Once upon a time…

PERSEUS

AND

SHREK

Perseus

The son of Danae and Zeus

Danae is the daughter of King Acrisius.

Since King Acrisius was afraid that a son of Danae would be the reason of his death according to the prophecy of Apollo, he ordered Danae and Perseus to be cast away somewhere

Hero’s Ordinary World/ Unusual childhood…

He grew up to become a strong young man

The king of the island wanted to marry Perseus’ mother but she refused. The king could force Perseus mother to marry him if only Perseus would not be there to protect his mother.

Shrek lives in a swamp

He wanted to live alone and away from everyone.

No one dared to get near him except when Lord Farquaad ordered fairy tale characters to take over the swamp

ShrekHero’s Ordinary World/ Unusual childhood…

Call to adventure…

Perseus

•Polydectes, the king of the island, planned a journey for Perseus. He ordered Perseus to kill Medusa as he thought it would be impossible for Perseus to bring back the Gorgon’s head.

Call to adventure…

Fairytale creatures invaded the swamp of Shrek.

He went to lord Farquaad as he wanted to get his lang back

In order for Shrek to get his land back, Lord Farquaad wanted Shrek to save Princess Fiona

Shrek

Refusal of the call…

• Perseus did not refuse and immediately agreed to the king’s request and started his journey to capture the gorgon Medusa.

• Shrek did not refuse lord Farquaad’s quest for him as he wanted to get his swamp back

Sage/supernatural aid…

• As he began his search for the gorgon’s lair, a tall woman and a young man appeared. They introduced themselves as Hermes and Athena. Hermes gave Perseus his winged sandals and sickle. Athena gave him a shield to reflect the image of Medusa.

• They gave instructions to Persues on how to get to the gorgon’s lair and how to defeat Medusa

Sage/supernatural aid…

• Donkey travels with Shrek and though annoying, he gives advices to Shrek

Crossing of the First Threshold…

• Perseus left the island of Seriphos and wandered searching for the Gorgon’s lair.

• Shrek goes to lord Farquaad and killed the Farquaad’s men who tried to stop him or kill him

Belly of the Whale…

• He first went to the cave of Graeae. The Graeae were strange women, there were three of them having only one eye for all three of them which they constantly fought over. Perseus hid somewhere to snatch the eye from the Graeae and trick them in order to make them tell the directions on how to get to the Nymphs of the North.

Belly of the Whale…

• Shrek finally decided to leave his swamp with Donkey and start his quest to save Fiona in the tower.

Road of trials…When Medusa and

her sister was asleep, Perseus took this as his advantage and used the shield to protect him from Medusa’s curse. Medusa saw her reflection in the shield and Perseus took the chance to cut the Medusa’s head. He quickly flew away on his winged sandals as Medusa’s sisters woke up.

Road of trials…

• Lord Farquaad send men to stop Shrek from reaching him

• Shrek had to face several difficulties such as facing the dragon in order to take Fiona out of the tower, and rescuing Donkey from falling into the lava.

• As they were returning from the tower with Fiona, they encountered a group of robbers and kidnappers

• Shrek was afraid that the princess would not like him back because of his appearance

Meeting with the Goddess…

As he was on his way home, he saw a woman tied to a rock. He saved the woman named Andromeda as she was being sacrificed to a sea monster because of her mother who bragged Poseidon that she’s beautiful more than the Nereids. Perseus defeated the sea monster by using Medusa’s head that turned the monster into a stone then he crushed it into pieces.

Meeting with the Goddess…

• When Shrek finally found princess Fiona in the tower, he told her that Lord Farquaad ordered him to save her and they should return to Lord Faquaad’s castle immediately

Meeting with the temptress…

• When Perseus finally defeated Medusa, Medusa’s sisters woke up and they were angered as they saw Perseus holding their sisters’ head. They chased Perseus as he escapes from their lair.

• Shrek had no encounter with a temptress

Atonement with the Father…

•. Perseus returned to the island of Seriphos for his mother and he learned that the King deceived him. As revenge, he turned the king into a statue using the head of Medusa. He also wanted to find his grandfather but it was too late as he accidentally killed him in a throwing competition he joined before returning home. By this, the prophecy of Apollo came true

• Shrek loved Fiona but he must face Lord Farquaad. He stopped Fiona and Lord Farquaad’s wedding.

Apotheosis

• Andromeda’s father was very happy to see his daughter again and he agreed to the marriage of Perseus and Andromeda

•Shrek realized his love for Fiona and stopped the wedding. He tells Fiona what he feels for her.

Ultimate Boon

• Perseus was able to defeat Medusa•He was able to save Andromeda and take have her as his wife•He was offered to rule his grandfather’s land but later refused

•Shrek save Fiona from the dragon and was able to remove Fiona’s curse•He was able to get back his swamp from Lord Farquaad• Fiona loved Shrek and later married him

Refusal of Return

Both Perseus and Shrek did not refuse to return home. Perseus was eager of returning home as he wanted to save his mother from the king , while Shrek wanted to start a new life with Fiona.

Magic Flight

Hermes gives Perseus sandals with wings and flew back home to Argos

Crossing of the Return

Threshold

Perseus returs to Argos

Shrek returns to his swamp

Master of Both World

Perseus’ quest was now over and he returns the equipment to the Nymphai and gave the head of Medusa to Athena to thank her.

Shrek lives happily ever after with Fiona in his swamp