History WesternAnimation / Shrek2

** The Big Bad Wolf saying "What" is recycled.

* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever: [[spoiler:Mongo, the giant gingerbread man.]]
* BadassNormal: All things considered, [[BadassArmy the guards protecting the Far Far Away castle]] are ''extremely'' competent and professional, considering they try to take down a [[spoiler:[[ItMakesSenseInContext castle-sized gingerbread man]]]] with nothing but a barrel of [[spoiler:warm milk]] they were [[CrazyPrepared saving for a special occasion.]] On top of that, even when things look grim, [[VillainousValor not once do they try to abandon their posts.]]

* BigDamnKiss: Double Subverted. Since "True Love's Kiss" is what makes Shrek and Fiona's ogre-to-human transformation permanent, them abstaining and letting the potion wear off has the same effect as a big, romantic kiss.

* CallBack: The film opens much as the original one does, with someone narrating Fiona's story in an illustrated book...only this time, the narrator isn't Shrek but Prince Charming.

* ChangingYourselfForLove: After arriving to Far Far Away's kingdom where Fiona's parents live, she and Shrek argue about being more flexible with her parents, where Fiona ends with "I've made changes for you, Shrek. Think about that." Later, Shrek sneaks into Fairy Godmother's factory and steals the "HappilyEverAfter" potion since he thought she deserved a human husband.

* CutenessProximity: {{Invoked}} intentionally by Puss as his ultimate weapon, used to devastating effect - see PuppyDogEyes.

* DancePartyEnding: After the climax, everyone starts dancing to Donkey and Puss in Boots singing "Livin' La Vida Loca."
-->'''Puss:''' HEY! Isn't we supposed to be having a FIESTA?
* DatingWhatDaddyHates: A variation. This is more like "Married To What Daddy Hates", as it's clear at first that King Harold disapproves of having Shrek as a son-in-law. He warms up to the idea by the end when he sees that Fiona is unhappy without Shrek. Since he just wants her to be happy, he accepts Shrek and refuses to go along with the Fairy Godmother's plan to wed Fiona to Charming.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: King Harold is visibly horrified at the possibility of having to [[spoiler:give Fiona a love potion]] - it's basically portrayed as if she's asking him to give his daughter a date rape drug.

* DiegeticSwitch: The FairyGodmother sings "Holding Out For A Hero" for Fiona and Charming... which becomes the background music for Shrek, Donkey, and Puss StormingTheCastle.

* DramaticallyMissingThePoint: When Fiona tells her parents that she is going to "set things right", Harold takes it to mean she intends to leave Shrek. This is a far cry from her actual plan to return to the swamp with Shrek and cut her parents out of her life.

* DumbassHasAPoint: When everyone sees King Harold [[spoiler:reverted to his true form as a frog]], Donkey snarks that in light of this, it was hypocritical of him to give Shrek such a hard time. Shrek berates him, but Harold admits Donkey is right.

* EveryoneHasStandards: While Harold at the beginning of the movie was willing to stoop really low, even hiring an assassin to kill Shrek, he is completely horrified with the idea of giving Fiona what he rightfully views as a date rape drug and letting Prince Charming have his way with his daughter against her will. This is what cements his HeelFaceTurn.
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: The Fairy Godmother comes off as this. She’s completely fine with using her son for her own benefit, and is confused by Harold’s hesitation to treat Fiona the same way.

* FairyGodmother: The Fairy Godmother- yes, ''The'' Fairy Godmother- is [[FairyDevilmother actually the antagonist]].

** King Harold instantly dislikes Shrek, based largely on his species. [[HeelFaceTurn He gets better though.]]

* FoodAndBodyComparison: After listening to the Fairy Godmother dress him down and claim he doesn't deserve a happy ending, Shrek [[GivingSomeoneThePointerFinger points his finger at her]] as he's about to speak his mind, only for her to push his hand aside saying, "Don't you dare point those filthy, green sausages at me!"

