he is. Whereas Shrek is all about being who he is, to the point where he thinks he can never change, which is why he probably pokes so much fun at Farquaad, because the latter is so obviously trying to deny himself, and making life harder for others who don't fit a traditional mold in the process. To be fair, the movie does take it too far in places, and I definitely don't like the idea that it's okay to criticize people for what they can't control as long as you don't like their personality. So in the end I guess I agree that it's a problem, but I also understand what the movie might have been going for. If they'd had Shrek show a little sympathy for Farquaad in the musical, that might have been an interesting change.
That is far. I also think them making fun of his "short comings" isnt just a reference to his height. But his lack of personality, grace, moral fibber and awareness.
Kind of reminds me of back in 2016 when people were making jokes about Trump having small hands. People didn't really have a problem with the fact that they're small, the joke was that Trump is obviously self conscious about them and gets defensive whenever someone brings it up.
There's a story going around that Farquaad was based on Eisner deliberately because he had a tendency to mock Katzenburg (who is much shorter) including reportedly saying "I think hate that fucking m*dget". This might be one of those things that just generated on the internet rumor mill but it seems believable.
The scene where the fairytale creatures interrupt Shrek at the wedding exists for one simple reason. The makeup crew needs time to transform Fiona into an ogre. It may feel shoe-horned in, but it's actually kind of necessary. No rebuttals to your other issues. Obviously, criticism is based on personal preference, and if ya don't enjoy something, hey...ya don't enjoy it.
It’s also satisfying to see the fairytale creatures standing up to Lord Farquaad than just sitting on their butts back in the swamp while Shrek and Donkey confront him themselves like in the original. If I was exiled from my home by a xenophobic ruler, I wouldn’t be submissive to the abuse. I’d march back to the kingdom and confront the ruler.
@@brandonlyon730 I wouldn’t care if he set his guards upon me, I’d still protest about his abusive and xenophobic treatment of me. I’d rather go down trying to stand up to him than be a coward.
@@cctproductions6976 Fiona was played by Sutton Foster in the musical. It would be VERY difficult to find a fill-in for her if they'd chosen to do that instead of using the fairytale creatures
The thing with Shrek not wanting to sing just reminds me of the whole “because singing killed my grandma” bit in Trolls. Shrek could definitely have done it better.
I despise Shrek memes, god they are just unfunny, but not going to lie, that one was actually funny. Also if I hear any of you say "get Shrekt", I'm going to take out my Sharktale themed bazooka cosplay as Elmer Fudd, and play Russian roulette awhile high on speed.
I just like this musical because my high school put on the funniest version of it ever. Farquad was played by one of the nicest kids in the school. Seeing him ham it up was just hilarious. Grumpy the Dwarf was played by everyone's favorite teacher. There were a lot of in-jokes added that no one outside of our school would get. It was great.
I have the exact same experience! The broadway version sucks ass, but the songs are actually written very well and the dialogue isn’t too bad impart from some plot problems.
this really does feel like it was written to be a high school musical, like its terrible as a story but as an opportunity for you to watch a bunch of teachers and students you know do some wacky antics on stage and perform it seems like it would be a lot of fun
Now that sounds great lol, my local theater did this and farquad was played by the tallest guy and an added story line of a ghost cause the theater is said to be haunted ~spooky~
I'll join the rest of the people here with our shared experience of doing this in high school. When we first heard of it, we were aghast. Why Shrek? We went from a smashing performance of Beauty and the Beast, to this? But then Shrek memes made their rounds in my high school right as we started rehearsing, and that's what turned it around lol
The baby goose laying any eggs disturbs me because of the implications of that bird’s biology. Only mature birds should lay eggs, at least a bird that has its full adult plumage.
it's probably that dead horse mush of a "joke" that haha chicken lay egg but wait, chicken is bird, so bird must lay egg! honestly don't know why they still use it
Also weird how they turned Shrek’s iconic Scottish accent into sounding like an angry Irish drunk reading the original movie script and half-assing it.
That’s kind of a critique of the actor’s choices regarding the character voice, though. I mean, I hardly think that it was any kind of official choice, meaning that the integrity of the accent really relies on who’s playing Shrek, and not really on the musical, itself.
Honestly "Who Id be" was the only song that hit home for me. Obviously Im not an ogre, but I get how he feels when he sung about wanting to be someone else but knowing he can't. He wants a happy ending like everyone else. Admittedly like I do.
I literally just preformed this musical as a part of a theatre program I do, and despite how much fun I had with it, I definitely agree with most if not all points shown in this video.
I know I'm very late, but as someone who is rehearsing Fiona currently. That wedding crash scene is really needed for makeup purposes. It's already barely any time at all to get a dress off, a fat suit on and green make-up on. I wonder what alternatives Schaffrillas could come up with if he knew this fact. I'd be interested to hear his thoughts.
I remember when my middle school did this musical they had so little time that they accidentally smeared green makeup on the neckline of the dress lmao At least it was only noticeable if you were up close
As someone who played Fiona, I can personally tell you that I had a lot of issues making her the “human” because the musical script kills the vulnerable side of Shrek. There just isn’t enough emotional substance. I actually really only lived for the act finales. “You love me as I am, take me as I look” always made me more emotional than it should have as a plus-size actor. You hit the nail on the head.
@@WobblesandBean hmm… not sure what you mean. I’m medically overweight, I wear plus sized clothing. But I’m not really sure you can tell that in my pfp? It’s not necessarily something I’m proud of.
@@WobblesandBean its a little weird of you to go "Well, I can see a picture of yo u and I decided that I know your size and its not what you say it is." Babe, I have no idea what you do or how you have any information, but that doesn't matter. You cannot tell someone's size based in a slightly hazy picture of someone. It's also just rude I think OP looks great in their pfp, but I don't think you have any right to tell someone that they don't know their own size/that they are lying about their size, which is kind of how it came across
@@patricklodge1576 I’d love to know how you gleaned that from a comment about a hokey musical in which I played the female lead. Please do enlighten me.
@@joshuadrew5223 i don't think you should invalidate someone's opinion on media cus they like something you don't. I will say while it does take longer in the musical, not only could the musical try to fix it, it personally feels less realistic cus the Dragon is like talking. So you know it feels like it changing that quickly while it's literally singing about it wanting to eat donkey feels weird. Just cus its fast in shrek doesn't necessarily give the musical a excuse.
@@justsomeogrewithinternetac1494 to be fair, given the context, you can kind of see why it could work in both the film and musical, Dragon is like Shrek in a way, she's intrigued by basically the only thing that seems to have seen her as more than just a dangerous, fire breathing monster, but instead of a friendship in the process of brewing, like with Shrek, Donkey's initial approach toward Dragon is more flirtatious in hopes of her not wanting to kill him, and since the only other approach she's received has been from weapons and with aggressive nature, it's understandable that she might react in such a way due to her minimal amount of good interactions
@@justsomeogrewithinternetac1494 I'm just talking smack. It is a fallacy to invalidate someone because I don't like their favorite song. I still wanted to talk shit because "Shiny" is the only song I've skipped in any Pixar film.
There's a part in the musical where Donkey says "If you kill a man, I'll hide the body" and given how creepy he looks in the musical I'm starting to think that he'd actually do that
My big problem for the filmed version of the show was the absolute assassination of Dragon. Her song "Forever" was so much better than Donkey Pot Pie and when I saw it on non-broadway tour, the full body dragon puppet and having knights as background musicians was SO GOOD. And seeing the voice come out to bow in a gorgeous dragon themed dress at the end to give one last long note??? Killer.
[Spoilers for The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals] I do personally have a soft spot for this musical, and love a lot of the songs, but you make a great point about the idea that Shrek should have not sung until the end of Act I, like in the end of TGWDLM when Paul finally sings and it SHOCKS you. Go off, king!
Yeah, like when Paul sings it makes us realise "oh shit something terrible is about to happen", because he hasnt sung the entire hour and thirty minutes so far, and its startling. Hello fellow starkid fan
That's actually a good idea because musical numbers are the emotional highlights in the story. They're usually used as a way for characters to express themselves. In the context of Shrek, that could work because Shrek is so shut-in as a character. (Also, hello fellow Startkid cultists)
I can’t bring myself to hate this show. It’s the show that got me into theatre in middle school. Its what sent me on the path I am now and I really am appreciate it for that.
As weird as this sounds, this musical changed my life. I’ve gotten involved with the guys behind the Newfoundland production of shrek and the people behind it helped me boost my confidence as a performer. I wouldn’t be the person I am right now if it weren’t for this show
I love the tech side of the show. I LOVE the costuming, sets, puppets, props and all the jokes 😂 Not to mention I also love freak flag, who id be, story of my life, and morning person. it’s the first high school production I ever saw, so it pulled me in the theatre world too. I owe all my success in the theatre world to this show
As someone who just finished doing a production of Shrek: The Musical, this is a really fun thing to be in, and it actually has a really good message in the fairy tale creatures embracing what makes them unique and special.
The message isn't the problem; it's how little time they give it to properly develop within the story of the musical. It should never feel like themes are doing jump scares on the audience. They should be growing throughout the course of the show in order to feel justified at the end. The fairy tale creatures just come out of nowhere and it made me WTF aloud when I was watching it and it just made the musical drag on.
The Fairytale Ensemble was still my favorite part of Shrek The Musical. Not only was Freak Flag catchy, but I adored the variety of characters and costume designs. They gave me a whole new appreciation for background performers.
I feel like a better way to incorporate a "musical" adaptation is to have Shrek not have any songs to himself (maybe only one). Then once a musical number concludes he pokes fun at how bad it was, or SOMETHING. I think it would be a good way to keep that same humor of the "musical reject" and slap in the face that Shrek is.
It’s very simple fix, just have him be a Guy Who Doesn’t Like Musicals. Literally, just give him the same story structure as Paul, only instead of being frightened by all the singing have him criticize or poke fun at the songs. And like Schaff said, only have him sing during very emotional moments like that scene with Donkey under the moon
@@valeciraptor626 Yeah and just like in The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals, having him not sing until near the end increases the emotional impact. Like the whole time Shrek could be like "singing and emotions are dumb" until the wedding sing where he both opens up and sings for the first time. Plus it's a great reveal to have this character constantly talk about how he hates singing until we finally hear his singing voice for the first time and it's beautiful. Overall it would be a great way to mock and poke fun at the musical format, giving the musical a unique identity but still being in the classic Shrek style.
@@RandomPerson-gt1jt Imagine the only songs Shrek sings in this musical is Who I'd Be (a vulnerable moment already and a surprise for the audience) and This is Our Story (showing how much growth Shrek has made)
Suggestion: Since you're closing out the final chapter on your Shrek series, Schaff you really should check out & compare what are considered "Shrek copycat films", such as Hoodwinked, Happily N'Ever After, and more recently, Charming. Edit: I put air quotes around Shrek copycat films for a reason, because I personally don't consider them to be that way. To this day, I unironically enjoy Hoodwinked & Happily N'Ever After since I grew up with them on DVD. I'm only saying that the general public critical opinion tends to label them as such. Regardless though, thank you for all your replies, as I didn't expect this to gain much traction tbh! 😊
@@valenzuelasstudios1838 Nothing against the community buy Pooh's Adventures is not good. The basic gist is having Pooh Bear and a bunch other characters in the stories/adventures of movies and shows. Like out of nowhere they are suddenly in Batman Forever and barely have any effect on the plot. They are mostly there to do reaction shots and fight their own villains who also barely effect the plot of the movie. And most of these are poorly edited. No offense to anyone who uses WMM, but get an editing software to better edit. To help convey they are in the locations they are in, learn maybe to sentence mix or even do some voice acting. I like the idea of huge crossovers but it is not excuatded well. Maybe have something like the movies or shows are being corrupted or rewritten and have the characters try to fix them? Or maybe... do something original with a crossover team. There is potential in Pooh's adventures... but it is gonna take at least good storyteller or editor to show that.
I played Lord Farquaad for my high school's drama class sophomore year, and I will say that it was a lot of fun playing the character, especially during the actual performances and getting the audience reaction to some of the best moments of Farquaad in the play. But yeah, I'll admit that the whole show is a giant mess, and our production in particular ran into a number of problems that made it 10x worse. So while we all had a ton of fun at the end of the day, yeah it was a complete dumpster fire lol. Also, being on your knees 24/7 fucking kills your entire legs and takes way more commitment than you'd think. RIP my knees.
