Monty Python and the Holy Grail/WMG
As this is Wild Mass Guessing for Monty Python and the Holy Grail, beware of blatant, unmarked spoilers.
The events of Holy Grail take place in the present.
Camelot is only a model, because it is the result of a Society For Creative Anachronism Stew group re-enacting the Arthurian legends, but getting drunk and singing show tunes about SPAM and Clark Gable instead. The historian really is a modern historian, and the main characters are arrested at the end for killing him because they really are just a bunch of wandering lunatics. The French castle was a group that was going to re-enact some famous battle but decided to mess with the Arthurian drunkards for not showing up. The anarcho-synidicast commune was Exactly What It Says on the Tin, and the monster was merely a mass hallucination that one of the "knights" goaded the others into believing in. When one of them shouted "the monster's animator died!", everyone accepted that explanation.
- "I told 'em we've already got one!"
- everybody giggles*
- Alternatively, the whole movie is the filming of a massive Live Action Role Playing game that got out of control (i.e. killing bystanders), and was eventually stopped by the police.
- IT'S REN FAIR SEASON, BABY!
The events of Holy Grail take place in the world of Christopher Stasheff's Wizard in Rhyme.
The knights do not encounter a French castle in the middle of Britain, they wander across where the English Channel isn't. Castle Anthrax is really a castle full of brainwashed seductresses, and the Historian and at least the founder of the Police Department and Detective whatever (and possibly Dennis) are from our world. The reason they refer to Britain and France instead of Brittania and Merovence is because the Translation Convention worked differently for viewers back then.
The events of Holy Grail is actually a stealth parody of The Seventh Seal.
The Monks. The witch-burning. The Dance of Death. Castle Anthrax! If you line them all up, they're just stupendously silly revisions of major scenes in The Seventh Seal.
- The opening credits are "borrowed" directly from Bergman, and the directors even say that much of the atmosphere was inspired by Bergman as well.
- The original theatrical trailer (featured on many DVD releases) mentions The Seventh Seal and features parodic footage.
The swallows are behind everything.
- African or European?
- This site http://www.style.org/unladenswallow/shows [dead link] that velocity of a European swallow = 20 mph.
- But what is the velocity of the African swallow?
- Nobody knows the velocity of the African Swallow. The African Swallow's chief weapon is ignorance and fear. Its two chief weapons are ignorance, fear and a fanatical devotion to the Pope. Its three chief weapons...
The animator somehow offended Lord Kira.
Seriously, he dies of a sudden inexplicable heart-attack!
Holy Grail takes place in the same universe as 8-Bit Theater.
...and Sir Lancelot is Fighter.
The Black Knight is a Wolverine-type fighter that has been depowered.
Or, alternatively he still has his regenerating power, it just hasn't kicked in yet/takes a while.
Arthur and his knights are riding Thestrals.
Would have to be very, very short ones, their feet are visibly on the ground.
- Shetland Thestrals!
- Say that ten times fast, and you get one of your very own.
People are tossed off the bridge, not for not knowing things but for not being confident.
The three questions are asked to test confidence, the first one being confidence in who you are, the second in what you're doing and a third question to test people's reaction when they're thrown a curveball. Lancelot gives a clear and confident answer to his question and is allowed to pass. Robin was confused and lost control and was thus tossed off. Galahad originally gave the same answer as Lancelot before changing his mind, which causes him to be tossed off. Arthur is so confident that he's able to get the bridgekeeper thrown off, clearing the way for Bedevere. Therefore, one's favorite color, the capital of Assyria and the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow don't actually matter, one can give any answer and pass as long as they're confident that it's the right one.
- Alternately, you are tossed off the bridge if you say any homophone of 'no'. Robin was tossed off when he said "I don't know that", Galahad said "Blue, no yell-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW", and the Bridgekeeper repeated Robin's line.
The Bridgekeeper tells his riddles in a clear pattern.
To pass the test, one only had to be fortunate enough to be an odd number (yes, perhaps literally). I mean think about it. Let's list the questions:
- Name?
- Quest?
- Favourite Colour?
- Name?
- Quest?
- Heavy Arse Question!
- Name?
- Quest?
- Favourite Colour?
- Name?
- Quest?
- Heavy Arse Question!
The Enchanter's real name is not Tim.
King Arthur asks him, "By what name are you known?" not "What is your name?" The Enchanter replies, "There are some who call me Tim." Tim is just what some people call him, not his actual name. The Enchanter either has a really long and bizarre name, or he doesn't have a name at all.
- Well, what do you think the trope called Some Call Me... Tim is about?
- His real name is Myrddin of course, but people have trouble pronouncing (let alone spelling) it, and so they call him Tim instead.
The Castle Anthrax really is bad.
They're vampires. Or Harpies. Or Sirens. They'll torment Galahad or eat his flesh or whatever - they just want to get him out of his armor and away from his weapons first. Lancelot knew their true nature, and saved Galahad right in time. He was also horrible at explaining this.
The horse riding Knight is the main villain (who only appears once.
Think about it, of all the characters in the film he's the only one with a real horse and he successfully framed Arthur and his knights for murder (I also suspect he's the master of the Black Knight, to whom he also gave regenerative abilities.)
- It's possible that the knight in question was one of the French, who already guessing that they'd face them again decided to kill the Historian and pin the blame on Authur.
This is how the Quest for the Holy Grail actually went.
After all, Terry Jones is an Arthurian scholar; he'd know how the real story went. And it really explains why everything is so screwed up, doesn't it?