Donkey is talkative, enjoys singing, idle chatter, which proves rather annoying to those around him. He also has a sweet tooth, and enjoys such foods as cake, waffles, Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Crackers, a person named "Enchablo", parfait and "upside-down coconut soufflé with mango chutney sauce."^[1] In a scene about Merlin's bonfire, Donkey's sweet tooth gets the best of him, for he sees only a fudge torte in the enchanted smoke.

Some of Donkey's foibles include acrophobia (though to be fair this was shown when he was forced to cross a somewhat unstable bridge over a huge pool of lava), colorblindness, hypochondria and cowardice. These, coupled with his impatience and short attention span, prove trying in emergencies. Furthermore, he is often naive and tactless, and even a bit dim (as in the third film, wherein he has children but doesn't understand how children are conceived).

In the "Meet the Cast of Shrek 2" segment that is featured in the Special Features part on the Shrek 2 DVD, Eddie Murphy says: "Donkey is a really positive character. He's always looking at the bright side of everything, trying to work it out. A happy-go-lucky donkey."