Coming back a year later, the night I went to see this live always felt like a Fever Dream. It will always feel like a Fever Dream and nothing will ever be able to top it.
My school almost did this musical for our spring 2020 show, but then the world exploded. I was also going to be a part of it (Thelonious), so I'm kinda glad the show never happened.
Our school was gonna do the show in spring 2020 as well, then it got canceled. However, one of the other classes helped revive the production the next school year, and the show went on, but the rehearsals were apparently all over the place, the performance wasn’t ver good, there was a huge covid outbreak among the cast and crew. So yeah, Shrek has gained Scottish play levels of infamy at my old school.
Fun Fact: In “Ballad Farquaad” there’s actually a cut middle verse that explains that he never knew his mother who was Princess Sweetpea in the final product. Edit: Wow I didn't expect to get this many likes
I haven't actually seen Shrek: The Musical, I just came to hear Schaff talking about Shrek. There's a special place for it in the ligma sphere of my brain that makes it go brrrr
You should definitely watch it for yourself! While some of Schaff’s criticisms hit the nail right on the head, and would be hard not to agree with, a lot of the criticism is a bit nitpicky. It’s really up to you to form your own opinion on it💖💖
I think we can all agree that The Hunchback of Notre Dame musical is a great example of taking the original story and using a musical to expand it's world and make it better. If Disney ever does a live action hunchback (though I pray that they don't) I hope they do the musical version.
How does the musical address the fetishization/villainization of Roma by Frollo. It’s a big conflict of the film and I'm curious how they handled it. I love the movie as it was but I wonder if they could of expanded on anti Roma violence and prejudice? Unless that would distract away from Frollo's arc and become too cluttered? Idk
@@waterwraith1189 watch it, i think theres a few vids abt it but it tells the story as a guy who is driven by greed and is trying to justify it through religion,, idk how to fully but i would watch the vid on this channel about it
In an ideal world, Disney would look to their stage musicals for their musical remakes. Lion King had the perfect opportunity to have Beyonce sing Shadowland But most likely, they'll just copy the original movie verbatim
27:24 This would've also followed along with my favourite quote when it comes to musicals "You sing when you can no longer speak," which basically means that you have to place songs at moments so emotional that the characters can't hold back any more and just HAVE to sing their heart out for the audience to hear
I also enjoyed Farquad’s performance. He captured the character brilliantly, and I can only imagine what it’s like to be on your knees for an entire play
He was wonderful! Unsolicited Fun Fact: In some BTS that I’ve seen for a couple of productions, they have to give Farquaad special knee pads, so they don’t just obliterate their knee caps while performing😂😂 It’s definitely a super impressive feat.
@@yourresidentanon4169 makes sense. The Farquad for the production I was in didn’t get the knee pads for a while, though i don’t think it was very long after we switched to the auditorium…
I *was* Farquaad. It wasn't that hard thanks to the really cushioned volley ball kneepads I had. I had to get them myself though 😂. Before then it was hell. School musical management for ya
As someone who was a stage manager for a high school production of Shrek the musical I can confirm that it's hot garbage. It was fun to do though, a couple people almost got crushed by a set piece Probably the reason for the fairy tail creatures showing up at the finale is so Fiona has time to quick change and that's the only reason
I once almost failed a music class because the final project was about a presentation on a musical I chose shrek the musical but it was absolute garbage so I just didn’t do the final
I actually think the show fixed a problem with Farquaad's character. The jokes about his height are justified if it's his insecurity about his height is what drove him to villainy. His anger makes sense, but so does peoples' reactions to him.
I think a more fitting term here would be “explained”, not “justified”, as IMO, any sort of belittling height joke, or even just any sort of body-shaming joke, unless it’s met with the same reaction Donkey gives Shrek after the “compensating for something” line, is absolutely 100% unjustifiable. Either way I disagree, as you don’t really need to know why Farquaad is the way he is.
@@Azelf89 And I disagree as Farquaad was pretty one dimensional in the original film. I mean, when you analyze his character from the original film, he’s just a xenophobic diminutive villain who just has a bigoted hatred for fairy tale creatures and his only goal is to marry a princess just so he could become king. Even his goal is pretty cliched. The only thing he had going for in the original was the voice performance by John Lithgow. But then again, that could just be because I love John Lithgow as an actor. And when the only thing that’s remarkable about your villain is the actor they got to voice him, you know your villain isn’t anything great. Farquaad is a character I think that definitely needed to be fixed in the musical and I like the new personality and performance Christopher Sieber gives him. I just love how over-the-top he makes the character and how he hams it up in each of his scenes to make him more over dramatic or more like a spoiled child who’s entitled to his position and what he wants. I love the more comedic take and spoiled child personality they give him. That’s what elevates him above the animated version and just makes him stand out more from the cast where in the original I almost forget he’s in it because Shrek, Donkey and Fiona and their personalities and characters are focused on more. Also way better than the bland personality he had in the original. And the backstory really does improve his character and gives him a reason to hate fairy tale characters and why he’s so focused on getting rid of them to make his kingdom more perfect and it does tie into the moral of “loving yourself for who you are”. It also helps make Farquaad a foil to Shrek where Shrek learns and accepts to love who he is by the end of the story, Farquaad is ashamed of who he is and where he came from and the fact that he’s willing to get rid of all fairy tale creatures just to erase his background really makes his motives understandable. It’s a change that actually fleshes out his character to make more than just a one-dimensional villain like the original.
Farquuaad was a play on “Fuck wad” and he was developed as an insult to Michael Eisner. This was very well-known when this movie came out. I was an adult when that happened, and we thought it was hilarious. Knowing it was an intentional jab at a rival removed it from contradicting with the message of the film. You can have both.
@@Azelf89 oh no, there’s a joke about a character’s appearance, the horror! It’s unjustifiable and should never be done. Because everyone is a fucking snowflake who needs their feelings protected.
@@Author.Noelle.Alexandria I don't think making fun of Farquuaad in the film necessarily contradicted the film, if anything it makes him more of a parallel to Shrek as the protagonist learns to not care about societal norms and all that jazz, while Farquuaar, not only reinforces those norms, but he himself also doesn't learn to accept himself the way he is, seen in the scene where he meets Fiona wearing the extended armor on horseback to look taller, I'll admit that the movie doesn't really emphasize this much, and it might be more of a personal interpretation then an actual plot point as the horseback scene is really the only instance of his insecurities about his height being manifested that I can recall, but it's still not too damaging to the main theme overall, Farquuaad isn't really deep or anything, which kinda hurt the film of course, but the idea of a guy persecuting "freaks" whike being insecure about his own weirdness isn't an inherently bad idea, but it isn't really used fir much outside of gags, which at least are decent and not super in your face, tho obviously the villains in the second film are way better, both thematically and for entertainment value.
@@emilynoriker788 (Where the fuck is he?) (I have no fucking clue) The Shrek just doesn't like fairy tales! (Didn't like, didn't like, didn't like them at all)
About the fairy godmother part. It actually makes pretty sense. By dethroning farquaad, Shrek open up a power gap that leads to fairy godmother restoring her power and influence over the far far away kingdom causing all the events of the Second movie to occour.
My aunt took me to see shrek the musical once, the only things I remembered were that the lady in the suit who introduced the act was scared off stage by Shrek and Fiona was hot. I repressed this THING from my memory for over a decade, thanks for bringing back the trauma Schaff
It's one of my comfort musicals. I've listened to the soundtrack more than 20 times by this point. It was so fun live too. My mom and I absolutely loved it.
"Don't look up what the plot is about, good lord." Me, proceeding to google the plot of Thoroughly Modern Millie, about to make a mistake I'd regret: "You underestimate my curiosity."
@@Titanruler "In this musical spoof of the roaring '20s, feisty young flapper Millie (Julie Andrews) plans to find a job and marry a wealthy employer. Though fond of penniless paper-clip salesman Jimmy (James Fox), she's determined to marry well-heeled company man Trevor Graydon (John Gavin), who loves Millie's roommate Dorothy Brown (Mary Tyler Moore). As all four try to find love, evil landlady Mrs. Meers (Beatrice Lillie) schemes to sell the orphaned Dorothy into white slavery."
Hot take: I don’t think “Who I’d Be” is a good emotional climax for Shrek. In a vacuum, the message of the song is great and poignant, but the nuance of the song and its characterisation implications have always bugged me. To me, the message of the original film was never “be yourself” - I really hate that phrase as a moral because it’s vapid and if the story has a villain, inevitably turns out hypocritical, as shown by the musical. To me, the message of the movie has always been more of a “it’s what’s on the inside that matters”. Farquaad hates weirdos and that’s what counts. Fiona secretly wishes to embrace her less-feminine side and that’s what counts. Most importantly: Shrek just wants to be Shrek and have a purpose. And that’s what counts. It is CLEARLY established in the film that Shrek doesn’t mind that the townsfolk fear him. He loves it and it gives him purpose. He doesn’t mind being on his own. It’s a natural state for him that he enjoys. Shrek’s foil is not “people think I’m a big scary asshole when I’m not”, because he IS. His foil is that people assume he’s not capable of love BECAUSE he’s a big scary asshole. Whether he’s a big scary ogre is sort of secondary. Shrek doesn’t want to be anyone else. He wants and likes being big and scary because it gives him purpose. What hurts Shrek is when people disregard him and rob him of that purpose, like when he overhears Fiona. Shrek isn’t hurt that he got called an ogre. He got hurt because someone used that as a reason for why he’s not capable of love. Additionally, when Farquaad dehumanises him at the wedding. “Who I’d Be” implies that in an ideal world, Shrek would be liked by everyone - but I just don’t think that’s the case. In an ideal world, Shrek would have everyone respect him, either as a foe (villagers) or a friend (donkey). His journey of realising that is what the film depicts. If you want to hurt Shrek, don’t call him a big stupid ugly ogre. Tell him he can’t love. Now you’ve said something he doesn’t agree with. 1. Dear Evan Hansen roast was noted and appreciated 2. Mediogre pun was noted and appreciated
Yes! He'd care about being other-ed, devalued, and mistreated because of who he is. Fear is as close to respect as Shrek thinks he can get at the beginning and it gives him autonomy; fear was how he got people to take him seriously and listen to what he had to say... Love goes hand in hand with acceptance but Shrek was never concerned about everyone liking him... He didn't want to be popular. He just wanted a few friends and family who respect him, care about his needs, and support his endeavors, which is something everyone desires. Being who he is as a person relates to this but it has a lot more nuance than that... it has layers?
this is all perfectly encapsulated by the line "ogres are like onions [...] they have layers", Shrek was already perfectly happy with being himself and never did a single thing in the movie to contradict that, the conflict was entirely based around other people perceiving him as something other than himself, literally every major plot point revolved around that, his character arc was about his journey to being seen and understood as an ogre with layers instead of just some two dimensional fairytale trope, this is further proved by his arc in shrek 2 with the fairy godmother telling him he can't be with fiona because he's an ogre and ogres don't marry the princess. Honestly I feel like shrek 2 better represents the "be yourself" message but in a more meaningful way entirely because it is a sequel to shrek, it isn't until he has something to lose and has allowed himself to become vulnerable that he begins to have doubts about if he's good enough. Even then its still about layers, he's not worried that who he is isn't good enough he's worried that what he is isn't good enough, he's happy enough to still be shrek he just wants to look the way other people expect him to if he's going to be with fiona so they'll stop saying he doesn't deserve her. It's complex and nuanced and a really really interesting exploration of insecurity and this musical just shat all over it tbh
Shriek liked being able to scare the townsfolk because it kept them away. Every time they got near him, they wanted to spear him with pitchforks and burn him for being an ogre. In fact, it was well established that he was bothered by not being able to be accepted. He was lonely. Sometimes people who are mistreated find a reverse sense of empowerment by leaning into how they’re treated and basically “being good at it.” Another example is Mia from Princess Diaries. She didn’t like being an outcast, but as long as she was, then she was going to pretty much embrace being invisible and “being good at it.” That’s not real happiness. I was that kid. It’s all a twisted way to feel some sense of power over what you’ve been given no control over.
Regarding Donkey Pot Pie, I'm pretty sure that they ultimately replaced that song with Forever, a song sung by Dragon about how she's frustrated that people only come to the castle to rescue the beautiful princess, overlooking the fact that she too is lonely. I like this song because it does make a better segway into Donkey’s ultimate wooing of her.
