Parodies/References
TV/movie references
* The Fairy Godmother is a parody of Eleanor Shaw from the 1962 version of The Manchurian Candidate.
* The plot has some similarities to Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. Indeed, Jeffrey Katzenberg has referred to Shrek 2 as "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner meets Shrek."
* In the dinner scene, Fiona's mother comments, "Not that there's anything wrong with that!", which is a famous saying from Seinfeld.
* When the carpet says, "Roll in the hay", that is what the girl in the carriage says in Young Frankenstein.
* The introduction featuring a reading from a storybook is a reference to a similar introduction in Disney's Sleeping Beauty.
* In the book recap of Princess Fiona's life when the film begins, when she is shown to the people of Far Far Away, her parents hold her over the edge of the tower of the castle with the sun shining down on the princess; a reference to the start of The Lion King where the newborn Simba is being shown to the rest of the animals of the plain.
* The scene with Shrek and Fiona kissing on the beach is a spoof of the beach scene with Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr in From Here to Eternity. When the wave washes over them Fiona's place is momentarily taken by a mermaid who looks suspiciously like Ariel from Disney's The Little Mermaid. Then Fiona throws her to the sharks to kill her, one of which looks suspiciously like the great white used in the poster art and logo of Jaws.
* Early in the movie, a golden ring is forged for Fiona, which is tossed in the air and lands on her finger in a spoof of a similar scene in The Lord of the Rings, specifically, the first film. However, instead of being inscribed with the Ring-inscription (One ring to rule them all...), it simply reads "I love you."
* At the start of the movie, when Shrek is caught in a trap and hanging upside down, he lands in some mud that covers his face. Fiona wipes off the mud to reveal his mouth and kisses him. This is a spoof of the Spider-Man movie, where Spider-Man is hanging upside down and Mary Jane Watson half-takes off his mask and kisses him in the rain. Also, in a later scene, Donkey warns Shrek not to drink the potion by saying my donkey-sense is tingling , a reference to Spider-Man's "spider-sense".
* When Fiona beats up several people at the very beginning of the film, the moves she does are carbon copies of Chun-Li's Spinning Bird Kick and Ryu and Ken's Dragon Punch (Shoryuken) from the fighting game Street Fighter II.
* When Shrek and Fiona are invited to Far, Far Away, the trumpeter (Reggie, possible play on the character Reggie Mantle) who peels off from the ranks to play a solo (and is subsequently hit over the head) is playing the theme song to Hawaii Five-O.
* Shrek refers to the trumpeters as "Sgt. Pompous and the Fancy-Pants Club Band", a play on The Beatles' legendary Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
* Far Far Away was modelled after Beverly Hills and Hollywood.
* Shrek, Donkey, and Fiona pass a billboard of the Fairy Godmother that is similar to the Angelyne advertisements.
* A sign similar to the Hollywood sign has the text "Far Far Away."
* Upon first seeing the kingdom of Far, Far Away, Donkey says, "Champagne wishes and caviar dreams from now on": a reference to Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.
* There are a few references to The Wizard of Oz:
o Upon first seeing the kingdom of Far, Far Away, Shrek says "We are definitely not in the swamp anymore."
o The Fairy Godmother arrives at Fiona's balcony encased in a bubble à la Glinda the Good Witch.
o When Donkey's caught in the rain, he says "I'm melting! I'm melting!"; the same line that the Wicked Witch said when she met her demise.
* Also when they enter Far Far Away, Donkey's head with the palm tree background is a reference to Eddie Murphy's own Beverly Hills Cop.
* The waiter's "Bon Appétit" and bow spoof John Cleese's waiter character in Monty Python's "Mr. Creosote" sketch from The Meaning of Life. Cleese provides the voice of Fiona's father in this film.
* The scene during the dinner with Fiona's parents where the camera cuts to different characters and they say each other's names is a reference to a similar scene in Rocky Horror Picture Show.
* The Fairy Godmother's first song is reminiscent of "A Spoonful of Sugar", one of the songs from the music Mary Poppins, which starred Julie Andrews, who provides the voice of Fiona's mother in this film.
* During the first Fairy Godmother scene where the wind blows Fiona's dress there is a reference to Marilyn Monroe's dress scene in The Seven Year Itch.
* There are a few references to Disney's Beauty and the Beast:
o Dancing furniture looks remarkably similar to those in Beauty and the Beast.
o Two "elves" from the Fairy Godmother's Factory turn into a candelabra and a grandfather clock vis-a-vis Lumiere and Cogsworth.
o The toadstool that is splattered by the "Happily Ever After" potion transforms into the rose from that film as well.
