Fairy Godmother (Shrek)

Fairy Godmother
Shrek character
First appearance	Shrek 2 (2004)
Created by	Andrew Adamson
Voiced by	Jennifer Saunders (film) Claudia Ann Christian (video games) Pinky Turzo (Thriller Night)
In-universe information
Species	Fairy
Gender	Female
Occupation	Fairy godmother Businesswoman
Family	Prince Charming (son)

The Fairy Godmother^[1] is a fictional character in DreamWorks Animation's Shrek franchise, voiced by actress Jennifer Saunders. Introduced as the main antagonist of Shrek 2, the Fairy Godmother is the mother of Prince Charming, who Princess Fiona was originally intended to wed prior to meeting Shrek. Believing that ogres should not live happily ever after, she plots against newlyweds Shrek and Fiona's relationship, using her magic and potions in an attempt to trick Fiona into falling in love with her son. Fairy Godmother is loosely based on the stock fairy godmother character in fairy tales, specifically "Cinderella" and "Sleeping Beauty", serving as a parody of the common trope.

The Shrek franchise is based on William Steig's children's book Shrek!, which mentions a witch who predicts that Shrek will meet a donkey and marry a princess uglier than himself. Early drafts of the first film included a character named Dama Fortuna, a witch from whom Fiona receives the potion that modifies her enchantment, forcing her to alternate between her human and ogre forms on a nightly basis. Originally intended to reveal Fiona's backstory via prologue, the scene was discarded because it was deemed too depressing by test audiences. Wanting to incorporate some more fairy tale elements into the sequel, writer Ted Elliot reimagined the witch as Fiona's bigoted fairy godmother. Saunders recorded her role in four days and also provided her character's singing voice.

The Fairy Godmother has received mostly positive reviews from film critics, who appreciated her humor and villainy, as well as Saunders' performance, which some critics compared to her Absolutely Fabulous character Edina Monsoon. Saunders' performance earned her a People's Choice Award for Favorite Movie Villain.