Crunchy Frog

Last updated

"Crunchy Frog" is the common name for a Monty Python sketch officially titled "Trade Description Act" (sometimes also known as the "Whizzo Chocolate Company" sketch), [1] inspired by the Trade Descriptions Act 1968 in British law. It features two health inspectors interrogating the owner of a sweet shop about the increasingly bizarre ingredients in his confections, including the titular crunchy frog. Written by John Cleese and Graham Chapman, it originally appeared in episode 6 of the first series of Monty Python's Flying Circus , and later appeared in several Monty Python stage shows. In the original sketch, Cleese and Chapman play the inspectors, while Terry Jones plays the sweet shop owner. In later versions, the second inspector is played by Terry Gilliam or left out of the sketch entirely.

Contents

The sketch

Mr. Milton, the owner of the Whizzo Chocolate Company (Terry Jones) is approached by two members of the Hygiene Squad, Inspector Praline (John Cleese) and Superintendent Parrot (Graham Chapman). The officers confront him about the odd flavours that are used in the "Whizzo Quality Assortment", and cite inadequate descriptions of his products as a violation of the Trade Descriptions Act. They ask him to explain the confection labelled "Crunchy Frog". Milton describes it as an entire frog that has been coated with chocolate, using only "the finest baby frogs, dew picked and flown from Iraq, cleansed in finest quality spring water, lightly killed, and then sealed in a succulent Swiss quintuple smooth treble cream milk chocolate envelope and lovingly frosted with glucose." [2] Circular logic is used to explain why the bones aren't taken out: "If we took the bones out, it wouldn't be crunchy, would it?" [2] (A baby frog is a tadpole, which has cartilage rather than bones.)

Other questionable items include the "Cherry Fondue", which is "extremely nasty", but not worthy of prosecution, "Ram's Bladder Cup" (made from "fresh Cornish ram's bladder, emptied, steamed, flavoured with sesame seeds whipped into a fondant and garnished with lark's vomit"), "Cockroach Cluster", "Anthrax Ripple", and "Spring Surprise" (chocolate wrapped around two stainless steel bolts that "spring out and plunge straight through both [of the victim's] cheeks"). [2] At the end of the scene Milton is arrested, and the Superintendent, who has been vomiting during the entire conversation (having sampled the Crunchy Frog and some of the others), faces the camera and warns the public to "take more care when buying its sweeties". [2]

A later sketch in the same episode features a North American Indian, played in stereotypical fashion by Eric Idle, eating a Crunchy Frog and indicating approval. [3]

Stage and film

The film Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl also contains a performance of this sketch, with Chapman as the Inspector and Terry Gilliam as his assistant. The assistant is now called Constable Parrot, and while he too periodically leaves the room to fight off his nausea, he remains onstage during his last attack of sickness and vomits into his helmet—which his superior then orders him to put back on his head. (Gilliam filled his mouth with cold beef stew when he ran off stage during the scene.)

The Monty Python Live (Mostly) stage show featured a similar performance, with some small changes to the dialogue — e.g., the Ram's Bladder Cup sweet is now described as having been garnished with mouse faeces rather than lark's vomit - and with Cleese as the Inspector. Jones, who was then in the early stages of frontal lobe dementia, read some of his dialogue from the insert cards in the chocolate box. The televised 20 July 2014 performance includes some fluffs and corpsing, and a moment in which Cleese takes a card from Jones and reads his line for him before announcing "This is me now" and continuing with his own line.

Other appearances

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graham Chapman</span> English actor, comedian and writer (1941–1989)

Graham Chapman was a British actor, comedian and writer. He was one of the six members of the surreal comedy group Monty Python. He portrayed authority figures such as The Colonel and the lead role in two Python films, Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) and Life of Brian (1979).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monty Python</span> British surreal comedy group

Monty Python were a British comedy troupe formed in 1969 consisting of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin. The group came to prominence for the sketch comedy series Monty Python's Flying Circus, which aired on the BBC from 1969 to 1974. Their work then developed into a larger collection that included live shows, films, albums, books, and musicals; their influence on comedy has been compared to the Beatles' influence on music. Their sketch show has been called "an important moment in the evolution of television comedy".

<i>Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl</i> 1982 British film

Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl is a 1982 concert comedy film directed by Terry Hughes and starring the Monty Python comedy troupe as they perform many of their sketches at the Hollywood Bowl. The film also features Carol Cleveland in numerous supporting roles and Neil Innes performing songs. Also present for the shows and participating as an 'extra' was Python superfan Kim "Howard" Johnson.

<i>And Now for Something Completely Different</i> 1971 British film

And Now for Something Completely Different is a 1971 British sketch comedy film based on the television comedy series Monty Python's Flying Circus featuring sketches from the show's first two series. The title was taken from a catchphrase used in the television show.

