This Unhinged Shrek Theory Warps Donkey
The animated classic "Shrek" is at a perfect nexus point for inspiring increasingly bizarre fan theories, as generations of kids who grew up watching it have had ample time to think over its numerous characters and concepts to find whatever deeper meaning they can. One such theory actually makes some sense, given the movie's setting of a shared fairy tale reality where the Gingerbread Man (Conrad Vernon) can be tortured and interrogated about the whereabouts of the Muffin Man. Characters from all well-known children's tales seem to live and co-exist together.
It comes from u/tyoung000 on Reddit's r/FanTheories, who argues that Pinocchio (Cody Cameron) is not the only character from Carlo Collodi's classic children's novel to appear in "Shrek." The theory posits that Donkey (Eddie Murphy) wasn't born a donkey and is instead a human turned into one by sorcery. He's not just any human, either, but Lampwick, Pinocchio's delinquent friend who was transformed along with all the other inhabitants of the Land of Toys, or Pleasure Island, as it is known in the famous Disney film version of the story.
The theory might be a stretch, but it's tough to shake
"Donkey is one of my favorite Shrek characters, but I might have some clues to his backstory, he's actually Lampwick, the pool-playing, cigar-smoking guy from 'Pinocchio' who transformed into a donkey in the middle of the 'Pinocchio' movie," posts u/tyoung000.
Some of the clues to support this claim are self-evident. Donkey is a talking donkey who lives in a world inhabited by various fairy tale characters, including Pinocchio himself. Might it not follow that Donkey is also a character from an established story? The post points out some other similarities between Donkey and Lampwick.
"Lampwick and Donkey are both annoying, And they know Pinocchio very well. And when they were shipping all the donkeys on the ship [in Disney's "Pinocchio"], Lampwick escaped and then was found by the lady that was trying to sell him. And my Dad says he can't stand Lampwick, which makes my theory possible because Shrek can't stand Donkey, even though they are best friends."
Of course, as some of the replies to the post point out, there is a pretty glaring problem with this theory. As u/PunnyBanana correctly states: "So it's been a while since I've seen 'Pinnochio,' but doesn't Lampwick lose the ability to speak when he becomes a donkey?"
So, to accept this theory, you must also accept that at some point, Lampwick re-learned how to talk and changed his name to "Donkey" at some point. But, as u/tyoung000 says at the end of the post, "I might be reading to [sic] much into this, but it's just a theory."