I know this is really late, and you’ve already proved the theory but donkey also says: “I can’t feel my toes, wait I don’t have toes” in the movie. Which implies that he knows what having toes is like.
@Vixen Maybe being a donkey is what has made him a better person, and the horse form is the final version of that? He had to have been a naughty child and a bully as a human
You're forgetting something MatPat. The Pinocchio from Shrek is based on the one from the book not the Disney film. In the book, he's not left with a donkey tail and ears before becoming a real boy. Rather, he becomes a full donkey but then gets changed back into his full puppet before having several more adventures. with this in mind, it's still possible that Shrek's Pinocchio has already been to Pleasure Island.
I came here to say just this, additionally I think it's entirely possible that Shrek's Pinocchio simply didn't become a real boy following the events on The Land of Toys, and the thing with the terible dogfish, or like, lied at some point and got his good boy points revoked. So he's been repuppetted. Also in the book it seems like The Coachman is significantly less concerned with the children being able to talk, since he let talking donkeys pull the coach.
Are we not gonna talk about how in the first movie when the old lady tried to sell him he pretended that he couldn’t talk? Maybe that was because he thought that someone would send him back to pleasure Island if they knew
As a trauma survivor I will say even after four years some of the people closest to me still don't know it happened because it is terrifying to say something - I don't blame him
But in my not speaking up somebody else did get hurt. She was strong enough to say something, I wish I had been as strong as she was. No matter what it's a double edged sword - if you don't say anything somebody else could get hurt, if you do say something- then everybody knows and then that's all they know
He was a child when it happened, he probably is so traumatised that he can't even think of his past. Plus, Pinnocio himself wasn't a bad kid, just caught up. Donkey could be a good kid in a bad place with heavy trauma.
@Bella Knight yeah, it's weird how some people expect a mentally traumatized child (or man, depending on how much time has passed) in a donkey's body to risk it all and become a hero.
I think you're right. However, he could want revenge against the boys that bullied him. He wouldn't want to save them, and therefore would have no desire to reveal the atrocities of Pleasure Island.
Concerning whether Donkey alerted anyone about Pleasure Island, consider the fact that in all the time Donkey was with Shrek, Pinocchio never disappeared or turned into a donkey. Maybe Donkey couldn't shut the whole operation down but saved who he could.
In defense of Donkey, it is also possible that he already acted against Pleasure Island. Maybe the reason Pinocchio never went there is that Donkey already reported it to the authorities and had it shut down.
Pretty sure donkey was not brave enough to tell somebody (mostly because his trauma) but if he did, I feel like the people will treat him like he’s idiot or doesn’t believe him since he donkey
This theory is actually confirmed, because at first, when the grandma tries to sell him, by telling the soldiers that he can talk, he doesn't, he might have done that in pleasure island as well.
That's a bold take on Donkey being a bad person for not stepping up to expose the kidnapping ring. He was a kid at the time when he escaped. The whole ordeal was clearly traumatizing and going to the authorities could have easily backfired on him and got him caught by the very people he escaped from. He instead decided it was best to put all that behind him, and proceeded to repress these troubling memories from his past.
Could it be a PTSD thing? Maybe he's not able to remember all of what he went through, he just knows it was horrible somewhere in his past and he doesn't want to go there again. It hurts to much to even think about. He can't bring himself to admit what happened, let alone the fact that it's still happening to others.
To be fair, if the Big Bad Wolf is a combination of the wolf from Little Red Riding Hood and The Three Little Pigs, who can't say that Donkey is a combination of William Stieg's Donkey and the donkeys from Pinocchio.
thanks :) had no idea and surprised mat didnt bring up the book. polygon did a prettyu decent atricle about the childrens book Shrek! and i want to add that mats theory still works within the confines of the short story, especially considering the film deviates from the book in almost every way
MatPat, I love your analysis saying how donkey is from the Grim brothers story or from Pleasure Island (and I wouldn’t want to ruin it) but if you noticed in Shrek Forever After; when Donkey and the witches are taking Shrek to Rumpelstiltskin, Donkey says to Shrek "I am not going back to wok for Old MacDonald" revealing Donkeys backstory and Fairytale/Nursery Rhyme he’s actually from. Old MacDonald Had A Farm.
I don't agree with that because, for one, it's not like it was ever mentioned in the other movies. The 4th movie was meant to show what life would have been like had Shrek not been there. Donkey never met Shrek, but he was about to be caught and sold off to Lord Farquad. In this, it would show that likely, since Shrek wasn't there to scare the soldiers away, Donkey likely hit his head on the tree Shrek was putting warning signs up on instead of running into Shrek, and knocked himself out, getting himself caught in the end, and lord Farquad forced him to work for old Mcdonald. If he was always a donkey on the old McDonald's farm, he wouldn't have known what it was like to have toes or wear clothes, both things he has said in the movies. Plus, the donkey in the old McDonalds rhyme makes a donkey sound, it doesn't talk, but Donkey learned to control that same sound.
To be fair, I feel that the trauma he endured is having a lasting appeal. Saying he hasn't stood up and stopped them feels as fair as accusing someone who has been abused or violated of allowing it to continue, just because they are scared to stand up. It's not the exact same thing, sure, but if this theory is true, and I think it is, Donkey has been violated in a whole new kind of way.
There’s just something missing from that theory though: in the second Shrek movie, when donkey drank the potion, he turned into a majestic stallion. Why didn’t the potion turn him back into a human? It’s called “Happily Ever After” potion with the added condition of “beauty divine”. If it truly was that, then shouldn’t donkey’s “happily ever after” be-according to your theory-turning back into a human?
Like how Shrek has always been an ogre, but turned into a human, it wasn't his original form or anything, and if it just makes you beautiful, he would just be a handsome ogre.
It’s not like an ogre is a deformed human, it’s a completely different species. So therefore whether donkey was originally human, him turning into a horse is just his personal preference.
Lets also keep in mind that Donkey fakes being unable to talk in the first Shrek movie... so he absolutely could have done the same thing to get off the island.
@Zachary Kerns well most bullies aren't smart kids , so most of them didn't have the idea or were too scared to fake. Donkey may have been a smart kid but he got send to pleasure island like Pinocchio, so that would also explain that other kids would make fun of him
Although wild that may be true it doesn't help the fact that the lady who owns the donkey knows for a fact that he can talk and if she knew this there could be a possibility that she would have thrown him back on the island
I honestly haven't watched Pinocchio, even now as an adult, because when I read the book I was terrified of Pleasure Island. It evokes a deep seated fear and discomfort of losing control over bodily autonomy. The kids wanted to act like they were above others, perhaps like adults, so they were stripped of the freedom they so desired. But the theory makes total sense and I have a new appreciation for Donkeys character.
If Donkey was a human boy, then he should have turned back into a human boy when he drank the Happily Ever After potion in Shrek 2, because Fiona turned back into her former body.
