negative question: Not here pushes the listener to agree instead of asking for facts.
Is this not the most perfect kingdom of them all?shrek-2001 · 2001 — Chapter 2 of 7 · 2'25" · B2
Farquaad Picks Princess Fiona, Explained: loaded pistol
A magic mirror hosts a princess pageant so a lord can become king. "Well, technically you're not a king" is the catch, and marrying a princess is the fix. The crowd yells numbers until Princess Fiona is chosen. A warning about something that happens at night is silenced, and a tournament is announced.
What happens
Someone asks a magic mirror whether this kingdom is the most perfect of all. The reply: he is not a king yet, and marrying a princess would make him one. Three bachelorettes follow — Cinderella, Snow White, and Princess Fiona. Voices shout numbers, and Lord Farquaad is told he has chosen Fiona. A warning about night is cut off with "Silence!" Then someone calls for a tournament.
Listen for
technically you're notall you have to do isshe's not easylive wire
00:00 / 02:25Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Phrase of the scene
loaded pistol
a person ready to go off
The pitch calls her a loaded pistol, then adds two sweet tastes right after.
She's a loaded pistol when the deadline moves.
Also in this scene
- technically you're not
strictly speaking, you are not yet
- all you have to do is
the single requirement is
- she's not easy
she is not sexually loose
- live wire
alive and forceful, like a charged wire
- give it up for
cheer and applaud her
Everything marked in this scene
24 notes across 39 lines
Hit technically and let the rest move.
Well, technically you're not a king.Slide the t in not toward a.
Well, technically you're not a king.what I'm really saying
- You were saying? - What I mean is, you're not a king yet.the single requirement is
Right after the refusal, the marriage is shrunk into one easy remaining step.
But you can become one. All you have to do is marry a princess.lean back and enjoy the show
- Go on. - [Chuckles] So,just sit back and relax, myKeep and small so back and relax connect.
- Go on. - [Chuckles] So,just sit back and relax, myunmarried women who qualify
Lord, because it's time for you to meet today's eligible bachelorettes.welcome them with applause
Please welcome Cinderella.a whimsical, imaginary land fancy names imagination here, not a showy country
Bachelorette number two is a cape-wearing girl from the land of fancy.concessive clause: Although grants the scandal, then the next claim reverses it.
Although she lives with seven other men, she's not easy.not sexually available — Tease with friends; do not say it to her face or in public.
Although she lives with seven other men, she's not easy.alive and forceful, like a charged wire
Dead, frozen lips are answered at once by a live wire, so lifeless and electric clash.
Just kiss her dead, frozen lips and find out what a live wire she is.discover what it is
Just kiss her dead, frozen lips and find out what a live wire she is.applaud someone now — Shout it at a party or a show, not in a formal speech.
Come on. Give it up for Snow White!final, and just as important
And last, but certainly not least, bachelorette number three is a fiery redhead...a hot-tempered red-haired woman fiery covers both hair color and temper
And last, but certainly not least, bachelorette number three is a fiery redhead...don't lose your enthusiasm
Boiling lava is still in the air when the host warns you not to cool off.
But don't let that cool you off.a person ready to go off
The pitch calls her a loaded pistol, then adds two sweet tastes right after.
She's a loaded pistol who likes pina coladas and getting caught in the rain.be outside when rain starts a love-song line used as a hobby, not a forecast
She's a loaded pistol who likes pina coladas and getting caught in the rain.relative clause: who attaches her tastes to the pistol metaphor.