@@disneyvillainsfan1666 Agreed, it was one change I really enjoyed as it gave Dragon some depth and adds context as to why Dragon was so taken in by Donkey’s compliments.
Yeah, I hate that scene so much. Like I kind of like how after all their yelling they actually hear each other on the "my parents sent me away" and realize that even if they had different experience it stems from that terrible point they both relate to and realizing it they get awkward. But then it goes back to trash with the fart contest being the bonding point and worse ending on a joke when Donkey enters so they don't even address the issue. What made it work in the film was several little interactions showed the commonality.
My biggest problem with 'Shrek the musical' is that its Shrek. If it would have been a musical about a random ugly monster or Whatever that becomes friends with a normal human and not Donkey and a Princess that's really beautiful, but she has a secret that would be considered ugly and she turns into a monster or something. It may be similar, but damn, IT wouldn't ruin Shrek. WHY RUIN THE THING THAT SHREK WAS MOSTLY KNOW OF?!!
Like lion King did to hamlet. A musical based on a classic story that didn't ruin the original, but is instead considered one of the best films of all time.
I forgot 90% of the musical, and remembered Who I’d Be, and was so glad when you said you liked who I’d be. It’s just, amazing. I so agree that Shrek should have not sung until that song, it would have hit so much harder.
I completely agree with the 'Shrek not singing until he opens up to Donkey' part. Like in "The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals" from Starkid, Paul doesn't sing until the very end because, you guessed it, he doesn't like musicals. It would've been way more powerful if they let the audience wait until the moment Shrek finally opens up.
The difference is that in The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals, all of the music is diagetic and nobody sings until they get infected. In The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals, Paul doesn't sing until the end because he dislikes musicals, he doesn't sing because he isn't infected yet. It isn't really for a thematic reason so much as a necessary plot reason. In fact, my biggest problem with the show is that Paul disliking musicals isn't really necessary for the plot whatsoever.
@@legendaccount3247 I kinda disagree with your last point. While it’s not strictly necessary to the plot, it is necessary for the themes. Being trapped in a musical is pretty explicitly Paul’s personal hell, and by the end when the infection gets him singing, it’s like a personal insult to his very being since not liking musicals is a pretty significant part of his character. It’s about being forced to become the antithesis of his values, and the ending wouldn’t be quite as horrifying if it wasn’t beaten into us how much Paul hates musicals.
As someone who is currently playing Farquaad in a production of this show, i both love this show (Who I'd Be is one of the best "I want" song's in contemporary musical theater, at me), and 100% agree with every point Schaff made.
LOL same, I played Fiona in the shrek production once and the jokes that are made (singing about the bipolar line was... questionable, we also had a scene where I strangled a balloon deer as a joke) I can agree with Schaff about. I love Shrek the Musical, I will always love I Know Its Today and This Is How A Dream Comes True, but he made a lot of points I definitely agreed with.
For sure. He definitely made a lot of valid points, especially about the bipolar thing and the slur thing with the Wolf. However, I also feel like some of his points are just a bit nitpicky, or they kind of disregard logistical aspects of not only putting on live theatre shows, and just Musicals in general. But, again, he definitely makes a LOT of super valid points that one may not have considered otherwise. Still love this show, though! Our local Community Theatre put on a production of this a few years back, and it generally is super fun, and has a nice vibe. Also, it’s super awesome that you guys were in this show!!! What was your favorite part of being in it?
@@thatoneperson8593 you get to be SUPER LOUD with personality, and jokes, crude tone, anything. It felt a bit more relaxed than most productions due to how loud it was. Every character in this musical has loud personalities, and transforming into ogre Fiona was always hilarious since I heard the fairytale creatures stalling by crashing Fionas wedding as people frantically smother makeup on you.
@@donuttipsy That sounds amazing😂😂 The makeup thing totally reminds me of a quick change that we had to make at that same Community Theatre when we did The Wizard of Oz😂😂 We had to give Miss Gulch a full change into the Wicked Witch during the tornado sequence, and it was just pure chaos with multiple people just smacking sponges on her hands, face and neck. 😂😂 Do you still do Musical Theatre?
i always hated how this version did dragon. when i was dragon in a production of shrek jr. (which is much better because it cuts out a bunch of unimportant and stupid scenes) it was just me voicing the puppet WHILE on stage and in a costume and three prisoners as my backup singers. it looked way better and made so much more sense.
As someone who appreciates the FairyTale references most of all in Shrek, I find it very telling that they just choose to put a bunch of recognizable Alice in Wonderland Characters in there. Shrek actually I believe never ever did a reference to Alice, like not even in spin offs. The most creative they seem to have gotten was with the Shoemaker's Elv.
Alice in the Wonderland is a Victoriorian Era novel for children that takes inspiration from fairytales, but it's not an actual one, so it fits for her not to be there. You could say the same for Pinocchio, especially since it's quite the miserable story, but I guess they couldn't leave out the jab at Disney.
@@succubastard1019 I mean it is in a way still a fairytale depends on how you stretch your definitions. But I always thought that there was a reason Shrek never filled their backgrounds with Alice Characters, despite the fact it would have been easy. Even along the second and third movie they where able to put enough recognizable Characters in the backgrounds and so on, without ever crossing that border. And I feel like that the musical did it, simply shows a lack of imagination.
@@ArnLPs To correct my point, yes, it is a fairytale regarding its setting and characters, but it's not one of those classic ancient fables that you can recite to a kid going asleep in 5 minutes. Same with Piniocchio. But yes, I fully agree with your point.
You could've actually justified a song for one of the parts of this movie: when Shrek and Fiona have their disagreement. Instead of the misunderstanding, you could have Shrek sing a song about his insecurities based on his appearance, and gradually let his emotional baggage overtake him until he doesn't believe Fiona really can love him. The final line of the song could even be "Who could love a hideous beast?" or something along those lines, which would tell you his emotional state and why he's just leaving instead of fighting Farquaad there and then. The parting between Shrek and Fiona would be different (more morose than angry) but you'd get essentially the same story beats. In order for it not to sound like "Evermore" or "If I Can't Love Her" from Beauty and the Beast, you'd probably want Fiona to sing beats in between Shrek's beats to show the narrative symmetry. But that's a small price to pay for marginal improvements.
That would have been great. Or, or, hear me out: Shrek sings his song about how much he loves Fiona before he goes to knock on the door. Then Fiona starts singing about whether or not to tell him she's an ogre and that she loves him. As she sings, Shrek approaches the door. But then, just as Shrek is about to knock, he lowers his hand and his head. And Fiona turns away. And they both at the same time sing the line, "But who could love such a hideous ugly beast?" And that's where everything freezes for a moment. Then Shrek walks away and Fiona sits back down in her chair with her head in her hands. That way, it highlights that this is an insecurity of both of theirs. No need for a misunderstanding or for them to fight the next day. Just the next day is tense and Donkey knows something's up, and so Donkey keeps trying to needle Shrek about what's wrong and he is so frustrated with everything going on that he snaps at Donkey about how annoying he is and how he's better off alone. He doesn't have to think of Donkey as a backstabber at all, and since he's been annoyed with Donkey a lot over the show, it wouldn't come as a surprise for him to react in an over-the-top way when his emotions are already running high.
@@thehedsrambler7964 whoah, both sound really good. Something similar would have been a marked improvement to the original scene in the movie, but it isn't as much of an issue there.
I'm surprised he didn't talk more about "What's Up, Duloc?", considering that's one of the few songs that retains the anti-Disney tone of the original.
"I get this musical has its fans and that's ok, but maybe you guys should sit this one out" Absolutely not, Schaff. I'm watching this one for you, BECAUSE it's you.
I should’ve heeded his warning😭😂 But, honestly, yeah, I feel you. I wanted to hear out his criticisms because it’s him. Even though I knew I might disagree.
the music in mean girls is awesome and i didn’t expect it at all the first time i listened to it, shrek’s was okay but not my favorite. this comment really sums it all up though.
@@iwakeupandboomimarat oh my god I’d finally managed to erase that from my memory- I feel for the rest of the cast who had to keep a straight face and pretend everything was fine in such a time of crisis
@@rontheron4807 i think i saw a bootleg scene of either right before or after someone gets hurt and cameron was doing NOTHING besides reading his lines and sometimes moving slightly. i can't remember who was playing regina but she was carrying the entire scene 😭
As someone who played Shrek in my school's production of Shrek: The Musical, I didn't like it. I absolutely despised the farting, it was extremely boring and unfunny, and having to do it over and over again was a living hell. I also got extremely sick, and fucking bombed Who I'd Be one night and it was generally just not a good experience. I was going to say that my favorite part was Travel Song, just because I really like overlapping parts, but your idea of having Who I'd Be being the first time Shrek sings is such a good idea that I honestly value Travel Song a lot less. Our Farquaad had a lot of trouble with intonation, so his singing parts didn't stand out as much. But yeah, I pretty much totally agree with this video. My sympathies go out to Brian for having to put on that much makeup that many times.
I wanna make an announcement. Farquaad wasn't wrongfully shamed for being short in Shrek, the point of his character was to show, despite all the power and wealth and status that Farquaad had, it didn't change who he was. A small, insignificant man who can be easily eaten by a dragon.
Exactly. The Farquad jokes weren't strictly mocking his SIZE, but his egotistic and petty OVERCOMPENSATING for his personal... shortcomings. (I just couldn't help myself XD).
@Kit Look, because he's an asshole, that makes it okay to make fun of him for his shortcomings (lmao). Farquaad doesn't deserve the respect of not being made fun of for his height.
My middle school did a production of Shrek the Musical and to promote it, they put posters over every clock in the school that said “it’s shrek o’clock” with an enormous Shrek head so no one in the school could tell the time for two weeks.
This is still the only professional theatre production that I have ever walked out of (at the interval, I'm not a monster) in 20+ years of going to see live theatre. It was horrific.
14:21 In the production I saw, he didn't have an onion. Shrek apparently just thought of something random off the top of his head, but it's still more organic than just holding an onion for no reason.
I actually had a lot of fun with this show. It's definitely not perfect and I really don't care for the bipolar joke, I enjoyed acting in this production greatly. Plus, I did the junior version, so the story is even more condensed. I was the understudy to Donkey and we got an understudy show. Donkey is actually such a fun character to portray. A lot of his lines are kind of all over the place, which matches his personality. But it makes you think about your delivery a lot and I really enjoyed figuring out how to make it really funny and his character not annoying.
![F.HERO Ft. JSPKK x ลำไย ไหทองคำ x M-PEE - ไม่สนิทบิดหมด (Thai Riders Anthem) [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kPJZ0UihBfk/mqdefault.jpg)
Shrek the Musical feels like it was exclusively made for high schools to perform. The fairytale creatures getting their own song and showing up randomly in scenes feels a lot like something a high school theatre director would do to make sure the ensemble members have lines so their parents don't get mad.
shrek the musical lies in the same realm as seussical, adams family, and more that are just there to be large ensemble shows with a few standout performers and a 80 number ensemble cast
In middle school we did “Shrek the musical jr.” and that’s probably why I see it as a musical that is only fun in a middle school context, even high school feels too grown up for this show
can confirm - was pig 3
I was in this play my freshman year of high school... It was uncomfortable as hell. The only reason I showed up was because I had a crush on the dude who played farquad
We did this in middle school. I was in the crew, and my only job was moving sunflowers on and off the side of the stage.
Donkey in the original film is a great example of how to do an annoying character right. You make them annoying to the other characters, not the audience.
No one could have said it better
Something a lot of writers somehow forget.
Also, Eddie Murphy was actually FUNNY!
I can forgive a lot if an annoying character makes me laugh or has touching moments with other characters, like how Donkey convinces Shrek to confess his love to Fiona without sharing her secret. At all. Boss move in my opinion...
just to get too far and make it the punching bag.
YES
Some additional fun facts about Shrek the Musical:
-The parodying of Defying Gravity in What’s Up Duloc was improvised by Chris Sieber for the Tony performance. People loved it so much they later added it to the show. This is why it does not appear on the cast recording.
- The dragon puppet and song were so poorly received they were changed in future productions. The puppet was changed to a more straightforward dragon puppet with the full body, there is now only one singer for the voice of the Dragon, and they wrote a new song called Forever which is much better than Donkey Pot Pie (although still kinda forgettable.
