
The Shrek movie franchise has featured and parodied countless fairy tales and nursery rhymes over the years. It seems like they’ve at least referenced just about every single one out there. With more movies of the way, it makes one think about which ones have yet been touched by the popular film series. Here’s just some fairy tales and nursery rhymes that the Shrek movies have yet to touch on.
Anansi the Spider

Anansi comes from a West African tale about a god who is turned into a spider by his father as punishment for his mischievous ways. Anansi is known to be a trickster who can outsmart any opponent. This character could easily be used as a formidable villain in a Shrek movie.
Arabian Nights

From genies in lamps to a band of 40 thieves, every tale in Arabian Nights is begging to be adapted into fantasy movies. There’s also a lot to parody, especially with some of these stories becoming popular due to Disney. Imagine the trouble Shrek could get in when faced with a magic genie or trying to fly the ebony horse. There could be a lot of danger for our favorite characters.
Three Billy Goats Gruff

Three Billy Goats Gruff has three goats bamboozling a troll so they can cross a bridge to where there is more grass for them to eat. On the surface, there doesn’t seem like much to go off of for a Shrek movie, but the same could have been said for Little Jack Horner, which Puss In Boots: The Last Wish handled wonderfully. Dreamworks can make this much more epic in scale for the sake of the joke. Perhaps Shrek and his friends need to help a goat civilization to somewhere they can live, but a villainous troll does everything in his power to stop them. It would be silly with room for serious moments, which is exactly what makes Shrek work so well.
Jack Be Nimble

Jack Be Nimble is a simple rhyme that everyone knows. It’s so simple that it would be another one that might be hard to make something out of. However, that only means that more liberties can be taken with the character. Perhaps Jack wants revenge on someone who screwed him over during the candle-jumping competition. Maybe there’s some magical candle that grants good luck if you jump over it. He could also just join the side friend group with Gingy and Pinocchio. There are several options here.
There Was A Crooked Man

For a character that could make things a bit spoiler or more unsettling, Dreamworks could always throw the Crooked Man into the mix. There’s something about a man who’s always crooked that is just plain creepy. Alternatively, he could be used for a humorous sight gag in which he always spills his drinks because he’s crooked, or something along those lines. Dreamworks is full of creative folks who could surely find a way to make the Crooked Man work.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

There’s debate as to whether or not Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland counts as a fairy tale. Even if it’s not, it’s still a fantasy storybook aimed toward young readers. If the tales of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table are good enough for Shrek, then so should Alice. The lore and characters from Wonderland could lead to a lot of wacky nonsense in the Shrek universe, and fans are ready to see what sorts of ridiculousness Dreamworks can pull off with it.
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