| “ | I told you, ogre's don't live happily ever after! | ” |
The Fairy Godmother, also known as Dama Fortuna, is the main antagonist of Shrek 2. She is voiced by Jennifer Saunders.
Appearances[]
What Could Have Been[]
In an alternate opening to the first Shrek film, the Fairy Godmother was a fortune teller named Dama Fortuna, based on the Fortune Teller from Shrek!, who narrated the first quarter of the opening through her tarot cards. When Fiona, having been born an ogre, approaches her, Fortuna gives her a beauty potion which has no effect, but Fortuna tells Fiona she will change between human and ogre until she finds true love. She was also originally going to give Shrek a potion which would help him defeat Dragon. She was going to be voiced by Linda Hunt. When this character was scrapped, she became the Fairy Godmother.
Beginnings[]
The Fairy Godmother transformed Harold into a human in order for him to marry Lillian, in return for the hand of their future daughter. When they saw Fiona become an ogress (possibly due to the Fairy Godmother), they sought her help, but she insisted only True Love's Kiss would break the curse. Lillian however, unlike Harold, didn't like the Fairy Godmother, mentioning that she didn't trust her when she and Harold went to sign their kingdom away to Rumpelstiltskin.
Shrek the Musical[]
The Fairy Godmother appears as one of the fairy tale creatures evicted by Lord Farquaad. She sings Freak Flag with the rest of the creatures. This shouldn't be taken as canon because if she WAS in Shrek's swamp with the creatures, she would've recognized him in Shrek 2.
Shrek 2[]
In Shrek 2 she appears as the main antagonist.
The Fairy Godmother is first seen when Fiona goes to her bedroom balcony and cries, her tears supposedly calling to the Fairy Godmother. Arriving, the Fairy Godmother is surprised to learn that Fiona is married to an ogre named Shrek. To learn more, she picks up her son and goes to confront Fiona's father Harold, who reveals that Shrek had gone to the castle and freed Fiona first. The Fairy Godmother convinces Harold to find a way to get Shrek out of the picture before returning to her "cottage", which is actually a large factory where she manufactures spells and potions.
While she's there, she is brewing a love potion, which included "a drop of desire, a pinch of passion and just a hint of lust". She is then visited by Shrek, Donkey, and Puss, who come to her for help. However, she spites him by saying that ogres don't live happily ever after, citing multiple endings of other fairy tales to prove her point.
When Shrek leaves, she later learns he stole one of her potions (the Happily Ever After potion to be specific), and realizes that she could use this to her advantage. She and Charming go to the castle where Charming poses as a transformed Shrek while the Fairy Godmother arranges for the real Shrek (transformed by the potion) to witness a "moment" between Charming and Fiona, making him believe she's fallen for Charming. She uses his grief to seemingly gently convince him to stop living in a fairytale, and that if he truly loves Fiona he'll let her go. The plan works at first but is ultimately blown when she and Charming are summoned by Harold to the Poison Apple tavern.
When Charming complains that Fiona isn't warming up to him, Harold wants to call the whole thing off, declaring that you can't force someone to fall in love. Undeterred, the Fairy Godmother gives Harold the love potion from earlier. She tells him to have Fiona drink some, which will make her fall in love with the first man she kisses. She also tells him to make sure that Charming is the one to kiss her. Harold tries to defy her, but she then blackmails him by reminding him that she helped him with his happily ever after and that she can take it away just as easily, making Harold give in. Then when Charming calls her his mother, they hear someone exclaim "Mother?!" and look outside to see Shrek, Donkey, and Puss, the three of them having heard the whole thing.
Realizing the jig is up, the Fairy Godmother captures the trio and has them imprisoned while she and Charming attend a royal ball.
While they're there, the Fairy Godmother notices Fiona is put off due to Charming's behavior. She then declares to the crowd of dedicating a song to Fiona and "Prince Shrek" and sings Holding Out for A Hero, causing Fiona and Charming to dance.
The plan almost works until Shrek arrives, leading to a fight over the Fairy Godmother's wand. She orders her son to kiss Fiona since she's already taken the potion. Once he does, Fairy Godmother is shocked to see Fiona headbutting Charming as a response. It turns out that Harold didn't give Fiona the potion after all. Charming manages to recover his mother's wand and throws it to her. Enraged, she turns to Shrek and Fiona, exclaiming, "I told you ogres don't live happily ever after!"
