http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Jm9EUvwFj4


OMG is this not Beatrice and Benedick exactly?? And quite hilarious (:

I guess I don't know how to copy the video but you should definitely copy and paste it. It's way worth it!

King Arthur and the Fairly Odd Parents

My obvious example is the 2004 movie King Arthur, which was supposed to be a more realistic take on his life. It depicts Arthur as a roman soldier rather than a king or knight.

My abstract analogue is in the Fairly Odd Parents episode "Knighty Knight". Timmy wishes he was back in Camelot after attending a disappointing Camelot fair, but when he arrives his parents are taken hostage by a dragon. Timmy pulls Excalibur out of the stone to save his parents and is pronounced king, ruining the chances for Arthur, a little boy with poor eyesight and his Uncle Merlin, a greedy wizard who wants Arthur to become king so they can be rich. Upon saving his parents, Timmy gives Arthur glasses to improve his vision and Arthur, with sword in hand, defeats the dragon and becomes the great King Arthur he is destined to be

Arthur and his Uncle Merlin

Arthur getting glasses.

First Knight and Harry Potter

"First Knight" is a 1995 film based off of the Arthurian legend with Richard Gere as Lancelot and Sean Connery as King Arthur. It tells the typical tale of King Arthur, though it neglects the use of magic or the supernatural.


A less obvious analogue comes from "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets."  I am making the relationships between Dumbledore and Merlin, and between Harry and King Arthur. There are three comparisons to make. Merlin was King Arthur's mentor and adviser. Dumbledore is essential to guide Harry through the dangers and obstacles that present themselves. To protect Arthur, Merlin took him to a lake and gave him Excalibur. Dumbledore does a similar thing in this particular movie when he gives Harry the sword of Gryffindor (the Sorting Hat) when Harry faced the serpent monster. Lastly, Arthur pulled a sword from a stone which proved his worth and his nobility. This test proved he was the "true king." Harry pulled the sword from the Sorting Hat which proved his worth that he was a "true Gryffindor." In "The Deathly Hallows," Harry gets the sword from a lake even though his locket attempts to drown him.

The Magic Treehouse series and The Great Gatsby

As far as Arthurian legend goes, there are a lot of really obvious replications, but in lieu of not repeating what's already been said, I was thinking and remembered that the series The Magic Treehouse series had some rather obvious allusions to the Arthur tales.

These were awesome.

The most commonly mentioned was a woman who owned the treehouse, who was named Morgan Le Fay, the name of a character in Arthurian legend- I believe she's a witch. She was always a very mysterious character, and you never found out too much about her; one thing that we did learn, however, was that she resided in the realm of Camelot (Coincidence? I think not.). I don't honestly remember much more about her- though she did actually send the kids (Jack and Annie? I think that's their names) to Camelot in a superbly epic Christmas adventure.

SO wanted a white stag to ride after I first saw this cover. And a red cape, for that matter.

 I don't remember whether she was good, bad, or ambiguous in the stories, but I was always quite intrigued by her. Just a side-note on this series: how interesting is it that it was teaching kids history while meanwhile being heavily based in mythological characters?

Okay, now for the more vague one. I wish I could claim this one as my own idea, but alas I cannot. I heard someone mention it once and just sort of expanded on it. There are some allusions to King Arthur in the Great Gatsby.

To a certain extent, one can see the relationship between Gatsby, Daisy, and Daisy's husband Tom as a reflection of Lancelot, Guinevere, and King Arthur. Just as Lancelot's one weakness was Guinevere, so Gatsby's one weakness was Daisy. And, accordingly, the actual husband in each story was veritably ticked off. In a separate parallel to Arthur, at one point in The Great Gatsby it says, "...he had committed himself to the following of a grail." Daisy was Gatsby's holy Grail, the thing that he searched after and fought for for years. She was, as the grail was for many knights, his one pursuit in life. 

Quest for Camelot & Shrek

My obvious reference is the movie Quest for Camelot. The main character Kayley wants to be a knight of the round table, like her late father. In the movie, a character modeled after the Arthurian Red Knight steals Arthur's sword Excalibur and reeks havoc. Kayley goes on a journey with a blind man Garrett (partially modeled after the knight-in-disguise Gareth from Arthurian legend) to find the sword and return it to Arthur.

=

 

My more obscure reference is the DreamWorks film Shrek because, like Arthur, Shrek goes on a quest (Arthur for the Holy Grail and Shrek for Princess Fiona) to restore life as they know it. In one of the Grail legends, Arthur seeks the cup in order to end an illness that has gripped his kingdom, and Shrek seeks Fiona for Lord Farquaad, so all the fairy tale characters will leave his home and he can live in peace.

King Arthur's Merlin

To be obvious, I always think of the show "Camelot". It was a Starz show that only lasted for one season. I never watched it, but I know that it was to be based off of Arthurian legends and stories.


When I think of a more obscure example, I think of Harry Potter. I don't think of the entire series, but only a small scene in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. In order to defeat Voldemort, all of the Horcurxes(objects that have pieces of Voldemort's soul in them) have to be destroyed. Only then can Voldemort be defeated. Professor Dumbledore and Harry go to a destroy one-a necklace. In order to destroy it, they have to get it out of this container full of liquid. The liquid has to be drank, and drives you crazy in the process. It inhibits you from being able to reach the Horcrux. In the scene, Dumbledore is the one who has to drink the liquid, even when Harry has to force him. Only then can Harry obtain the Horcrux from the container. This particular scene reminds of the sword in the stone tale, even if Harry(Arthur) had to have help from Dumbledore(Merlin).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nVQPwH2m4s

Two for One!

Since I missed last week, let's do two examples of King Arthur sources and analogues, one obvious and the other as obscure and abstract as you can make it.

So .....


James Callis in the Syfy Original Merlin and the Book of Beasts with a Jamaican accent.

Dean trying to pull a sword out of a stone on Supernatural

Doctor Who as Merlin

Jay Z's "The Magna Carta Holy Grail"