@Vic & Con This is possibly not true. According to another commentor the Pinocchio in the movies is based on the one from the original book. In the book Pinocchio is fully transformed, and then returned to his toy-body later. This also means the pleasure-island timeline might be off, as Pinocchio may have already been there at the time of the movie.
this could be debunked easily seeing how ti's supposed to make you "beautiful" and also more comfortable in your own skin. And seeing how he's with Dragon I don't think him becoming a human would make him comfortable especially after the horrors that he's been though well alleged anyway it's a theory. This potion isn't supposed to revert you back to what you were cause shrek was never human. So how the potion revert someone back to who they were and revert shrek to human when he's never been? Remember at the ending of the first shrek movie Fiona stats after the kiss "I don't get it....I'm supposed to be beautiful...." this actually gives context to how fiona feels deep inside meaning she in her subconscious still finds her human form more beautiful than her ogar self then again during the time she's still getting used to it. and to shrek being a human male would be more comfortable and "beautiful" cause it's the same as his wife and to him he probably even thinks that's what fiona would want more so it let him be humane and remember also in the first shrek where fiona calls Donkey a noble steed and he says "You hear that?! She called me a steed! I'mma steed!" meaning he wants more to be like a horse especially since when taken back he goes "well so much for a noble steed...." so at least as wacky as this movie series can get, the continuity is spot on with how the characters feel even from previous movie
MA9009 (Boring Videos) the world was England for a while though. That’s why we all speak English. If your grandad fought abit harder, maybe the world would be German right now. But England did invade 80% of the world at one point In History. To clarify for you ‘akshually’ people, they only held 1/3 at the same time. But over the course of history, nearly all nations were invaded by UK. Including Germany
@Audentes Fortuna Juvat I always thought dragon was a princess trapped as a dragon as a curse. Based on folklore, I think the children from Dragon, have been genetically diverse due to human fae hybrid, plus a donkey new gene. The reason why i say fae hybrid, is the fact that I believe dragon is a princess that is human for three days out of the year, as she is dragon for the majority of the time due to a fae curse by her mother or an ancestor. But she isn’t a part of the Disney canon. But original folklore in Shrek, is very apparent, as three blind mice isn’t Disney, nor is little red riding hood. Which is why I don’t believe in this theory, but it is very compelling, and extremely plausible. I find that the Donkey I am leaning towards is the Brothers Grimm version The Donkey, because most of folklore is based on retellings of classic fairy tales, which are darker. But also Hansel and Gretel isn’t part of the Disney universe, nor is the gingerbread man
Donkey is clearly terrified of being discovered in the first film. My best guess is he's suffering PTSD from the traumatic events of the island and his special turn so he's in hiding just trying to survive. It's very possible he was found or wandered into the farm of the old crone who I'm also guessing is a widow and discovered he can talk entirely by accident. He hides his speaking ability to everyone else but she knows and is obviously annoyed by it. It's likely she tried to tell people but being widowed they probably just believed she was going nuts with grief. The ironic part is since she's dismissed by everyone else donkey is literally the only being she can speak with and given he's now free to speak his motor mouth really does start to drive her nuts. It's no wonder she tries to get rid of him first chance she gets
As MatPat points out, he was bullied AFTER his transformation. Meaning that the other donkey kids continued to be mean to him even after they themselves had transformed into donkeys. I think Donkey believes that the kids in pleasure island deserve their fate. Also, seeing how he doesn't want to talk about it and he clearly has no interest in changing back, he probably believes he deserves to stay a donkey.
As for why Donkey doesn't spill the beans on Pleasure Island, remember that it was only bad boys who got taken there. Maybe if Donkey talked about it he'd have to admit to something really bad like homicide, somebody dying as a result of his antics.
In the original Shrek book (which was literally the source material for the movie) a side character Is a talking donkey. Donkey was never human and he Is not connected to Pinocchio.
Donkey did tell someone dragon. Remember when dokney was left to watch their kids because a disagreement, maybe Donkey told dragon and she wanted to help them and being a mother would definantly motivate her to stop the kidnapping of little boys and Donkey wanted to leave his traumatic past behind him.
I would submit the trauma that donkey went through especially at a young age it would make it very difficult for him to even conceptualize the possibility of going back there and fighting his captors. That level of trauma can certainly have some serious effects on someone's brain
I honestly think Donkey has his priorities straight. He probably thinks he’ll be sent back if he tells anyone about his origin story. Also, banging Dragons FTW.
I never thought this was supposed to be a theory. I thought that the writers sat down and thought: ok how about we include the three little pigs, three bears, and maybe even Pinocchio and one of the donkeys from Pleasure Island. Even when I would watch this I immediately thought: oh I get it, he’s one of the donkeys from Pleasure Island. Am I ahead of this theory’s time?!?!?! 😂
I don't blame Donkey for not wanting to talk about Pleasure Island. For the most part he probably tries to keep his traumatic past buried. Its not uncommon for people to do things like that.
Pixel Smile Well he’s a more recent character compared to the classics but he does have his own book. Look it up. It’s just shrek. If you wanna know what goes on in the book I recommend watch Jon Solo’s video on it.
I have a little addition to your end. If Donkey really has experienced all that we see happening on pleasure island in the Pinoccio movie, it's not hard to imagine he has suffered severe trauma. You pointed that out before. And, I am talking from my own experience here, sometimes a trauma can be so scary that one is so scared of even remotely reliving that time, that they won't ever talk about it again, just because the memory of that time itself can act as a whole trauma on its own. And being turned into a donkey, getting almost shipped away, being further mistreated by the criminals on pleasure island on top of being bullied... Yeah I'd call that a very good possibility to experience the mentioned kind of trauma. So to answer your question: Donkey not talking about what happened to him, does not necessarily make him a bad person but rather a traumatized child trying to never relive what happened. And yes, trauma, especially when not therapised, can follow you your whole life.
In my opinion, this is a different timeline from original Pinocchio. You can't assume that pleasure island still exists in Shrek universe. Let donkey have his peace. Maybe the island was already shut down but donkey doesn't want to talk about his dark past since he wants to forget everything in the past and look out for the future.
BEST. THEORY. EVER!!! Especially the part about him being the EXACT SAME kind of donkey that was in 'Pinocchio'! He seems as if he was one of the kids in the Jonathan Taylor-Thomas version with the horrifying transformation scene on the roller coaster!! This is by far my favorite Film Theory video too, SO well done and interesting to watch:):)
I like the idea that after he got with the dragon, they eventually went back to pleasure island to save the others because he literally has a dragon on his side and it was just one of their adventures as a married couple. 😊
It's especially sad cuz Donkey is hands down the most emotionally healthy character in DreamWorks history. He's all about expressing his feelings but that goes to show you that even someone as open as Donkey aren't always able to share their past with others.
Maybe he DID try telling someone, but no one believed him. Until he got the attention of an old woman. An old woman who was more interested in his ability to talk, and tried to sell him to the Castle like we see in the beginning of the movie.
I’d like to think Donkey tried to tell people about pleasure island, potentially the old lady he was with at the start of Shrek, but upon hearing a talking donkey, the lady tied him up and tried to give him to the royal guard peoples. After that, Donkey was too afraid to tell anyone else.
In Shrek 2, Donkey drank the happily ever after potion that turned him into his most desired self. Shrek turned into a human, becoming less feared and able to live life comfortably, which is all he ever wanted to do. Donkey, however, turned into a 'noble steed', a valiant stallion. Assuming this theory is true and that Donkey started off as a human, wouldn't he want to turn back into a human? The reason he is so content with being a donkey and doesn't tell anyone about what happened on Pleasure Island can only mean one thing... Donkey's human form was a furry. Edit: I admire how seriously some of you are taking this theory, but to clarify, it's a joke. (also we love how every reply tells me that the potion does a different thing)
Maybe it could be the fact that by then he was used to the life of a donkey already that becoming human doesn't cross his mind anymore. I mean he now has friends and a family so he might have become happy with what his life turned out to be.