* ForWantOfANail:
** The whole plot of this film, and much of the plot of the previous film, happens because Prince Charming didn't get to the tower Fiona was imprisoned in before Shrek and Donkey came to retrieve her for Lord Farquaad.
** The Fairy Godmother and Prince Charming may have succeeded had [[spoiler:Gingy, Pinocchio, and the rest of the gang not changed the channel on the Magic Mirror to a program that showed Shrek calling for help as he, Donkey, and Puss were being arrested.]]

* FormalFullArrayOfCutlery: At the dinner with Fiona and her parents, Shrek- not used to royal dining etiquette and already nervous from the DeathGlare the King is giving him- is confused by the vast array of cutlery before him.
* FreezeFrameBonus: Close examination of the Knights scene shows the catnip inside the guard's armour, indicating that it was planted on Puss in Boots.

-->'''Donkey:''' Whoo, Shrek, I think you just drank the FARTY ever after potion!
-->'''Puss:''' Maybe it's a dud?

* HaveWeMet: A female frog seems to recognize King Harold at the Poison Apple and asks "Do I know you?"
** At first, it seems as though she recognized him as the King of Far Far Away, but later on in the film its revealed that King Harold originally was a frog who was turned human by the Fairy Godmother to win Queen Lilian's heart. Thus there is a strong possibility the frog at the bar was one of his old flames.

* HoldYourHippogriffs: A lot of the humor of the series comes from putting a fairy tale twist on modern names and concepts, such as watching ''[[Series/{{Cops}} K.N.I.G.H.T.S]]'' on a magic mirror, or eating a meal from Old [=MacDonald=]'s with Baskin Robin Hood ice cream for dessert. (These are both actual places shown in the film.)

* ImmediateSequel: Shrek and Fiona ride off into the sunset to their honeymoon during the first film's DancePartyEnding. The first time Shrek and Fiona are seen in the second film is during that honeymoon.

-->'''Donkey''': Aw, come on Shrek, don't feel bad. [[BrutalHonesty Almost everybody that meets you wants to kill you]].\\
'''Shrek''': [[SarcasmMode Gee, thanks.]]

'''Shrek:''' ''(noticing the guard)'' [[OhCrap Donkey!]]

*** Lillian acts in a similar vein. Despite her initial shock at seeing her daughter's new form and her daughter's husband, she tries to accept the situation after seeing how happy Fiona is with Shrek.

** King Harold, somewhat. He vehemently opposes having an ogre in the family, and simultaneously wants what is best for Fiona; he inaccurately connects these dots to conclude that Shrek must be removed for Fiona to be happy. However, when he realizes Fiona ''is'' happy, and that he couldn't possibly back-stab his own daughter for what ''he'' thought was best for ''her''- again- he gives them his blessing.

* {{Kaiju}}: [[spoiler:Mongo is a huge-sized gingerbread man created by The Muffin Man, Gingy and Shrek in order to succesfully storm the castle and stop the royal ball.]]

* LateToTheAction: Charming has traveled through deserts and forests to get to the Dragon’s Keep to rescue Fiona and break her curse, but when he finally gets there, Fiona is gone, as Shrek has already rescued her, and the Big Bad Wolf in her place tells Charming that she’s on her honeymoon with someone else. This sends Charming on his path to villainy.

* LighterAndSofter: Noticeably much more than the previous film. The jokes are far tamer, relying less on BlackComedy, and there isn't much swearing. There are still plenty of adult-oriented jokes but not to the extent of the original.

* MirrorReveal: Shrek doesn't realize he's [[HumanityEnsues become human]] until he looks at his hands, followed by his reflection in a pail of water. Likewise for Fiona when she finds out she is human again when she sees herself in a mirror.

* MisophoniaGag: During the carriage ride, Donkey passes the time by making popping sounds with his lips, to Shrek's (and eventually Fiona's) fury.