* When Shrek is thinking in Fiona's bed, he sees a poster of "Sir" Justin. Dreamworks deny this is a reference to Cameron Diaz's personal life, as she was dating Justin Timberlake (who coincidentally plays King Arthur in Shrek 3) when the movie opened.
* While in bed, Fiona's mother reads a copy of "Kings Are from Mars, Queens Are from Venus", a play on Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus.
* Also in Fiona's room, there is a poster near her door depicting a stone structure and a guitar-playing knight with the title "Stonehenge" underneath, a homage to the movie This is Spinal Tap.
* The Fairy Godmother visits a fast food restaurant named "Friar's Fat Boy", a reference to the US chain Frisch's Big Boy.
* The first visit to the Poison Apple by the king shows several characters:
o Cyclops
o Captain Hook from Peter Pan
o Dwarves fighting from Snow White. The dwarves are fighting in a manner similar to the Girl Scouts in Airplane!
o Pirates
o Haunted Ents
o The Headless Horseman from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
o An ugly stepsister from Cinderella
* The visit to the Poison Apple is like the scene in Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, where Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin come to the Prancing Pony.
* While lost in the woods, Donkey mentions a bush shaped "like Shirley Bassey." The Welsh chanteuse is best known for wailing Goldfinger, which hit No. 8 on the pop charts in 1965.
* During the scene where Puss in Boots first encounters Shrek, he rips out of Shrek's shirt, in the same manner as aliens "hatch" out of human bodies in the Alien movie franchise. In a blooper in the scene, the rip in Shreks' shirt disappears almost instantly and is never seen again.
* Tinkerbell appears twice, in the opening sequence as one of the fairies caught by Fiona and at the end of the movie dancing with Gingy.
* Gingy has both his legs in this movie even though Lord Farquaad crumbled up his other leg in the first movie. In the first movie he used a candy cane. Apparently, the muffin man was able to fashion a new leg for Gingy.
* Puss in Boots inscribes the letter "P" into a tree using three strokes of his sword, parodying the character of Zorro where the callsign of the hero Zorro is slashing the letter "Z" using three sword strokes. Incidentally, Antonio Banderas, the actor voicing Puss in Boots, played Zorro in the 1998 film The Mask of Zorro. He subsequently reprised the role in 2005's The Legend of Zorro.
* Before we see Puss in Boots, he is stalking Shrek and Donkey in a tree, and gives off a low Predator like growl.
* After Puss in Boots attacks Shrek, Donkey suggests that Shrek give him the "Bob Barker treatment." Bob Barker, the long-time host of CBS' The Price is Right, always ends his program by urging TV viewers to spay or neuter their pets. (Note: This may also be a reference to Bob Barker's appearance in the movie Happy Gilmore, in which he beat up Adam Sandler.)
* In the scene where Shrek, Donkey and Puss in Boots arrive at the Fairy Godmother's office, she says "What in Grimm's name..."; a reference to the Brothers Grimm, who published collections of many fairy tales such as the ones used in this movie.
* As Puss in Boots reads out various potion names in the storeroom, he calls out "Hex-Lax", and "Elfa-Seltzer", referencing the laxative Ex-Lax, and the indigestion remedy Alka-Seltzer. Also, "Hexe" is the German word for "witch", as well as being a synonym for a magic spell. Puss in Boots also calls out "Toadstool softener" although this is not a pun based on the brand name.
* When Shrek, Donkey and Puss in Boots escape from the potion storeroom in the Fairy Godmother's factory, Puss quickly reaches under the door to rescue his hat, as Indiana Jones does in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark.
* One of the stories Fairy Godmother refers to (which have no ogres in the plot) is Pretty Woman, after the Julia Roberts film.
* Shrek and his friends grab some hanging rope and fly over the spilled potion to avoid contacting with it. That resembles the final battle scene in the Demolition Man movie, where John Spartan avoids being frozen much the same way.
* After drinking the Happily Ever After potion, Shrek and Donkey both faint. Donkey utters the words "I'm comin', Elizabeth!", a reference to a line frequently spoken on Sanford and Son, when the main character was calling out to his deceased wife, to imply (usually for no real reason) that he was close to death.
* To get Shrek to cheer up, Donkey sings a few bars from the song "Tomorrow": a reference to the musical Annie.