It’s a happily ever after potion. (That’s literally it’s name) this makes the assumption that it’s function is to change you into the form you would achieve your happily ever after in. (Like Cinderella’s transformation by her fairy godmother.) Donkey wouldn’t have been happy as a human and may not even remember being human in the first place depending upon how young he was when sent to pleasure island. Not to mention the potion seem linked to the person that you are meant to be with (ergo his would be linked to the very pregnant dragon.) so a human dragon love match might not have worked. (Considering dragon probably associates humans with knights who previously attacked her.)
I wouldn't blame Donkey too much. He went through some major trauma and that's not always or even usually easy to talk about. It could be severely emotionally and mentally and possibly physically draining for Donkey to think about or know about it let alone insert himself back into the situation no matter what he's doing.
Oh found this on the Shrek Wiki under Donkey's page, "Though it is never stated which fairytale creature Donkey is based on if any, it is possible he is based at least partly on the Aesop Fable of the stubborn donkey who ran off a cliff out of stubbornness against his master. This is supported by his first scene in the original Shrek, where he is pleading with his former owner that he won't be stubborn again." I guess Matt does these theories for fun now, either way it is entertaining XD
Shrek is a burn on Disney, a lot of things in this are super details to make fun of Disney. This theory would make sense in that idea. Making fun of the fact that even though Pinocchio is a boy, there were probably millions of donkeys that were boys that never changed back. This is a story of one of those Donkeys
I think the ending has a fallacy, this story takes place in the midevil times and no one would listen to a kid or if he said it as an adult he’d be thrown in the insane asylum or maybe sold to some magic animal buyers
This world does have magic in it though. So, although it's equivalent to the medieval period on Earth, turning humans into talking donkeys would probably be as normal as anything.
I actually wanna propose a theory of my own. Precisely on how donkey escaped... Perhaps the reason why he's not talking about the other boys on pleasure island is that he made a deal to escape and still keep a portion of his humanity left. Maybe the trade offer was to keep quite and they may let him go with some of humanity.
I thought it was pretty obvious he was a boy that was transformed into Donkey but, maybe that was just me. My parents didn't even know who Donkey was, and I had to explain it to them. There is a reason he is next in line after Pinnochio.
@Alec2109 he probably doesn’t check his vids more then after a week they’re posted, also he literally mentioned him in the vid, anyone with common sense would check the description if they were interested in his channel
That is interesting. I had always assumed this was related to "Donkey Cabbages" by the brothers Grimm where a huntsman gets tricked by a witch into vomiting up a bird heart that gave him a gold coin under his pillow every night (its a fairy tale. They're a bit weird.) And turned into a do key after eating a magic cabbage.
Let’s keep in mind that donkey might have been used to living as a donkey long enough that he forgot. Or he forcefully blocked it from his memory and in the shriek movies did not think to tell about it
I can even add on to this theory, how Donkey could have escaped pleasure island. When the old lady brings Donkey to get her reward the soldier says he’s worth 10 shillings if she can prove it but Donkey outsmarts the old lady by staying quiet. It’s theoretically possible then to assume that Donkey did this same trick to outsmart his captors by ‘hee hawing’ instead of giving his name like Alexander did. Maybe that was Dresmwork’s way of showing us how Donkey got away from Pleasure Island.
2:55 Small thing, but I think a lot of the people in that scene know where the castle is, but everyone besides donkey is too scared. That's how I have always seen it, at least
When I was in the second grade, I was the star in a little play about a singing, talking donkey who journeys to some city to become part of a band. When Shrek first came out, I always liked to believe that Donkey was based off my donkey.
I mean, donkey could have been threatened not to tell in exchange for something. Donkey’s a good guy and sacrifices for the good of others- doesn’t make sense for him to be a bully at his current age. As a boy? Sure. As an adult who gives all to his friends and family? Not a chance. Donkey’s being forced to hide the secret in exchange for something else entirely.
Right when I saw this, I immediately thought you'd bring up the fact that when Shrek was turned into a human, donkey was just turned into a horse. He didn't change into a human, which when I was thinking about it, seemed weird to me. I now realize that no, that makes complete sense.
I think the reason Donkey had never said anything about the Donkey Scheme was because he might’ve thought nobody would believe him. That’s why he goes by just... Donkey. After all, especially if the scheme is still a big secret, nobody would have any reason to believe him. And clearly through the movies nobody takes Donkey seriously because not only is he a donkey, but because of his jokester personality. Many victims of abuse may not come out either because someone may find them and discredit them, or just not believe them. He’s gone through trauma. He doesn’t want to talk about it, because he may be scared someone is going to come and find him. He’s a victim and he was abused on the island to make him feel like he had no power. That’s just my own personal theory. As to not just demonize a victim of course akdhsjf
While this is very, VERY late, I feel like I should mention that Donkey wouldn’t need much proof or reasoning to get people to believe him…. I mean, he IS the proof. You don’t just see talking Donkey’s regularly. There are likely other reasons for him keeping quiet. Maybe he doesn’t know how to save them, maybe he’d rather let it be in the past, or maybe he doesn’t even wanna save them because any attempt to do so will bring attention to him and possibly force him back to Pleasure Island.
@makayla !! What if word about him drifts to the island and he's taken back! They would follow, of course, because he is Donkey, but still. It'd be a whole Shrek war arc.
Your explanation about Brothers Grimm stories means The Donkey could still be viable. The fact that no one makes accurate renditions of the stories. It's possible that both stories could be inspiration for the character.
I had a dream when I was younger kind of like the how the boys are turned into donkeys and shipped away and it TERRIFIED ME I had no clue how my brain came up with this scary dream until this video I haven't seen ponokio in a very VERY long time but I just realized that my dream seems heavily inspired off of that concept...
You see... when my friends ask me something about a movie I just say thats just what makes it funny. Where mat pat here would do as much research as possible and start going on and on while entertaining me and my friends.
Now I just want to read a fanfiction where Donkey gets serious flashbacks from Pleasure Island and breaks down in front of Fiona and she makes him come clean about it. She then helps him free the other donkeys on Pleasure Island in a huge sting operation. Fiona is a princess after all. It would make sense that she would have some sort of authoritative power to mobilize knights and magical creatures to save innocent children.
also to add to the theory, he could have pretended that he couldn't talk, got sold to the salt mines, was caught talking, then brought in for a reward, which is where we meet him in the first movie!
Did you all know that Chris Farley originally had the role of Shrek before he died, he filmed a couple scenes using his voice, until Mike meyers and they realized they had to change it completely because the voices were so far apart.
It's also possible that Donkey blocked out all the trauma from his childhood or simply didn't remember any of it because he was too young when it happened. Think about it, most people don't remember 99% of the stuff they did when they were under the age of 6-7, and if the memories were traumatic there's a high probability those memories get blocked out.
In Czech folklore there is a story about a donkey that, when he shakes itself, creates gold. And I think he can talk, too. Idk that much about Shrek (haven't seen it in years) but I always thaught he was that
As a german kid I always thought Donkey was the donkey from the „Bremer Stadtmusikanten“ which is another fairytale about a rooster, a cat, a dog, and a donkey. I don’t quite remember the story, so feel free to look it up everyone.
