quarta-feira, 14 de dezembro de 2022

Monty Python's Caerbannog - A Grumpy Rodent

TIM: To the north there lies a cave -- the cave of Caerbannorg -- wherein, carved in mystic runes upon the very living rock, the last words of Olfin Bedweer of Rheged make plain the last resting place of the most Holy Grail.

ARTHUR: Where could we find this cave, O Tim?

TIM: Follow! But! Follow only if ye be men of valor, for the entrance to this cave is guarded by a creature so foul, so cruel that no man yet has fought with it and lived! Bones of four fifty men lie strewn about its lair. So, brave knights, if you do doubt your courage or your strength, come no further, for death awaits you all with nasty big pointy teeth.

ARTHUR: What an eccentric performance.

Hello my dears. I am the Raven who speaks to you.

Today I'll talk a little bit about the rabbit of Caerbannog, also known as "the grumpy rodent". This savage beast needs little comment for anyone who has had any experience with Monty Python's english comedy. A style that contains so much intellectuality, but manages to be silly at the same time. For those who are not used to this type of comedy, it is natural to feel a certain initial strangeness in the first contact. But it is something that will not last very long, since Monty Python, among its qualities, has transparency as one of them: in a few minutes, it will be clear to those who watch what kind of approach they use.

We can say without a doubt that Monty Python is a great legacy of british comedy. And in my opinion “Monty Python and The Holy Grail” is the best way to be introduced to them. It is a film where the target of my comment can be found, the incredible rabbit of Caerbannog and all his hellish cuteness. Don't be fooled by this adorable little thing: behind this harmless appearance hides a rabid homicidal beast, whose life goal is to kill everything in sight by making use of an absurd bestial force, capable of causing dismemberment, decapitation and a bloodbath of abominable proportions.

Personally, I think the rabbit of Caerbannog is amazing. And it's not simply a matter of fact that I liked the kind of humor he represents: it's about the use of a harmless, simple animal that, with just an artificial replica and a few shots of footage, was converted into something of a fury without proportions, capable of terrorize and ridicule the knights of the Round Table. The rabbit demonstrates how, in a film or a comedy play, abominable monsters can be used in a simple and creative way, without much refinement, and thus build a comedy capable of breaking the feeling of grotesque, of intimidation caused by genocidal actions of a traditional monster and capable of rousing collective laughter. It is a technical example of cinema that approximates humor to horror, creating what we call black humor or dark comedy. The rabbit of Caerbannog is one of the crudest and best done things I have ever seen on a comedy film. Rough and better made? Yes, that's right. Although it is a paradox, this is how I feel when I review something from “Monty Python and The Holy Grail”. It is the most well-made rough in its shear. And that's why I think it's amazing. The movie or the scene won't have the same effect if viewed in a short amount of time, unless you're an epic-level goof who can't really contain the laughter. But the revisits to the film, over the years, in the moments when it ends up fading into memory, are almost always rewarding. The rabbit of Caerbannog, the great neck-crushing cutie, will always be a guarantee of great entertainment and will please comedy and horror fans alike.

Credit must be given to creators: the rabbit was written by Graham Chapman and John Cleese and even inspired “Spamalot”, a musical based on the film. This cute harbinger of destruction finally appears when the film is already running its course, very close to the end. King Arthur and the other knights meet him at the entrance of a cave in Caerbannog, where the rabbit was walking quietly and surrounded by human bones. To get there, previously Arthur and the knights had instructions from the Mage Tim, who warned them that, if they wanted to discover the whereabouts of the Holy Grail, they would have to go through a horrible, vile and cruel monster first. However, on occasion, Tim does not imply that the monster is in fact a rabbit.

When the rabbit is first seen by the group Arthur, confused, asks where the monster is, if he was behind the rabbit. And then Tim explains that the monster is none other than the rabbit. Arthur and the knights make fun of him. So, Sir Bors is sent to kill the chubby white animal and, in a matter of seconds, the bad-tempered rodent from the depths of Hell leaps swiftly towards Sir Bors' neck, tearing his head off in a very graphic way and shocking Arthur and the others. In a burst of courage (or stupidity, depending on how you, my dears, look at the scene), Arthur and the knights go after the rodent. Again, and without much difficulty, the rabbit of Caerbannog beats the knights, this time killing Sir Gawain and Sir Ector, causing the others to runaway. Dissatisfied and lost, Arthur asks what they could do to get rid of the cursed rabbit and, thus, is reminded of one of brother Maynard's weapons. They took The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch, which requires the user to remove the pin, count to three and throw it at the enemy. The procedure is described in detail by Brother Maynard, referring to the Book of Armaments. So Arthur, despite counting five instead of three, is corrected by Patsy, his squire, throws the grenade and finally blows up the rabbit of Caerbannog.

That’s it. The big and terrible rabbit of Caerbannog, a creature that is apparently cute on the outside, but who is quite unpredictable and turns out to be a killing machine. It should be noted that, although the rabbit's thirst for blood is enormous, he seems to be quite astute, as he dodges blows and seeks to attack precisely the vital parts of his victims. Unlike common rabbits, Caerbannog has a mouth full of pointy and sharp teeth, something that fits him within the group of carnivorous animals. His performance on the battlefield is legendary, worthy of the most gruesome tales left for future generations. Agile, deadly, thirsty, the rabbit of Caerbonnog doesn't allow time for a breath. When he slays one victim, he automatically jumps to the next frantically, grinding and tearing until not a single living target is breathing on the battlefield.

As a curiosity, it is necessary to say that the weapon used to defeat him, The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch, is a satire made on one of the items of the royal treasure of the United Kingdom, the Sovereign's Orb. As for the term “Antioch”, the most likely is the armament relationship that the item may have with another weapon, the mythical Holy Lance of Antioch.

The rabbit of Caerbannog has always been considered a cultural phenomenon and, even though the film “Monty Python and The Holy Grail” was released in 1975, the rabbit is still honored in media productions. Some well-known examples that I can mention come from gaming industry. In “The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt”, by CDProjekt Red, Geralt can find the rabbit of Caerbannog near Benek, where there is a hidden cave that, when the witcher enters, finds a pile of skulls, skeletons and blood, and with them a white bunny. In Bethesda's Fallout games, the Holy Hand Grenade is an item that can be found in “Fallout 2” and “Fallout: New Vegas”. In “Minecraft”, we can find a white rabbit with red eyes. He is called Killer Bunny, also a tribute to the rabbit of Caerbannog. Unlike all other rabbits in the game, which are calm and peaceful, Killer Bunny always tries to kill the players as soon as he sees them. In addition, he also attacks other beings in the game, such as wolves and foxes. These are just a few examples of many.

Nothing more to say. Corvid greetings!

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