In the Shrek films, what nursery-rhyme character is Gingy asked about by Lord Farquaad?

In the Shrek films, Gingy is asked about the Muffin Man by Lord Farquaad.

The exchange occurs in the first Shrek film, when Lord Farquaad interrogates Gingy about the fairy-tale creatures he has gathered. Gingy initially resists, but Farquaad’s questioning leads to the familiar call-and-response about the Muffin Man who lives on Drury Lane. The joke turns a well-known nursery rhyme into part of the film’s comic world-building.

The Muffin Man is not a major on-screen character in the main Shrek storyline. He is primarily referenced through the nursery rhyme, which is why the answer is a literary and cultural figure rather than one of the film’s principal heroes or villains.

Viewers sometimes choose another nursery-rhyme character from the Shrek universe, such as Humpty Dumpty, who is more closely associated with Puss in Boots. The interrogation scene specifically points to the Muffin Man.