Lord Farquaad
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Shrek character | |
|---|---|
| Lord Farquaad | |
 |
|
| Lord Farquaad | |
| Gender | Male |
| Form | Human |
| Spouse | None |
| Other Family | Not Seen |
| Voiced by | John Lithgow |
Lord Farquaad is a fictional villain from the first Shrek movie. He is a perfectionist of extremely short stature, who sets out to claim the perfect bride. He also harbors an intense dislike of fairy tale creatures.
[edit] Role in the stories
In the film, Farquaad hires Shrek to rescue Princess Fiona, whom he plans to take as bride. Fiona, however, immediately dislikes Farquaad. He soon discovers that she turns into an ogre at night, which absolutely repulses him. Shrek and Donkey arrive in time to save her, and Farquaad is eaten by Dragon.
In the Universal Studios Theme Parks ride Shrek 4-D and its comic adaptation by Dark Horse Publications, Farquaad returns as a ghost, with plans to make Fiona his Queen again, this time of the Underworld. However, he is once again thwarted.
Farquaad's ghost then appears again in the second issue of the mini-series, in which he orders a man named Ferret and his hitman Vesuvius to kill Shrek, who at the moment is investigating a foul-smelling gingerbread house. Farquaad's appearance here is comparatively minor; he does not appear in the third and last issue, save for a brief mention.
[edit] The inspiration debate
There is some speculation that Lord Farquaad's appearance may be inspired by Michael Eisner, the ex-CEO of The Walt Disney Company, owing to producer Jeffrey Katzenberg's animosity toward his former employer [1]. Other speculations include that his appearance was based off a conglomeration of perfectionists/megalomaniacs such as Napoleon and even Adolf Hitler.
The name "Farquaad" may be a play on a much more impolite word (cf. Wiktionary:fuckwad). More likely the name was inspired by the number of animators and producers who attended the University of Notre Dame and lived in Carroll Hall. Carroll Hall is the most removed dorm, located across St. Mary's Lake from the rest of campus on what is sometimes referred to as the "Far-Quad." Lord Farquaad is voiced by John Lithgow.
| Shrek | ||
|---|---|---|
| Films | Main | Shrek • Shrek 2 • Shrek the Third • Shrek 4 |
| Spinoffs | Shrek 4-D • Puss in Boots: The Story of an Ogre Killer • Shrek The Halls | |
| Video Games | Shrek • Shrek 2 • Shrek Super Slam • Shrek Smash and Crash • Shrek the Third | |
| Books | Shrek! | |
| Characters | Main | Shrek • Princess Fiona • Donkey • Puss in Boots • Dragon |
| Minor | Big Bad Wolf • Lord Farquaad • Fairy Godmother • Gingerbread Man • Prince Charming | |
| Locations | Far Far Away | |
