Shrek's Mama Bear Was Turned Into a Rug
The Claim
Mama Bear in the 2001 film Shrek was killed and turned into a rug.
Emerging story
On July 1, 2021, TikTok user Queon’te Wright posted a video that many found to be alarming. The video shows Mama Bear, Papa Bear, and Baby Bear (from “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”) in the movie Shrek. Mama Bear is notable by the bow she wears. A later scene depicts a sad Papa Bear and Baby Bear and Mama Bear as a rug in Lord Farquaad’s castle.
Social media users shared the video and commented on their feelings about it.
Misbar’s Analysis
The intertextual, allusion-filled, computer-animated, fairy tale parody comedy Shrek has been strangely divisive. Some, including film critic Roger Ebert, find the movie “fun” and the ogre “lovable,” while others find it “unfunny” and “overrated.” It was the first non-Disney animated feature to be selected for preservation in the National Film Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” Shrek spurred a series of memes based on the film itself and on the opening song, All Star’s “Somebody Once Told Me.” There is now an entire Shrek franchise that includes sequels, a spin-off, and a stage musical.
Misbar rewatched the entire film to make sure that the TikTok video was not edited in a misleading way. We found that, sadly, Mama Bear is posthumously turned into a rug. Shrek co-director Andrew Adamson actually pointed out the scene in a 2001 interview with movie critic Susan Wloszczyna. He said about the rug: “Did you notice it was bearskin? And wearing a pink bow? It’s Mama Bear.”
However, Mama Bear fans will be relieved to hear that she is alive, well, and not a rug in the Shrek Karaoke Dance Party and the Shrek 2 video game.