She unleashes an energy bolt from her wand presumably to kill Shrek, but Harold jumps in at the last moment. The spell reflects off his breastplate and hits the Fairy Godmother. She is seemingly unharmed for a few seconds and attempts try to shoot shrek again, but then her body suddenly bursts into bubbles and sparkles. There's nothing left of her but her broken glasses and her dim wand.
Shrek the Third[]
The Fairy Godmother doesn't appear in Shrek the Third as she is dead but she is mentioned several times by her son and is seen in a photo.
Shrek Forever After[]
The Fairy Godmother is mentioned at the beginning by Harold when he reminds Lillian that “Fairy Godmother said only true love’s kiss can lift Fiona’s curse.” Lillian then replies “I don’t trust that woman, Harold,” possibly as a hint to Dama Fortuna’s true role in Shrek 2. She also makes a cameo during the end credits.
Thriller Night[]
Fairy Godmother appears as a zombie besides other deceased villains of the series, such as son Prince Charming, Lord Farquaad and Rumpelstiltskin. Except for the growl she makes when emerging from the ground, she doesn't have any lines in the short film. Here, Fairy Godmother wears a pink dress instead of the usual blue dress. She is voiced by Pinky Turzo.
Video Game Appearances[]
Shrek 2 (video game)[]
The Fairy Godmother appears as the main antagonist and final boss in the game, though her appearance is somewhat different. She has a pink dress (instead of blue like the film) and looks far older than in the film as well. And in the movie she has blue wings. In the game she has pink wings. In the movie she has a blue, purple wand. In the game she has a blue wand. In the movie she wears earrings. In the game she wears no earrings
She is faced twice within the game; she fights Red Riding Hood when the player breaks into her cottage and has to fight her on conveyor belts and again at the end of the game. She makes Trolls and Elves do her bidding and players eventually have to fight her in two periods. She fires lightning laser blasts and is protected by a magical bubble. Eventually the players overcome her and she blows up. In the Shrek 2's PC Game, the battle between Shrek and the Fairy Godmother is very simple, Shrek throws food at her and at the point in which she has no life, she blows up.
Shrek Smash and Crash Racing[]
The Fairy Godmother never actually appears in the game, but pictures and statues of her can be seen around the track. Also, at the beginning of Tournament mode, Donkey finds the Fairy Godmother's wand in which he uses it to turn various objects in karts. Fairy Godmother appears on the billboard in the Downtown of Far Far Away track. Racers can crash through the billboard to find a secret shortcut. Fairy Godmother's potion factory is also a playable race track and is known as Inside the Potion Factory. In this track, numerous pictures and statues can be seen of Fairy Godmother.
Shrek Forever After (video game)[]
Rumpelstiltskin has changed Shrek's world and the ogre is in search for Princess Fiona's tiara at the Dragon's Keep. Rumpelstiltskin realizes that if Princess Fiona kisses Shrek before his "ogre day" is over, life goes back to normal and Rumpelstiltskin wouldn't be king anymore. So Rumpelstiltskin decides to negotiate with a greedy woman who would do his bindings if she could be "queen for a week". The devious woman was the Fairy Godmother.
The Fairy Godmother would be alive in Rumpelstiltskin's new world without Shrek's birth, and because she never met Shrek, she never, ever died.
When Shrek arrives at the "odd" Dragon's Keep, he discovers that Dragon is missing and that someone else is staying at the castle; the Fairy Godmother. She stands before Shrek, Donkey, and Puss in her usual blue dress, but it's ripped and covered in dirt. It seems that as king, Rumpelstiltskin hasn't been good for her business. The Fairy Godmother is also found wearing Fiona's tiara and parsing herself in a mirror (saying, "Ah! Fit for a fairy queen!").
Eventually, Shrek calls her "Granny" and she doesn't respond well, saying that that's no way to treat their "new queen". Soon, an epic battle begins with witches, poison apples, potions, and fire. Eventually, the Fairy Godmother surrenders and gives Shrek back Fiona's tiara and as she flies away from the castle, she screams in anger and says, "This doesn't mean anything, you know! I'm still the queen! You hear me?! THE QUEEN!".
Personality & Traits[]
She is loosely based on the fairy-tale Cinderella's "Fairy Godmother" and the fortune teller from the original Shrek book by William Steig. She seeks to get the best for herself and her son Prince Charming, rather than others. She often resorts to blackmail and trickery through magic to get her way. She loves to eat whenever she is distressed ("someone get me something deep fried and smothered in chocolate," when Shrek makes a mess of her potion factory, and during her talk with Harold in the carriage about Shrek, it is shown that Harold ruined her diet, so she orders food from Friar's Fat Boy).
