Shrek’s Donkey spin-off movie reignites franchise’s biggest question

Kayla Harrington
Shrek and Donkey in Shrek 2

Newly released details about the Shrek spinoff movie centered around Donkey have reignited the franchise’s biggest question.

Fans of the anti-fairytale franchise Shrek were gifted two amazing updates at the end of June when it was confirmed Shrek 5 started voice recording and a spinoff movie was in the works.

The new film will follow Shrek’s loyal best friend, Donkey (Eddie Murphy), in a solo adventure that promises to reveal more of the character’s layers.

Murphy has revealed more details about Donkey’s upcoming story, telling Entertainment Tonight, “[The movie will be] just Donkey, well, his dragon wife, his half-dragon donkey children will be in it.” 

Thanks to Murphy’s quote, fans once again started asking questions around the franchise’s looming mystery: how did Donkey and Dragon make their children?

“But seriously though how did Donkey have sex with the dragon?” one fan posted on X while another commented, “This is still the trippiest animal hybrid ever in movies.”

Questions about the pair’s relationship began in the first Shrek movie when Donkey and Dragon met during a mission to rescue Princess Fiona.

After being left alone with her while Shrek looked for Fiona, Donkey and Dragon formed a strong bond that was revealed to be more romantic during the film’s ending.

In Shrek 2, Donkey mentions that Dragon had been moody lately and he decides to go to Far Far Away with Shrek and Fiona in order to escape his relationship troubles.

However, at the end of the movie, Dragon confesses that she was moody because she was pregnant and then introduces Donkey to their gaggle of hybrid babies.

Donkey and Dragon with their babies in Shrek 2

Since then, many fans have wondered how exactly a small donkey and a giant dragon could come together to make a child.

While many answers have been offered over the years by fans, one Reddit post from August 2022 actually tried to answer this pressing conundrum.

“It had always been my assumption that the Happily Ever After Potion facilitated the arrival of the… children,” one fan wrote, referencing the potion Shrek and Donkey took in the sequel to make their deepest desires a reality.

Another viewer theorized, “She laid the eggs, and he sat on them,” which does make sense, as many versions of mythical lore depict dragons as egg-laying mammals.

A third fan gave one of the best explanations as it plays into the Shrek universe’s idea of magic, “Most dragons have the ability to shapeshift to some extent. It’s likely she has this ability but just never used it on screen.”

As this query is still a hot topic to this day, fans can only hope that Donkey’s solo movie can shine some light on the subject.

While you wait for Donkey’s new movie, check out all the movies to watch this month and keep up with our guide of the best movies of 2024 so far.

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