Hmmm. Does Donkey even know how to get back to Pleasure Island? This deserves some research! *1 research montage later* Okay, so this is what I got, without watching the whole two movies: The "law" apparently know something about Pleasure Island. Enough to scare Honest John. Whether they know about the donkey thing is another story. The boys get there first by coach, and then by boat, from a pretty secret looking dock. And it's all pretty young boys, no teens. When the donkeys stop talking, they get shipped out on another boat. There are a lot of boys on pleasure island, and a very small amount of donkeys that can still talk, so it must not take long for them to go full donkey. Which also begs the question... why can Donkey from Shrek still talk? Now Donkey from Shrek is an adult. And I believe donkeys take 2 years to get to "mating age". So let's suppose donkey ages at the same rate as a real donkey. So it could be anywhere from 1-2 years since Donkey was on pleasure island. He also couldn't just swim by himself. He wouldn't be able to make it without a boat. In all that time, Donkey has 1) not lost the ability to speak, 2) has not shown any interest in becoming human again, 3)is so FREAKING CHEERFUL! Sincerely cheerful, not the "laughing to hide the pain" cheerful. When he's upset, makes sure you know! In fact, talking too much is one of his big character traits. 4) proves that he knows his directions 5)obviously doesn't have amnesia about being human With this, I think I can spin another story here: Donkey is indeed special. He's one of the few pleasure island boys that never stopped talking. EVER. So in true Shrek fashion, the slavers on the island just sold him off out of pure annoyance. To a land far, FAR away (fairytale pun!) where he could never trace back to his original home. over that time, Donkey adopts his laid back personality (or always had it and that's what got him to P-Island in the first place) in order to cope. So the Donkey we see now is one that has given up trying to get home. Perhaps he tried a few times, and THAT'S why he knows how to get to Farquad's castle. He was searching for a way home! But now he's an adult, and he's given up. Maybe Donkey thinks he's too far to ever find the way home. But since we see Pinocchio, we KNOW that Pleasure island must be closer then Donkey thinks. Donkey just doesn't know da wae! All he can do is make waffles, keep talking and enjoy what life he has now... Which is super depressing! But that's just a theory. A This-is-so-long-why-didn't-I-just-make-a-video-i-should-be-cleaning THEORY! Edit: OMG my comment was liked and pinned by the theory crew! Thank you so much! Edit again: Dudes, I know the pin was taken off. Didn't know that happens when you edit. but I'm just happy I was noticed in the first place.
No, I think donkey just pretended to not be able to talk, since he’s shown doing so in Shrek. He was probably sold off with the Coachman thinking that he can’t talk.
Also, in the live action movie with Jonathan Taylor Thomas the boys get a chance to redeem themselves by being good and doing good deeds to turn back into humans.
Remember the horror of the live action Adventures of Pinocchio? I remember liking it but the transformation scene is always creepy. 😂m.kzclip.org/video/lfrMHLb2nX0/бейне.html
Wasn't Dr5eamworks pretty much poking fun at Disney films and "wholesomeness" in Shrek? It makes sense they would use a character from one of the more horrifying symbols of "innocence lost" ion a disney movie, while also keeping him a cute talking animal
Could have also tried to say something but was never believed and outcasted for “making up” such a story. It’s a magical land, so talking animals aren’t out of the ordinary but one escaping and saying someone is kidnapping boys and turning them into working animals and selling them off may actually be to unbelievable. And also could have been a memory he tries to keep covered because it is so traumatizing.
Creators of Shrek: W-we just wanted a talking donkey...
MatPat: *NO*
How did you not get pined?
@Galaxyweirdo 101 IKR
the donkey of seville
end of the 4th shrek
@Sofia Jakowczuk That was joke
@Joe it’s a gacha player now
Imagine if they made a movie about confronting pleasure island in the Shrek universe. I would definitely watch that
That would give me so much catharsis! That scene horrified me when I was a kid, I used to hope there'd be a sequel were the boys got rescued, lol
That would be amazing
Shrek 5 Predictions
the dragon comes in and just roasts the place she ha sa beast of a fire breath as we could see during Shrek´s storming of the castle
I know this is really late, and you’ve already proved the theory but donkey also says: “I can’t feel my toes, wait I don’t have toes” in the movie. Which implies that he knows what having toes is like.
And, then, he follows that up with, "I need a hug..."
If this theory is true, then, yes, he does. 😔
good one
@TheVampireMatrix I care three!
@Vixen Maybe being a donkey is what has made him a better person, and the horse form is the final version of that? He had to have been a naughty child and a bully as a human
You're forgetting something MatPat.
The Pinocchio from Shrek is based on the one from the book not the Disney film. In the book, he's not left with a donkey tail and ears before becoming a real boy. Rather, he becomes a full donkey but then gets changed back into his full puppet before having several more adventures.
with this in mind, it's still possible that Shrek's Pinocchio has already been to Pleasure Island.
I came here to say just this, additionally I think it's entirely possible that Shrek's Pinocchio simply didn't become a real boy following the events on The Land of Toys, and the thing with the terible dogfish, or like, lied at some point and got his good boy points revoked. So he's been repuppetted.
Also in the book it seems like The Coachman is significantly less concerned with the children being able to talk, since he let talking donkeys pull the coach.
@Pickle Rick he does die, the fairy brings him back, but originally Colodi wanted to end it with him hanging by the neck till dead.
Y try to
This is true but Shrek is a also a parody of Disney musicals so it makes since most of it came from the Disney adaptation.
@Pickle Rick the movie Is based on the original book named Shrek. There Is a talking donkey in the book. He was never a human.
Are we not gonna talk about how in the first movie when the old lady tried to sell him he pretended that he couldn’t talk? Maybe that was because he thought that someone would send him back to pleasure Island if they knew
@Silver's Sketchbook
THIS! THIS RIGHT HERE!
I LOVE THIS!
@RosyOwl03 maybe he's comfortable around Fiona because she was trapped in a castle for so long and he thought she couldn't know about it
that could also be how he escaped
@E E
As a trauma survivor I will say even after four years some of the people closest to me still don't know it happened because it is terrifying to say something - I don't blame him
But in my not speaking up somebody else did get hurt. She was strong enough to say something, I wish I had been as strong as she was. No matter what it's a double edged sword - if you don't say anything somebody else could get hurt, if you do say something- then everybody knows and then that's all they know
See that's completely understandable in your case, but in this situation Donkey is condemning potentially hundreds of children by not speaking up
Take care
Nobody should blame any trauma survivor
I’ve never realized how creepy donkeys face is until it’s staring into my soul
Same man same....
Fr
@Donkey lol
He was a child when it happened, he probably is so traumatised that he can't even think of his past. Plus, Pinnocio himself wasn't a bad kid, just caught up. Donkey could be a good kid in a bad place with heavy trauma.
@steef4000000 exactly
@Bella Knight yeah, it's weird how some people expect a mentally traumatized child (or man, depending on how much time has passed) in a donkey's body to risk it all and become a hero.
I think you're right. However, he could want revenge against the boys that bullied him. He wouldn't want to save them, and therefore would have no desire to reveal the atrocities of Pleasure Island.
Concerning whether Donkey alerted anyone about Pleasure Island, consider the fact that in all the time Donkey was with Shrek, Pinocchio never disappeared or turned into a donkey. Maybe Donkey couldn't shut the whole operation down but saved who he could.
In defense of Donkey, it is also possible that he already acted against Pleasure Island. Maybe the reason Pinocchio never went there is that Donkey already reported it to the authorities and had it shut down.
Pretty sure donkey was not brave enough to tell somebody (mostly because his trauma) but if he did, I feel like the people will treat him like he’s idiot or doesn’t believe him since he donkey
This theory is actually confirmed, because at first, when the grandma tries to sell him, by telling the soldiers that he can talk, he doesn't, he might have done that in pleasure island as well.
Clever
That's a bold take on Donkey being a bad person for not stepping up to expose the kidnapping ring. He was a kid at the time when he escaped. The whole ordeal was clearly traumatizing and going to the authorities could have easily backfired on him and got him caught by the very people he escaped from. He instead decided it was best to put all that behind him, and proceeded to repress these troubling memories from his past.
