Donkey is Shrek's best friend and the comical character in the film Shrek. He is quite literally, a talking donkey. Visually speaking, he is an animal (donkey), who does not wear clothes (as opposed to other animal characters in the film). This distances Donkey from viewers of the movie, since most viewers are human. Donkey's features are short and stubby, and despite his heroic efforts to help rescue Princess Fiona from the dragon-guarded tower, he is far from being an animal who is given prestige just based off of his appearace. Instead, he is an animal that is viewed as being part of the 'working' class, making him of a lesser importance just on his appearance. He also has very animal like characteristics that are able to be visually recognized by the viewer. Whenever he is sad, he puts his ears back and lower lip juts out in pout. If he is happy, his ears are pricked forward, eager to take on the world, and his smile is a goofy display of all of his teeth. Though he does not seem to be particularly muscular or aesthetically pleasing, as an audience member I am drawn to his honest visual representation and therefore more inclined to like and accept his character for who he is. Although he often times does not embody the 'manly' man representation, this is not the end of the world. In fact, it is another way that the film transforms forms stereotypes. Children are especially able to learn about gender norms and identity from...[characters] in animated films" (Li-Vollmer 93).

As previously mentioned, Donkey is not the most aesthetically pleasing character in the film. Instead, he is an awkward and goofy best friend of the main character. There is a particualry innocence that exudes from his visual representation that draws the audience in. The way that his emotions are so clearly visible on his face makes it easy for a person to identify with Donkey, even though he is an animal and not a perosn. Donkey also uses his facial facial expressions to close the gap between the audience and the character. As previously mentioned, the show of emotions provides an avenue for the average viewer to relate with, but more than that, they humanize him. He is no longer a donkey, he is now a thinking, living, feeling being with whom I want to be friends. He uses his appearance to break the tension in awkward situations which also makes it easier to see why he is so adored, even as a donkey, which is not usually the most visually appealing animal. For younger audiences, this redefines what it means to be a donkey (or an animal), and for older, more mature audiences, this visual representation breaks down stereotypes that animated films with animals in them are of no importance to their generation.

The movies Shrek and Ice Age have several characters who parallel one another. Two characters who overlap in these two movies are Donkey and Sid, respectively. They are both the best friend of the main in their films. They also both take on the role of awkward sidekick at several points during the films. Both Sid and Donkey are the comic relief during the film and despite their sometimes annoying habits (according to the main characters) they are easily likable by the audience as well as the other characters.