Although we could argue all day about which one? Shrek movie is the best the answer is Shrek 2. Shrek 2 was a pop-cultural phenomenon that is still talked about as one of the greatest movies DreamWorks has ever come out with. It could be the soundtrack for the record books or the entertaining plot that is a step up from the first film. There are scenes and musical moments from this movie that are cemented in our brains. “Accidentally in love?” “I need a hero?” This movie is incredible.
Well, there might be something that could spark a discussion. Who is the villain in this movie? While we see Prince Charming at the forefront of this conflict, he doesn’t appear to be a villain in this movie. Is he a hero? Not really! But labeling him as a villain in this movie might give him too much credit. Whether it’s his inability to act on his own prime to the undeniable influence of the Fairy Godmother, here’s why we don’t think Prince Charming is really a villain in Shrek 2.
Plot of Shrek 2
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In what is arguably one of the greatest sequels in movie history, Shrek 2 exceeded every expectation and standard set by the first film. Shrek was already a huge success for DreamWorks after the first film came out in 2001. However, when this masterpiece of a sequel came out, history was made. The sequel picks up pretty quickly after the end of the first movie. Shrek and Fiona get married and the life of a married ogre couple is nothing but nice mud baths and picking out each other’s earwax – romance at its peak.
In the first Shrek movie, we have a pretty insufferable royal as our main villain in Lord Farquaad. So why not another one for Shrek 2? Prince Charming emerges as the “ideal” candidate to be Fiona’s husband instead of Shrek. Let’s just say that this game of tug-of-war for Fiona will lead to some antics and serious manipulation on the part of the parental characters in this movie. We have Fiona’s father conspiring with Charming’s mother, the Fairy Godmother, to win Fiona’s favor. Looking back at this movie, however, Charming’s role in this movie doesn’t seem like that of a villain, but perhaps that of a victim.
Was Prince Charming a threat?
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Charming lacks one of the necessities to be a villain: he’s no real threat in Shrek 2. First, let’s take a look at Prince Charming as a character. When we think about who could be a threat to Shrek and Fiona’s marriage, it seems Prince Charming isn’t the one doing it. He is not a threatening character in the flesh of this plot. In every movie, we look at the real villains as the ones who cause the movie’s conflict. Charming is only part of the plot that the Fairy Godmother must sell her son to Princess Fiona. As a character, Charming is pretty weak and there isn’t much that catches his eye. He is also so easily influenced that there is a possibility that he can be redeemed. Of all the “villains” in this movie, if you just take him away from his mom, you can probably convince him to change his mind.
Product of its environment
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Charming, though certainly not a protagonist in Shrek 2, is only a product of its environment. He is essentially a mother’s baby! He’s practically trained to do what his mother wants. And, with the added influence of Fiona’s father as a voice of authority in this whole Godmother-Charming-King scheme, what motivation would Charming have for going against their wishes? Also, his mother puts a lot of pressure on him to carry out her plan while he is just there with little to no power of his own. Prince Charming exists purely to satisfy his mother’s wishes, not his own.
A puppet on strings
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Shrek 2 is like an onion. There are so many layers to unpack, especially when we analyze Prince Charming as a “villain” in this movie. By then you’ve probably seen this movie, and it’s pretty obvious that the real villain, the real mastermind of all that goes sideways, isn’t charming, but the fairy mother. Charming was a pawn in Fairy Godmother’s plan, so more than an antagonist in this movie, he’s ultimately a victim. She’s the puppeteer pulling all the strings, and he’s basically forced to do whatever she wants because of the parent-child dynamic. The Fairy Godmother is the villain in Shrek 2, and she needs Charming. So she manipulates him, raises him to be her little minion, and he just plays along because that’s all he knows.