In a swampy corner of the land of Duloc, Shrek is happily living the life of a widely disliked, reclusive ogre. Unfortunately for him, in another part of kingdom the tyrannical (and tiny) Lord Farquaad is seeking to create a different sort of paradise. In his obsessively, ordered kingdom there isn't room for the fairy tale creatures so he has them all shipped off to Shrek's swamp--much to the horror of Shrek who wants nothing more than to be left alone. The ogre marches off to Farquaad's castle (with a talkative, tag-along donkey in tow) and demands that the refugees be removed. Farquaad agrees--provided that Shrek first retrieves Farquaad's perfect bride-to-be, Princess Fiona. In this fractured fairy tale, the true heros are the last people you'd expect...