History WesternAnimation / Shrek2

* FacePalm: Fiona does a facepalm when Shrek mimics Donkey in the carriage ride.

* FlintstoneTheming: The kingdom of Far Far Away is a fairy tale/medieval themed Hollywood, complete with a Hollywood-style sign, a Friar's Fat Boy drive-thru, and a pair of Farbucks Coffee shops right across the street from each other. TV also exists in this world -- the capture of Puss and Donkey is shown live on the show [[Series/Cops1989 K.N.I.G.H.T.S.]] and the royal ball is covered on Medieval Entertainment Television by none other than Joan Rivers.

* GuiltTripping: When Puss in Boots is begging Shrek not to kill him, he says, "My mother is sick and my father is living on garbage!" Shrek relents.

* GreenEyedMonster: Donkey becomes noticeably jealous of Puss when the latter befriends Shrek, constantly trading barbs and snarking at him. {{Justified}} in that their first meeting involved Puss trying to kill Shrek.

* AnAesop:
** Don't let your insecurities think that your partner may not like you the way you are.
** The insecurities that you may have regarding your partner may all be in your head.
** Parents: what you may think is best for your child may not always be that. Let your children make their own life decisions and support them while they do.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
** During the prison break scene, Pinocchio tries to rescue Shrek and the gang with a MissionImpossibleCableDrop by his puppet strings, doing several fancy flips on the way down. However, these flips just entangle him in said strings, immobilizing him.
** Fairy Godmother wants King Harold to, without hyperbole, force his daughter entirely against her will to marry a man neither she nor he especially likes, by having Harold administer a mind-affecting potion to strip her of her say in the matter. [[PapaWolf Of course he doesn't go through with the plan, how could he possibly?]]
** The plan to get Fiona to be with Charming, via having him pretend to be a transformed Shrek, ends up failing miserably; a) Charming's never met Shrek and can't pull off impersonating him (nor would he wish to) and b) Fiona had already fallen in love with another man and is in fact very happy with him, and doesn't like this version of 'her husband' ''at all.'' The only reason Fiona falls for it is that she never met Prince Charming and thinks the Fairy Godmother is on her side so she has no reason to suspect what's really going on.
** Fiona is convinced her parents will immediately accept her new form as well as her marriage to an ogre because they love her. However, as much as her parents love her, it isn't enough to overcome their prejudice and their initial meeting is rather hostile.
** Harold's objections to his daughter's marriage do not cause her to break up with Shrek. Instead, he ends up pushing her away from her parents and she eventually decides to disown them and return to the swamp with Shrek. Even Lillian had warned this would happen earlier in the film.

** Fiona, after she's had enough of her dad's prejudice. She says that introducing them to Shrek was a mistake, and decides to find him and leave, intending to cut her parents out of her life.

** Fiona, after she's had enough of her parents' prejudice. She says that introducing them to Shrek was a mistake, and decides to find him and leave, intending to cut her parents out of her life.

* CelebrityCameo: 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.

** At the beginning of the film, Donkey mentions that Dragon has been "acting kind of moody lately". TheStinger implies that this is because [[spoiler:she was pregnant or feeling violently protective of her eggs]]. It also foreshadows [[spoiler:Fiona becoming pregnant next movie]].

*** It's mentioned that King Harold's first date with Queen Lillian was a peaceful walk [[spoiler:by the lily pond, a place frogs are fond of hanging out at]].

* GoodTimesMontage: The opening sequence of the film.

** Queen Lillian is shocked to see Shrek and Fiona, but is willing to accept their union due to how happy Fiona is with Shrek.

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. Puss, meanwhile, received a SpinOff [[WesternAnimation/PussInBoots self-titled film]] in 2011, with a [[WesternAnimation/PussInBootsTheLastWish sequel]] releasing in 2022.

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.

* CallingTheOldManOut: During the dinner scene, Harold accuses Shrek of wanting to eat his own children. Shrek then points out that Harold is awful for having locked Fiona in a tower.

* GroinAttack: Donkey accidentally kicks Shrek in the groin when trying to hit Puss.