įeeling that her curse remaining undiscovered until the end was unsuitable for a feature-length film, screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio introduced the concept of a shapeshifting princess, which was rejected by the other filmmakers for six months because they found it "too complex" for a fairy tale. In an effort to expand the plot while making its characters more visually appealing and marketable "from a Hollywood" perspective, the writers decided to adapt Shrek!'s princess into a beautiful maiden who has been cursed to become ugly only during evenings, which she is forced to conceal from the film's other characters, thus providing "narrative motivation for not showing her ogre manifestation." Furthermore, Furniss observed that Lord Farquaad's romantic interest in Fiona is more practical since he is vain and only attracted to her beauty, while his main motivation remains to marry a princess so that he can rule Duloc. Animation historian Maureen Furniss, writing for Animation World Network, identified the fact that Shrek's love interest is altered from "a really ugly woman" into a beautiful princess as the film's most significant modification. Described as "the most stunningly ugly princess on the surface of the planet", Steig's princess bears little resemblance to Fiona, but the two characters are immediately attracted to each other and wed with little conflict. In Steig's story, a witch foretells that Shrek will marry an unnamed princess, who she describes as uglier in appearance than Shrek himself, enticing the ogre to seek her. Shrek is loosely based on William Steig's children's book Shrek! (1990), but significantly deviates from its source material, particularly pertaining to its main characters. Diaz also became one of Hollywood's highest-paid actresses due to her role in the Shrek franchise, earning $3 million for her performance in the first film and upwards of $10 million for each sequel.ĭevelopment Creation and writing Several media publications consider Fiona a feminist icon, crediting her with subverting princess and gender stereotypes by embracing her flaws. However, reviewers were divided over the character's human design, some of whom were impressed by her technological innovations, while others found her realism unsettling and too similar to Diaz. Reception towards Fiona has been mostly positive, with critics commending her characterization, martial arts prowess and Diaz's performance. The character is considered a parody of traditional princesses in both fairy tales and animated Disney films. Several revolutionary achievements in computer animation were applied to the character to render convincing skin, hair, clothing and lighting. However, an early test screening resulted in children reacting negatively towards the character's uncanny realism, prompting the animators to re-design Fiona into a more stylized, cartoonish heroine. Fiona was one of the first human characters to have a lead role in a computer-animated film, thus the animators aspired to make her both beautiful and realistic in appearance. Comedian and actress Janeane Garofalo was originally cast as the character until she was fired from the first film with little explanation. The screenwriters adapted the character into a princess under a shapeshifting enchantment, an idea initially greatly contested by other filmmakers. The character's origins and relationships with other characters are further explored in subsequent films she introduces her new husband Shrek to her parents in Shrek 2 (2004), becomes a mother by Shrek the Third (2007), and is an empowered warrior in Shrek Forever After (2010), much of which takes place in an alternate reality in which Fiona and Shrek never meet.Ĭreated by screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, Fiona is loosely based on the unsightly princess in William Steig's children's book Shrek! (1990), from which her role and appearance were significantly modified. She is initially determined to break the enchantment by kissing a prince, only to meet and fall in love with Shrek, an ogre, instead. One of the film series' main characters, Fiona is introduced as a beautiful princess placed under a curse that transforms her into an ogre at night. Princess Fiona is a fictional character in DreamWorks' Shrek franchise, first appearing in the animated film Shrek (2001).
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