* In the scene where Shrek, Donkey, and Puss in Boots are drinking in the tavern, Puss in Boots says "I hate Mondays", a line often used by Garfield the cat in Jim Davis's Garfield comic strip.
* The love potion that the Fairy Godmother gives King Harold to give to Fiona is labeled "IX", a reference to the 1959 pop hit "Love Potion #9", by The Clovers.
* The arrival of guests on the red carpet at the royal ball show is being broadcast by "Medieval Entertainment" and is hosted by Joan Rivers, a reference to the E! Entertainment Channel, and to Joan herself, who usually interviews people arriving at the Oscars.
* At Shrek's house in the swamp, the Gingerbread Man ? bored with watching the royal ball show ? tells his fairy tale friends to flip over to "Wheel of Torture", which is a parody of Wheel of Fortune.
* "Knights", a spoof of COPS; has a reference to O.J. Simpson and his fleeing from the police with "We've got a white bronco heading east into the forest, requesting aerial backup."
* There is a visual spoof of Mission: Impossible when Pinocchio is lowered into the well.
* When the giant gingerbread man, Mongo, is "born", the little Gingerbread Man says "It's alive!": a reference to Frankenstein, with lightning in the background.
* When Mongo destroys the "Farbucks", people are seen fleeing it, only to run across the street into another one, a comment on the real life ubiquity of the Starbucks chain. (As well as a possible reference to a Lewis Black joke about the location of the end of the universe.)
* Mongo is a spoof of the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters. He gets his name from Alex Karras's dim-witted strongman in Blazing Saddles. Also, the scene in which he first appears knocking down palm trees is similar to the introduction of the adult T-Rex's in The Lost World: Jurassic Park. He also lets out a Godzilla roar when his gumdrop button is shot off, and tells the little Gingerbread Man to "Be good" in imitation of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
* Jurassic Park is spoofed when Mongo first arrives, making rings vibrate in the coffee, similar to how the T-rex made vibrations in a cup of water just by walking.
* Right after seeing the Fairy Godmother billboard, Shrek sits back in the chariot, and a "Burger Prince" logo can be seen on a building, a parody of Burger King, the fast-food emporium.
* Spoof of The Fabulous Baker Boys, starring Michelle Pfeiffer, when the Fairy Godmother rolls around on the grand piano.
* Puss in Boots sits in a chair and douses himself with water, just like Jennifer Beals did in Flashdance.
* Pinocchio imitates Michael Jackson's famous "Billie Jean" dance routine on the dance floor during the ball scene.
* At the end of the movie, Puss in Boots says he is going to the Kit-Kat Club: a reference to the club from Cabaret.
* When the King is talking to the Fairy Godmother, he uses "the old hunting wound" a.k.a. "the old Crusades wound" as an excuse. This is a reference to John Cleese's Basil Fawlty character, who employed similar tactics (shrapnel from Korea) when trying to distract hotel guests.
* When the potion that Shrek stole from the Fairy Godmother takes effect, a maiden gives him a pail of water and says her name is Jill, an obvious reference to the nursery rhyme, Jack and Jill.
* When Puss in boots gives that "sad eyes" look, there is a reflection of the RE/MAX Real Estate blimp floating by in Puss' eyes.[verification needed]
* When the Fairy Godmother is ordering food at the Fast Food Restaurant she orders a Medieval Meal. This is a reference to McDonald's Happy Meal. The box of the Medieval Meal is also similar to the Happy Meal, although the paper crown that Charming wears refers to the Burger King crown.
* In the scene where the group enters Far Far Away, there is a shot of hills and the Far Far Away sign. This scene is very much like the view of the Paramount Studios (which will distribute the Shrek series beginning in 2007 after it bought DreamWorks), except that there is actually the Hollywood Sign.
* The signs that Shrek sees on his way to Far Far Away are reminiscent of the South of the Border signs.
* The bartender of the Poison Apple is named Dorris, a spoof of the fact that in many movies and TV series, the bartender is named Horace.
* The bartender asks donkey, who is a horse in this scene, "Why the long face?" This is a play on the old joke 'a horse walks into a bar and the bartender says "why the long face?'"
* When Shrek, Donkey, and Puss are arrested, the knights put pepper in his face, a play on pepper spray.
* When Puss is being frisked, the Knights find him with a baggy of catnip, though Puss denies ownership. This is a play on many movies where people deny ever seeing a baggy of drugs. Most likely, given its similarity in appearance and effect on cats, the drug in question is either cocaine or marijuana. Puss also replaces beer or other alcoholic beverages with milk.