<i>Monty Pythons Flying Circus</i> (album) 1970 live album by Monty Python

Monty Python's Flying Circus is the first album produced by the Monty Python troupe, released in both the UK and US in 1970, with the US version featuring a back cover slightly different from the original UK version. It features newly recorded versions of sketches from the first Monty Python's Flying Circus television series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nudge Nudge</span> Comedy sketch from Monty Pythons Flying Circus

"Candid Photography", better known as "Nudge Nudge", is a sketch from the third Monty Python's Flying Circus episode, "How to Recognise Different Types of Trees From Quite a Long Way Away" featuring Eric Idle and Terry Jones as two strangers who meet in a pub.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mr Creosote</span> Fictional character

Mr. Creosote is a fictional character who appears in Monty Python's The Meaning of Life. He is a monstrously obese and vulgar restaurant patron who is served a vast amount of food and alcohol whilst vomiting repeatedly. After being persuaded to eat an after-dinner mint – "It's only wafer-thin" – he graphically explodes. The sequence opens the film's segment titled "Part VI: The Autumn Years".

Mr Eric Praline is a fictional character from the television show Monty Python's Flying Circus, played by comedian John Cleese.

<i>Monty Python Live at City Center</i> 1976 live album by Monty Python

Monty Python Live at City Center is a US-only live album by Monty Python, recorded at the New York City Center in April 1976 and rush released by Arista Records the following month. In order to get the album out in the shops quickly, the recordings were made early on in the run, where some of the performances were affected by faulty microphones. The team were joined onstage by regular actress Carol Cleveland and musician Neil Innes, who also performed in some sketches.

<i>Monty Pythons Personal Best</i> British TV series or program

Monty Python's Personal Best is a miniseries of six one-hour specials, each showcasing the contributions of a particular Monty Python member. Produced by Python (Monty) Pictures Ltd., the series first aired on PBS stations between 22 February and 8 March 2006, although the Eric Idle and Michael Palin episodes were initially released by A&E on two Region 1 DVDs in 2005; the remaining episodes were released in late February 2006.

"Colin 'Bomber' Harris vs Colin 'Bomber' Harris" is a Monty Python comedy sketch in which wrestler Colin Harris fights himself, Colin Harris. As Colin fights himself, a commentator hastily reports the events.

The Fish Licence is a sketch from Series 2 Episode 10 of the popular British television series, Monty Python's Flying Circus. It first aired on 1 December 1970.

<i>Python Night – 30 Years of Monty Python</i> British TV series or programme

Python Night was an evening of Monty Python-related programmes broadcast on BBC2 on 9 October 1999, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the first broadcast of Monty Python's Flying Circus. It featured newly written sketches, three documentaries and a screening of Monty Python's Life of Brian.

<i>Monty Pythons Flying Circus</i> British sketch comedy television series (1969–1974)

Monty Python's Flying Circus is a British surreal sketch comedy series created by and starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, and Terry Gilliam, who became known collectively as "Monty Python", or the "Pythons". The first episode was recorded at the BBC on 7 September 1969 and premiered on 5 October on BBC1, with 45 episodes airing over four series from 1969 to 1974, plus two episodes for German TV. A feature film adaptation of several sketches, And Now for Something Completely Different, was released in 1971.

"Albatross" is a sketch from Monty Python's Flying Circus. It is particularly known for its opening lines: "Albatross! Albatross! Albatross!"

<i>Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Book)</i>

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Book), also known as Mønti Pythøn ik den Hølie Gräilen (Bøk), is the literary companion to the 1975 film of the same name, assembled by co-director Terry Jones.

<i>The Pythons Autobiography by The Pythons</i> Official autobiography of the Monty Python team

The Pythons Autobiography by The Pythons is the official autobiography of the Monty Python team, released in 2003. It covers the whole of Python history, from their childhoods all the way through to the 30th anniversary celebrations in 1999.

<i>Monty Python Live!</i> Book on Monty Python live performances 1971-1980

Monty Python Live! is a book detailing the various live performances of the Monty Python team between 1971 and 1980.

References

  1. ↑ Meehan, Thomas (18 April 1976). "FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY (Published 1976)". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Chapman, Graham; Cleese, John; Gilliam, Terry; Idle, Eric; Jones, Terry; Palin, Michael (1989). Wilmut, Roger (ed.). The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus: All the Words, Volume One. New York, New York: Pantheon Books. pp. 71–73. ISBN   0-679-72647-0.
  3. ↑ All the Words, Volume One. p. 75.
  4. ↑ "Food & drink: Sweets". Wizarding World. The Harry Potter Lexicon. 27 March 2006.
  5. ↑ "Billboard". 25 January 2003.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.