Summary

• Fiona's ogre curse in Shrek was subtly hinted at through her enjoyment of "ogre food," like spiderweb "cotton candy."
• Fiona's ogre form is briefly shown spying on Shrek and Donkey during their first camping night before the big reveal.
• Small details in Shrek, like Fiona's curse foreshadowing, make the movie rewatchable and full of cool discoveries.

The big twist in Shrek was Princess Fiona’s (Cameron Diaz) curse that turned her into an ogre every night, but this was hinted at twice before the big reveal. Back in 2001, DreamWorks brought the animated fantasy comedy Shrek, which positioned DreamWorks as a studio to look out for and a worthy competitor to Pixar in the world of animation. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, Shrek is loosely based on the 1990 children’s book of the same name by William Steig and introduces viewers to the title ogre (Mike Myers) in a world inhabited by various fairy tale creatures.

Shrek follows the title ogre who makes a deal with Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow) after his swamp is invaded by exiled fairy tale characters: Shrek will rescue Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) for Farquaad in exchange for his swamp. Shrek is accompanied by Donkey (Eddie Murphy), who becomes his best friend, but there’s a big twist in the story: Fiona is cursed, and though she looks like a normal human, she becomes an ogre every night. Fiona first reveals this to Donkey, but before she does, there are two subtle clues to this.

The Spiderweb “Cotton Candy” & Rat Dinner Gave Fiona’s Ogre Curse Away In Shrek

Fiona’s Strange Culinary Taste Gave Her Ogre Form Away

After giving the spiderweb "cotton candy" to Shrek, Fiona licks her fingers and genuinely enjoys the taste, hinting at her true ogre form.

On their way back to Duloc after saving Fiona, Shrek and Donkey end up bonding with the Princess. At one point, in a montage that shows Shrek and Fiona slowly but surely falling for each other, she takes two branches holding a spiderweb and uses it to catch flies and other insects. Fiona makes a cotton candy-like snack with this and gives it to Shrek, who happily accepts it and continues his path while eating his snack. After giving it to him, Fiona licks her fingers and genuinely enjoys the taste, hinting at her true ogre form.

Later on, Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey prepare another camp to spend the night in the forest before reaching Duloc, and Shrek cooks for them. Shrek cooks a weed rat kabab for dinner, which Fiona deeply enjoys, and asks what they’re having. While this is a key moment in their relationship as their connection is clearer than ever, it’s also another clue to Fiona’s ogre form, as she, once more, showed genuine joy in having “ogre food”.

Surely, it could be argued that Fiona was just in awe of trying new things after years locked away in the castle and was also being polite to Shrek and his efforts, but it’s too much of a coincidence that it was food an ogre would enjoy.

Ogre Fiona Can Be Seen Spying On Donkey & Shrek Before Her Big Reveal

Ogre Fiona Was Subtly Revealed Before Donkey Found Her

During Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey’s first night camping, Donkey tries to get Shrek to open up to him. While they argue about Shrek’s trust issues and plans to isolate himself in his swamp, Fiona peeks from the cave. During the first viewing, it’s not clear that Fiona is now an ogre, as her skin color isn’t clear and her ears aren’t shown, but when the camera returns to Donkey, ogre Fiona can be seen in the background, behind the door. It’s during their second camping night that Donkey enters the cabin and finds Fiona in ogre form, officially revealing the curse.

Every Shrek movie is packed with small details that either reference other fairy tales, show the fate of some characters (like the dark fate of Mama Bear), or foreshadow certain events, such as those about Fiona’s curse and ogre form. Catching these is easier during rewatches, further proving that Shrek is one of the most rewatchable animated movies as there’s always something cool to find in it.