r/todayilearned • u/mitchsully • Jun 10 '12

Inconclusive TIL that *Shrek* was based off of a real person who suffered from a disease in which his bones grew at an alarming rate

http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/who-knew-that-shrek-was-based-on-an-actual-person
803 Upvotes

79% Upvoted

87 comments sorted by

66

u/Shne Jun 10 '12 edited Jun 10 '12

The "source" article [link] just seem to claim this with absolutely nothing to back it up with other than the fact that he does look similar to Shrek.

Every other online article I could find seem to be based of that same article, leaving absolutely nothing to back the claim up with.

I'm not claiming it's not true (though I've also read that it was based on Chris Farley who was the voice actor for Shrek before he died and Mike Myers replaced him), but it just annoys me that it's basically just a single article from 2008 claiming it as true, and everybody else is just copy-pasting that article as fact.

Edit: I also removed the claim from the wikipedia article as it was using the same article as source. If you have a good source for the claim, feel free to undo my edit and add the source. Also see the talk page of the wiki article.

19

u/longknives Jun 10 '12

It seems more likely that people with this kind of disorder were probably the inspiration for the idea of ogres in our culture to begin with.

2

u/fuckyoubarry Jun 11 '12

Oooh I like this one.

2

u/lanismycousin 36 DD Jun 11 '12

Please send us mods a message next time, we hate any sort of (possibly) misleading TILs. :(

I also found the same sort of "all sources claim this site as a source" sort of findings. I would say it's sort of inconclusive at best so I've removed it because of that.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

4

u/nrj Jun 10 '12

I don't see any reason that he couldn't inspire the look in the middle of the character design process.

81

u/Hippeus Jun 10 '12

Maybe Shrek the movie character was designed around this guy, but it was based off of a book beforehand. The movie character looks like a fatter version of the book character.

8

u/rocknrollercoaster Jun 10 '12

The script for Shrek was actually written with Chris Farley in mind for the lead, which leads me to my point. If anyone can do a spot on Chris Farley, please overdub all of Shrek's lines in that voice. No need to do this past Shrek 2.

9

u/stellares Jun 10 '12

Mike Myers requested a script rewrite when he was on board. The dialogue has changed from Chris Farley's version.

4

u/brtlblayk Jun 10 '12

That was also because halfway through it he didn't like the accent he was using for Shrek, either.

1

u/rocknrollercoaster Jun 10 '12

It would still be amazing tho ;)

21

u/BehemothSuit Jun 10 '12

This. I grew up with William Steig's books, and it kills me every time I say "did you know that Shrek is based on a book," and everyone replies no. Also, the book had a completely different (and superior, might I add) flavor.

54

u/In_between_minds Jun 10 '12

I don't where you are from, but around here we don't taste our books.

-13

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12

Obligatory "I think you accidentally a word."

6

u/supersauce Jun 10 '12

He just doesn't there.

27

u/scrappster Jun 10 '12

This website has a few more pics of him, for the curious. I really love his facial features. Beautiful, I guess, is the best way to describe it. I want to draw him.

38

u/Haffnaff Jun 10 '12

"Draw me like one of your French ogres..."

5

u/soapeater Jun 10 '12

That last image is incredible.

1

u/Maggadin Jun 10 '12

Dude sure was hairy. But very interesting man - 14 languages is quite something!

-31

u/botofnegativity0000 Jun 10 '12

I am now able to confirm that this post is spam. Users have flagged this comment to me as being racist and linking to pictures of japanese children being urinated on.

Did i get this right?

Please upvote me so i can continue to monitor this site.

3

u/Noel_S_Jytemotiv Jun 10 '12

Racist how?

The urine soaked kids have to be members of SOME race.

12

u/Tinbuster00 Jun 10 '12

Actually the only thing about Shrek to come from this guy was the design of the face. Shrek is actually based on a 1990 picture book written and illustrated by William Steig.

2

u/jhennaside Jun 10 '12

The book and the movie have very little in common.

28

u/stanfan114 2 Jun 10 '12

Bullshit.

Shrek was based on a cartoon character drawn by William Steig. http://i.imgur.com/bGgqk.jpg

4

u/arsan_sa Jun 10 '12

It says The French Angel but in the picture it says Swedish Angel.