"No screaming naked babies around here"
Matpat, that's a lie. You're a parent.
He Has The Power Called The Cutaway The Cutaway Is When You Say Stories Or Say Something It Happens In Reality
@The Film Theorists I love your videos 🥰🥰
tell to the judge you creep😏 funny 🤭😄
Is nobody gonna talk about that but in the beginning it’s hysterical 😂😂😂
@The Film Theorists What inspired you to become a KZclipr
Could it be a PTSD thing? Maybe he's not able to remember all of what he went through, he just knows it was horrible somewhere in his past and he doesn't want to go there again. It hurts to much to even think about. He can't bring himself to admit what happened, let alone the fact that it's still happening to others.
donkey probably repressed it tbh
Or he’s too traumatized to tell anyone. It’s common in trauma victims.
But he can remember the name bullys called him.
Especially as a kid? Something like that you'd have to block out of your memory if you wanted to function at all.
For the record, Donkey is actually based on a character in William Stieg's original picture book.
To be fair, if the Big Bad Wolf is a combination of the wolf from Little Red Riding Hood and The Three Little Pigs, who can't say that Donkey is a combination of William Stieg's Donkey and the donkeys from Pinocchio.
thanks :) had no idea and surprised mat didnt bring up the book. polygon did a prettyu decent atricle about the childrens book Shrek!
and i want to add that mats theory still works within the confines of the short story, especially considering the film deviates from the book in almost every way
Ah just let us have our fun 🙄
Thanks for saying this :)
MatPat, I love your analysis saying how donkey is from the Grim brothers story or from Pleasure Island (and I wouldn’t want to ruin it) but if you noticed in Shrek Forever After; when Donkey and the witches are taking Shrek to Rumpelstiltskin, Donkey says to Shrek "I am not going back to wok for Old MacDonald" revealing Donkeys backstory and Fairytale/Nursery Rhyme he’s actually from. Old MacDonald Had A Farm.
Maybe Donkey got sold to Old McDonald but then escaped and that’s why he doesn’t want to work for him anymore
I don't agree with that because, for one, it's not like it was ever mentioned in the other movies. The 4th movie was meant to show what life would have been like had Shrek not been there. Donkey never met Shrek, but he was about to be caught and sold off to Lord Farquad. In this, it would show that likely, since Shrek wasn't there to scare the soldiers away, Donkey likely hit his head on the tree Shrek was putting warning signs up on instead of running into Shrek, and knocked himself out, getting himself caught in the end, and lord Farquad forced him to work for old Mcdonald. If he was always a donkey on the old McDonald's farm, he wouldn't have known what it was like to have toes or wear clothes, both things he has said in the movies. Plus, the donkey in the old McDonalds rhyme makes a donkey sound, it doesn't talk, but Donkey learned to control that same sound.
To be fair, I feel that the trauma he endured is having a lasting appeal. Saying he hasn't stood up and stopped them feels as fair as accusing someone who has been abused or violated of allowing it to continue, just because they are scared to stand up. It's not the exact same thing, sure, but if this theory is true, and I think it is, Donkey has been violated in a whole new kind of way.
There’s just something missing from that theory though: in the second Shrek movie, when donkey drank the potion, he turned into a majestic stallion. Why didn’t the potion turn him back into a human? It’s called “Happily Ever After” potion with the added condition of “beauty divine”. If it truly was that, then shouldn’t donkey’s “happily ever after” be-according to your theory-turning back into a human?
Like how Shrek has always been an ogre, but turned into a human, it wasn't his original form or anything, and if it just makes you beautiful, he would just be a handsome ogre.
It’s not like an ogre is a deformed human, it’s a completely different species. So therefore whether donkey was originally human, him turning into a horse is just his personal preference.
It turns in Who you want to be, probably he Is to traumatized to accept a human form
It's really too bad this comment wasn't made when the vid was uploaded because I think it wouldve been voted near the top I it had👍🏻
Lets also keep in mind that Donkey fakes being unable to talk in the first Shrek movie... so he absolutely could have done the same thing to get off the island.
@Zachary Kerns well most bullies aren't smart kids , so most of them didn't have the idea or were too scared to fake. Donkey may have been a smart kid but he got send to pleasure island like Pinocchio, so that would also explain that other kids would make fun of him
Sooo true, which would explain how he got into the elderly lady's care and why she would try to sell him when she found out he could talk.
E
@Zachary Kerns lmaoooooooooooooooooo
Although wild that may be true it doesn't help the fact that the lady who owns the donkey knows for a fact that he can talk and if she knew this there could be a possibility that she would have thrown him back on the island
I honestly haven't watched Pinocchio, even now as an adult, because when I read the book I was terrified of Pleasure Island. It evokes a deep seated fear and discomfort of losing control over bodily autonomy. The kids wanted to act like they were above others, perhaps like adults, so they were stripped of the freedom they so desired.
But the theory makes total sense and I have a new appreciation for Donkeys character.
I’m scared
If Donkey was a human boy, then he should have turned back into a human boy when he drank the Happily Ever After potion in Shrek 2, because Fiona turned back into her former body.
@gracejordan110 that be true my dood
@SuperNova Gaming not to mention, he’s never seen his adult self as a human and I feel like that would be incredibly nerve wracking to commit to.
@Vic & Con This is possibly not true.
According to another commentor the Pinocchio in the movies is based on the one from the original book.
In the book Pinocchio is fully transformed, and then returned to his toy-body later.
This also means the pleasure-island timeline might be off, as Pinocchio may have already been there at the time of the movie.
@Ayano Kawane Gucci he took the potion to make Fiona happy, does that constitute the transformation?
this could be debunked easily seeing how ti's supposed to make you "beautiful" and also more comfortable in your own skin. And seeing how he's with Dragon I don't think him becoming a human would make him comfortable especially after the horrors that he's been though well alleged anyway it's a theory. This potion isn't supposed to revert you back to what you were cause shrek was never human. So how the potion revert someone back to who they were and revert shrek to human when he's never been?
Remember at the ending of the first shrek movie Fiona stats after the kiss "I don't get it....I'm supposed to be beautiful...." this actually gives context to how fiona feels deep inside meaning she in her subconscious still finds her human form more beautiful than her ogar self then again during the time she's still getting used to it.
and to shrek being a human male would be more comfortable and "beautiful" cause it's the same as his wife and to him he probably even thinks that's what fiona would want more so it let him be humane
and remember also in the first shrek where fiona calls Donkey a noble steed and he says "You hear that?! She called me a steed! I'mma steed!" meaning he wants more to be like a horse especially since when taken back he goes "well so much for a noble steed...." so at least as wacky as this movie series can get, the continuity is spot on with how the characters feel even from previous movie
I just always assumed he was a human turned donkey from the Pinocchio story
"This sounds a lot like our donkey: he speaks English, ..."
Brothers Grimm *angry in German*:
"Sind wir ein Witz für dich?"
("Are we a joke to you")
MA9009 (Boring Videos) the world was England for a while though. That’s why we all speak English. If your grandad fought abit harder, maybe the world would be German right now.
But England did invade 80% of the world at one point In History. To clarify for you ‘akshually’ people, they only held 1/3 at the same time. But over the course of history, nearly all nations were invaded by UK. Including Germany
Pinocchio also takes place in Italy, which means that Donkey originally spoke Italian.
