This is a list of characters that appear in the Shrek franchise.

• Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers and Michael Gough as his official voice in the video games) is a large, grumpy yet caring green ogre and the lead character in all of the Shrek films. Chris Farley was originally cast to be the voice of Shrek, but he died before he could complete his voice work. He had finished 85-95% of his lines.
• Donkey (voiced by Eddie Murphy in the films, Mark Moseley in the video games, and Dean Edwards in Scared Shrekless) is a talking donkey, and Shrek's best friend.
• Princess Fiona (speaking voice by Cameron Diaz, singing voice provided by Sally Dworsky in the first film, Renee Sands on all other occasions, and Holly Fields in the video games) is the princess of the kingdom of Far Far Away and Shrek's wife from the end of the first film on.
• Puss in Boots (voiced by Antonio Banderas in the English, Spanish, and Italian versions of the films, Eric Bauza in The Adventures of Puss in Boots and The Trident, vocal sounds and purrs provided by Frank Welker, and voiced by André Sogliuzzo in the video games and commercials) is Shrek's best friend along with Donkey. He is also the lead character of the Puss in Boots films and the TV series based on it.

• Dragon is depicted as a ruby-colored dragon, initially known as the guard of the tower in which Princess Fiona awaits her rescuer in the first film, later becoming Donkey's mate.
• Some storybook characters who become Shrek's main group of friends include:
  • The Gingerbread Man, known as Gingy, is voiced by Conrad Vernon, and references the fairy tale of the runaway cookie. In the first film, Shrek, Lord Farquaad kidnaps him and tortures him for information, but Gingy refuses to reveal Shrek's location. There is an echo in Shrek 2, where a gigantic gingerbread man baked by The Muffin Man helps storm Prince Charming's castle.
  • Pinocchio is drawn ultimately from the Italian novel by Carlo Collodi, with animation reminiscent of the 1940 Disney version. Starting with Shrek 2, he becomes one of Shrek's best friends and he fulfils his dream of being turned into a real boy, but in a few moments he is made of wood again.
  • The Three Little Pigs are the same three little pigs from the classic story. They are distinguished by their hats and are some of Shrek's best friends. They speak with a German accent.
  • The Big Bad Wolf is the same wolf from the story of Little Red Riding Hood, dressed as a grandmother. Starting with Shrek 2, he becomes one of Shrek's best friends, helping him along with his other companions, and he sent the Fairy Godmother flying. He is usually quiet, dry and monotonous.
  • The Three Blind Mice are based on the English nursery rhyme of the same name.
• Lord Farquaad (voiced by John Lithgow in the films, Andre Sogliuzzo in Shrek Smash n' Crash Racing) is the narcissistic, ruthless and diminutive ruler of the huge castle of Duloc.

• King Harold (voiced by John Cleese) is Fiona's father. He made a pact with the Fairy Godmother involving blackmail against him to get Fiona to marry Charming and he is actually the Frog Prince.
• Queen Lillian (voiced by Julie Andrews) is Fiona's mother. Also widowed by King Harold, whom she loved still turned into a frog, she was also surprised to see her daughter turned into an ogre and married to Shrek.
• Fairy Godmother (voiced by Jennifer Saunders in the films, Claudia Christian in the video games, and Pinky Turzo in Thriller Night) is a scheming, conniving opportunist, loosely based on the fairy-tale Cinderella's "Fairy Godmother".

• Prince Charming (voiced by Rupert Everett in the second and third film, Sean Bishop in Scared Shrekless, James Arnold Taylor in video games) is the son of the Fairy Godmother, who pretends to be Shrek in an effort to win Fiona's heart and marry her.
• Doris (voiced by Larry King) she is one of Cinderella's ugly stepsisters, and a great friend and confidant in Fiona's group of friends. After being encouraged by Shrek and his friends to quit her old job as a waitress at the Poisoned Apple bar, she joins Fiona and the other princesses in the third film.
• Captain Hook (voiced by Ian McShane) is a character in the story of Peter Pan. He plays the piano in the "Poisoned Apple" tavern. Although he has a brief appearance in the second film, in the third he acts as a secondary villain.
• The Headless Horseman (voiced by Conrad Vernon) appears drinking alongside King Harold in "The Poisoned Apple", and also juggling outside the bar. He also appears in the third film as an ally of Prince Charming.
• Cyclops (voiced by Mark Valley) is a villain who acts as the doorman of "The Poisoned Apple." He is married and has a daughter who, like him, only has one large eye in the center of her forehead.