- The inclusion of “I’m a Believer” at the end of the show was also added later in the shows run, as a response to critics and audience member disappointment around the musical not featuring any of the iconic songs from the film. This is why it feels so out of place.
- Another fun fact I like is that the guy who plays Pinocchio (John Tartaglia of Johnny and the Sprite’s fame) is also the guy who puppeteers the dragon head and does live mo-cap for the mirror during that scene (this is live and not pre-recorded).
I didn't know any of that! Thanks for the fun facts 😁 and I'm not surprised about John Tartaglia puppeteering and doing the face mo cap as he's wonderful as Rod in Avenue Q 👍
Another fun fact: they initially tried to get the real shrek for this role (he even trained for it in shrek 3) but he refused and wanted to be left alone.
Wow
@@glendarjj3991 "Get outta my swamp" -Shreks actor
I love John Tartaglia! He was amazing in Avenue Q
What’s especially hilarious about Freak Flag Fly is that the only reason it exists is to give the makeup crew time to get the makeup on Fiona. It serves no other purpose beyond that and that explains so much.
Filler fo Fiona. Very good fact
@@RibbitRibbit191 I did NOT realize that. Woah.
Makes sense in that regard, but it's still a jarring mood whiplash.
So it's basically filler
That checks out
Fun fact: The performer of Fiona signed and left her bra for the stage crew when Shrek: The Musical came to my city. It's still hanging stage left to this day
iconic power move
That’s amazing
What a power move
*D A M N*
some creep is going to steal it one day tho
The actor who played Farquaad is a chad for being on his knees for an entire musical
True dedication and so on and so forth
The knee pads had to be VERY cushy. The dancing is the worst part 😂
As someone who almost played Farquaad in my high school’s production of Shrek (it got cancelled a week before the show due to COVID) I can tell you that it hurts. A lot.
The Finnish actor of Farquaad in Shrek the Finnish Musical is also a chad for the same reason.
Yeah props to Christopher Sieber, I actually met him once after ‘The Prom’
“Just because something has no reason to exist doesn’t mean it can’t be good” *Insert Cinderella 3: A Twist in Time*
Cinderella 3 is superior to OG cinderella no I’m not taking critiques at this time
@@merrybright5732 cinderella 3 was my shit when i was little
@@merrybright5732 Yeah, OG and live-action demake Cinderella are meh in my opinion. I definitely prefer Cinderella 3 over them.
I'd pin this if I could.
*Insert Toy Story 4
I think Farquaad being made fun of for his size so often in the film stems from him trying to deny it or overcompensate for it, like his castle in Duloc or the ornament on his wedding cake. Farquaad makes for the perfect foil for Shrek because he acknowledges his weirdness and enjoys being himself, while Farquaad would rather imprison or exile those he deems strange, despite being "abnormal" himself. Essentially Farquaad is what he hates, which is why Shrek, Donkey and Fiona mock him for his stature.
reminds me of voldemort
@@chuckled125More like Voldeshort, am I right?
Good point
It’s pretty clever
Imagine if you had a mega man villain who tries to outlaw robots, yet works with robots himself and tries to overcompensate for it by making his lair a regular house
i really wish this was true but when the main characters are making fun of his height rather than his arrogance or hypocrisy i don't believe it's what was intended
The beetlegeuse musical even references this in the opening, he says to the audience directly something along the lines of "starting with a ballad, bold choice. And such a departure from the original source material!" As soon as that line was said I knew I'd love this adaptation
Hello fellow Beetlejuice the musical lover
Hello fellow fans of Beetlejuice the musical!
Hello there fellow fans of Beetlejuice the musical
Betelgeuse is SOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOD
hello my fellow beetlejuice the musical lovers x2
Fun fact: The reason the fairytale creatures are added into the wedding scene is just to stall for time while Fiona changes into her ogre makeup 😂
Thank you!
I mean it still ruins the moment, but this is clearly why it was added in.
I guess it's just something for them to do as well
Yeah, maybe they could have done other special effects.
I don't know, body switch, switch the color of the lights, put the features like nose and ears...
But trying to stall time to put make up doesn't seem like a wise decision.
I mean, fair enough.
LMAO
I saw this musical live, and I just wanna say that the actor for lord farquaad absolutely *carried* that whole show
As a former farquaad it is very fun to ham it up, very similar to trunchbull in a way from Matilda the musical, funny enough I am doing it in about a week.
he was the best part of the musical and that's a fact
Not really if it wasn't good.
@@isaacthegoat1432 One character who isn't even the main character isn't enough to fix a bad production.
He interacted with the crowd and just stole the show
One of the most infuriating parts of this show to me is that they made a song called “Forever” for Dragon. It’s a wonderful song that goes super hard and has a ton of passion in it. I love how it’s basically Dragon just venting about her own situation and then being completely blindsided when Donkey expresses genuine interest in her. I think it’s my favorite song from the whole thing!
… and yet it isn’t in the definitive version of the show. Because why let Dragon have heart and character in a moment that’s fierce, yet just vulnerable enough for some sympathy?
my high school did forever! it was one of my fav parts of being in the show
My high school also did Forever…. And so did another one that did Shrek a couple years later.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe "Forever" was actually written for a later version of the show where they corrected a lot of other questionable lines and such. The only reason none of those changes are in the proshot on Netflix or in the official recording was because those changes hadn't been made yet. I personally prefer "Forever" to "Donkey Pot Pie" for the record; it's such a beautifully crafted song in comparison to Dragon just expressing how she's going to eat Donkey but immediately loves him after he compliments her teeth lmao
I SO AGREE. Donkey pot pie was mediocre at best. I don’t think it was catchy at all. But forever? An absolute banger. I literally love it
Agreed it's a great song
Fun fact: Originally the opening song was supposed to an original song. They just put in all star by smash mouth as a holder til the new one came in. But the test auidance liked it so much they kept in All Star. Also DreamWorks then contacted All Star to do I'm a believer at the end of the movie.
They contacted Smash Mouth*
@@ob1knob71 why? His writing was fine
@@helainanatasha7496 the name of the group is smash mouth, they said that they contacted all stars which is the title of the song.
@@helainanatasha7496 it wasn’t a grammatical error, it was a factual one.
@@essdeecard ahah, all star is really rooted with them. people know them is all star. not the actual band name
Fun fact: Fiona, in “I think I got you beat” says that she was sent away on Christmas Eve. In “I know it’s today, she says “Day number 8423”. That number of days would put the musical’s timeline in late January/Early February. Duloc’s environment is that of a more northern place, and the Shrek Christmas special has snow, so therefore it should be snowing during the musical.
Some girl in my theatre production pointed this out (She really liked math and biology for some odd reason) and it was the dumbest thing I’d ever heard but for some reason it stuck with me.
Did she factor in leap years?
@@Klick404 Yes actually.,She gave a range for greatest possible number of leap days to least possible
@@anayaweick7964 good to know your friend appreciates mathematical rigour in such an important question
I went this entire December without seeing snow, so it's not impossible that it wouldn't fall during the musical, honestly
That girl is my role model from now on
This should have been a self aware parody of musicals similar to "The Guy Who Doesn't Like Musicals" with as many new jokes about it being a musical as possible. Then the music should be entirely inspired by the moive's orginal soundtrack. Hell like you said the movie could even be a somewhat new plotline of shrek refusing to take part in the musical and verbally getting frustrated with the songs and interrupting while people sing. Maybe it would be a little to similar to "the guy who doesn't like musicals" but i think that would be better than this dumpster fire.
yeah i usually don’t like “oOoH iT’s FuNnY bEcAuSe It’S a MuSiCaL” but that would be funny
@@SafeBurrito5465 yea i just think it would have been really fitting for this specific situation. And have enough new that it feels fresh.
Now I am thinking of the new plot being like a meta in universe musical that the characters from Shrek the Musical are being cast in to retell the story of Shrek. And Shrek not wanting to be a part of it. Maybe the guy making this musical or in charge of it is actually the villain luring Shrek to kill him on stage for revenge or something. Like maybe it turns out to be Prince Charming in disguise and this hypothetical alternate musical is a sort of replacement for Shrek the Third.
@@Kabbaway i agree 100%
@@JMandJJ7797 I like this idea, I love the idea of a musical taking place in the story takes place in, and it reminds me of the "Avatar Play" in Avatar the Last Airbender. That was pretty fun.
Shrek the Musical is pretty much exclusively a high school musical. I remember watching mine and it was well done. The dragon was amazing and puppeteered by one guy.
Yours had a puppet? Cool! Our dragon was just wearing a onesie.
My sisters dragon was a girl wearing a custom made crown type thing with the dragons face and a dress. It was nice
My high school’s dragon was a bunch of cardboard boxes in the shape of a dragon carried around by a couple guys. The singing was done by a girl in a dragon princess costume, who stood on the side of the stage, away from the action.
The dragon I saw was a lady in this giant dress with a headdress and stilts so she was extra tall. She was so cool
I recently watched the shrek school musical and the dragon was just a girl with a red sparkly dress, a cape, and a dragon mask
Not as cool but I understand that my school was just having to work with the budget they have
So I can't speak for the original musical itself, but when my high school performed it, it was done so well that I couldn't even hate on it. Our Shrek actor was literally perfect for the role. Hope you're doing well, Dalon.
Broadway version sucks, but the songs and writing is pretty good.
Our high school's version was great as well the person who played lord farquad was on his knees the whole time and it was hilarious
Our school did the same thing, and all the Fiona actors were amazing
Dont take this too seriously
Yeah my high school's performance slapped so hard
genuinely nothing could have prepared me for that “what are you doing in my swamp?” delivery
whAt arE you dOING in MY SWAHMp
Agreed. It caught me so off guard
@@wompwomp9946 that’s so accurate omg💀
This comment did not prepare me
Why does he sound like a british grandma trying to say it
I just thought about what you said about Shrek being an anti-musical character and I just realized something (and stay with me on this), that's _EXACTLY_ what they did with Scrooge in A Muppet Christmas Carol.
The opening number, "Scrooge," has everyone singing about how awful of a person he is while he's just walking to work. He doesn't get a big "I'm not so bad" song or even an "I just want to be left alone song." He just gets taunted and jeered through this entire number as the town gets together to express how much they hate him. Hell, he's even the one who ends the song and gets everyone to leave the number after it's over just by one look. The second song, while he's in it, he only has speaking lines. "When Love is Gone" he only sings because he remembers it, but that also works to show that for the first time in years he's being vulnerable before closing himself off again after telling the spirit to leave him. The only song he really sings in is "A Thankful Heart" and the ending song, showing he's learned to open up to and embrace people.
Holy fuck you're right. I've watched that movie for years (VHS copy, baby) and I never noticed that!
(Also why is "When Love is Gone" so good like holy shit I appreciate the emotion more now as an adult and like holy fuck.)
A VHS Christmas Carol does this to great effect as well.
I forgot that that was what the last song was called and so my mind immediately jumped to Veggietales (but yeah you’re so right)
I like this movie even more now!
@@one-onessadhalf3393 I forgot Veggietales also had a song like that oof
The only person I actually care about in the musical is John Tartaglia. He played Pinocchio, Magic Mirror, and was the puppeteer for the dragon. His work in puppetry and theater is pure inspiration for me.
Woah John tartaglia is epic
tartaglia… (i’m sorry)
Wasn’t he in avenue q too?
@@courtneysatella9946 Yeah he originated Princeton and Nicky. He also played Ernie from Sesame Street for a short time.
This guy was my inspiration in high school!
Re: the "Shrek is about celebrating your differences but everyone makes fun of Farquaad" thing, I think the point the movie was TRYING to make was that Farquaad isn't just a short guy trying to make it in the world, he's actually denying the fact that he's different at all (cake topper is taller than Fiona, bed is really big despite him being small, etc.). His entire identity is about denying who he is. Whereas Shrek is all about being who he is, to the point where he thinks he can never change, which is why he probably pokes so much fun at Farquaad, because the latter is so obviously trying to deny himself, and making life harder for others who don't fit a traditional mold in the process.
To be fair, the movie does take it too far in places, and I definitely don't like the idea that it's okay to criticize people for what they can't control as long as you don't like their personality. So in the end I guess I agree that it's a problem, but I also understand what the movie might have been going for. If they'd had Shrek show a little sympathy for Farquaad in the musical, that might have been an interesting change.