The Fairy Godmother isn't like her classic benevolent counterpart who uses her magic for the right reasons. Instead, she is a conniving businesswoman who is only out to use others to benefit herself and her son Prince Charming. The equivalent of a crime boss, The Fairy Godmother isn't above blackmail; not only did she threaten Harold by taking away his happily ever after, but she proudly admits that she forces others to fall in love all the time. The Fairy Godmother is also very close to some of her previous clients (like King Harold) who she uses to her own advantage many times during the film.
She has no qualms about using her magic to get what she wants, and is spiteful to those who interfere with her plans or business. The Fairy Godmother is no fool; she uses any and every underhanded trick, some that make her appear more benevolent and kinder than she really is. She pretends to be gentle and kindly when the moment calls for it (her first appearance to Fiona, for example), but if there is any interference with her plans she shows her true colors. She is ruthless, unreasonable, vengeful, evil, cruel, selfish and will stop at nothing to remove those who stand in her way. Like many human characters in the Shrek universe, she has a deep-seated prejudice toward ogres. Unlike Lord Farquaad, however, her bigotry comes from experience, claiming that ogres "don't live happily ever after," and cites several examples of other fairy tales just to prove her point. Ironically, she arranges for her son to marry Princess Fiona, despite her curse.
The only one the Fairy Godmother loves truly is her son, Prince Charming, whom she frequently dotes on and wants to become king.
Powers/Abilities[]
- Magic: As a magical being, The Fairy Godmother has many powers or abilities. Her method of teleportation is Smoke-Sparkling, which is channeled by her wand, like her other powers. She posses the power of Projection, which she uses to grant the people wishes, or whatever she wants. Also in her final scene in Shrek 2, she demonstrated the power of Electrokinesis, combined with the ability of Spell Casting, when she throws to Shrek and Fiona a blast of electricity, and Harold gets in the firing line, causing to the blast to reverse the Happily Ever After potion or spell. She also posses the power of Telekinesis, which she also channels by her wand, to trap Shrek in Fiona's bedroom, and Animation to give inanimate objects a life of their own. Also, as mentioned before, she posses two basic abilities, Spell Casting, and obviously (because of the many potions that she sell) Potion making.
- Spell Casting: As The Fairy Godmother, with her magic wand. She can cast powerful spells and hexes.
- Electrokinesis: She throws to Shrek and Fiona a blast of electricity, and Harold gets in the firing line, causing to the blast to reverse the Happily Ever After potion or spell.
- Telekinesis: The Fairy Godmother has the ability to move all the objects around her. which she also channels by her wand, to trap Shrek in Fiona's bedroom.
- Animation: She can make objects talk, move, and live. She can create animation objects by using magic.
- Winged Flight: She can levitate and hover thanks to a pair of hummingbird wings on her back.
- Cloth Manipulation: She can manipulate her clothes, meaning that she can shapeshift her clothes to any design, shape, or form.
- Fortune Telling: Her original character from Shrek (film), the fortune teller, has the ability to tell others their futures, as she has tarot cards, which she used to narrate Fiona's past.
Trivia[]
- It is quite possible that she is actually the one that had cursed Fiona as part of her plan. However, (if this was the case) it would have gone horribly wrong since Shrek saved Fiona and not Prince Charming.
- The Fairy Godmother is the first DreamWorks villain to use the term "bloody".
- She is a spoof of the Fairy Godmother from the fairy tale Cinderella.
- In the Shrek 2 video game, her dress is pink instead of blue. Why they changed its color is unknown.
- She was originally slated to appear as the main antagonist in Shrek, but she was cut for unknown reasons and used later in the film's sequel.
- The Fairy Godmother is the third DreamWorks Animation character to be a female antagonist, following Mrs. Tweedy from Chicken Run and Eris from Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas.
- Dama Fortuna has similarities with Ursula from Disney's The Little Mermaid:
- They have a similar hairstyle, they were both voiced by Jennifer Saunders at some point (Saunders auditioned for Ursula and this was how she earned the role of Dama Fortuna), and their respective spell making sequences are similar.
- Her name, Dama Fortuna, means "Dame Fortune" or "Lady Luck."