Diese Kommentar sektion ist nun Eigentum der BDR
Ya mein freundlich
Yes
seeing matpat arrest Prince Charming with Russian subtitles genuinely made me laugh
@TylerTMG i might lol
@Solar_987 also translate i forgot about translate its horribe but you can use it
@TylerTMG deaf people who know russian: i have no such weakness
it needed english for deaf people
Are we just gonna ignore the fact that this theory implies a human child in the form of a donkey conceived children with a dragon?
Well we're ignoring that a human in the form of an ogre has children with an Ogre..... Sooooo Yeah..... nothing unusual here.
@Audentes Fortuna Juvat I always thought dragon was a princess trapped as a dragon as a curse. Based on folklore, I think the children from Dragon, have been genetically diverse due to human fae hybrid, plus a donkey new gene. The reason why i say fae hybrid, is the fact that I believe dragon is a princess that is human for three days out of the year, as she is dragon for the majority of the time due to a fae curse by her mother or an ancestor. But she isn’t a part of the Disney canon. But original folklore in Shrek, is very apparent, as three blind mice isn’t Disney, nor is little red riding hood. Which is why I don’t believe in this theory, but it is very compelling, and extremely plausible. I find that the Donkey I am leaning towards is the Brothers Grimm version The Donkey, because most of folklore is based on retellings of classic fairy tales, which are darker. But also Hansel and Gretel isn’t part of the Disney universe, nor is the gingerbread man
@Akriashi no it’s spelled right. Reread it. I think they are adorable because I think it’s just a movie.
DoNkEy
Love is love, man
When I was younger and watched this movie with my mom I asked her what story Donkey was from. She just said, "This one."
She's right because there's a talking donkey in the book shrek is based off
surprised nobody is talking about this it's super obvious
Donkey is clearly terrified of being discovered in the first film. My best guess is he's suffering PTSD from the traumatic events of the island and his special turn so he's in hiding just trying to survive. It's very possible he was found or wandered into the farm of the old crone who I'm also guessing is a widow and discovered he can talk entirely by accident. He hides his speaking ability to everyone else but she knows and is obviously annoyed by it. It's likely she tried to tell people but being widowed they probably just believed she was going nuts with grief. The ironic part is since she's dismissed by everyone else donkey is literally the only being she can speak with and given he's now free to speak his motor mouth really does start to drive her nuts. It's no wonder she tries to get rid of him first chance she gets
Comments like these are the reasons I switch my comments to "newest first". fucking brilliant
As MatPat points out, he was bullied AFTER his transformation. Meaning that the other donkey kids continued to be mean to him even after they themselves had transformed into donkeys. I think Donkey believes that the kids in pleasure island deserve their fate. Also, seeing how he doesn't want to talk about it and he clearly has no interest in changing back, he probably believes he deserves to stay a donkey.
As depressing as this theory is, its one of my favorites.
IKR
As for why Donkey doesn't spill the beans on Pleasure Island, remember that it was only bad boys who got taken there. Maybe if Donkey talked about it he'd have to admit to something really bad like homicide, somebody dying as a result of his antics.
MatPat: "Where have we ever seen a talking donkey?"
Me, immediately: "Pinocchio...."
I always thought he was the donkey from pinnochio
In the original Shrek book (which was literally the source material for the movie) a side character Is a talking donkey. Donkey was never human and he Is not connected to Pinocchio.
The Bible.
I’m the 1,500th like on the comment. I feel significant
Yep
Donkey did tell someone dragon. Remember when dokney was left to watch their kids because a disagreement, maybe Donkey told dragon and she wanted to help them and being a mother would definantly motivate her to stop the kidnapping of little boys and Donkey wanted to leave his traumatic past behind him.
Go dragon mom go
I would submit the trauma that donkey went through especially at a young age it would make it very difficult for him to even conceptualize the possibility of going back there and fighting his captors. That level of trauma can certainly have some serious effects on someone's brain
I honestly think Donkey has his priorities straight. He probably thinks he’ll be sent back if he tells anyone about his origin story. Also, banging Dragons FTW.
I never thought this was supposed to be a theory. I thought that the writers sat down and thought: ok how about we include the three little pigs, three bears, and maybe even Pinocchio and one of the donkeys from Pleasure Island. Even when I would watch this I immediately thought: oh I get it, he’s one of the donkeys from Pleasure Island. Am I ahead of this theory’s time?!?!?! 😂
I don't blame Donkey for not wanting to talk about Pleasure Island. For the most part he probably tries to keep his traumatic past buried. Its not uncommon for people to do things like that.
When there was debate over a Puss In Boots movie, or a Donkey movie, the directors admitted that Donkey's backstory was gonna be quite depressing.
Pixel Smile Well he’s a more recent character compared to the classics but he does have his own book. Look it up. It’s just shrek. If you wanna know what goes on in the book I recommend watch Jon Solo’s video on it.
@Hat Cellucard I hate it when that happens
yeah would definitely get some tears, and Im not talking about tears of joy....
@Stephan Chiarini a-are you o-ok?
@Stephan Chiarini ...oh
I have a little addition to your end. If Donkey really has experienced all that we see happening on pleasure island in the Pinoccio movie, it's not hard to imagine he has suffered severe trauma. You pointed that out before. And, I am talking from my own experience here, sometimes a trauma can be so scary that one is so scared of even remotely reliving that time, that they won't ever talk about it again, just because the memory of that time itself can act as a whole trauma on its own. And being turned into a donkey, getting almost shipped away, being further mistreated by the criminals on pleasure island on top of being bullied... Yeah I'd call that a very good possibility to experience the mentioned kind of trauma. So to answer your question: Donkey not talking about what happened to him, does not necessarily make him a bad person but rather a traumatized child trying to never relive what happened. And yes, trauma, especially when not therapised, can follow you your whole life.
In my opinion, this is a different timeline from original Pinocchio. You can't assume that pleasure island still exists in Shrek universe. Let donkey have his peace. Maybe the island was already shut down but donkey doesn't want to talk about his dark past since he wants to forget everything in the past and look out for the future.
6:38 Also keep in mind that in Shrek 1, (which I just recently watched,) Donkey also said: “I can’t feel my toes! I don’t have any toes!”
BEST. THEORY. EVER!!! Especially the part about him being the EXACT SAME kind of donkey that was in 'Pinocchio'! He seems as if he was one of the kids in the Jonathan Taylor-Thomas version with the horrifying transformation scene on the roller coaster!! This is by far my favorite Film Theory video too, SO well done and interesting to watch:):)
I like the idea that after he got with the dragon, they eventually went back to pleasure island to save the others because he literally has a dragon on his side and it was just one of their adventures as a married couple. 😊
That's actually a great idea for Shrek 5. Shrek and donkey go on an adventure to stop the enterprise at pleasure island
@Grantonator YES
Godot the coffee man
Cool idea
There’s 5!!
That would be a great movie!
even as a kid i thought it was pretty blatant he was once a human
@yo hehe😅
@Leonardo Somma I assume you also weren't the brightest kid, like me
I have to say....i never even caught on to these things
It's especially sad cuz Donkey is hands down the most emotionally healthy character in DreamWorks history. He's all about expressing his feelings but that goes to show you that even someone as open as Donkey aren't always able to share their past with others.
Maybe he DID try telling someone, but no one believed him. Until he got the attention of an old woman. An old woman who was more interested in his ability to talk, and tried to sell him to the Castle like we see in the beginning of the movie.
I’d like to think Donkey tried to tell people about pleasure island, potentially the old lady he was with at the start of Shrek, but upon hearing a talking donkey, the lady tied him up and tried to give him to the royal guard peoples. After that, Donkey was too afraid to tell anyone else.
I think Donkey just felt that there was nothing he could do about it. It just felt so hopeless that he just became apathetic to it.