That is far. I also think them making fun of his "short comings" isnt just a reference to his height. But his lack of personality, grace, moral fibber and awareness.
Although the short jokes go too far, this comment is entirely right. I havent noticed this before and now I'm like "ohhh that makes much more sense"
Kind of reminds me of back in 2016 when people were making jokes about Trump having small hands. People didn't really have a problem with the fact that they're small, the joke was that Trump is obviously self conscious about them and gets defensive whenever someone brings it up.
There's a story going around that Farquaad was based on Eisner deliberately because he had a tendency to mock Katzenburg (who is much shorter) including reportedly saying "I think hate that fucking m*dget". This might be one of those things that just generated on the internet rumor mill but it seems believable.
that makes much more sense..
The scene where the fairytale creatures interrupt Shrek at the wedding exists for one simple reason. The makeup crew needs time to transform Fiona into an ogre. It may feel shoe-horned in, but it's actually kind of necessary. No rebuttals to your other issues. Obviously, criticism is based on personal preference, and if ya don't enjoy something, hey...ya don't enjoy it.
It’s also satisfying to see the fairytale creatures standing up to Lord Farquaad than just sitting on their butts back in the swamp while Shrek and Donkey confront him themselves like in the original. If I was exiled from my home by a xenophobic ruler, I wouldn’t be submissive to the abuse. I’d march back to the kingdom and confront the ruler.
@@hunterolaughlinYeah, but what about his army of knights under his payroll?
@@brandonlyon730 I wouldn’t care if he set his guards upon me, I’d still protest about his abusive and xenophobic treatment of me. I’d rather go down trying to stand up to him than be a coward.
Just get two identical people
@@cctproductions6976 Fiona was played by Sutton Foster in the musical. It would be VERY difficult to find a fill-in for her if they'd chosen to do that instead of using the fairytale creatures
The thing with Shrek not wanting to sing just reminds me of the whole “because singing killed my grandma” bit in Trolls. Shrek could definitely have done it better.
He likes singing fine. He just doesn't want to sing the happy upbeat travelling song with Donkey.
@@sanitycaycay2507 understandable, I just thought it was kinda funny. It could have been portrayed a bit better but otherwise it’s ok.
Oh man that Trolls singing killed my grandma and then he sings and saves everyone. I'm not even going to emoji that moment it doesn't deserve an emoji
you leave trolls out of this! 😩💀
I mean they are both made by dreamworks lol
I think the two things I like most out of the musical is how much more aggressive Fiona gets and that you see Shreks parents
Also, Farquaad is given a backstory which I find somewhat interesting and adds to his character.
Tl;dr, Farquaad is the best part of this musical imo.
*L O R E*
down on bended knee…
bended knee…
bENDED KNEE (kicks Shrek)
"Why won't you sing, Shrek?!"
"BECAUSE SINGING KILLED MY SWAMP"
Lmfao
Yeah I'm just erasing my stupidity at this point
@@sincerecinnamon Yes that’s the joke
@@sincerecinnamon geez, don’t explain the joke!
@@sincerecinnamon I immediately remembered the movie after reading this. I saw it as a kid and didn't realize how stupid it was until now.
"aggressively mediogre retelling"
Don't worry, I caught your joke
Okay he DID say that. I was all "wait, did he?" but I was on the sofa at the time so I wasn't about to go back and check.
same I was wondering if anyone else noticed
meaty ogre
I despise Shrek memes, god they are just unfunny, but not going to lie, that one was actually funny. Also if I hear any of you say "get Shrekt", I'm going to take out my Sharktale themed bazooka cosplay as Elmer Fudd, and play Russian roulette awhile high on speed.
@@charliep7112 df is a bazooki
I just like this musical because my high school put on the funniest version of it ever. Farquad was played by one of the nicest kids in the school. Seeing him ham it up was just hilarious. Grumpy the Dwarf was played by everyone's favorite teacher. There were a lot of in-jokes added that no one outside of our school would get. It was great.
I have the exact same experience! The broadway version sucks ass, but the songs are actually written very well and the dialogue isn’t too bad impart from some plot problems.
this really does feel like it was written to be a high school musical, like its terrible as a story but as an opportunity for you to watch a bunch of teachers and students you know do some wacky antics on stage and perform it seems like it would be a lot of fun
Now that sounds great lol, my local theater did this and farquad was played by the tallest guy and an added story line of a ghost cause the theater is said to be haunted ~spooky~
I'll join the rest of the people here with our shared experience of doing this in high school. When we first heard of it, we were aghast. Why Shrek? We went from a smashing performance of Beauty and the Beast, to this?
But then Shrek memes made their rounds in my high school right as we started rehearsing, and that's what turned it around lol
I feel like it's just *meant* to be a funny high school production
The baby goose laying any eggs disturbs me because of the implications of that bird’s biology.
Only mature birds should lay eggs, at least a bird that has its full adult plumage.
it's probably that dead horse mush of a "joke" that haha chicken lay egg but wait, chicken is bird, so bird must lay egg! honestly don't know why they still use it
@@MB32904 I guess? But uh...wait, at what age do geese lay eggs?
@@Barakon adulthood
@@MB32904 yeah, but how many years or months is that for geese?
Someone’s overthinking
Schaf: "Let's talk about some stuff i did like"
Me: "He's going to dop the ad read isn't he?"
Works every time
Lol yes
Allalaoqoqpq
watch for the ad read, watch for the ad read, watch for the ad read...
THERE’S THE AD READ THERE IT IIIIIS
Ive got ogre aids
Every other commentary channel: "creates an oc to represent themselves"
Schaffrillas: *T A M A T O A*
He spent an hour with members of gothpatty explaning why he loves him, im used to tamatoa with schafrilla's voice instead of a tomatoa voice
@@spooderman6312 pffft same
@@spooderman6312 that video was the "everyone is here" of TH-cam. It was great.
"big carb"
@Lissette G Orozco Diaz I mean, I can't call him out on that-
Hooty is too great-
Schaff: completes Shrek franchise
Puss in Boots: laughs in the corner
It's also getting a sequel next year.
@@jar1543 IT IS?! OMG YES
Don't forget all hail king julien which is also technically a shrek spin-off
@@noahsmith7267 how? its in the Madagascar universe
Wtf xd how?
That "lets go to the opium den" giggle is just the one time where Schaffrillas got to be happy.
Also weird how they turned Shrek’s iconic Scottish accent into sounding like an angry Irish drunk reading the original movie script and half-assing it.
@daniel strong it’s really insulting
@@eg-6853 how's it offending? Its just he's opinion.
@@Ok-rt8xv I’m agreeing with the fact that the accent is insulting
I guess they wanted to match the shrek voice in the shovelware games
That’s kind of a critique of the actor’s choices regarding the character voice, though. I mean, I hardly think that it was any kind of official choice, meaning that the integrity of the accent really relies on who’s playing Shrek, and not really on the musical, itself.
Honestly "Who Id be" was the only song that hit home for me. Obviously Im not an ogre, but I get how he feels when he sung about wanting to be someone else but knowing he can't. He wants a happy ending like everyone else. Admittedly like I do.
I kinda agree there
That's what an ogre would say
Wait you’re not an ogre?
Wait- you’re not an ogre?
Of course they're not an ogre, they're *an anomaly* ✨
I literally just preformed this musical as a part of a theatre program I do, and despite how much fun I had with it, I definitely agree with most if not all points shown in this video.
SAME absolutely same
@@packoradical2538 u guys do to the same school?
What part did you have? Were you in the main cast? Ensemble etc.
@@BlueTheCartoonAddict I was Peter Pan (so basically ensemble)
@@paygel1643 cool!
I know I'm very late, but as someone who is rehearsing Fiona currently. That wedding crash scene is really needed for makeup purposes. It's already barely any time at all to get a dress off, a fat suit on and green make-up on. I wonder what alternatives Schaffrillas could come up with if he knew this fact. I'd be interested to hear his thoughts.
I remember when my middle school did this musical they had so little time that they accidentally smeared green makeup on the neckline of the dress lmao
At least it was only noticeable if you were up close
As someone who played Fiona, I can personally tell you that I had a lot of issues making her the “human” because the musical script kills the vulnerable side of Shrek. There just isn’t enough emotional substance. I actually really only lived for the act finales. “You love me as I am, take me as I look” always made me more emotional than it should have as a plus-size actor. You hit the nail on the head.
If that's you in your PFP, then it's a bit baffling to call yourself "plus size".
@@WobblesandBean hmm… not sure what you mean. I’m medically overweight, I wear plus sized clothing. But I’m not really sure you can tell that in my pfp? It’s not necessarily something I’m proud of.
@@WobblesandBean its a little weird of you to go "Well, I can see a picture of yo u and I decided that I know your size and its not what you say it is."
Babe, I have no idea what you do or how you have any information, but that doesn't matter. You cannot tell someone's size based in a slightly hazy picture of someone. It's also just rude
I think OP looks great in their pfp, but I don't think you have any right to tell someone that they don't know their own size/that they are lying about their size, which is kind of how it came across
You're just a bad actress
@@patricklodge1576 I’d love to know how you gleaned that from a comment about a hokey musical in which I played the female lead. Please do enlighten me.
“Dragon falls in love with Donkey after he sings for like 30 seconds” that’s…more time than it took in the movie, man 😂
The dude who loves the song "Shiny" obviously doesn't know what makes a good musical or song.
@@joshuadrew5223 i don't think you should invalidate someone's opinion on media cus they like something you don't. I will say while it does take longer in the musical, not only could the musical try to fix it, it personally feels less realistic cus the Dragon is like talking. So you know it feels like it changing that quickly while it's literally singing about it wanting to eat donkey feels weird. Just cus its fast in shrek doesn't necessarily give the musical a excuse.
@@joshuadrew5223 ok joshua
@@justsomeogrewithinternetac1494 to be fair, given the context, you can kind of see why it could work in both the film and musical, Dragon is like Shrek in a way, she's intrigued by basically the only thing that seems to have seen her as more than just a dangerous, fire breathing monster, but instead of a friendship in the process of brewing, like with Shrek, Donkey's initial approach toward Dragon is more flirtatious in hopes of her not wanting to kill him, and since the only other approach she's received has been from weapons and with aggressive nature, it's understandable that she might react in such a way due to her minimal amount of good interactions
@@justsomeogrewithinternetac1494 I'm just talking smack. It is a fallacy to invalidate someone because I don't like their favorite song. I still wanted to talk shit because "Shiny" is the only song I've skipped in any Pixar film.
There's a part in the musical where Donkey says "If you kill a man, I'll hide the body" and given how creepy he looks in the musical I'm starting to think that he'd actually do that
LMAOOOO
I’ve seen him in my house.
Every second you don’t move, Donkey only gets closer to you.
28:55 Did anyone else hear him distinctly say "...but the vast majority of them are just kind of medi-ogre and forgettable" ?
My big problem for the filmed version of the show was the absolute assassination of Dragon. Her song "Forever" was so much better than Donkey Pot Pie and when I saw it on non-broadway tour, the full body dragon puppet and having knights as background musicians was SO GOOD. And seeing the voice come out to bow in a gorgeous dragon themed dress at the end to give one last long note??? Killer.
[Spoilers for The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals] I do personally have a soft spot for this musical, and love a lot of the songs, but you make a great point about the idea that Shrek should have not sung until the end of Act I, like in the end of TGWDLM when Paul finally sings and it SHOCKS you. Go off, king!
Hello fellow TGWDLM fan!
Yeah, like when Paul sings it makes us realise "oh shit something terrible is about to happen", because he hasnt sung the entire hour and thirty minutes so far, and its startling. Hello fellow starkid fan
That's actually a good idea because musical numbers are the emotional highlights in the story. They're usually used as a way for characters to express themselves. In the context of Shrek, that could work because Shrek is so shut-in as a character.
(Also, hello fellow Startkid cultists)
@@ezelfrancisco1349 I have a cool kid S in a pentagram painted with chalk in my cellar and I sacrifice roaches to Jeff Blim on saturdays there
TGWDLM? What’s that?
I can’t bring myself to hate this show. It’s the show that got me into theatre in middle school. Its what sent me on the path I am now and I really am appreciate it for that.
Really?
