Early Story Reels Give Us a Glimpse of the Shrek That Could Have Been

Hey everyone! So this morning a cool little video surfaced online that gives a glimpse of what the tent-pole animated film Shrek could have been if completed with its original lead. Everyone now knows the iconic voice and character done by Mike Myers but once upon a time, before his untimely death in 1997, the beloved Chris Farley was set to voice the part. Not only that but it has been rumored he had completed almost 90% of his voice acting for the movie before passing. For almost twenty years now we as fans have gone on wondering just hot different Farley's take on the iconic green ogre would have been, especially with Myers informing us that it was totally different from what he would end up doing.

This morning a new video is circulating the web featuring an old story reel from the earlier days production. The short video includes a scene of back and forth dialogue between Eddie Murphy's Donkey and Chris Farley's rendition of Shrek. Right away you notice the difference in accent, Farley never went for the faux Scottish accent to try and create the character. Instead he uses iterations of his own style and tone to create a character that is very much an extension of himself. The clip is just over two minutes long but in just that time you can tell he was putting every ounce of talent he had into this part. Within those few minutes he establishes a character that is funny, emotional, and fairly complex.

Thinking back on it now, it's hard to imagine the iconic Ogre without the accent and squirmish charm that Meyers brought to him. Having heard this small snippet of dialogue however I am only more intrigued as to how that film would have turned out. Chris Farley was at the top of his game when he went out and it appears he would have only taken it higher. He was another massive talent taken from us far too soon and these few minutes of dialogue serve as a wonderful reminder of just how versatile and talented he really was. Who knows if his Shrek would have gone on to have the success it did with Myers but god damn if that movie wouldn't have been an absolute blast. I'm hopeful someone, someday will release the rest of the audio he recorded before passing. Below I have included a link to the video, definitely check it out and let me know what you think.

As always, thanks for reading and I am Zach Who Watches Movies. You can find me anytime on twitter @ZachWWMovies, smell ya later!