Shrek, the green ogre at the centre of DreamWorks' Shrek film series that began in 2001, is famous for his crude, swamp-dwelling manners, and his burp has become shorthand for that humour. The sound spread through meme soundboards, YouTube edits and short-form videos, where creators reuse it as a quick punchline without needing any context from the films. It endures because it is instantly recognisable, works in almost any eating or prank scenario, and taps into nostalgia for a character audiences grew up watching.