As weird as this sounds, this musical changed my life. I’ve gotten involved with the guys behind the Newfoundland production of shrek and the people behind it helped me boost my confidence as a performer. I wouldn’t be the person I am right now if it weren’t for this show
It’s a wonderful show💖💖
I love the tech side of the show. I LOVE the costuming, sets, puppets, props and all the jokes 😂
Not to mention I also love freak flag, who id be, story of my life, and morning person.
it’s the first high school production I ever saw, so it pulled me in the theatre world too. I owe all my success in the theatre world to this show
I am literally in the same boat.
As someone who just finished doing a production of Shrek: The Musical, this is a really fun thing to be in, and it actually has a really good message in the fairy tale creatures embracing what makes them unique and special.
I
disagree
But it sure is fun to perform!
The message isn't the problem; it's how little time they give it to properly develop within the story of the musical. It should never feel like themes are doing jump scares on the audience. They should be growing throughout the course of the show in order to feel justified at the end. The fairy tale creatures just come out of nowhere and it made me WTF aloud when I was watching it and it just made the musical drag on.
@@fruitbythefoote What do you mean that the themes were doing jumpscares on us?
The Fairytale Ensemble was still my favorite part of Shrek The Musical. Not only was Freak Flag catchy, but I adored the variety of characters and costume designs. They gave me a whole new appreciation for background performers.
I feel like a better way to incorporate a "musical" adaptation is to have Shrek not have any songs to himself (maybe only one). Then once a musical number concludes he pokes fun at how bad it was, or SOMETHING. I think it would be a good way to keep that same humor of the "musical reject" and slap in the face that Shrek is.
It’s very simple fix, just have him be a Guy Who Doesn’t Like Musicals. Literally, just give him the same story structure as Paul, only instead of being frightened by all the singing have him criticize or poke fun at the songs. And like Schaff said, only have him sing during very emotional moments like that scene with Donkey under the moon
@@valeciraptor626 minus the whole meteor alien virus thing
@@valeciraptor626 Yeah and just like in The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals, having him not sing until near the end increases the emotional impact. Like the whole time Shrek could be like "singing and emotions are dumb" until the wedding sing where he both opens up and sings for the first time. Plus it's a great reveal to have this character constantly talk about how he hates singing until we finally hear his singing voice for the first time and it's beautiful.
Overall it would be a great way to mock and poke fun at the musical format, giving the musical a unique identity but still being in the classic Shrek style.
@@RandomPerson-gt1jt Imagine the only songs Shrek sings in this musical is Who I'd Be (a vulnerable moment already and a surprise for the audience) and This is Our Story (showing how much growth Shrek has made)
@@valeciraptor626 I think it would be better as an ani sorta format.
Suggestion: Since you're closing out the final chapter on your Shrek series, Schaff you really should check out & compare what are considered "Shrek copycat films", such as Hoodwinked, Happily N'Ever After, and more recently, Charming.
Edit: I put air quotes around Shrek copycat films for a reason, because I personally don't consider them to be that way. To this day, I unironically enjoy Hoodwinked & Happily N'Ever After since I grew up with them on DVD. I'm only saying that the general public critical opinion tends to label them as such. Regardless though, thank you for all your replies, as I didn't expect this to gain much traction tbh! 😊
Hoodwinked is amazing tho
Hoodwinked is, however, a national treasure
Also, please look at the Ghost of Lord Farquaad short.
Happily N’Ever After is an amazing film, fight me.
you evil genius
“They interrupted a strong emotional moment for no reason”
Pooh’s Adventures: ALLOW US TO INTRODUCE OURSLEVES
Never saw it, how bad is it?
@@valenzuelasstudios1838 Nothing against the community buy Pooh's Adventures is not good. The basic gist is having Pooh Bear and a bunch other characters in the stories/adventures of movies and shows. Like out of nowhere they are suddenly in Batman Forever and barely have any effect on the plot. They are mostly there to do reaction shots and fight their own villains who also barely effect the plot of the movie. And most of these are poorly edited. No offense to anyone who uses WMM, but get an editing software to better edit. To help convey they are in the locations they are in, learn maybe to sentence mix or even do some voice acting. I like the idea of huge crossovers but it is not excuatded well. Maybe have something like the movies or shows are being corrupted or rewritten and have the characters try to fix them? Or maybe... do something original with a crossover team.
There is potential in Pooh's adventures... but it is gonna take at least good storyteller or editor to show that.
@@dashietheytpproductions2521 Windows movie maker? Lack of voice acting? Is this fan made?
@@valenzuelasstudios1838 Yeah, this is all fan made stuff on TH-cam.
@@dashietheytpproductions2521 oh. Because if it was officially done by Disney, I would cringe so hard
This musical is probably my biggest guilty pleasure… mainly due to Farquad and the set design
Schaff: Reviews all the mainline Shrek productions
Also Schaff: Now I can finally lay down and die
Isn't there supposed to be a 5th movie?
@Alena Straube it’s been rumored, but I doubt it will happen.
Until shrek 5 that is
Shrek Videogames: 😘
Fans: oh no you don't you ain't done with the clone wars
Fun fact: In the Australian shrek musical Farquaad calls his horse Scomo after Prime Minister Scott Morrisson.
does this imply that farquaad is secretly pulling the strings in our country’s politics? that adds up o_o’
Yeah I remember when I saw that earlier this year lol. 😂😂😂
I remember that at least in the Brisbane version they made a reference to the Gabba… which was cool…. I guess
After Scotty from marketing?
Good comparrison too
I played Lord Farquaad for my high school's drama class sophomore year, and I will say that it was a lot of fun playing the character, especially during the actual performances and getting the audience reaction to some of the best moments of Farquaad in the play. But yeah, I'll admit that the whole show is a giant mess, and our production in particular ran into a number of problems that made it 10x worse. So while we all had a ton of fun at the end of the day, yeah it was a complete dumpster fire lol.
Also, being on your knees 24/7 fucking kills your entire legs and takes way more commitment than you'd think. RIP my knees.
I will always have respect for the farquaad mfs who can handle being on their knees 24/7 💀
F for knees 😞
Coming back a year later, the night I went to see this live always felt like a Fever Dream. It will always feel like a Fever Dream and nothing will ever be able to top it.
My school almost did this musical for our spring 2020 show, but then the world exploded. I was also going to be a part of it (Thelonious), so I'm kinda glad the show never happened.
Well, Corona's gotta be good for something.
My middle school did this show the year after I left.
Our school was gonna do the show in spring 2020 as well, then it got canceled. However, one of the other classes helped revive the production the next school year, and the show went on, but the rehearsals were apparently all over the place, the performance wasn’t ver good, there was a huge covid outbreak among the cast and crew. So yeah, Shrek has gained Scottish play levels of infamy at my old school.
My school actually managed to DO Shrek the Musical in 2020... Due to quarantine restrictions, it was incredibly rushed and not a great production.
(Punches a mirror)
"You were saying?"
Though I've never been a fan of Shrek the Musical, "I Know It's Today" and "The Ballad of Lord Farquaad" are straight up bangers.
"I know its today" is what I listen to when my mental health is in the toilet
Hey Whats Up Duloc is no slouch either
@@amarimars You're absolutely right! That one is also superb.
@@razberrymist9475 Bruh, same. Also, love your username!
Omg I was a fairy tale creature in a production of Shrek and the amount of times I had Freak Flag stuck in my head was sad
“Though I seem a bit bipolar”
“I am a very gifted bowler”
-princess fiona (shrek the musical)
Ngl I have this quote set as my discord bio lmfao
It's enough to make angels weep.
I love that it rhymes with her name
@@glendarjj3991 it does?
@@petarmitkov1056 “bipolar (pronounced bipolah)”, “bowler (pronounced bowlah)”, and “Fiona”? Meh, probably.
You can hate Shrek: The musical as much as you like, but you can’t deny that John Tartaglia is hella talented and deserved better (he plays Pinocchio)
Dragon puppeteer and mirror
Fun Fact: In “Ballad Farquaad” there’s actually a cut middle verse that explains that he never knew his mother who was Princess Sweetpea in the final product.
Edit: Wow I didn't expect to get this many likes
Yup, and she shtupped one of the seven dwarves.
@@WobblesandBean Not only that but she died when she rolled off her multi-mattress bed. And his dad was a miner.
“One night she rolled over…and Mama was…GOOONNNNEEE.”
@@sophieamandaleitontoomey9343 AND DADDY WAS GRUMPYYYYY
Princess Sweetpea?
*F R O M S O U P W H Y ?*
I haven't actually seen Shrek: The Musical, I just came to hear Schaff talking about Shrek. There's a special place for it in the ligma sphere of my brain that makes it go brrrr
Same
What's lig- *gets shot in the head*
Same
You should definitely watch it for yourself! While some of Schaff’s criticisms hit the nail right on the head, and would be hard not to agree with, a lot of the criticism is a bit nitpicky. It’s really up to you to form your own opinion on it💖💖
@@SwizzleDrizzl ligma ba- *gunshot noises*
I think we can all agree that The Hunchback of Notre Dame musical is a great example of taking the original story and using a musical to expand it's world and make it better. If Disney ever does a live action hunchback (though I pray that they don't) I hope they do the musical version.
YES! A live action remake using the original MUSICAL adaptation is needed!
How does the musical address the fetishization/villainization of Roma by Frollo. It’s a big conflict of the film and I'm curious how they handled it. I love the movie as it was but I wonder if they could of expanded on anti Roma violence and prejudice? Unless that would distract away from Frollo's arc and become too cluttered? Idk
@@waterwraith1189 watch it, i think theres a few vids abt it but it tells the story as a guy who is driven by greed and is trying to justify it through religion,, idk how to fully but i would watch the vid on this channel about it
In an ideal world, Disney would look to their stage musicals for their musical remakes. Lion King had the perfect opportunity to have Beyonce sing Shadowland
But most likely, they'll just copy the original movie verbatim
To add to this list: anastasia. The musical is more historically accurate, and the villian is so much better and more emotionally resonant.
27:24 This would've also followed along with my favourite quote when it comes to musicals "You sing when you can no longer speak," which basically means that you have to place songs at moments so emotional that the characters can't hold back any more and just HAVE to sing their heart out for the audience to hear
I also enjoyed Farquad’s performance. He captured the character brilliantly, and I can only imagine what it’s like to be on your knees for an entire play
He was wonderful! Unsolicited Fun Fact: In some BTS that I’ve seen for a couple of productions, they have to give Farquaad special knee pads, so they don’t just obliterate their knee caps while performing😂😂 It’s definitely a super impressive feat.
Yep that’s true! I was in a production of shrek the musical and the actor who played farquaad had to wear knee pads to all rehearsals and performances
@@yourresidentanon4169 makes sense. The Farquad for the production I was in didn’t get the knee pads for a while, though i don’t think it was very long after we switched to the auditorium…
I *was* Farquaad. It wasn't that hard thanks to the really cushioned volley ball kneepads I had. I had to get them myself though 😂. Before then it was hell. School musical management for ya
"I can only imagine what it's like to be on your knees for an entire play"
*insert obligatory ask your mom/dad joke here*
Schaff: *Completed his Shrek collection*
Also Schaff: _inner peace_
Until the fifth film comes out
He still hasn't covered the games
@Harry Johnston-Smith yeah, theyre making a jojo reference by skipping the 4 and jumping right to the fifth
he hasn't yet. Still has to read the book and talk about Shrek 2 Retold.
He still has the series retrospective
As someone who was a stage manager for a high school production of Shrek the musical I can confirm that it's hot garbage.
It was fun to do though, a couple people almost got crushed by a set piece
Probably the reason for the fairy tail creatures showing up at the finale is so Fiona has time to quick change and that's the only reason
Lol
“It was fun to do though, a couple people almost got crushed by a set piece”
Hold up
@@birdboy16 lol yeah also all of the guys in the cast and crew got in a circle and passed around a big onion that we all took bites out of
I once almost failed a music class because the final project was about a presentation on a musical I chose shrek the musical but it was absolute garbage so I just didn’t do the final
I actually think the show fixed a problem with Farquaad's character. The jokes about his height are justified if it's his insecurity about his height is what drove him to villainy. His anger makes sense, but so does peoples' reactions to him.
I think a more fitting term here would be “explained”, not “justified”, as IMO, any sort of belittling height joke, or even just any sort of body-shaming joke, unless it’s met with the same reaction Donkey gives Shrek after the “compensating for something” line, is absolutely 100% unjustifiable.
Either way I disagree, as you don’t really need to know why Farquaad is the way he is.
