Shrek the Ogre is the main protagonist in the films. He is a green ogre with a Scottish accent. He is married to Princess Fiona and fathers 3 ogre babies.
Donkey is Shrek's best friend and sidekick. He is a talking donkey and fathers his dronkeys with Dragon.
Princess Fiona is the wife of Shrek and daughter of King Harold and Queen Lillian. She takes the form of an ogre when she realizes that Shrek is indeed her True Love.
Puss In Boots is Shrek's friend and sidekick. He is a talking cat who possesses a sword and a Spanish accent.
Artie is Shrek's newest friend and current king of Far Far Away. He is related to Shrek and Fiona as being a distant cousin. He is made fun of at school because he is a loser.
Dragon resembles most classical interpretations of European dragons. She has keeled, ruby-colored scales, leathery bat-like wings, long crested ears, bony spikes along her jawline, a row of dorsal spines, slitted eye pupils, and a long, spade-tipped, prehensile tail to aid in counterbalance. Dragon does not speak, but does employ physically expressive body language to communicate. Like her mate Donkey, Dragon is never given a proper name in the films.
In the first film, Dragon had the task of guarding Princess Fiona in her isolated castle. The number of charred skeletons clearly visible indicates her success in this endeavor. While Shrek attempted to rescue the princess, Donkey found himself at the mercy of Dragon. Upon learning that his captor is female (due to stereotypical feminine features like long eyelashes and facial markings that look much like human cosmetics) Donkey began spouting flattery in order to distract her. Dragon then became infatuated with the smooth talker, despite the fact that her love was unrequited. As a result, she picks him up in her teeth and carries him to her chambers, where she wraps him in her tail and flirts with him. Shrek soon comes back to "save his ass" (a pun referring to Donkey), and the trio escape from Dragon's castle, leaving a chained and miserable dragoness in their wake. The lonely Dragon guardian is not seen again until later in the film, having escaped and abandoned Fiona's volcanic keep. She and Donkey since made amends, and aided Shrek in his quest to save and stop Fiona from marrying Lord Farquaad. Dragon disposed of the villainous Lord Farquaad by swallowing him.
In Shrek 2, Dragon is absent for much of the film but becomes one of Shrek's best friends prior to the events of the film. Donkey claims at the film's beginning that she had been "all moody and stuff" recently, explaining his unannounced arrival at Shrek's swamp. Nevertheless, Dragon makes a full appearance in a post-credits scene, in which she arrives with six young "dronkeys" - dragon-donkey hybrids that meet their clueless father for the first time. The film implies that Dragon was absent due to brooding her young, though it's not known whether Dragon is oviparous or viviparous. However in the game, Shrek Super Slam eggs are seen in the stage "Dragon's Hall".
Dragon played a slightly more prominent role in Shrek The Third. She and her young dronkeys stay behind with Fiona and the other "princess" characters to await Shrek's return. When Prince Charming attacks Far Far Away, Dragon is captured and disarmed by a large iron chain cast net; her dronkey offspring are caught and imprisoned, as well. At the film's climax, Dragon helps dispose of Prince Charming by knocking over a stone stage prop keep on top of him. She has apparently lost a good large portion of her strength and ferocity, as she is easily detained, as opposed to her earlier appearance where she posed a significant challenge to Shrek and was only narrowly contained. She is later seen in Shrek's swamp while Shrek and Fiona are caring for their ogre triplets.
The Gingerbread Man, also known as Gingy, hates to lose his gumdrop buttons and is difficult to catch. His life flashes before his eyes and shows: Gingy being made by his papa, the Muffin Man, Gingy graduating, marrying his love gingerbread girl but soon getting imprisoned, Gingy being tortured then the training to help his legs be strong again. Voiced by Conrad Vernon.
Pinocchio is a puppet who wants to be a real boy who can grow his nose whenever he lies. He is based on the fairy-tale character, Pinocchio. He is voiced by Cody Cameron, and in the theatre adaption, Pinocchio is played by Tony Award Nominee John Tartaglia.
In the first film, his creator Geppetto was seen in the film when he sold Pinocchio (who the guard calls "the possessed toy"). Geppetto received five shillings for him. Pinocchio was a fairy tale creature who was sold along with Donkey. Later, he is banished into Shrek's swamp among the others by Lord Farquaad. He has a small role only.
In Shrek 2, Pinocchio becomes one of Shrek's best friends prior to the events of the film. He helps Shrek and Princess Fiona in guarding their swamp while they visit Far Far Away. He is later seen, watching the Royal Far Far Away Ball and when Shrek (in his human form) is thrown into a police truck. Once seeing this, Pinocchio and the others travel to Far Far Away to free Shrek, Puss in Boots and Donkey. While there, he accidentally reveals that he wears thongs. After that, they managed to get into the castle and stop the Fairy Godmother and Prince Charming. He became a real boy when the Fairy Godmother used her magic wand on him. Unfortunately, when Gingy tried passing the wand to the three blind mice, they failed to catch it. As a result, Pinocchio was hit by a powerful blast of magic that turned him into a puppet again. He sings Mr. Roboto in Far Far Away Idol.