• Fergus, Farkle and Felicia are triplets of Shrek and Fiona, two boys and a girl. They appear in Shrek the Third, Shrek The Halls, Shrek Forever After, and Scared Shrekless.
• Arthur Pendragon (voiced by Justin Timberlake) is a cousin of Fiona, based on the legendary figure King Arthur.
• Merlin (voiced by Eric Idle) is a powerful wizard who controls all kinds of magic and spells. Artie comes to him for his aid when he knows he is going to be king. He was a teacher in the magic class at Artie's school, although his spells don't always turn out as he expects, as he switched Puss and Donkey's bodies.
• The quartet of Fiona's princess friends includes:
  • Snow White (voiced by Amy Poehler) is one of Fiona and the others' princess friends.
  • Cinderella (voiced by Amy Sedaris) is one of Fiona and the others' princess friends.
  • Sleeping Beauty (voiced by Cheri Oteri) is one of Fiona and the others' princess friends.
  • Rapunzel (voiced by Maya Rudolph) she betrays Fiona to join Charming and his allies.

• Rumpelstiltskin (voiced by Walt Dohrn) is an evil short con man who makes magical deals solidified with contracts, based on the fairy tale character of the same name.
• Pied Piper is a mute boy from the original story. He briefly appears in Shrek's swamp, along with the rest of the banished story characters, as a young boy who attracts a group of mice while playing his flute. In Shrek Forever After, he is represented as a mute and intelligent type of antihero, as he is presented as a kind of mercenary for hire. Depending on the way he activates his flute, some creatures or others will dance to the sound of the music, unable to control their movements. At the end of the film he is seen forcing Rumpelstiltskin to dance to his music.
• Some ogre characters include:
  • Brogan (voiced by Jon Hamm) is the leader of the army against Rumpelstiltskin.
  • Cookie (voiced by Craig Robinson) is in charge of cooking in the army against Rumpelstiltskin.
  • Gretchen (voiced by Jane Lynch) is a member of the army against Rumpelstiltskin.

• Kitty Softpaws (voiced by Salma Hayek Pinault in the films and Margo Rey in The Trident) is a declawed, thieving bicolor cat introduced as Puss' love interest in the prequel spin-off Puss in Boots and later reunited with him and rekindling said relationship after Santa Coloma in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.
• Humpty Dumpty (voiced by Zach Galifianakis) is the mastermind who intends to retrieve the Golden Eggs from the one-of-a-kind Goose. He is based on the character of the same name.
• Jack and Jill (voiced by Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris) are married outlaws, based on the nursery rhyme with the same name.
• The Golden Goose is a huge goose that lives in the castle at the top of the bean plant, has a baby that provides golden eggs and it is known as the Great Terror.

• Perrito (voiced by Harvey Guillen) is a friendly and naïve dog who is initially disguised as one of Mama Luna's pet cats and wants to become a therapy dog. Since the end of the film, he officially names the trio "Team Friendship".
• Death (voiced by Wagner Moura) is the personification of Death who takes on the form of a wolf. He is initially presumed to be a bounty hunter before revealing his true identity to Puss, who he wants to personally kill as punishment for carelessly wasting eight of his nine lives. He wields twin sickles that combine into a double-bladed glaive.
• Big Jack Horner (voiced by John Mulaney in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish) is an adult version of the character from the nursery rhyme Little Jack Horner. In addition to owning a pastry business, he's also a crime lord who plans to obtain the wishing star to obtain control of all Magic.
• Goldilocks and the Three Bears (voiced by Florence Pugh with Ray Winstone, Olivia Colman and Samson Kayo) are based on the book. Goldilocks is a criminal who, as a child, was adopted by the Three Bears, who acted as her cronies as she grew older. She looks for the wishing star to have a real family, but does not accept and becomes part of the bear family. The characters have no relation to those who appear in the Shrek films.
• Ethical Bug (voiced by Kevin McCann) is the Talking Cricket from the story of Pinocchio. He appears in the possession of Jack Horner as his advisor, or rather a witness to his atrocities. He tries to get Jack to make good decisions, although without any success.