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This article is for a character that is approved as a Silly Pure Evil example, meaning they are a character that fits the criteria for Pure Evil while being consistently played for laughs. |
| “ | That champion shall have the honour... no, no... the privilege... to go forth and rescue the lovely Princess Fiona... from the fiery keep of the dragon. If, for any reason, the winner is unsuccessful, the first runner-up will take his place... and so on and so forth. Some of you may die, but it's a sacrifice I am willing to make. Let the tournament begin. | „ |
| ~ Lord Farquaad addressing his tournament participants. |
| “ | Beast! I'll make you regret the day we met, I'll see you drawn and quartered! You'll beg for death to save you! And as for you, my "wife", I'll have you locked back in that tower...FOR THE REST OF YOUR DAYS! I am King! I will have order! I will have perfection! I WILL HAVE— | „ |
| ~ Lord Farquaad's villainous breakdown and last words as he vows to have Shrek drawn and quartered and Fiona locked away in the tower until her death before he is eaten by Dragon. |
Lord Maximus Farquaad, better simply known as Lord Farquaad, is one of the two overarching antagonists (along Unidentified Witch) of Dreamworks Shrek franchise, serving as the main antagonist of DreamWorks' 5th full-length animated feature film, Shrek the first installment in the franchise of the same name, and the titular main antagonist of its 2003 short film, The Ghost of Lord Farquaad.
He was the oppressive ruler of a lordship called Duloc, and spent the first part capturing fairytale creatures so that he could find the Magic Mirror. Once he did, he asked if Duloc, the place where he ruled, was the perfect kingdom, but as he was not a king due to not being descended from royalty, Duloc was not a kingdom, so he tried to marry Princess Fiona to become king. He is very opprobrious, despicable and abhorrent, and loathes creatures of any kind and sought to relocate the fairytale creatures to Shrek's swamp. He makes a deal with Shrek by promising to remove the fairy tale creatures from his swamp if Shrek could bring Fiona to him, as he wanted to marry her out of lust. He is also the catalyst for Shrek meeting Donkey and Fiona.
He was voiced by John Lithgow, who also portrays Burke from Blow Out, Dave Crealy from The Rule of Jenny Pen, Earl Talbot Blake from Ricochet and Eric Qualen from Cliffhanger.
What Makes Him Pure Evil?[]
In General[]
- He is an egotistical and oppressive tyrant who wants to rule his kingdom, Duloc, with an iron fist in his own aberrant manner.
- While his background is still unknown, there is nothing to suggest he's tragic or sympathetic, and he just commits all his actions for his own sadistic pleasure and ego.
- While Rumpelstiltskin and Big Jack Horner have done far worse than him, he has fewer resources than them, as Rumpelstiltskin is able to make contracts that control reality, and Jack has a room filled with magical weapons, while Farquaad just has his knights and power. He also stands out with his unique niche of torturing multiple people.
- Although his fate of being eaten by Dragon is admittedly horrific, this is played for laughs and satisfaction rather than sympathy, especially since he deserved it for all his atrocities, and no one mourns his death.
- Furthermore, it is also the fate he tried to avoid by having others challenge Dragon for Fiona instead of doing so himself, making this exceedingly karmic.
- While he was the leader and wannabe king of Duloc, he likely didn't care about his people because of how egotistical and tyrannical he is.
- While he has several comedic moments, including how he got "excited" upon seeing a photo of Fiona to an uncomfortable Magic Mirror, the scene where Shrek bluntly calls him out on compensating for the deficiencies of his anatomical euphemism, the running gag of him being mocked for his short height, and his minor appearance in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party in Dragon's stomach singing "Staying Alive", he and his actions are still played seriously in-universe and they are only used to cover up his true nature.
- Not to mention how many of his comedic moments subverted by Shrek 4-D, where jokes about him or his height are completely subverted despite him still being comedic overall.
- While he only appears in the first film (minus cameos in flashbacks in Shrek the Third and Shrek Forever After), he has a posthumous impact on the franchise, as his actions of having Shrek rescue Fiona are what lead to the conflicts of Shrek 2, Shrek the Third and Shrek Forever After, and respectively, Fairy Godmother's, Prince Charming's and Rumpelstiltskin's plans for revenge against Shrek for their plans failing. Therefore, he arguably is indirectly responsible for their actions.
- In addition, even though DuLoc is shown to be an abandoned ghost town in Scared Shrekless (which takes place years after his death), there is no evidence to suggest that he could've made DuLoc better or kept it afloat had he been kept alive, due to his egotistical personality and lack of care for others, it is very possible that DuLoc could've fallen apart even if he had been kept alive as the king.
