Perry the donkey, inspiration for Eddie Murphy’s ‘Shrek’ character, passes away at 30

Perry, the beloved donkey who famously served as the inspiration for Eddie Murphy’s character Donkey in Shrek, the popular animated franchise, is no more. The 30-year-old Perry was euthanised on January 2 after a prolonged illness related to pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction, laminitis, arthritis, and muscle atrophy, according to Jenny Kiratli, lead handler at the Barron Park Donkey Project, USA Today reported.

Born as Pericles in New York City in 1994, Perry was known for his playful and talkative nature. He became the ideal inspiration for Donkey, the character voiced by Eddie Murphy in the Shrek films. Perry’s energetic personality and charm were reflected in the animated character, who became a beloved sidekick to Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers). Over the years, Donkey evolved into a pop culture icon, with his humour throughout all four Shrek films, including the final instalment, Shrek Forever After (2010).

“He was a part of the whole community, and everyone is mourning for him. So many people knew him. The story that people tell is that he was meant to be a calming influence on polo horses — but he was feisty, so that didn’t work out,” People magazine quoted Kiratli as saying.

This is sad #perry pic.twitter.com/hxv8bWDyBg

— Ezeagafelam🐐🕯️ (@Ezeagafelam2) January 6, 2025

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“So many children came by all the time to see. They don’t know he’s the Shrek donkey. They just know he’s a little, fuzzy animal who they love to pet,” she added.

Perry was discovered by Rex Grignon, former head of character animation at DreamWorks Animation and the supervising animator for Donkey in Shrek, and his wife. According to a report in USA Today, Grignon spotted a group of donkeys out for a walk with handlers at Barron Park. Perry was chosen to have a better understanding and the animators sketched it.