She's a loaded pistol who likes pina coladas and getting caught in the rain.available to whoever rescues her a twist on yours for the asking
Yours for the rescuing, Princess Fiona!have no interest in yoga
- If you're not into yoga - She's perfect.ought to bring this up
All I have to do is just find someone who can go-- But I probably should mention the little thing that happens at night.Farquaad Picks Princess Fiona, explained
What's really going on
The joke is how blunt the bargain is. Someone asks if this is the most perfect kingdom, and the answer comes back, "Well, technically you're not a king." The stated fix is one step: "All you have to do is marry a princess." Three women are then pitched like contestants: a shut-in who cooks for two evil sisters, a woman living with seven men who is "not easy," and a "loaded pistol" behind a dragon and boiling lava. Nobody in the room weighs their stories. Fiona is offered "Yours for the rescuing," a bride earned by the rescue. They chant "Two!" and "Three!" until "Pick number three, my Lord!" Someone starts to mention "the little thing that happens at night" and is cut off with "Silence!" The same breath claims DuLoc will finally have the perfect king. A captain is told to assemble the finest men. The wedding needs a rescue, and the rescue needs a tournament.
Theme
MarriageA wedding is the stated price of kingship: marry a princess, pick a number, and the bride is yours for the rescuing.
SatireFairy-tale princesses are pitched as numbered bachelorettes, with hobbies, applause lines, and a crowd yelling Two and Three.
Listen for
- technically you're not — Hit technically and let the rest move.
- not a king — Slide the t in not toward a.
- back and relax — Keep and small so back and relax connect.
Is this not the most perfect kingdom of them all?Someone is fishing for a yes. The kingdom is held up as unmatched, which makes the technical correction that follows land harder.
Well, technically you're not a king.The boast gets a technical no. The man being spoken to does not have the title, so the perfect kingdom is missing a king.
But you can become one. All you have to do is marry a princess.A one-step remedy. The title is available, and the only stated requirement is marrying a princess.
Although she lives with seven other men, she's not easy.The pitch admits the seven housemates, then blocks the leer. Not easy means she is not casual about it.
She's a loaded pistol who likes pina coladas and getting caught in the rain.She is sold as volatile, with light tastes tacked on: pina coladas and rain. Loaded pistol means she goes off easily, not that she is armed.
Silence! I will make this Princess Fiona my queen, and DuLoc will finally have the perfect king!The night detail is refused. Fiona will be queen, and DuLoc gets its perfect king. The title matters more than the unfinished warning.
Questions about this scene
Why is he told he is not a king?
Someone asks, "Is this not the most perfect kingdom of them all?" The answer is "Well, technically you're not a king," clarified a moment later as "you're not a king yet." Marriage to a princess is then named as the way to become one. The perfect kingdom, on these lines, still lacks a king.
Why does the choice land on Princess Fiona?
The three pitches end, and voices shout "Two!" and "Three!" Someone urges, "Three! Pick number three, my Lord!" The reply is "Okay, okay, uh, number three!" The next announcement is "Lord Farquaad, you've chosen Princess Fiona." The lines show a quick, shouted pick, not a debate about who would rule better.
Why is the warning about night cut off?
Once Fiona is announced, someone says, "But I probably should mention the little thing that happens at night." The next line begins "Yes, but after sunset--" and is stopped by "Silence! I will make this Princess Fiona my queen, and DuLoc will finally have the perfect king!" The warning ends there. The lines never say what the night thing is.
Why is a tournament announced after Fiona is chosen?
The third pitch already placed her in a dragon-guarded castle "surrounded by hot boiling lava" and called her "Yours for the rescuing." After number three is picked, someone says the rest is to "find someone who can go," then "Captain, assemble your finest men," and "We're going to have a tournament." The lines tie a rescue to a contest. They do not name who will go.
shrek-2001 · 7 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 3end of storyOgres Are Like Onions
Chapter 1worn outShrek Finds His Swamp Occupied
Watching · Chapter 2loaded pistolFarquaad Picks Princess Fiona
Chapter 3end of storyOgres Are Like Onions
Chapter 4Prince CharmingShrek Is Not Prince Charming
Chapter 5the last thing on my mindPulling the Arrow from Shrek
Chapter 6wake up and smell the pheromonesShrek's Dinner with the Princess
Chapter 7stabbing me in the backForgive You for the BackstabChapter 2 of 7 · about 14 min to go