Filmography › William Steig
All the books by William Steig adapted to cinema and television, ranked
One summer afternoon in 1907, Abelard Hassan de Chirico Flint and his wife (both mice) are picnicking, when they become separated during a violent rainstorm. After flying some distance, Abel discovers himself alone on a river island, unable to swim due to the powerful current. Abel periodically attempts to leave the island by various means.
Shrek is an anti-social and highly-territorial green ogre who loves the solitude of his swamp. His life is interrupted after the dwarfish Lord Farquaad of Duloc exiles a countless number of fairy-tale creatures to Shrek’s swamp. He reluctantly allows the talkative Donkey, who was exiled as well, to tag along and guide him to Duloc.
Newlyweds Shrek and Fiona return from their honeymoon to find they have been invited by Fiona’s parents to a royal ball to celebrate their marriage. At dinner, Shrek and Harold get into a heated argument over how Shrek and Fiona will raise their family, and Fiona, disgusted at Shrek and Harold’s behavior, locks herself away in her room that evening.
After Fiona and their three children scare away some teenage trick or treaters, Shrek, Donkey, Puss, the Three Little Pigs, the Big Bad Wolf, Gingy, and Pinocchio decide to tell scary stories. They go to the run down kingdom of Duloc where Lord Farquaad once reigned and get settled inside his abandoned castle and each take turns telling their story.
In a flashback, King Harold and Queen Lillian are about to sign the kingdom of Far Far Away over to Rumpelstiltskin (Rumpel), in exchange for lifting their daughter Princess Fiona’s curse. In the present time, an angry Rumpel laments his loss and wishes that Fiona’s rescuer, Shrek, had never been born.
Shrek and Princess Fiona are set to succeed the dying King Harold, but Shrek’s attempts to serve as the Regent during the King’s medical leave end in disaster. Immediately losing confidence, Artie tries taking control of the ship to go back to Worcestershire, and following a scuffle with Shrek, the ship crashes on a remote island where they encounter Artie’s retired wizard teacher, Merlin.