In Shrek The Third, Pinocchio, along with several other fairy tale creatures, attends Fiona's baby shower while Shrek, Donkey, and Puss in Boots are away. Charming and his evil followers crash the party, and he tries to get Pinocchio to tell them Shrek's location, as he knows that the puppet cannot lie. Pinocchio manages to get around the trap by talking in circles; however, Charming manages to find out the information in other ways. When Shrek and his company return, they find Pinocchio was imprisoned in a miniature theater, where he was forced to give a marionette performance for people who paid. He is freed and helps to defeat Charming and the other evil fairy tale creatures.
In Shrek Super Slam, he is a main character and his Slam move is Buzz Bomber, and he has a Doctor Pinocchio costume. According to the story with the Black Knight, Pinocchio works at Friar's Fat Boy.
Pinocchio also appears as an unlockable racer in the game Shrek Smash and Crash Racing. His kart is a wooden horse and his personal item is his long nose.
The Big Bad Wolf is based loosely on the character of Big Bad Wolf. He is voiced by Aron Warner. He is a kind character despite most other adaptations of him. His voice seems to be somewhat dull and monotonous. It should be noted that he is wearing a pink dress and this dress might probably be from the grandmother of the Little Red Riding Hood. The Red Riding Hood seems to be changed into a villain (meaning that the producers intend to switch his and her personalities). The Big Bad Wolf is often heard saying, "What?". He is also friends with The Three Little Pigs in the films despite an incident in Far Far Away Idol. In the first film, he is among the fairy-tale creatures who are banished to Shrek's swamp. Later, he is seen cheering as Shrek and Princess Fiona go on their honeymoon.
He has became good friends with Shrek and the gang prior to the events of Shrek 2. He is first seen in the beginning of the film in which Prince Charming arrives to the castle where Fiona was held in. However, instead of her, he is seen lying on the bed reading a book entitled "Pork Illustrated". In reality, Fiona and Shrek are still on their honeymoon, proving that Charming is too late to rescue. He helps Shrek and Princess Fiona in guarding their swamp while they visit Far Far Away. He is later seen, watching the Royal Far Far Away Ball and when Shrek (in his human form) is thrown into a police truck. Once seeing this, the Big Bad Wolf and the others travel to Far Far Away to free Shrek, Puss in Boots and Donkey. After that, they managed to get into the castle and stop the Fairy Godmother and Prince Charming. When they steal the Fairy Godmother's wand, in a Piggy in the Middle game, the Wolf uses his traditional 'huff and puff' to blow her away from it.
In Shrek The Third, Pinocchio, along with several other fairy tale creatures, attends Fiona's baby shower while Shrek, Donkey, and Puss in Boots are away. When Charming and his evil followers crash the party, he and the others stage a calm tea party. However, Charming manages to find out where Shrek is. When the trio return with Artie, they free him from a secret place. Then, he helps to defeat Charming and the other evil fairy tale creatures from killing Shrek before the entire kingdom.
He may be bisexual, seeing that in the final of the first Shrek film, he was romantically dancing with a male-human soldier; but in the beginning of Shrek 2, he was reading a pig playboy-like magazine.
The Three Little Pigs are friends with Shrek and the gang. All three voiced initially by Cody Cameron and latterly by Simon Pegg; they have appeared in all Shrek films. In the original book and in the film, they are among the many fairy tale creatures to be banished into Shrek's swamp by Lord Farquaad. They also have a German accent.
They have a larger role in Shrek 2. By then, the pigs are best friends with Shrek prior to the events of the film. At the start of the film, the three pigs help look after Shrek's and Fiona's house while they visit the kingdom of Far Far Away. Later in the film, they see Shrek, Donkey and Puss in Boots arrested by local police officers in Far Far Away, and then free them, heading to the castle to stop Prince Charming. They managed to stop the Fairy Godmother's scheme and they celebrate.
The pigs are less prominent role in the third film. They appear at the start of the film at Prince Charming's new job; an actor in a dinner theatre. They jeer him along with the rest of the crowd, leading Charming to leave the stage. They later appear in the castle pretending to have tea with the others while Shrek, Donkey and Puss in Boots are finding Artie, the apparent heir to the throne, and Fiona, Queen Lillian and the princesses escape via a secret passage. Prince Charming storms in and demands Shrek's location. Under pressure, one of the pigs reveals Shrek's plan, and ends up locked up somewhere secret. The pigs are later freed and they head to the castle and managed to stop Prince Charming from killing Shrek in his show.
The Three Blind Mice, based on the fairy-tale creatures, Three Blind Mice, are friends with Shrek and the gang. They all suffer from blindness and that is why they sport black sunglasses. Unlike the fairy-tale they are based on, their tails are not cut off and they show no signs of injuries. The three of them are voiced by Christopher Knights, but in the first movie of shrek they were voiced by Christopher Knights and Simon J. Smith and in the Karaokey Dance Party by Mike Myers.