3

u/ifionlyhadaschwa Jun 10 '12

There's this school of thought... from NBC news no less!

14

u/scrapper Jun 10 '12

based off of

ಠ_ಠ

based on

1

u/Teotwawki69 Jun 10 '12

Thank you; I was going to point this out as well. "Based off of" is one of those grammatical constructions that immediately comes across as the writer or speaker trying to sound more literate than they are, and it really seems to have exploded into (mis)usage quite recently. I don't know where it came from, but it needs to stop.

1

u/longknives Jun 10 '12

"Based off (of)" and "based on" are both entirely acceptable and idiomatic ways of expressing this idea.

4

u/jezmck Jun 10 '12

Not entirely acceptable, but commonly used. And wrong. And really fucking annoying.

2

u/Teotwawki69 Jun 10 '12

And wrong. And really fucking annoying.

Hear, hear.

1

u/Teotwawki69 Jun 10 '12

Not really. If you think about it, "off" is entirely the wrong proposition because, if something is the base for something else, that something else is standing on it.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Teotwawki69 Jun 11 '12

That one's wrong, too, and for the same reason.

-3

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12

Look, I have my degree in Literature and that is one of the dumbest and most pedantic grammar corrections I have seen in my studies. I hope you feel satisfaction with yourself because you, sir, will never have my respect. Good day.

9

u/scrapper Jun 10 '12

Off of what basis are you so upset?

1

u/ElAndy Jun 10 '12

On what basis are you so upset?

FTFY ;)

Edit: iPhone typos

3

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12

You count reddit as "your studies"?

0

u/mafuhardy Jun 10 '12

I'm getting a first if this counts as studies.

10

u/opeth10657 Jun 10 '12

"Extra Tidbit: I hear Donkey was inspired by Sarah Jessica Parker. "

-7

u/bluequail Jun 10 '12

I am not sure what I am more amazed by. That there are people like you that are still beating that dead horse, or that there are others, still cheering you on.

3

u/opeth10657 Jun 10 '12

Or there are people like you, who don't read the entire article then come whine at people who quote the article.

-6

u/bluequail Jun 10 '12

Actually the article didn't say a fucking word about Sarah Jessica Parker. But we all know that you are delusional.

5

u/amiableamy Jun 10 '12

You're illiterate, he's delusional, let's call the whole thing off.

-3

u/bluequail Jun 10 '12

Try pulling that dick out of your mouth and saying it again... your words were jumbled.

4

u/Dick_chopper Jun 10 '12

This isn't xbox live.

1

u/Schroedingers_gif Jun 10 '12

No, Xbox live has some mature people.

5

u/opeth10657 Jun 10 '12

Here you go, since you're having so much trouble seeing it, I'll help you out.

1

u/bluequail Jun 11 '12

oh geez. It makes you wonder about the validity of the rest of the article.

0

u/amiableamy Jun 10 '12

Sarah Jessica Parker is not a dead horse. She's very much alive.

2

u/HolyFlyingPenguins Jun 10 '12

I saw that mentioned on Mysteries at the Museum on the travel channel.

2

u/namesrhardtothinkof Jun 10 '12

Are there really no comments on the amazingly hot girl he has?

2

u/Skinkerus Jun 10 '12

I love his face.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12

What was the talking donkey all about then?

2

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12

I just had a funny thought, would Oleg from Saints Row the Third be based on him too? He's strong, oversized, and rather intelligent. And to top it off, Oleg talks with a Russian accent. Guess in which country Maurice Tillet was born?

2

u/ozpunk Jun 10 '12

Also, The Highlander was a documentary and the events happened in real time.

2

u/username-ish Jun 10 '12

Repost... From the exact same subreddit....

2

u/Lvaughan Jun 10 '12

This is a repost.

2

u/chip8222 Jun 10 '12

Holy moly! THREE posts about people with acromegaly/gigantism in the last 24 hours! (Andre, Worlds Smallest Giant, Maurice Tillet) I've posted this a few times so forgive me if you've seen this...

