Donkey who inspired Eddie Murphy’s ‘Shrek’ character dies at 30
A real-life donkey who served as the animation model for the character Donkey in the “Shrek” franchise died on Thursday at the age of 30 at his home in California.
Pericles, affectionately known as Perry, was a Jerusalem miniature donkey from New York City who achieved fame after helping animators perfect Shrek’s sidekick Donkey in the Oscar-winning 2001 comedy.
Donkey, voiced by Eddie Murphy, served as the chatty comic relief to Shrek’s blasé nature and appeared through all four main movies in the franchise.
Perry was just 5 years old when he first modeled for the animators and was reportedly paid a weekly wage of $75 for his services.
“It’s evident if you know Perry and watch the movie that it’s him,” Jenny Kiratli, lead handler of the Barron Park Donkey Project, told SFGate in a 2021 interview.
“It’s amazing how much of our donkey is in Donkey, the way he flips his head when he’s mad at Shrek, the way he trots.”
His passing was announced on the Barron Park Donkeys Instagram account, an animal park in Palo Alto, Calif. that Perry called home for the last 27 years.
“Throughout his long life here, Perry captured the hearts of the Barron Park community, and far beyond, with his beautiful soulful eyes, his sweet and gentle disposition, his amiable stroll to the pasture gate to greet his visitors, and of course his contributions to the movie Shrek – as the motion model for the Donkey character in the movie,” the statement said.
“Perry delighted the neighborhood over the years with his frequent appearances at Barron Park community events and his daily walks along the cycle path, most recently with his companions Buddy and April.”
The distinguished donkey was ailed by laminitis, an incurable condition that inflames and destroys the hooves of equine animals, according to a statement from the Barron Park Donkey Project obtained by the Palo Alto Daily Post.
He had been sick for years, but was so beloved by Palo Alto that he served as the city mascot and the City Council footed a $10,000 medical bill for Perry last year.
“In Perry’s last weeks, all of the handlers spent many hours at the pasture with him, petting him, cradling him, singing to him, and telling him that he was and always will be loved,” Kiratli wrote in the statement.
“We will miss you Perry. You were a special Donkey. We were lucky to have known you and we will never forget you.”
The park plans to organize a memorial for Perry soon, according to the Instagram post.
Donkeys typically live between 25 and 40 years.
