Somebody Once Told Me About These 14 'Shrek' Facts

A lot of people have a Disney movie that was the one they grew up watching over and over again. I'm definitely in that camp. I can't even tell you how many times I've watched The Lion Kingand The Little Mermaid. But none of them quite measure up to the cinematic masterpiece that is Shrek. The great thing about the movie is that it's definitely geared toward kids, but when you watch it as an adult, you realize how many of the "adult" jokes and references that you missed. Here are some facts about the movie that'll make you want to watch the whole thing again!

Note: You should 100% be listening to "All Star" while reading this article. 

1. Mike Myers had tried out a bunch of different voices for Shrek. It wasn't until he watched a rough cut of the movie that he decided he needed to do a Scottish accent. Supposedly, reshooting the movie to accommodate this change cost $4 million!

2. The movie, its sequels, spin-offs and characters became so popular that Shrek even got his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

3. According to the behind-the-scenes feature on the DVD, some of the filmmakers actually took real mud baths so they could study the movement of the liquid and accurately portray it in the movie. 

Honestly, if that's not commitment, then I don't know what is. 

4. Can you believe that the defining song of Shrek almost didn't make it in the movie? That's right! "All Star" by Smash Mouth was originally put in the movie just as a placeholder until they could find another song. 

When they screened it for test audiences, the audience members loved it so much that the filmmakers kept it in. 

5. The weird thing about doing voiceover work is that none of the actors were in the same room together while they were reading their lines. So the actors never met each other until the red carpet at the premieres. 

6. John Lithgow, who played Lord Farquaad, supposedly admitted that he was a bit disappointed that he never actually got to work with the rest of the main cast. 

7. There's a super depressing subplot throughout the movie involving a family of bears. There's Mama Bear, Papa Bear and Baby Bear locked in a cage, then we see Papa and Baby by a fire. And then there's a scene in Lord Farquaad's bedroom where there's a bear rug. 

Oh, and the tears have started. How come I never noticed this before?!

8. Originally, Shrek was going to be played by Chris Farley. 

9. You know how it becomes a gag that Princess Fiona can loudly burp? That was inspired by Cameron Diaz! She burped after drinking soda during a recording session, and the writers wrote it into the movie.

10. Nicolas Cage was being considered for the role of Shrekand he turned it down. He later admittedthat maybe it was a mistake that he turned it down. 

"Maybe I should have done it looking back."

11. John broke his own personal rule he set for himself when he played Lord Farquaad. He previously said he wouldn't play anyone short.

In real life, John is 6'3".

12. Mike took some liberties and improvised several of his lines. Look out for the wedding scene because he improvises most of Shrek's lines when he's addressing the guests. 

13. Eddie Murphy became the first person to be nominated for a BAFTA for voice acting.

Before his nomination for the role of Donkey, actors had never been nominated for doing only voiceover work before!

14. In the beginning, Steven Spielberg was interested in being part of the project and he wanted Bill Murray and Steve Martin to play Shrek and Donkey. 

I'd be into that version too! 

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