In the first installment, we are introduced to the hero of the story. Then, when the sequel comes along, the hero either gets a call or an unexpected visit from who else? His mom and dad!
The parents introduce themselves to the hero's friends, as well as the audience, and the hero is usually embarrassed by his Amazingly Embarrassing Parents.
There are also some cases where, instead of meeting both parents, we only meet one; if it's the father, the hero will usually show that he doesn't get along with his father for some emotional reason. There are also some instances where it's not the hero's parents, but someone else's, usually his in-laws.
Not to be confused with the movie Meet the Parents or its sequels, Meet the Fockers and Little Fockers. See Meet the In-Laws for situations where someone is introducing their love interests to their parents.
Examples:
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Anime & Manga
- Aggretsuko: Season 2 gives us the debut of Retsuko’s overbearing mother. Then in Season 5, we are finally introduced to Retsuko’s father as well as introduced to Haida’s parents and even his younger brother, Jiro.
Films — Animated
- Hotel Transylvania 2: Dracula's father Vlad is introduced, as well as Johnny’s parents.
- How to Train Your Dragon 2: Though we've already seen Hiccup's father in the first movie, we end up seeing Hiccup's mom for the first time in the sequel.
- Kung Fu Panda 3: Discussed by Po and his adoptive father Mr Ping about his real parents in the second movie, later to be played straight in this movie, where Po meets his biological father Li Shan, although unlike other examples of this trope, it's treated as a happy reunion.
- Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa: The protagonists end up in an African savannah where they end up meeting Alex's parents.
- Rio 2: Blu and the gang meet Jewel's father and to a lesser extent, Jewel's aunt.
- Rock Dog 2: Rock Around the Park: Khampa's parents, who are also Bodi's grandparents come back to Snow Mountain after being gone in the first movie.
- Shrek 2: Shrek goes to Far Far Away to meet Fiona's parents. While her mother is fine with him, her father strongly disapproves of him.
- Trolls World Tour: After going on a journey to find a Troll Tribe that looks like him, Cooper finds out that he's part of the Funk Troll royal family, which includes his parents (the King and Queen) and twin brother.
Films — Live-Action
- In Daddy's Home 2 we meet Dusty and Brad's dads.
- In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Star-Lord's father drives a major part of the plot.
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: We meet Indiana's dad.
- Inverted by Meet the Parents and its sequels. The first one is about meeting the parents. The premise is recycled in Meet the Fockers and has the girl's parents meeting the guy's parents, but the plot drifts in a slightly different direction, with slightly less focus on the parents. Little Fockers throws out the meeting the parents thing altogether (mostly because we've already met both sets of parents) and is about the main couple's kids being little Bratty Half-Pints and Greg's problems at work.
- Ben's father was already significant to the plot of National Treasure, but in the sequel, his mother joins the cast too. Since his parents are divorced, this is a recipe for trouble.
- In the third Night at the Museum movie, Larry, Ahkmenrah, and company go to the British Museum to meet Ahkmenrah's parents so they can give him the solution of the rusting magic tablet.
- In The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause movie, Scott and his second wife, Carol, invite her parents to the North Pole. Hilarity Ensues as they attempt to keep his identity a secret.
- In The Smurfs 2, Patrick's stepfather comes for a visit.
- In Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams, we meet Ingrid's parents.
- Austin Powers in Goldmember is the debut of Austin’s Father, which is kind of odd that his dad is still alive given how Austin is from the 60s and the movie doesn’t even bother to explain it...
Live-Action TV
- The second season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia begins with the introduction of Dennis and Dee's father Frank Reynolds, who would continue as a main character for the rest of the series. Their mother and newly discovered biological father are also introduced in the second season, along with Mac's mother. The only parent of a main character to appear in season 1 was Charlie's mother.
Western Animation
- Korra's parents are briefly seen in the first episode of The Legend of Korra telling her goodbye as she heads off to Republic City. They're not seen for the rest of the season, but are given a proper introduction in the next one when she goes home.