Shrek[]
- He kicked the fairy tale creatures out of Duloc for 'poisoning his perfect world', thus forcing them to take refuge in Shrek's swamp.
- It's even shown that he possibly killed Mama Bear and turned her into a rug in his bedroom, thus making Baby Bear lose his mother and making Papa Bear a widower.
- He tortured Gingy by ripping off his legs and having him dunked in milk by Thelonious, which resembled waterboarding. This was done to force Gingy to reveal the locations of the remaining fairy tale creatures that he had been unable to capture and exile. Afterward, he threw Gingy in the trash simply for advising the Magic Mirror to withhold any information.
- When Magic Mirror said that Farquaad wasn't a king (due to him still being a lord), he made Thelonious threaten him by breaking a mirror with ease.
- He sent a few of his soldiers on a quest to fight Dragon and rescue Fiona despite knowing some of them would die, and when Shrek came along to demand his swamp back, he changed the rules of the tournament and decided the first one to kill Shrek would go on the quest.
- He cared nothing for his soldiers, instead just showing disgust over their failures to beat Shrek.
- While he did make a deal with Shrek to relocate the fairy tale creatures out of his swamp if he rescued Fiona for him, and did hand him the deed to the swamp when Shrek bought him to meet Fiona, this is all out of pragmatism because he threatened to change his mind if he didn't leave immediately, making him dishonorable.
- It also shows how lazy he is because he is willing to risk Shrek's own life, likely not caring if he died on the quest, instead of going on the quest himself like a true brave knight would do, something that Fiona rightfully points out after she is rescued.
- He even told Fiona not to "waste good manners" on Shrek, saying that he doesn't have feelings just to emotionally spite him, even though Shrek was the one who rescued Fiona for him.
- While he may seem to be in love with Fiona at first, calling her a "perfect fit" for him, he doesn't genuinely love her and only wants to marry her to become King of Duloc. He is also clearly perverted towards her, being shown by him getting "excited" while watching her picture while in bed.
- While this seemed to be subverted when he became a ghost as he tried to kill her to marry her again not caring about her being an ogre, he didn't care about her pleas to let her live, proving that he never cared for her.
- When he learned that Fiona was cursed to become an ogre at sundown after Shrek crashed their wedding, he had his guards seize Shrek and Fiona, planning for Shrek to be imprisoned and executed and Fiona to be locked up in the tower for the rest of her life so he'll still be king by technicality, only failing due to Dragon's intervention.
Shrek 4D[]
- As a ghost, he ordered Thelonious to kidnap Fiona when she, Shrek and Donkey were on their way to their honeymoon, planning to kill her by sending her over the waterfall to become King of the Underworld.
- He used his powers to make a statue of Dragon come to life and ordered it to eat Shrek and Donkey.
- He took sadistic pleasure in seeing Shrek, Fiona and Donkey all go over the waterfall.
- It's revealed he has a torture chamber which he uses to subject multiple people to brutal torture, and he planned to inflict the same suffering on the entire audience, which helps him pass the heinous standard of the franchise and cross the Moral Event Horizon.
Trivia[]
- Farquaad was originally intended to return in Shrek Forever After in Rumpelstiltskin's alternative timeline, as he was never killed by Dragon in that timeline as Shrek was never born. However, he was scrapped for unknown reasons. Had he originally been kept, it is unknown if it would've affected his PE status.
- His musical counterpart doesn't count as Pure Evil, as he mourns the death of his mother.
- He is the only Pure Evil from any of the main Shrek installments as Bloodwolf and Big Jack Horner appear instead in the Puss in Boots series (although, Bloodwolf is non-canon).
- He is the first DreamWorks Pure Evil to be a Silly type, as General Mandible. Tzekel-Kan and Melisha Tweedy are taken more seriously.
- He was originally considered a villainous benchmark as it was believed he failed to humpty dumpy and that him giving Shrek his swamp back was honorable. However after it was discussed that he had a unique way to toture the audience allowing him to pass and that him giving back the swamp was pragmatic he was proposed and aproved here.
External Links[]
- Lord Farquaad on the Villains Wiki
- Lord Farquaad on the DreamWorks Wiki
- Lord Farquaad on the Shrek Wiki
- Lord Farquaad on the Universal Studios Wiki
- Lord Farquaad on the Entertainingly Detestable Wiki
- Lord Farquaad on the Incredibly Cruel Wiki
- Lord Farquaad on the Main Light Horse Wiki