* OddlyNamedSequel2ElectricBoogaloo: In the original DVD menu, Donkey asks why the movie is just named ''Shrek 2'', and starts coming up with alternative Donkey-related subtitles, like "[[Film/DayOfTheDead1985 Day of the Donkey]]", "[[RevengeOfTheSequel Donkey's Revenge]]", "A Donkey Will Rise", "[[Film/TwoFastTwoFurious 2 Fast 2 Donkey]]'' and "[[Film/TheMatrixReloaded Donkey Reloaded]]". This soon gets on everyone else's nerves.

* ParentPreferredSuitor: Initially, King Harold is outraged at Fiona's decision to marry Shrek, an ogre; as he had planned for her to marry the conventionally attractive Prince Charming, both out of prejudice and due to having made a deal with the Fairy Godmother. As the film progresses, however, he learns to accept his daughter's choices and grows out of this.

* PoliceBrutality: When Shrek, Donkey and Puss are arrested by the knights, all three recieve different forms of restraints from them. Shrek gets peppered in his eyes by a knight with a pepper shaker, Donkey recieves the most knights going after him, prompting him to shout "Police brutaliy!", and Puss gets pitted against the wall before the knights uncover some catnip from his small satchel.

* TheReveal: [[spoiler:Harold's DisneyDeath HeroicSacrifice at the end of the movie eventually reveals his true form as the Frog Prince. Harold gained this form through a deal with the Fairy Godmother, instead of Lillian kissing him, and Fiona's ArrangedMarriage to Prince Charming was the payment for that deed.]]
* RevealShot: When arriving at the Fairy Godmother's workplace, it at first appears to be the whimsical small cottage like in the business card bubble, but the camera pans out to reveal that the cottage is just the reception office; the real building is a giant modern-looking factory with rainbow smoke coming out of its chimneys.

* SameLanguageDub: In the UK version of the film, Creator/JonathanRoss dubs over Creator/LarryKing's lines as Doris. The cameo by Creator/JoanRivers at the ball is also dubbed over by British presenter Kate Thornton, though the character design is still [[InkSuitActor modelled after Rivers]]. King and Rivers are both still credited despite this.

--->'''Donkey:''' Uh... Why don’t you guys go ahead. I’ll park the car.

* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Harold goes back on his promise to the Fairy Godmother after seeing Fiona has no interest in being with anyone else but Shrek.

* ShockAndSwitchEnding: At the end of the film, it appears as though King Harold has died, but really he has [[BewitchedAmphibians turned into a frog]]... and he was [[SubvertedTrope born as one anyway]]. Also a sort of pun, since he "croaked" (as Gingy pointed out), but not in the way they expected.
* ShoutOut: Numerous, as expected of a Shrek movie:

** The Muffin Man's house, where the giant monstrous Mongo cookie is created, is shown during a thunderstorm with a windmill behind it, evocative of the scenery in ''Film/Frankenstein1931''.

* TheTropeFormerlyKnownAsX: During ''Far Far Away Idol'' Prince Charming sings "I'm So Sexy" in a matter so bad he is ejected from the stage. Simon remarks "That was the Artist Formerly Known as Prince ''Charming''!"

** When Shrek drinks a potion that turns him into a human, three women are attracted to him. When Donkey says that he and Puss need to get Shrek out of his clothes (to change him into better-fitting ones), they all gasp excitedly in unision.

* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: Given how everyone else reacts when they see Shrek and Fiona- fleeing in terror, attacking in terror, or staring in StunnedSilence- the heralds who deliver them the invitation at the beginning are ''remarkably'' unfazed by the sight of their princess-turned-ogre and her similarly-formed husband. [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg And the talking donkey.]]
* VillainousBreakdown: Fairy Godmother, when she discovers that [[spoiler:Harold did not give Fiona the potion]]. She sees Harold stand up to her, realizing her chances of putting her son on the throne are gone. [[spoiler:She attempts to take out her anger on Shrek and Fiona, only for Harold to jump in the way and send the magic blast back at her.]]
* VillainousMotherSonDuo: The Fairy Godmother is the BigBad and intends for her son, [[SissyVillain Prince Charming]] to marry Princess Fiona and become king so that she can rule the Land of Far-Far-Away with him as her stooge. While she's a doting mother and he's a SpoiledBrat, they're a rare mutually respectful example of this trope.

* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Everybody loves the FairyGodmother - she seems quite nice and she's very famous for her potions and [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything happy endings]].
* VillainousValor: The Far Far Away knights protecting the castle at the climax are [[BadassNormal extremely competent]] and never flee from their position, even when confronted with a [[spoiler:[[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever hundred-foot-tall gingerbread man.]] ]] Although the "villainous" part is debatable here, considering they were [[PunchClockVillain just doing their jobs]] to protect the castle from what was very clearly a hostile invader.

* {{Wedgie}}: Gingerbread Man gives Pinocchio one to prove he’s wearing a thong.

--> '''Harold:''' [[spoiler: I had hoped you would never see me like this.]]

* WithThisRing: Shrek has the seven dwarves make a wedding ring for Fiona. Shrek picks up the ring while it's still hot and accidentally tosses it into the air. Fiona manages to catch it on her finger, and it then glows with the words "I love you".

* WhiteStallion: Donkey becomes a stallion after drinking the Happily Ever After potion. It doesn't stick.

!!''Shrek 2'' contains examples of:

[[folder:A-M]]

* AgonyOfTheFeet: Shrek, having found the Fairy Godmother’s card and needing a tear to call her, tries to get Donkey to think of his saddest memory. This doesn’t work, making Donkey indignant more than anything, and Shrek spelling out what he needs from Donkey is dismissed as him projecting. Cue Puss gleefully stamping on Donkey’s hoof.

* BadBoss: The Fairy Godmother seems to be this, as she orders around her receptionist and does not give her employees dental insurance.

[[folder:N-Y]]

* AccidentalAdultery: While Shrek and Fiona are making out on the beach, the tide sweeps her away, and Shrek ends up kissing [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid a red haired mermaid]] instead. Fiona proceeds to drag her off Shrek and throw her into the ocean, where she is eaten by sharks. Shrek is, wisely, remorseful.

* AccidentalAdultery: While Shrek and Fiona are making out on the beach, the tide sweeps her away, and Shrek ends up kissing Ariel the Little Mermaid instead. Fiona proceeds to drag her off Shrek and throw her into the ocean, where she is eaten by sharks. Shrek is, wisely, remorseful.

** When Fairy Godmother rants at Harold over Fionna marrying Shrek, she says "Some ''gender-confused''" wolf told Prince Charming about her marriage. In the modern cuts, the word "gender" was cut from the sentence so she says "Some ''confused'' wolf" instead. This most likely was corrected to avoid offending the LGBTQ+ community.

* {{Cameo}}: Creator/JoanRivers appears as herself [[note]]Dubbed over by English broadcaster Fiona Phillips in the film's UK release[[/note]] at the ball, and Creator/SimonCowell appears as himself in the "Far Far Away Idol" short.

[[caption-width-right:350:''[[Music/HoldingOutForAHero ♫ I need a hero!\\
I’m holding out for a hero till the end of the night\\
He's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fast\\
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight ♫]]''[[note]] Clockwise from top center: Fairy Godmother, Queen Lillian, King Harold, Princess Fiona, Donkey, Shrek, Gingy, Puss in Boots, and Prince Charming.[[/note]]]]

* AccidentalAdultery: While Shrek and Fiona are making out on the beach, the tide sweeps her away, and Shrek ends up kissing Ariel the Little Mermaid instead. Fiona proceeds to drag her off Shrek and throw her into the ocean, where she is eaten by sharks. Shrek is, wise, and remorseful.