In Shrek 2, Donkey drank the happily ever after potion that turned him into his most desired self. Shrek turned into a human, becoming less feared and able to live life comfortably, which is all he ever wanted to do. Donkey, however, turned into a 'noble steed', a valiant stallion.
Assuming this theory is true and that Donkey started off as a human, wouldn't he want to turn back into a human? The reason he is so content with being a donkey and doesn't tell anyone about what happened on Pleasure Island can only mean one thing...
Donkey's human form was a furry.
Edit: I admire how seriously some of you are taking this theory, but to clarify, it's a joke. (also we love how every reply tells me that the potion does a different thing)
Maybe it could be the fact that by then he was used to the life of a donkey already that becoming human doesn't cross his mind anymore. I mean he now has friends and a family so he might have become happy with what his life turned out to be.
It’s a happily ever after potion. (That’s literally it’s name) this makes the assumption that it’s function is to change you into the form you would achieve your happily ever after in. (Like Cinderella’s transformation by her fairy godmother.) Donkey wouldn’t have been happy as a human and may not even remember being human in the first place depending upon how young he was when sent to pleasure island. Not to mention the potion seem linked to the person that you are meant to be with (ergo his would be linked to the very pregnant dragon.) so a human dragon love match might not have worked. (Considering dragon probably associates humans with knights who previously attacked her.)
I think it's a permanent thing tho, like once u turn into a donkey, u never turn back into human
The happily ever after potion turns you in to the most BEAUTIFUL version of what you currently ARE
@Tosin Babalola most DESIRED self. If I wish to be a cat, so be it for I desire it the most.
I love how he takes a really weird and unexplainable theory and then just starts piling on evidence
I wouldn't blame Donkey too much. He went through some major trauma and that's not always or even usually easy to talk about. It could be severely emotionally and mentally and possibly physically draining for Donkey to think about or know about it let alone insert himself back into the situation no matter what he's doing.
It'd be cool to have a spinoff movie about this...
Oh found this on the Shrek Wiki under Donkey's page, "Though it is never stated which fairytale creature Donkey is based on if any, it is possible he is based at least partly on the Aesop Fable of the stubborn donkey who ran off a cliff out of stubbornness against his master. This is supported by his first scene in the original Shrek, where he is pleading with his former owner that he won't be stubborn again." I guess Matt does these theories for fun now, either way it is entertaining XD
Great & very full proof theory! I’m so glad I found this channel, I love this kind of stuff! 👏👏
Director: Lets just make a talking donkey
Film Theory:
E
film theory i dont think so
@MrParkerman6 ok lol
Shrek is a burn on Disney, a lot of things in this are super details to make fun of Disney. This theory would make sense in that idea. Making fun of the fact that even though Pinocchio is a boy, there were probably millions of donkeys that were boys that never changed back. This is a story of one of those Donkeys
I love it how MatPat just said "Living it up, Banging Dragons"
that can be the next shrek movie
I think the ending has a fallacy, this story takes place in the midevil times and no one would listen to a kid or if he said it as an adult he’d be thrown in the insane asylum or maybe sold to some magic animal buyers
This world does have magic in it though. So, although it's equivalent to the medieval period on Earth, turning humans into talking donkeys would probably be as normal as anything.
What are you on about? Medieval or not, they still react the same. Do you really think today would be any different?
I always thought the spell that fell on him in the first movie was how he could talk. Does that mean he talk before that?
He was faking
kzclip.org/video/emdURdsmguQ/бейне.html
Before the spell itself he talks with the lady before being rounded up
One of the few theory videos for this channel that actually sounds believable and convincing
According to Shrek 3, Donkey is from Old Mac Donald’s farm
Matpat: this is it, everything connects.
Video: *has 5 minutes left*
Yeah, I was expecting a "but, wait a minute..." Coming up
I am so happy that this introduced me to James, now he’s one of my favourite creators
"Living it up, banging dragons"- Matpat
I actually wanna propose a theory of my own. Precisely on how donkey escaped... Perhaps the reason why he's not talking about the other boys on pleasure island is that he made a deal to escape and still keep a portion of his humanity left. Maybe the trade offer was to keep quite and they may let him go with some of humanity.
I thought it was pretty obvious he was a boy that was transformed into Donkey but, maybe that was just me. My parents didn't even know who Donkey was, and I had to explain it to them. There is a reason he is next in line after Pinnochio.
Donkey could of been the offspring of the son of the first fairy tale character you discussed but the Pleasure Island theory is total genius
Thanks so much for the shoutout! (and for pronouncing my name right!)
Hi! Love your content :)
Wow only 93 comments
Ayo
E
@Alec2109 he probably doesn’t check his vids more then after a week they’re posted, also he literally mentioned him in the vid, anyone with common sense would check the description if they were interested in his channel
That is interesting. I had always assumed this was related to "Donkey Cabbages" by the brothers Grimm where a huntsman gets tricked by a witch into vomiting up a bird heart that gave him a gold coin under his pillow every night (its a fairy tale. They're a bit weird.) And turned into a do key after eating a magic cabbage.
This just reminds me how dark Pinocchio was
Let’s keep in mind that donkey might have been used to living as a donkey long enough that he forgot. Or he forcefully blocked it from his memory and in the shriek movies did not think to tell about it
I can even add on to this theory, how Donkey could have escaped pleasure island. When the old lady brings Donkey to get her reward the soldier says he’s worth 10 shillings if she can prove it but Donkey outsmarts the old lady by staying quiet. It’s theoretically possible then to assume that Donkey did this same trick to outsmart his captors by ‘hee hawing’ instead of giving his name like Alexander did. Maybe that was Dresmwork’s way of showing us how Donkey got away from Pleasure Island.
2:55
Small thing, but I think a lot of the people in that scene know where the castle is, but everyone besides donkey is too scared. That's how I have always seen it, at least
"Donkey is secretly a human"
Yeah and his name is Eddie Murphy
E
🤣👌
@Darkamora Pinnochio is Disney
No I'm from the future and his name is Edd Crouse
OMIGOSH IT IS!!!?11!!!!!???//
When I was in the second grade, I was the star in a little play about a singing, talking donkey who journeys to some city to become part of a band. When Shrek first came out, I always liked to believe that Donkey was based off my donkey.
Trama is a powerful thing. One can not knock Donkey for not speaking up.
Technically if donkey didn’t say his name or accidentally made a donkey sound when asked too he might of been sold still able to talk
I mean, donkey could have been threatened not to tell in exchange for something. Donkey’s a good guy and sacrifices for the good of others- doesn’t make sense for him to be a bully at his current age. As a boy? Sure. As an adult who gives all to his friends and family? Not a chance.
Donkey’s being forced to hide the secret in exchange for something else entirely.
Right when I saw this, I immediately thought you'd bring up the fact that when Shrek was turned into a human, donkey was just turned into a horse. He didn't change into a human, which when I was thinking about it, seemed weird to me. I now realize that no, that makes complete sense.
I think the reason Donkey had never said anything about the Donkey Scheme was because he might’ve thought nobody would believe him. That’s why he goes by just... Donkey. After all, especially if the scheme is still a big secret, nobody would have any reason to believe him.
And clearly through the movies nobody takes Donkey seriously because not only is he a donkey, but because of his jokester personality.
Many victims of abuse may not come out either because someone may find them and discredit them, or just not believe them. He’s gone through trauma. He doesn’t want to talk about it, because he may be scared someone is going to come and find him. He’s a victim and he was abused on the island to make him feel like he had no power.
