Lord Farquaad did not have a deformity, but he was very short in height. Richard III had a physical deformity scientists have determined as scoliosis, which is portrayed in Olivier’s performance as a hunchback. Even the shape of their noses looks alike! Lord Farquaad from Shrek shares physical similarities to Richard III like their hair, noses, and unusual stature. The haircut, the thick dark eyebrows, piercing blue eyes … The color scheme and the details of the outfit are similar. The physical resemblance between the character of Lord Farquaad and the portrayal of Richard III by Laurence Olivier cannot be denied. Another one of my lame English-major jokes, right? When Lord Farquaad appeared, I couldn’t help, but burst out: This is Richard the III! They looked at me like I was crazy, but I felt like I had never spoken with so much sense before. A few days after watching the film, I was re-watching Shrek with a group of friends because it is one of our favorite movies. This theory started when I was taking an Introduction to Shakespeare course last year, and one of the assignments was to read Richard III, and watch the 1955 film adaptation directed by Laurence Olivier. (If you’ve never seen Shrek (2001) or read Shakespeare’s play Richard III, let me warn you: Spoilers lie ahead! If you have seen Shrek, welcome to my conspiracy theory.) Is Lord Farquaad in “Shrek” based on Shakespeare’s character Richard III? Do they share more similarities besides their looks? (photo courtesy of flickr)
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