So I was with my friends the other day when the topic of Shrek came up. We were talking about the stuff you’d expect, why it’s such a big franchise, which movie did it better, the supposed upcoming release, etc.

Suddenly the question is brought up, why is it that in the first movie, Shrek is the only ogre, but in the alternate reality where he didn’t existence shown in Shrek 4, there is an entire clan of ogre’s?

Now here two theories were proposed, A: Shrek has actually committed genocide against his own kind, thus leaving him as the last one, or B: Because of Shrek or one of the other ogre’s(though it is most likely Shrek, seeing as how it didn’t happen without him) among this clan created a plan, I’ll go into detail about what this plan was later.

Now the first theory states that Shrek has killed off his own kind, but why, and how? Simple, Shrek is secretly one of the most evil and manipulative beings alive. You see, the ogre’s did not always live in harmony, at one point they were even at the brink of war. Shrek, hungry for power and land, turned his loyal followers against the other ogre’s. The battle was bloody, and only one besides him survives. Though Shrek claims to be proud of this single survivor, he later kills them, and harvests organs from them and the rest of his fellow ogre’s, this is the source of the disembodied organs found scattered in mason jars throughout his house. He also made sure to bury them in the swamp, that way he could both preserve the bodies and hide his crime. Though Shrek is not one to be humble, he is crude, sour, and boastful. So, in order to keep others from his territory, he tells them terrible stories of the might of ogre’s and gives threats of killing humans, when in reality, he has slain ogre’s. Also, his roar isn’t actually a roar, it’s a warcry.

So theory B now. As I said before, I think it’s also possible that one of the ogre’s devised a plan. So now then, what *is* the plan? So it’s this: The ogre’s are another humanoid race inhabiting the same earth as normal humans, however their culture can be considered much more barbaric, reflecting their much more brutish form when compared to the average man. Because of this, they live like the Mongols(prior to Ghengis Kahn becoming their leader) while humanity lives more alike to medieval Europe. A wiser member of their soceity, knowing that conflict against humanity would be inevitable, devised that, rather than fight them or attempt to assimilate, instead do the opposite- become more isolated and adopt lives of solitude. The living situation of Shrek is a reflection of this, he lives by himself, rejects visitors, places signs warning travelers to steer clear, and has even called out: “WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY SWAMP?!”. So why would they do this you may ask? Wouldn’t perhaps staying united make their chance of survival greater? Perhaps, but not within the situation that they are in. You see, the wise one decided that to survive amongst the humans, they were to appear as monsters and beasts, rather than a rival race. This way, nearby populations would be frightened of them in the same manner as a dragon, rather than see them as invaders or savages. Though risky, we see that this strategy has paid off, as Shrek had lived mostly without trouble until the events of movie one. On the contrary, in the universe where Ogre Fiona leads the ogre’s to fight against the kingdom, it is seen that they are hunted as animals. The kingdom had also upped it’s own forces in response to the new threat that it found, a dragon resides within the grounds, the defenders are much more numerous, and they have even gone so far as hiring specialists such as The Pied Piper in the effort of hunting down the ogre’s.

So yeah, those are two theories that we came up with, just thought that I’d share them here. Discuss if you want or even help me make this more sound. In the meanwhile, I myself will try to study more on this. By that I mean watching the relevant movie’s and perhaps looking at any interviews that shed light on this, see you guys next time.