Why does the bird explode when Princess Fiona sings a high note?

Question

I've never quite understood the scene in Shrek where Princess Fiona explodes a bird with her voice.

Do birds inhale while singing? Did her high note hit the resonant frequency of the bird? Is there anything to this other than incongruity?

Answer 1

Whereas a high frequency would usually shatter glass, often implemented to emphasize dissonance, the glass has here been replaced by a bird, something that can create high-pitched and dissonant sounds of its own, taking the trope a step further.

It's also typical for the ogres - as referred to regularly throughout the films - to have a detrimental effect on things we find classically beautiful or romantic, here directly shattering that iconic image of (DreamWorks' rival Disney's) Snow White or Sleeping Beauty.

Now imagine the bird exploding

Answer 2

First rule of Hollywood: everything can explode
Second rule of Hollywood: everything is better with explosion

First rule of making fun of Hollywood: take any trope and put it in scenario not usually assosiated with it. Double point if you mix two that seems to be exclusive to each other.

Hence the trope of Creatures of the Farce