That’s just my own personal theory. As to not just demonize a victim of course akdhsjf
I agree with this!
Talking animals seems to be pretty normal in the shrek universe thought
While this is very, VERY late, I feel like I should mention that Donkey wouldn’t need much proof or reasoning to get people to believe him…. I mean, he IS the proof. You don’t just see talking Donkey’s regularly.
There are likely other reasons for him keeping quiet. Maybe he doesn’t know how to save them, maybe he’d rather let it be in the past, or maybe he doesn’t even wanna save them because any attempt to do so will bring attention to him and possibly force him back to Pleasure Island.
@makayla !!
What if word about him drifts to the island and he's taken back! They would follow, of course, because he is Donkey, but still. It'd be a whole Shrek war arc.
i agree. and maybe the only way they WOULD believe him is if he took them there and he’s afraid of being re-captured if he did.
Your explanation about Brothers Grimm stories means The Donkey could still be viable.
The fact that no one makes accurate renditions of the stories.
It's possible that both stories could be inspiration for the character.
I had a dream when I was younger kind of like the how the boys are turned into donkeys and shipped away and it TERRIFIED ME I had no clue how my brain came up with this scary dream until this video I haven't seen ponokio in a very VERY long time but I just realized that my dream seems heavily inspired off of that concept...
lol
Personally, I think that Donkey is based on the donkey in the story of The Bremen Town Musicians, given his propensity to singing/humming.
You see... when my friends ask me something about a movie I just say thats just what makes it funny. Where mat pat here would do as much research as possible and start going on and on while entertaining me and my friends.
Now I just want to read a fanfiction where Donkey gets serious flashbacks from Pleasure Island and breaks down in front of Fiona and she makes him come clean about it. She then helps him free the other donkeys on Pleasure Island in a huge sting operation. Fiona is a princess after all. It would make sense that she would have some sort of authoritative power to mobilize knights and magical creatures to save innocent children.
god you really dont realize how dark pinnochio is when your a child
And yet so few movies take advantage of that. There's only a few truly dark Pinocchio movies. The Disney one and the adventures of Pinocchio
@Elisabeth Díaz me too, till date the story line scares me
Ya read the grim story version when you're 8 and see a drawing of Pinocchio getting hang
I had nightmares for a few days. Imagine watching yourself turn into a donkey
Even as a child I was terrified and confused about the donkey scene
also to add to the theory, he could have pretended that he couldn't talk, got sold to the salt mines, was caught talking, then brought in for a reward, which is where we meet him in the first movie!
Did you all know that Chris Farley originally had the role of Shrek before he died, he filmed a couple scenes using his voice, until Mike meyers and they realized they had to change it completely because the voices were so far apart.
Imagine if this is the plot of Shrek 5 and Donkey gets a redemption arc for never speaking up about his past
It's also possible that Donkey blocked out all the trauma from his childhood or simply didn't remember any of it because he was too young when it happened.
Think about it, most people don't remember 99% of the stuff they did when they were under the age of 6-7, and if the memories were traumatic there's a high probability those memories get blocked out.
13:23 I think he WAS sold out! An old lady purchased him and when she was done, she wanted to sell him to farquad (sorry if I spelled wrong)
When Matpat makes a theory:
Well, there goes my childhood
There goes your childhood?? Man, Pinocchio was the creepiest movie ever!
Wow it said that it was 68 likes so I like but then it turns into 71 :/
In Czech folklore there is a story about a donkey that, when he shakes itself, creates gold. And I think he can talk, too. Idk that much about Shrek (haven't seen it in years) but I always thaught he was that
Never thought I could think like a theorist before but when I saw Shrek I thought about the Pinnochio donkeys too!
Are we ignoring the fact that the Coachman in Disney's Pinnochio got away with his evil plan and was never caught?
Donkey is a grown up version of one of the kids from Pinocchio that escaped before he lost the ability to talk
As a german kid I always thought Donkey was the donkey from the „Bremer Stadtmusikanten“ which is another fairytale about a rooster, a cat, a dog, and a donkey. I don’t quite remember the story, so feel free to look it up everyone.
Hmmm. Does Donkey even know how to get back to Pleasure Island? This deserves some research!
*1 research montage later*
Okay, so this is what I got, without watching the whole two movies:
The "law" apparently know something about Pleasure Island. Enough to scare Honest John. Whether they know about the donkey thing is another story. The boys get there first by coach, and then by boat, from a pretty secret looking dock. And it's all pretty young boys, no teens. When the donkeys stop talking, they get shipped out on another boat. There are a lot of boys on pleasure island, and a very small amount of donkeys that can still talk, so it must not take long for them to go full donkey. Which also begs the question... why can Donkey from Shrek still talk?
Now Donkey from Shrek is an adult. And I believe donkeys take 2 years to get to "mating age". So let's suppose donkey ages at the same rate as a real donkey. So it could be anywhere from 1-2 years since Donkey was on pleasure island. He also couldn't just swim by himself. He wouldn't be able to make it without a boat.
In all that time, Donkey has 1) not lost the ability to speak, 2) has not shown any interest in becoming human again, 3)is so FREAKING CHEERFUL! Sincerely cheerful, not the "laughing to hide the pain" cheerful. When he's upset, makes sure you know! In fact, talking too much is one of his big character traits. 4) proves that he knows his directions 5)obviously doesn't have amnesia about being human
With this, I think I can spin another story here: Donkey is indeed special. He's one of the few pleasure island boys that never stopped talking. EVER. So in true Shrek fashion, the slavers on the island just sold him off out of pure annoyance. To a land far, FAR away (fairytale pun!) where he could never trace back to his original home. over that time, Donkey adopts his laid back personality (or always had it and that's what got him to P-Island in the first place) in order to cope.
So the Donkey we see now is one that has given up trying to get home. Perhaps he tried a few times, and THAT'S why he knows how to get to Farquad's castle. He was searching for a way home! But now he's an adult, and he's given up. Maybe Donkey thinks he's too far to ever find the way home. But since we see Pinocchio, we KNOW that Pleasure island must be closer then Donkey thinks. Donkey just doesn't know da wae!
All he can do is make waffles, keep talking and enjoy what life he has now... Which is super depressing!
But that's just a theory. A This-is-so-long-why-didn't-I-just-make-a-video-i-should-be-cleaning THEORY!
Edit: OMG my comment was liked and pinned by the theory crew! Thank you so much!
Edit again: Dudes, I know the pin was taken off. Didn't know that happens when you edit. but I'm just happy I was noticed in the first place.
No, I think donkey just pretended to not be able to talk, since he’s shown doing so in Shrek. He was probably sold off with the Coachman thinking that he can’t talk.
Also, in the live action movie with Jonathan Taylor Thomas the boys get a chance to redeem themselves by being good and doing good deeds to turn back into humans.
Remember the horror of the live action Adventures of Pinocchio? I remember liking it but the transformation scene is always creepy. 😂m.kzclip.org/video/lfrMHLb2nX0/бейне.html
Better or just as good as the actual video
That could also explain why donkey is generally a "good guy"
Wasn't Dr5eamworks pretty much poking fun at Disney films and "wholesomeness" in Shrek? It makes sense they would use a character from one of the more horrifying symbols of "innocence lost" ion a disney movie, while also keeping him a cute talking animal
Could have also tried to say something but was never believed and outcasted for “making up” such a story. It’s a magical land, so talking animals aren’t out of the ordinary but one escaping and saying someone is kidnapping boys and turning them into working animals and selling them off may actually be to unbelievable. And also could have been a memory he tries to keep covered because it is so traumatizing.