Shrek never gives Eddie Murphy’s Donkey an origin story, but one convincing fan theory might reveal if Donkey is Lampwick from Pinocchio. The first movie was adapted from the children’s book Shrek! by William Steig. The film version greatly expanded on the source material and told the story of the titular Ogre as he reluctantly embarks on a quest to rescue a princess. Shrek is accompanied on his journey by Donkey, who acts as comic relief and also imparts some wisdom when Shrek needs to hear it.
Donkey is a role that was originally earmarked for comedy legend Steve Martin, but Eddie Murphy was later cast. The Donkey found in the Shrek novel was a relatively minor character, but his role was increased in the movie. While the origins of other fairy tale characters seen in Shrek, like the Gingerbread Man or the Three Blind Mice, are well-known, Donkey doesn’t appear to come from any specific fairy tale. That said, a fan theory first put forth by Reddit user YeremyV’s suggests the character came from Pinocchio.
In the animated version of Pinocchio, the title character heads to Pleasure Island, where wayward boys can drink, smoke, and do as they wish without adult supervision. It’s eventually revealed the boys are being turned into donkeys and sold as slave labor. Luckily for him, Pinocchio manages to escape this fate, though his friend Lampwick is transformed. Even now, the Pleasure Island reveal is a scary scene in Pinocchio, especially when it reveals some transformed boys can still talk.
That’s where YeremyV’s theory comes in, which states Shrek’s Donkey is one of those boys, now grown up. In his introduction scene, Donkey’s owner is an old lady who tries to sell him, though nobody believes a donkey can talk. Pinocchio seems to be the only major fairy tale featuring talking donkeys, and in an interesting coincidence, Pinocchio is also seen in the same line-up.
Shrek The Third seems to offer more clues, with Donkey alluding to being bullied and suffering some wedgies when he was young — which only really makes sense if he was human at some point. When he and Puss later exchange bodies, Puss also has difficulties controlling his hee-hawing and talking normally, which Donkey suggests he’ll learn to control after practice, which alludes to him having to do the same.
While several fan theories tend to fall apart upon closer examination, Donkey’s origin story, revealing that he is Lampwick from Pinocchio, actually makes some sense. One flaw in this theory is that the filmmakers behind Shrek revealed in the DVD commentary that Donkey was originally intended to be a regular donkey who was cursed. However, since the movie never reveals this, it isn’t canon. Maybe Shrek 5 or a future film will clarify this, but this Shrek theory makes too much sense to dismiss.
The Donkey Lampwick fan theory isn’t the only wild Shrek theory. Several theories will make people wonder if the movies are as cut and dry as they appear on the surface. One of these theories is that Fiona was shockingly a cannibal. In the first Shrek movie, the ogre shows up to save Fiona from the dragon and finds skeletons everywhere in the caves. The thought is that the dragon killed anyone who tried to save Fiona. However, that begs the question of what Fiona ate in the caves all that time. The theory is the only noticeable thing was the fallen knights, who were only bones now.
There are also several theories about the Fairy Godmother. The first one is that she is the one who cursed Fiona, to begin with. The Fairy Godmother wanted her son to take the throne, and she needed him to marry Fiona to do so. She showed she would do anything to achieve her goals, and that could include cursing Fiona. However, there is another theory that makes her misdeeds look worse in the world of fairy tales. If she cursed Fiona to get what she wanted, then there is a chance the Fairy Godmother played Snow White and the Evil Queen against each other as well.
There was also a disturbing Shrek theory about Donkey’s love of his life. If Donkey is Lampwick from Pinocchio — a boy cursed and turned into a donkey — and Fiona was cursed to turn into an ogre, surely there were others cursed and changed as well. This includes Donkey’s beloved Dragon. If Fiona was a prisoner, cursed in her cave, then the theory is that Dragon was also cursed, and was another princess, but this one turned into a dragon. There are photos in Shrek of a cursed princess that isn’t Fiona. Could that be the princess who was turned into a dragon?