Humpty Alexander Dumpty, better known as Humpty Dumpty, is a former thief and inventor who had sworn revenge on his hometown, San Ricardo. He had gained infamy for his obsession with the magic beans, and obtaining the Golden Goose. He is Puss in Boots' adoptive brother and former arch-enemy.
Appearances
Puss in Boots
In the film, Humpty first appears in the underground bar, revealing to Puss that he had hired Kitty Softpaws to bring Puss to him. He had located the magic beans that he and Puss spent their childhood searching for. However, Puss refuses, saying that Humpty is a traitor (which the egg denies) and leaves.
Later on, Puss reveals to Kitty that Humpty was his only friend, and not his brother, at the San Ricardo orphanage, which is where they both grew up in. When they first met each other, a duo of older boys, led by Little Boy Blue, proceeded to bully and torment Humpty until Puss came to his rescue, which he demonstrates his surprising fighting skills. Puss encounters him again in his secret shed, which has a secret garden and a homemade water mechanism. As Puss was too shy to speak, Humpty came up with all sorts of names for him, such as Sparky, Whiskers, and Zoltar, all these Puss rejected. When the egg finally settle on one, which is "Puss", Puss silently accepts it and thus has that name from then on.
Humpty had a wild imagination and had once invented a flying machine for his size, from which he was able to fly from the town's bell tower but ended up crashing into a tree. Underneath that same tree, Humpty would tell Puss famous legends and adventures while they watch the clouds in the sky. He tells him the story of the Golden goose and of his plan to find the magic beans that would grow into a gigantic beanstalk that reaches to a castle in the clouds, where a fearsome giant lives. Humpty then reveals to Puss the existence of the legendary golden goose, which Humpty claims is the giant's greatest treasure, as the golden goose can lay golden eggs. Humpty states his desire to have one of her golden eggs, which was what he just needs for the rest of his life. He then confesses to Puss that he believes that that he has a place there in the clouds. When Humpty offers a partnership to Puss, he asks him if he can commit to which the latter replies he can, which left the egg surprised that his cat friend can talk.
Later, that night at the San Ricardo bell tower, Humpty and Puss swore a blood oath to be brothers for life; they make one of their fingers bleed by poking them with a sharp pin and then shake hands with the hand the bleeding finger is on as a sign of keeping their oath. They soon began looking for the magic beans through theft and conning, in which Humpty pretended to be injured, which would distract the townsfolk enough for Puss to steal all kinds of beans from vendors and marketplaces. Upon returning to the secret shed at the orphanage, Puss and Humpty would plant them to see if they are magical, but none of them are the magic beans, much to Humpty's disappointment. Back at the bell tower the next night, they together made a drawing that showed their plans of finding the golden goose together. However, as the years pass, their quest eventually became nothing but a child's dream.
As they grew up, the theft and conning they committed as children soon turned into crimes. When they were teenagers, they began stealing from other people just for fun. They were eventually caught by an orphan, which wasn't the first time they got into trouble: according to Commandante, the leader of San Ricardo's militia, it was the third time Humpty and Puss had been caught stealing. When he warns Mama Imelda, their caretaker, that they will go to jail the next time he catches them, she sweetly reminds him that they're just kids. Taking advantage of this, Humpty proceeded to childishly stick his tongue out at Commandante, who angrily reminds Imelda that they are thieves.
This changes when Puss stops a bull from killing the head soldier's elderly mother. Puss, the new town hero, had less time to spend with Humpty, leaving him desperate, he attempts to steal without Puss, landing him in jail, until Puss bails him out and tells him he is not stealing anymore. In his desperation, he wakes up Puss one night, telling him he owes Little Boy Blue (the orphanage bully and the reason they became best friends) and his gang money, so asks Puss to help him leave town. When Puss gets him over what he believes to be the town wall, he realizes in horror that the "town wall" was actually the wall around the town bank, which Humpty had just robbed. Humpty escapes with all the money in the bank as the alarm goes off. The police arrive immediately, and, seeing Puss with Humpty, believes he helped in the crime.
