Shrek Looks Scary in The Original Film Test Footage From 1995

Many Shrek fans know Chris Farley was originally tapped to voice the big green ogre. Mike Myers only took over the role after Farley passed away. 

 

Lots of viewers also know Myers’ first attempt at the character sounded very different. The Austin Powers star recorded his lines with a Canadian accent before redoing the entire part with Shrek’s signature Scottish one. Clearly it was a good choice, since it launched a billion-dollar franchise. 

 

But few people realize just how different Shrek once looked, too. In fact, the original take on Shrek has a longer face, a bigger nose, and even gnarlier teeth. He’s a lot more like the type of creature you’d expect to see in a story where the ogre is the terrible monster rather than the lovable hero. 

 

A YouTube clip from the movie’s 1995 test footage shows that instead of a friendly, kid-appropriate Shrek we could have met a much scarier ogre.