An actual-life donkey who served because the animation mannequin for the character Donkey within the “Shrek” franchise died on Thursday on the age of 30 at his house in California.
Pericles, affectionately referred to as Perry, was a Jerusalem miniature donkey from New York Metropolis who achieved fame after serving to animators excellent Shrek’s sidekick Donkey within the Oscar-winning 2001 comedy.
Donkey, voiced by Eddie Murphy, served because the chatty comedian aid to Shrek’s blasé nature and appeared by way of all 4 principal films within the franchise.
Perry was simply 5 years outdated when he first modeled for the animators and was reportedly paid a weekly wage of $75 for his providers.
“It’s evident if you know Perry and watch the movie that it’s him,” Jenny Kiratli, lead handler of the Barron Park Donkey Challenge, advised 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 introduced on the Barron Park Donkeys Instagram account, an animal park in Palo Alto, Calif. that Perry known as house for the final 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 assertion mentioned.
“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 situation that inflames and destroys the hooves of equine animals, in response to a press release from the Barron Park Donkey Challenge obtained by the Palo Alto Day by day Put up.
He had been sick for years, however was so beloved by Palo Alto that he served as town mascot and the Metropolis Council footed a $10,000 medical invoice for Perry final 12 months.
“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 within the assertion.
“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 arrange a memorial for Perry quickly, in response to the Instagram put up.
Donkeys sometimes stay between 25 and 40 years.