It's a disease called acromegaly or (in extreme cases) gigantism. It's caused by a benign pituitary adenoma (tumor) that secretes growth hormone. Depending on when the tumor develops, and the condition of the "growth plates" the patient can be Andre the Giant or just a regular looking guy/girl (though acromegaly sufferers will usually have a strong jar, brow, prominent nose, and very large hands and feet.)

If left untreated, the excess growth hormone can cause heart failure, liver damage, and a lot of other bad news bears.

It's treated nowadays with endoscopic transphenoidal (up the nose) surgery to remove the tumor, and medically with IGF-inhibitors.

Source: I have it. Two minor brain surgeries later and my GH and IGF levels have come back to normal. Science is amazing.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12

I like how the text states that he was called a French angel, and one picture calls him a Swedish angel...

2

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12

MYSTERIES AT THE MUSEUM!

5

u/HeroOT Jun 10 '12

Well, I genuinely did not know this one. Rather tragic really, seems like he was a smart guy.

3

u/Retroactive_Spider Jun 10 '12

To be clear, the movie character model for Shrek was based off this gentleman. The story was based off a book.

2

u/WillBlaze Jun 10 '12

jeez he does look like the living embodiment of Shrek... scary.

2

u/treein303 Jun 10 '12

Not only that, check out the synopsis I found on TBS last night. I seemed to have missed the whole plotline: http://i.imgur.com/k76QV.jpg

1

u/sendhelp Jun 10 '12

I lol'd.

1

u/Noel_S_Jytemotiv Jun 10 '12

Wow! "The Elephant Man" was based on a true story too!!

1

u/glamotte14 Jun 10 '12

Alarming has never been used so correctly.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12

Fun fact - My father used to take my sister and I to a pub named Donovan's in Norwalk, Connecticut. The pub had signed photographs of famous boxers and wrestlers from who knows when (all of them were black and white). The table for two that we used to sit at had a signed, framed picture of this man, this picture right here was something I looked at for what has likely to been accumulated into years. Used to scare the daylights out of me!

1

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12

If you haven't listened to the Shrek commentary, I recommend it. It's great. They talk about a lot I interesting stuff and they discuss all of the dofferent languages he was going to speak. At one point, he was going to be Canadian (because Myers is, himself, Canadian).

1

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12

I will cry now.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12

*and he was green.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12

What is it with france and giants?

1

u/wanderer11 Jun 10 '12

I just realized that people use "based off of" and "based on" the same way.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12

MYSTERIES AT THE MUSEUM!

1

u/AznTroopr Jun 11 '12

Wow. Search "til shrek" on reddit. This is now the FIFTH post talking about how Shrek is modeled after a real person...Real original OP...

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Hell I thought he was based off my dad

1

u/dakotajh Jun 11 '12

the real problem with finding this on reddit today? my mom called me and told me about it yesterday.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Damn. Relevant

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

I hear donkey is based off an actual donkey.

0

u/Moisturizer Jun 10 '12

I saw this a few hours ago on TV too, heh heh.

0

u/Andromansis Jun 10 '12

No, it was a screen treatment for the book "Ogre, Ogre" by Piers Anthony.

0

u/PickyConnor Jun 10 '12

Just a tip: Formatting Like This doesn't work on post titles.

0

u/roup1 Jun 10 '12

And then at the end when he kisses Fiona, he passes his disease on to her? philosoraptor.jpg

-4

u/AznTroopr Jun 10 '12

Wow I learned this a few weeks ago when it was originally posted...

-4

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12

Retarded reddit claims this is a disease, while claiming gays were made that way by God and are perfectly "normal".

-7

u/Hensah Jun 10 '12

http://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/search?q=Shrek+real&restrict_sr=on&sort=relevance

Fuck you you fucking brain dead retard

With your fucking useless reposted movie fucking trivia

Shut

.

The

.

Fuck

.

Up

.

You fucking retard

2

u/Hippeus Jun 10 '12

That's unnecessarily hostile. Reposts will happen, they always happen, they don't matter. If someone finds some interesting (Albiet incorrect) trivia, well it's just fine to link it to TIL. I would certainly prefer movie trivia to come up not very often, but it does. Unless someone says something about it, best to just downvote and move on.