Wrongly accused, Pussy flees with Humpty in their cart, which is destroyed on the bridge, and all the money in the town falls in the river. In his desperation and depression, Puss jumps in the water. This event is what leads to the frosty relationship between Puss and Humpty. Later, seduced by Kitty, Puss agrees to go with them on their journey. Eventually, they steal the magic beans from Jack and Jill, an act which nearly costs them their lives. Soon after, they reach the only soil in which the magic beans can grow. In the clouds, they sneak into the long-dead giant's castle, steal the golden goose, and escape. After they celebrate and go to sleep, Jack and Jill come and knock Puss out. When he wakes up, he follows their trail to his hometown, where he is shocked to find Humpty handing out golden eggs to the residents. Humpty explains that it was all as part of his master plan to get revenge, and that everyone, the bar patrons, Jack and Jill, even Kitty, worked for him. He then has Puss arrested. While Puss is in jail, Puss learns that the Great Terror, the monster they encountered in the castle, will come and destroy the town in order to retrieve the Golden Goose (which was Humpty's plan all along), as the Great Terror is a giant goose who is the mother, and the Golden Goose is its baby. Puss, however, gets helped by a repented Kitty to escape from prison and convinces Humpty against it.
However, it is too late. As the Great Terror descends on the town, Humpty helps lead it to the bridge, where he sacrifices himself so Puss can give the mother the golden goose. As the mother is about to leave, Puss sees where Humpty landed in the canyon, where he sacrificed himself, a golden egg surrounded by eggshell confirming that Humpty died. The mother takes the egg back with her, and Puss says to himself, "I always knew you were good inside."
During the end credits, Humpty's spirit is seen in his normal form, dancing on the mother's back with the golden goose, indicating that Humpty died.
Appearance
Humpty is an egg with a human face, brown eyes and black eyebrows. He wears a red shirt with yellow buttons under a green sweater, brown gloves, white socks and brown shoes. He also wears a black hat with a yellow belt. In Shrek Super Slam he had blue eyes and wore green shorts with yellow buttons and brown suspenders, he also wore yellow gloves.
Video Game Appearances
Humpty Dumpty made his first appearance in the Shrek franchise in the original Xbox video game. He is one of the residents of Mother Goose Land, and is teaching local egg children how to fall off walls. Shrek has to save the kids and return the to their father, the Great Gander. This same event is carried over to the GameCube port, Shrek Extra Large.
In Shrek: Reekin' Havoc, Humpty Dumpty appears as one of the bosses. His overall role is never described beyond showing up in Sweetsville with toy eggs.
Humpty Dumpty appears as a secret character in Shrek Super Slam. He is the only secret character who has an alternate outfit. Humpty's Super Slam has him spinning around on his head around the stage. He makes two appearances in story mode, the first of which he confronts Princess Fiona in her human form, and the second he is seen together with Gingy and Captain Hook dueling with Donkey, thinking he was the secret ingredient.
Humpty Dumpty also appears in Shrek Smash n' Crash Racing as an unlockable racer. Humpty Dumpty is one of the eight unlockable racers in this game. He is one of the two characters that have not appeared in the Shrek films, although he retains his design from Super Slam. Humpty Dumpty in this game wears glasses. Humpty Dumpty's kart is the Chicken Cup and his personal item is a frying pan.
In DreamWorks All-Star Kart Racing, Humpty Dumpty can be seen on the San Ricardo track. He is sitting on a fence cheering for the racers. This is the only time aside from the Puss in Boots tie-in game where he appears in his canonical look without any creative liberties.
Trivia
- Humpty technically first appeared in the original Shrek via a scrapped scene called "Deal." He would've been depicted as a figurine being played with by Lord Farquaad.
- In the PC video game adaptation of Shrek 2, Humpty Dumpty appears as one of the Wanted Posters.
- Humpty was supposed to appear as one of the fairy tale creatures in Shrek the Musical, but was scrapped once the show hit Broadway.
- He was replaced by Tweedledum in the musical.
- Humpty’s grave can be seen in Shrek 4-D, but he has a different design.
- Despite Humpty being the secondary antagonist, he was the one that hired Jack and Jill to trick Puss and to get revenge on him. This is because they betray him fairly quickly and he goes back to being Puss' ally just as quickly.
- While he wasn't seen or mentioned in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, his name is on a library card inside Goldilocks' "Fairy Tales" book. Although it is obscured by the pocket the card is in.
- This book could be where Humpty got his fixation towards the legend of the magic beans.
- Strangely, Humpty was left out of Puss' life flashbacks in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish despite their extreme history. He was however referenced by Puss in promotional material for the film.