@@Azelf89 And I disagree as Farquaad was pretty one dimensional in the original film. I mean, when you analyze his character from the original film, he’s just a xenophobic diminutive villain who just has a bigoted hatred for fairy tale creatures and his only goal is to marry a princess just so he could become king. Even his goal is pretty cliched. The only thing he had going for in the original was the voice performance by John Lithgow. But then again, that could just be because I love John Lithgow as an actor. And when the only thing that’s remarkable about your villain is the actor they got to voice him, you know your villain isn’t anything great. Farquaad is a character I think that definitely needed to be fixed in the musical and I like the new personality and performance Christopher Sieber gives him. I just love how over-the-top he makes the character and how he hams it up in each of his scenes to make him more over dramatic or more like a spoiled child who’s entitled to his position and what he wants. I love the more comedic take and spoiled child personality they give him. That’s what elevates him above the animated version and just makes him stand out more from the cast where in the original I almost forget he’s in it because Shrek, Donkey and Fiona and their personalities and characters are focused on more. Also way better than the bland personality he had in the original. And the backstory really does improve his character and gives him a reason to hate fairy tale characters and why he’s so focused on getting rid of them to make his kingdom more perfect and it does tie into the moral of “loving yourself for who you are”. It also helps make Farquaad a foil to Shrek where Shrek learns and accepts to love who he is by the end of the story, Farquaad is ashamed of who he is and where he came from and the fact that he’s willing to get rid of all fairy tale creatures just to erase his background really makes his motives understandable. It’s a change that actually fleshes out his character to make more than just a one-dimensional villain like the original.
Farquuaad was a play on “Fuck wad” and he was developed as an insult to Michael Eisner. This was very well-known when this movie came out. I was an adult when that happened, and we thought it was hilarious. Knowing it was an intentional jab at a rival removed it from contradicting with the message of the film. You can have both.
@@Azelf89 oh no, there’s a joke about a character’s appearance, the horror! It’s unjustifiable and should never be done.
Because everyone is a fucking snowflake who needs their feelings protected.
@@Author.Noelle.Alexandria I don't think making fun of Farquuaad in the film necessarily contradicted the film, if anything it makes him more of a parallel to Shrek as the protagonist learns to not care about societal norms and all that jazz, while Farquuaar, not only reinforces those norms, but he himself also doesn't learn to accept himself the way he is, seen in the scene where he meets Fiona wearing the extended armor on horseback to look taller, I'll admit that the movie doesn't really emphasize this much, and it might be more of a personal interpretation then an actual plot point as the horseback scene is really the only instance of his insecurities about his height being manifested that I can recall, but it's still not too damaging to the main theme overall, Farquuaad isn't really deep or anything, which kinda hurt the film of course, but the idea of a guy persecuting "freaks" whike being insecure about his own weirdness isn't an inherently bad idea, but it isn't really used fir much outside of gags, which at least are decent and not super in your face, tho obviously the villains in the second film are way better, both thematically and for entertainment value.
Sherk would have been a perfect protagonist for The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals
Word? What’s the word? He’s a-coming.
Who’s a-coming?
SHREKS A-COMING
Shrek’s a-coming!
The star of the show! Let him come!
@@buduhanfamily2419 Donkey: Now for his headlining entrance
Ngl, I thought he was gonna reference that when he started talking about implications, or who knows maybe it was one.
@@emilynoriker788 (Where the fuck is he?)
(I have no fucking clue)
The Shrek just doesn't like fairy tales!
(Didn't like, didn't like, didn't like them at all)
Fiona: OH MY GOD I DIDN'T THINK ABOUT THE IMPLICATIONS
About the fairy godmother part. It actually makes pretty sense. By dethroning farquaad, Shrek open up a power gap that leads to fairy godmother restoring her power and influence over the far far away kingdom causing all the events of the Second movie to occour.
Actually I’m pretty sure in the musical they call her sugar plum fairy
@@cinderellaskeleton6720 oh, i see.
BuT HEy THats JUsT a TheORy :D (sorry i couldn't resist)
@@cinderellaskeleton6720 i think sugar plum fairy is a different character, the one who holds the gingerbread man
@@cinderellaskeleton6720 So that means there can be a Shrek 2 The Musical
To be fair, the dragon going from wanting to murder Donkey to wanting to fuck him so abruptly is actually kinda accurate to the movie
Around 16:00
“I dont know why I added that”
Because starkids version of alladin is a masterpiece
You mean the TRUE story.
15:48
Oh my god, Schaf just completely destroyed Evan Hansen like it was nothing. How do you just move on from that
Ikr?! Like it was nothing
He solo’s shaggy
Fr, man jumped Dear Evan Hansen like he was 6 dudes and a gorilla and then just walked away like nothing happened, man is crazy
I need the timestamp, I don't remember when he said it 🥶
I need a whole video on this bc it's absolutely true😂😂😂
My aunt took me to see shrek the musical once, the only things I remembered were that the lady in the suit who introduced the act was scared off stage by Shrek and Fiona was hot. I repressed this THING from my memory for over a decade, thanks for bringing back the trauma Schaff
@Fax wow… just wow….
wow… just wow….
My mom took me to see Shrek the Finnish Musical and she regretted it after it ended.
i unironically LOVE shrek the musical words cannot begin to express how much i love it actually
It's one of my comfort musicals. I've listened to the soundtrack more than 20 times by this point. It was so fun live too. My mom and I absolutely loved it.
After the shock I felt looking at the aesthetics and costumes I kinda enjoyed it.😊
it was a hyperfixation for my brother and i so we would watch it at LEAST twice a day for about a year
The end of an era of talking about mainline Shrek stuff.
Can't wait to see the Snyder cut.
@Fax You need to be STOPPED!
What about the book?
@Fax insallah
all infadel haram will be kill!!!
You forgot about Shrek 4-D
well there's also the shrek video games but i don't know if he played those
"Don't look up what the plot is about, good lord."
Me, proceeding to google the plot of Thoroughly Modern Millie, about to make a mistake I'd regret: "You underestimate my curiosity."
I looked it up too 😅💀
@@karacoconutag what’s the plot?
@@Titanruler yeah srsly the only part I found wrong with it is the landlord trying to sell someone to a white slave
@@Titanruler "In this musical spoof of the roaring '20s, feisty young flapper Millie (Julie Andrews) plans to find a job and marry a wealthy employer. Though fond of penniless paper-clip salesman Jimmy (James Fox), she's determined to marry well-heeled company man Trevor Graydon (John Gavin), who loves Millie's roommate Dorothy Brown (Mary Tyler Moore). As all four try to find love, evil landlady Mrs. Meers (Beatrice Lillie) schemes to sell the orphaned Dorothy into white slavery."
@@birb3748 That doesn’t sound so bad… what’s the catch?
Hot take: I don’t think “Who I’d Be” is a good emotional climax for Shrek. In a vacuum, the message of the song is great and poignant, but the nuance of the song and its characterisation implications have always bugged me.
To me, the message of the original film was never “be yourself” - I really hate that phrase as a moral because it’s vapid and if the story has a villain, inevitably turns out hypocritical, as shown by the musical. To me, the message of the movie has always been more of a “it’s what’s on the inside that matters”. Farquaad hates weirdos and that’s what counts. Fiona secretly wishes to embrace her less-feminine side and that’s what counts.
Most importantly: Shrek just wants to be Shrek and have a purpose. And that’s what counts.
It is CLEARLY established in the film that Shrek doesn’t mind that the townsfolk fear him. He loves it and it gives him purpose. He doesn’t mind being on his own. It’s a natural state for him that he enjoys. Shrek’s foil is not “people think I’m a big scary asshole when I’m not”, because he IS. His foil is that people assume he’s not capable of love BECAUSE he’s a big scary asshole. Whether he’s a big scary ogre is sort of secondary.
Shrek doesn’t want to be anyone else. He wants and likes being big and scary because it gives him purpose. What hurts Shrek is when people disregard him and rob him of that purpose, like when he overhears Fiona. Shrek isn’t hurt that he got called an ogre. He got hurt because someone used that as a reason for why he’s not capable of love. Additionally, when Farquaad dehumanises him at the wedding.
“Who I’d Be” implies that in an ideal world, Shrek would be liked by everyone - but I just don’t think that’s the case. In an ideal world, Shrek would have everyone respect him, either as a foe (villagers) or a friend (donkey). His journey of realising that is what the film depicts.
If you want to hurt Shrek, don’t call him a big stupid ugly ogre. Tell him he can’t love. Now you’ve said something he doesn’t agree with.
1. Dear Evan Hansen roast was noted and appreciated
2. Mediogre pun was noted and appreciated
Yes! He'd care about being other-ed, devalued, and mistreated because of who he is. Fear is as close to respect as Shrek thinks he can get at the beginning and it gives him autonomy; fear was how he got people to take him seriously and listen to what he had to say... Love goes hand in hand with acceptance but Shrek was never concerned about everyone liking him... He didn't want to be popular. He just wanted a few friends and family who respect him, care about his needs, and support his endeavors, which is something everyone desires. Being who he is as a person relates to this but it has a lot more nuance than that... it has layers?
Love this!
Didn't he say people judge him without knowing him?
this is all perfectly encapsulated by the line "ogres are like onions [...] they have layers", Shrek was already perfectly happy with being himself and never did a single thing in the movie to contradict that, the conflict was entirely based around other people perceiving him as something other than himself, literally every major plot point revolved around that, his character arc was about his journey to being seen and understood as an ogre with layers instead of just some two dimensional fairytale trope, this is further proved by his arc in shrek 2 with the fairy godmother telling him he can't be with fiona because he's an ogre and ogres don't marry the princess. Honestly I feel like shrek 2 better represents the "be yourself" message but in a more meaningful way entirely because it is a sequel to shrek, it isn't until he has something to lose and has allowed himself to become vulnerable that he begins to have doubts about if he's good enough. Even then its still about layers, he's not worried that who he is isn't good enough he's worried that what he is isn't good enough, he's happy enough to still be shrek he just wants to look the way other people expect him to if he's going to be with fiona so they'll stop saying he doesn't deserve her. It's complex and nuanced and a really really interesting exploration of insecurity and this musical just shat all over it tbh
Shriek liked being able to scare the townsfolk because it kept them away. Every time they got near him, they wanted to spear him with pitchforks and burn him for being an ogre. In fact, it was well established that he was bothered by not being able to be accepted. He was lonely. Sometimes people who are mistreated find a reverse sense of empowerment by leaning into how they’re treated and basically “being good at it.” Another example is Mia from Princess Diaries. She didn’t like being an outcast, but as long as she was, then she was going to pretty much embrace being invisible and “being good at it.” That’s not real happiness. I was that kid. It’s all a twisted way to feel some sense of power over what you’ve been given no control over.
Fun fact: Brian D’Arcy James, who played Shrek in the musical, is right now playing the Baker in the Broadway revival of Into the Woods
I love him
Regarding Donkey Pot Pie, I'm pretty sure that they ultimately replaced that song with Forever, a song sung by Dragon about how she's frustrated that people only come to the castle to rescue the beautiful princess, overlooking the fact that she too is lonely. I like this song because it does make a better segway into Donkey’s ultimate wooing of her.
Same, they did a great job with developing Dragon.
@@disneyvillainsfan1666 Agreed, it was one change I really enjoyed as it gave Dragon some depth and adds context as to why Dragon was so taken in by Donkey’s compliments.
Ok, I won't lie, I think that's a really good change from the original film.
I was in a production of Shrek The Musical and we used Forever instead
Yea donkey pot pie got ditched, forever is the best song of the whole musical whereas donkey pot pie is uhhh... bad
Replacing the "My beloved monster" moment with an awful trauma/fart contest just killed it for me
Yeah, I hate that scene so much. Like I kind of like how after all their yelling they actually hear each other on the "my parents sent me away" and realize that even if they had different experience it stems from that terrible point they both relate to and realizing it they get awkward. But then it goes back to trash with the fart contest being the bonding point and worse ending on a joke when Donkey enters so they don't even address the issue. What made it work in the film was several little interactions showed the commonality.
My biggest problem with 'Shrek the musical' is that its Shrek. If it would have been a musical about a random ugly monster or Whatever that becomes friends with a normal human and not Donkey and a Princess that's really beautiful, but she has a secret that would be considered ugly and she turns into a monster or something. It may be similar, but damn, IT wouldn't ruin Shrek.