* AgonyOfTheFeet: Shrek, having found the Fairy Godmother’s card and needing a tear to call her, tries to get Donkey to think of his saddest memory. This doesn’t work, making Donkey indignant more than anything, and Shrek spelling out what he needs from Donkey is dismissed as a projection. Cue Puss gleefully stamping on Donkey’s hoof.

* CallingTheOldManOut: During the dinner scene, Harold accuses Shrek of wanting to eat his own children. Shrek then points out that Harold wasn't any better than him for having locked Fiona in a tower.

* ChangingYourselfForLove: After arriving to Far Far Away's kingdom where Fiona's parents live, she and Shrek argued about being more flexible with her parents, where Fiona ends with "I've made changes for you, Shrek. Think about it." Later, Shrek with Donkey and Puss in Boots sneaked into Fairy Godmother's factory and got the "HappilyEverAfter" potion since he thought he would be better to her if she got a human as husband than an ogre, eventually becoming one (of a {{Hunk}} style, no less).

* TerritorialComicRelief: Donkey is initially hostile toward Puss-in-Boots, believing he's going to take his place as Shrek's FunnyAnimal {{Sidekick}}.

%% CuffsOffRubWrists

** Shrek roaring at Fiona's dog is recycled from where he roared at Donkey.

->''"Dearest Princess Fiona, you are hereby summoned to the Kingdom of Far Far Away for a royal ball in celebration of your marriage. At which time, the King will bestow his royal blessing upon you and your... ''(looks up at Shrek)'' ...Prince Charming. Love the King and Queen of Far Far Away, a.k.a. Mom and Dad."''

It follows ogres Shrek (Creator/MikeMyers) and Fiona (Creator/CameronDiaz), [[LateArrivalSpoiler now a happily married couple]], enjoying their honeymoon. Everything is just fine... until the time comes to MeetTheInLaws. The new couple is summoned by Fiona's parents, rulers of the kingdom of Far Far Away, who wish to celebrate their daughter's marriage. Of course, Donkey (Creator/EddieMurphy) is along for the ride.

Fiona's parents -- King Harold (Creator/JohnCleese) and Queen Lillian (Creator/JulieAndrews) -- are shocked to learn that their daughter has been transformed permanently into her ogre form, and that she married an ogre to boot. Though they try to accept their daughter's wishes as best they can, King Harold made a deal with Fiona's Fairy Godmother (Creator/JenniferSaunders) a long time ago that Fiona would marry her son, Prince Charming (Creator/RupertEverett), in order to give everyone involved their own happily ever afters. With the patience of the Godmother wearing thin, a desperate Harold hires a hitman, Puss in Boots (Creator/AntonioBanderas), to get rid of the ogre and repair this fairy tale gone wrong.

The film was a huge financial success, being the highest grossing film to date for both [=DreamWorks=] Animation and its former parent company [[Creator/DreamWorksSKG DreamWorks Pictures]], the highest grossing film of 2004, ''and'' the highest grossing animated film at the time of its release (before being surpassed by Creator/{{Pixar}}'s ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'' six years later in 2010); it held an iron grip on the corresponding North American record for twelve years before finally being surpassed by ''WesternAnimation/FindingDory''. It was also critically acclaimed, with many crediting the film for surpassing the original in quality. It was followed by ''WesternAnimation/ShrekTheThird''; released in 2007, and ''WesternAnimation/ShrekForeverAfter''; released in 2010.

* AccidentalAdultery: While Shrek and Fiona are making out on the beach, the tide sweeps her away, and Shrek ends up kissing Ariel the Little Mermaid instead. Fiona proceeds to drag her off Shrek and throw her into the ocean, where she is eaten by sharks. Shrek is, wisely, remorseful.

** King Harold makes a excuse about his old "crusade wound" acting up. As [[Series/FawltyTowers Basil Fawlty]], Creator/JohnCleese was known for making similar claims about a shrapnel injury he suffered during the Korean War.

