Fairy Godmother

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The Fairy Godmother is a magical entity whose use of magic and potions do not always benefit Shrek and Fiona. She is considered to be a parody of traditional fairy godmother characters. The character was designed with Saunders in mind. Saunders recorded her entire role in only four days over the course of one year. Saunders provided all of her character's singing, recording two songs for the film: the "Fairy Godmother Song", a scene that parodies Disney's animated film Beauty and the Beast (1991) by featuring dancing furniture, and a cover of Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out for a Hero" (1984) for the film's soundtrack, which her character performs towards the end of film. During the sequence, Fairy Godmother sings while lying atop a grand piano, referencing Michelle Pfeiffer's sultry rendition of "Makin' Whoopee" in the film The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989). The character's bubble motif references Glinda the Good Witch from The Wizard of Oz (1939).

In Their Own Story

The Fairy Godmother first appears in Shrek 2 as the mother of Prince Charming, who had originally planned to rescue Fiona and become heir to the kingdom of Far, Far Away. Newly married Shrek and Fiona visit Far, Far Away to meet Fiona's parents for the first time, who are surprised to learn that Fiona has both married an ogre and remained one herself. When Fairy Godmother discovers that Fiona has married Shrek instead of Charming as originally intended, the character plots to manipulate Fiona into marrying her son, conspiring with Fiona's father King Harold to up

Reader's Guide

The Fairy Godmother is loosely based on the stock fairy godmother character in fairy tales, specifically "Cinderella" and "Sleeping Beauty", serving as a parody of the common trope. The character was resurrected from early drafts of the first film which included a character named Dama Fortuna, a witch from whom Fiona receives the potion that modifies her enchantment. Writer Ted Elliot reimagined the witch as Fiona's bigoted fairy godmother. The Fairy Godmother has received mostly positive reviews from film critics, who appreciated her humor and villainy, as well as Saunders' performance, which some critics compared to her Absolutely Fabulous character Edina Monsoon. Saunders' performance earned her a People's Choice Award for Favorite Movie Villain.

Did You Know?

• Saunders recorded her entire role in only four days over the course of one year.
• Saunders was chosen for the role because Steven Spielberg somehow got hold in 2002 of her unsuccessful audition tape for Ursula in The Little Mermaid (1989).
• At Saunders' request, the filmmakers allowed her to record a line of her character promising to return despite her death scene, but the decision to kill off the character remained.
• Saunders' performance earned her a People's Choice Award for Favorite Movie Villain.
• The character's bubble motif references Glinda the Good Witch from The Wizard of Oz (1939).