WHY RUIN THE THING THAT SHREK WAS MOSTLY KNOW OF?!!
How'd you comment 2 days ago?
Like lion King did to hamlet. A musical based on a classic story that didn't ruin the original, but is instead considered one of the best films of all time.
@@PenelopeNaomi I think members of the channel can watch videos before they’re released
So like half of Wicked's argument
I forgot 90% of the musical, and remembered Who I’d Be, and was so glad when you said you liked who I’d be. It’s just, amazing. I so agree that Shrek should have not sung until that song, it would have hit so much harder.
I completely agree with the 'Shrek not singing until he opens up to Donkey' part. Like in "The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals" from Starkid, Paul doesn't sing until the very end because, you guessed it, he doesn't like musicals. It would've been way more powerful if they let the audience wait until the moment Shrek finally opens up.
The difference is that in The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals, all of the music is diagetic and nobody sings until they get infected. In The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals, Paul doesn't sing until the end because he dislikes musicals, he doesn't sing because he isn't infected yet. It isn't really for a thematic reason so much as a necessary plot reason. In fact, my biggest problem with the show is that Paul disliking musicals isn't really necessary for the plot whatsoever.
@@legendaccount3247 I kinda disagree with your last point. While it’s not strictly necessary to the plot, it is necessary for the themes. Being trapped in a musical is pretty explicitly Paul’s personal hell, and by the end when the infection gets him singing, it’s like a personal insult to his very being since not liking musicals is a pretty significant part of his character. It’s about being forced to become the antithesis of his values, and the ending wouldn’t be quite as horrifying if it wasn’t beaten into us how much Paul hates musicals.
I now absolutely need to hear Schaff's opinions on Dear Evan Hansen, after that drive-by evisceration
It’s getting a movie adaptation soon and honestly just the trailer alone makes the whole thing look like an ok movie with a really really bad plot
I really like the songs in DEH but Evan Hansen himself? Ehhhhh…….
The songs are amazing but everything else… uhhh…. No
He just reviewed how terrible the film was while also giving credit to the original
*a monkey’s paw curls shut*
As someone who is currently playing Farquaad in a production of this show, i both love this show (Who I'd Be is one of the best "I want" song's in contemporary musical theater, at me), and 100% agree with every point Schaff made.
LOL same, I played Fiona in the shrek production once and the jokes that are made (singing about the bipolar line was... questionable, we also had a scene where I strangled a balloon deer as a joke) I can agree with Schaff about. I love Shrek the Musical, I will always love I Know Its Today and This Is How A Dream Comes True, but he made a lot of points I definitely agreed with.
For sure. He definitely made a lot of valid points, especially about the bipolar thing and the slur thing with the Wolf. However, I also feel like some of his points are just a bit nitpicky, or they kind of disregard logistical aspects of not only putting on live theatre shows, and just Musicals in general. But, again, he definitely makes a LOT of super valid points that one may not have considered otherwise. Still love this show, though! Our local Community Theatre put on a production of this a few years back, and it generally is super fun, and has a nice vibe. Also, it’s super awesome that you guys were in this show!!! What was your favorite part of being in it?
@@thatoneperson8593 you get to be SUPER LOUD with personality, and jokes, crude tone, anything. It felt a bit more relaxed than most productions due to how loud it was. Every character in this musical has loud personalities, and transforming into ogre Fiona was always hilarious since I heard the fairytale creatures stalling by crashing Fionas wedding as people frantically smother makeup on you.
@@donuttipsy That sounds amazing😂😂 The makeup thing totally reminds me of a quick change that we had to make at that same Community Theatre when we did The Wizard of Oz😂😂 We had to give Miss Gulch a full change into the Wicked Witch during the tornado sequence, and it was just pure chaos with multiple people just smacking sponges on her hands, face and neck. 😂😂 Do you still do Musical Theatre?
@@donuttipsy quick changes are a rush, love it
i always hated how this version did dragon. when i was dragon in a production of shrek jr. (which is much better because it cuts out a bunch of unimportant and stupid scenes) it was just me voicing the puppet WHILE on stage and in a costume and three prisoners as my backup singers. it looked way better and made so much more sense.
That's what they did on your minus the singer being on stage
Basically the only case where the Jr is better 😭😭
My school did the same thing
As someone who appreciates the FairyTale references most of all in Shrek, I find it very telling that they just choose to put a bunch of recognizable Alice in Wonderland Characters in there.
Shrek actually I believe never ever did a reference to Alice, like not even in spin offs.
The most creative they seem to have gotten was with the Shoemaker's Elv.
Alice in the Wonderland is a Victoriorian Era novel for children that takes inspiration from fairytales, but it's not an actual one, so it fits for her not to be there. You could say the same for Pinocchio, especially since it's quite the miserable story, but I guess they couldn't leave out the jab at Disney.
@@succubastard1019 I mean it is in a way still a fairytale depends on how you stretch your definitions.
But I always thought that there was a reason Shrek never filled their backgrounds with Alice Characters, despite the fact it would have been easy.
Even along the second and third movie they where able to put enough recognizable Characters in the backgrounds and so on, without ever crossing that border. And I feel like that the musical did it, simply shows a lack of imagination.
@@ArnLPs To correct my point, yes, it is a fairytale regarding its setting and characters, but it's not one of those classic ancient fables that you can recite to a kid going asleep in 5 minutes. Same with Piniocchio.
But yes, I fully agree with your point.
You could've actually justified a song for one of the parts of this movie: when Shrek and Fiona have their disagreement. Instead of the misunderstanding, you could have Shrek sing a song about his insecurities based on his appearance, and gradually let his emotional baggage overtake him until he doesn't believe Fiona really can love him. The final line of the song could even be "Who could love a hideous beast?" or something along those lines, which would tell you his emotional state and why he's just leaving instead of fighting Farquaad there and then. The parting between Shrek and Fiona would be different (more morose than angry) but you'd get essentially the same story beats.
In order for it not to sound like "Evermore" or "If I Can't Love Her" from Beauty and the Beast, you'd probably want Fiona to sing beats in between Shrek's beats to show the narrative symmetry. But that's a small price to pay for marginal improvements.
That would have been great. Or, or, hear me out: Shrek sings his song about how much he loves Fiona before he goes to knock on the door. Then Fiona starts singing about whether or not to tell him she's an ogre and that she loves him. As she sings, Shrek approaches the door. But then, just as Shrek is about to knock, he lowers his hand and his head. And Fiona turns away. And they both at the same time sing the line, "But who could love such a hideous ugly beast?" And that's where everything freezes for a moment. Then Shrek walks away and Fiona sits back down in her chair with her head in her hands.
That way, it highlights that this is an insecurity of both of theirs. No need for a misunderstanding or for them to fight the next day. Just the next day is tense and Donkey knows something's up, and so Donkey keeps trying to needle Shrek about what's wrong and he is so frustrated with everything going on that he snaps at Donkey about how annoying he is and how he's better off alone. He doesn't have to think of Donkey as a backstabber at all, and since he's been annoyed with Donkey a lot over the show, it wouldn't come as a surprise for him to react in an over-the-top way when his emotions are already running high.
@@thehedsrambler7964 You. I like you.
@@thehedsrambler7964 whoah, both sound really good. Something similar would have been a marked improvement to the original scene in the movie, but it isn't as much of an issue there.
Damn you are brilliant
@@thehedsrambler7964 You genius. why didn't you write the shrek musical? honestly...
I'm surprised he didn't talk more about "What's Up, Duloc?", considering that's one of the few songs that retains the anti-Disney tone of the original.
That’s my favorite track from the musical
I’m still disappointed in myself for making my parents sign the field trip form to see Shrek the musical in the first grade.
Big oof bro
"I get this musical has its fans and that's ok, but maybe you guys should sit this one out"
Absolutely not, Schaff. I'm watching this one for you, BECAUSE it's you.
I should’ve heeded his warning😭😂 But, honestly, yeah, I feel you. I wanted to hear out his criticisms because it’s him. Even though I knew I might disagree.
Same here
Same. I've been waiting for this for a long time, so you're not getting rid of me THAT easily, crablegs!
Same
Shrek the Musical to me is like the Mean Girls Musical for me...good moments, bad moments, and the music is WAY better than it deserves to be.
the music in mean girls is awesome and i didn’t expect it at all the first time i listened to it, shrek’s was okay but not my favorite. this comment really sums it all up though.
I really wanted to see mean girls live
to be fair the mean girls musical lost all credibility when they hired cameron dallas
@@iwakeupandboomimarat oh my god I’d finally managed to erase that from my memory- I feel for the rest of the cast who had to keep a straight face and pretend everything was fine in such a time of crisis
@@rontheron4807 i think i saw a bootleg scene of either right before or after someone gets hurt and cameron was doing NOTHING besides reading his lines and sometimes moving slightly. i can't remember who was playing regina but she was carrying the entire scene 😭
As someone who played Shrek in my school's production of Shrek: The Musical, I didn't like it. I absolutely despised the farting, it was extremely boring and unfunny, and having to do it over and over again was a living hell. I also got extremely sick, and fucking bombed Who I'd Be one night and it was generally just not a good experience. I was going to say that my favorite part was Travel Song, just because I really like overlapping parts, but your idea of having Who I'd Be being the first time Shrek sings is such a good idea that I honestly value Travel Song a lot less. Our Farquaad had a lot of trouble with intonation, so his singing parts didn't stand out as much. But yeah, I pretty much totally agree with this video. My sympathies go out to Brian for having to put on that much makeup that many times.
And the fact those are his actual eyebrows.
Omg we are doing shrek the musical what role should I do if it sucks
@@lollipoppes5868 Prolly Dragon, as long as it's not Donkey Pot Pie.
I wanna make an announcement.
Farquaad wasn't wrongfully shamed for being short in Shrek, the point of his character was to show, despite all the power and wealth and status that Farquaad had, it didn't change who he was. A small, insignificant man who can be easily eaten by a dragon.
Exactly. The Farquad jokes weren't strictly mocking his SIZE, but his egotistic and petty OVERCOMPENSATING for his personal... shortcomings.
(I just couldn't help myself XD).
@@BertoxolusThePuzzled “I was awoken by the sound of mockery. Show me the object of humiliation!”
@Kit Look, because he's an asshole, that makes it okay to make fun of him for his shortcomings (lmao). Farquaad doesn't deserve the respect of not being made fun of for his height.
It's a dick joke. No one says over compensation unless it's about penis size
My middle school did a production of Shrek the Musical and to promote it, they put posters over every clock in the school that said “it’s shrek o’clock” with an enormous Shrek head so no one in the school could tell the time for two weeks.
That is actually pretty great lmao
God your Principal is legendary for doing that
*It’s actually really faithful….*
_To Shrek the Third._
*w o w*
@Fax u bots can stop,grow the f up
@@marijamarcelic3149 it’s a bot
@@marijamarcelic3149 its a bot
Boom! Roasted!
This is still the only professional theatre production that I have ever walked out of (at the interval, I'm not a monster) in 20+ years of going to see live theatre. It was horrific.
14:21 In the production I saw, he didn't have an onion. Shrek apparently just thought of something random off the top of his head, but it's still more organic than just holding an onion for no reason.
Heathers the musical is great, and I loved that the dead characters stick around as judgy ghosts.
Yea instead of not even apearing at all and it made the iconic "well f#ck me gently with a chainsaw" scene amazing
"A regular short man"
*Shows Edward Elric*
Good sir, I applaud you.
Ah yes, a person of culture
Yes, and bonus for the amazing pfp
*DON'T CALL ME LITTLEEEEE*
Whoever the editor is, you’re awesome.
@@polkadi you shouldn't make fun of someone that can summon a friggin gun out of the ground
I remember actually being part of Shrek: The Musical at my middle school play. Only good thing that came out of this musical.
Which character were you?
@@IcyDiamond I played both Thelonious and the Pied Piper
@@garrito1016 Cool, you played two roles!
Lmao I played the mascot guy
i did it too !!
I actually had a lot of fun with this show. It's definitely not perfect and I really don't care for the bipolar joke, I enjoyed acting in this production greatly. Plus, I did the junior version, so the story is even more condensed.
I was the understudy to Donkey and we got an understudy show. Donkey is actually such a fun character to portray. A lot of his lines are kind of all over the place, which matches his personality. But it makes you think about your delivery a lot and I really enjoyed figuring out how to make it really funny and his character not annoying.