* AgonyOfTheFeet: Shrek, having found the Fairy Godmother’s card and needing a tear to call her, tries to get Donkey to think of his saddest memory. This doesn’t work, making Donkey indignant more than anything, and Shrek spelling out what he needs from Donkey is dismissed as projection. Cue Puss gleefully stamping on Donkey’s hoof.

* AllMythsAreTrue: A staple of the franchise, wherein all manners of fairy tale folk exist. Supporting characters include Literature/PussInBoots, Literature/TheGingerbreadMan, Literature/{{Pinocchio}}, Literature/TheThreeLittlePigs, TheBigBadWolf, and the Three Blind Mice, among a slew of background characters also from popular fairy tales.

* ArcWords: "Happily ever after".

* ArrangedMarriage: It's implied that Prince Charming and Fiona were betrothed as a way of paying back Fairy Godmother for [[spoiler:turning Harold into a human]] so he could marry Lillian.

* ArtisticLicenseMusic: The awesome rendition of "Holding Out For a Hero" falls to this. It's in G minor, not C minor as the Fairy Godmother calls for the pianist to play in.
* AscendedExtra: The fairy tale creatures play a much larger role in this movie, [[spoiler:being the ones to break Shrek, Donkey and Puss out of prison and help them in stopping the Godmother's plan]].

** The Fairy Godmother brings Harold for a flying coach ride to discuss how unhappy she is about Fiona not being with her son Prince Charming. When Harold accuses Charming of not being fast enough, she demands that they stop the car and tells the king he's forced her to do something she ''really'' doesn't want to do. At first, you wonder if she's going to have Harold killed... only to see they've pulled into the drive-thru for Friar's Fat Boy.

** The Fairy Godmother threatening King Harold by talking about how she made his "Happily Ever After" possible is staged to imply that she gave him a LovePotion, which he then used on Queen Lillian. [[spoiler:What she ''actually'' did was turn him from a frog into a human.]]

** In a parental instance, King Harold at first strongly opposes the marriage of Shrek and Fiona, and is under duress from the Fairy Godmother to fulfill his end of a deal wherein Charming and Fiona are wed. However, when he sees Fiona's love for Shrek and loathing of Charming, he goes back on the deal despite the danger to himself.

** When arriving in Far Far Away, Donkey says, "Swimming pools, movie stars!" a reference to the opening theme of ''Series/TheBeverlyHillbillies''.
** While attacking Shrek, Puss tears out of his vest in a move reminiscent of the chestburster from ''Franchise/{{Alien}}''.
** To ComicStrip/{{Garfield}} when Puss mutters into his milk "I hate Mondays."

** When Shrek is fleeing on Donkey into the forest in a segment of ''[[Series/{{COPS}} K.N.I.G.H.T.S]]'', there is a hot air balloon shot of the sequence and a knight is heard saying "We've got [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O._J._Simpson_murder_case#Bronco_chase a white bronco]] headed east into the forest. Requesting backup." The montage's camerawork and overall appearance resembles the appearance of ''COPS''.

** As [[spoiler:Mongo]] perishes, defeated by the knights of Far Far Away, he tells Gingy to "be good". The same final words are spoken in ''Film/DeepImpact'', when one of the astronauts sent to destroy a comet inbound for Earth says his goodbyes to his family. He also lets out a [[Franchise/{{Godzilla}} very familiar roar of rage]] when the defenders hit him in the [[spoiler:[[BerserkButton gumdrop buttons.]]]]

** Lillian gives a small one to Harold after the dinner disaster, pointing out that he started the whole argument when his prejudice towards Shrek.

''Shrek 2'' was the inevitable 2004 sequel to the Creator/DreamWorksAnimation BreakthroughHit ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}''.

*** Immediately following that scene, the newlyweds enjoy a mud bath... illuminated by the glow of several fairies trapped in jars. To add insult to injury, Shrek and Fiona playfully begin farting, much to the discomfort of the contained fairies.

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