do something to someone/something
- What did you do with the princess? - Donkey, I'm the princess.Shrek · 2001 — Chapter 9 of 12 · 3'34" · B1
Fiona's Ogre Secret Comes Out, Explained: breathe a word
The princess tries to explain why she looks different, while the donkey is still processing that the ogre before him is the princess he thought had been eaten. "It's me, in this body" is both reassurance and the thing she cannot make him unsee.
What happens
At night, the princess transforms into an ogre and tries to convince the donkey that she is still herself. She explains the witch's spell and her planned marriage to Farquaad. Shrek arrives with a flower while she is still hiding the truth, and she makes the donkey promise not to tell him.
Listen for
you are what you eatcast a spellnot gonna lie24-7
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Now
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Phrase of the scene
breathe a word
do not reveal even a single word
breathe a word slams the door after he says Shrek should be told the truth.
If I share the plan, do not breathe a word in the group chat.
Also in this scene
- you are what you eat
your food is supposed to shape you
- cast a spell
to put a magic spell on someone
- not gonna lie
a warning that blunt truth comes next
- 24-7
all day and all week, without a break
- don't go together
two things cannot belong together
Everything marked in this scene
26 notes across 59 lines
keep breathing, don't stop
- Listen, keep breathing! I'll get you out of there! - No!Keep to short and stuck onto you.
What happened to you? You're, uh, uh, uh, different.double negative: The two negatives are a slip; he means he has never seen her like this.
What do you mean? Look, I am not never seen you like this before.the first kiss from true love
until you find true love's first kiss...the form true love makes you take In the spell, the body after the kiss, not love's appearance.
and then take love's true form.to put a magic spell on someone
After he calls the rhyme poetry, she uses cast a spell to turn the compliment into a childhood wound.
When I was a little girl, a witch cast a spell on me.relative clause: The clause modifies day: which day she was waiting for, with when left out.
I was placed in a tower to await the day my true love would rescue me.not as awful as it feels
like this. [Sobs] All right, all right. Calm down. Look, it's not that bad.a warning that blunt truth comes next
not gonna lie cancels the comfort he just offered and lets the blunt ugly stand.
You're not that ugly. Well, I am not gonna lie. You are ugly.Let gonna swallow the missing to and keep the three words together.
You're not that ugly. Well, I am not gonna lie. You are ugly.the way one is supposed to look
But, Donkey, I'm a princess, and this is not how a princess is meant to look.how about this idea — A soft suggestion between friends, not an order.
Princess, how 'bout if you don't marry Farquaad?end a magic spell
Only my true love's kiss can break the spell.share many traits
But, you know, um, you're kind of an ogre, and Shrek-- well, you got a lot in common.something reminded me of you
I saw this flower and thought of you because it's pretty and--Let the middle of pretty stay light instead of a hard t.
I saw this flower and thought of you because it's pretty and--examine someone closely
Take a good look at me, Donkey.Stress the two adjectives and let and pass quickly.
I mean, really, who could ever love a beast so hideous and ugly?two things belong together
Princessand ugly don't go together.a fairy-tale ending of lasting happiness
happily ever after is not a wish here; it is the ending she thinks only a wedding can buy.
- [Gasps] My only chance to live happily ever after is to marry my truelove.the sole method
It's the only way to break the spell.do not reveal even a single word
breathe a word slams the door after he says Shrek should be told the truth.
You can't breathe a word. No one must ever know.Slide from breathe into a, then land on word.
You can't breathe a word. No one must ever know.hide what you know
What's the point of being able to talk if you gotta keep secrets?have got to — Fine for casual pressure; leave it out of formal speech.
What's the point of being able to talk if you gotta keep secrets?Fiona's Ogre Secret Comes Out, explained
What's really going on
The scene's real subject is not the spell but what the spell has taught the princess to believe about herself. She can recite the curse in a kind of verse, yet her own words keep tying princesshood to appearance, as if an ogre body cancels the role. The donkey's blunt comedy cuts against the pathos: he says "You are ugly." Then he adds that she only looks that way at night and makes it worse by bringing Shrek into it. The pressure is the secret. "You can't breathe a word" makes him a keeper of information that the ogre arriving with a flower does not have.
Theme
IdentityThe princess insists she is still herself, but her own words show how deeply the ogre form has become attached to her sense of worth.
SecretsA promise not to tell Shrek turns the donkey into a reluctant keeper of the truth, while the princess treats silence as her only option.
Listen for
- happened to you — Keep to short and stuck onto you.
- not gonna lie — Let gonna swallow the missing to and keep the three words together.
- it's pretty — Let the middle of pretty stay light instead of a hard t.
- hideous and ugly — Stress the two adjectives and let and pass quickly.
When I was a little girl, a witch cast a spell on me.She explains the origin of her condition: a witch's spell was put on her in childhood, not something she chose or caught.
I was placed in a tower to await the day my true love would rescue me.The tower was not just imprisonment; it framed her whole future around waiting for a rescuer who would prove her true love.
Only my true love's kiss can break the spell.The kiss is the single condition that can end the curse, which is why marriage and true love become urgent practical matters.
But, Donkey, I'm a princess, and this is not how a princess is meant to look.Her objection is not just vanity: she ties being a princess to a fixed appearance, so the ogre body feels like a contradiction of the role itself.
I mean, really, who could ever love a beast so hideous and ugly?The question states her fear plainly: if she looks like this, love seems impossible, and the fairy-tale ending collapses.
What's the point of being able to talk if you gotta keep secrets?The line challenges the secrecy she has just demanded: speech is pointless if the one thing that matters must remain hidden.
Questions about this scene
Why does the donkey think the princess was eaten?
He sees an ogre where the princess should be and hears "It's me, in this body." His next line is "You ate the princess!" The panic comes from appearance: the body in front of him does not match the princess he expects.
Why must the princess marry Farquaad before sunset?
One line sets the deadline: the marriage must happen before the sun sets, so Farquaad will not see the ogre form. Another line says only my true love's kiss can break the spell, making the marriage seem like the one route to a happy ending.
Why does the princess demand secrecy instead of telling Shrek?
One line says, "You can't breathe a word. No one must ever know." After a question about what speech is for, she demands a promise: "Promise you won't tell. Promise!" Her own words tie the secret to how she sees this form: princess and ugliness do not belong together, and marriage is her only chance at a happy ending.
Why does the princess say she cannot stay with Shrek?
She says, "That's why I can't stay here with Shrek," and ties her only chance at a happy ending to marrying her true love. She also says princess and ugliness don't go together, which is why she thinks she has to leave.
Does the donkey agree to keep the secret?
Yes, but with a caveat: "All right, all right. I won't tell him. But you should." The promise is made, but the same reply says the truth should be told.
Shrek · 12 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 10hand in marriageFarquaad Proposes to Fiona
Chapter 1scare the spit out ofDonkey Asks to Stay
Chapter 2worn outShrek Finds His Swamp Occupied
Chapter 3loaded pistolFarquaad Picks Princess Fiona
Chapter 4end of storyOgres Are Like Onions
Chapter 5Prince CharmingShrek Is Not Prince Charming
Chapter 6better off aloneDonkey Pushes Shrek About the Wall
Chapter 7the last thing on my mindPulling the Arrow from Shrek
Chapter 8wake up and smell the pheromonesShrek's Dinner with the Princess
Watching · Chapter 9breathe a wordFiona's Ogre Secret Comes Out
Chapter 10hand in marriageFarquaad Proposes to Fiona
Chapter 11stabbing me in the backForgive You for the Backstab
Chapter 12hold your peaceShrek Crashes the WeddingChapter 9 of 12 · about 9 min to go