Lovers of British comedy can rejoice that one of Britain’s most beloved comedy sketch series has been turned into a feature film! Horrible Histories, based on the bestselling book series of the same name, is a historical comedy program focusing on the dark, depraved, and disturbing aspects of history in hilarious vignettes. From the ancient world to the modern era, some of Britain’s top comedic talent interpret historical events and figures, and now the popular series will focus on Ancient Rome.
Horrible Histories: The Movie Rotten Romans has released its trailer, and it looks like nothing but action, adventure, and hilarity as Emperor Nero and his military go against Queen Boudicca and her Celtic warriors. Throughout it all a young Roman soldier and a Celtic warrior-wannabe form an unlikely friendship despite being on opposite sides of history. Here’s all the things we know so far after viewing the trailer!
IT WILL FOCUS ON ANCIENT ROME AND BRITAIN
The British Horrible Histories franchise takes place in a variety of historical eras (with a special emphasis on Britain’s part on the world stage), but the trailer reveals that the Historical Histories movie will focus on Ancient Rome. The British will be involved, though, represented by their historical ancestors, the Celts.
When a wily Roman teenager, Atti, pulls a prank on Emperor Nero, he’s punished for his scheme by getting sent to dank old Britain. On the edge of the Roman Empire, he is captured by a fiery young Celt named Orla. They slowly become friends, but Atti is eventually reunited with his regiment, and must fight against her and her Celtic tribe.
IT FEATURES A STRONG HEROINE
The Celtic People of Ancient Britain were known to produce some particularly strong female warriors (see also Keira Knightley in the 2004 version of King Arthur). In the trailer for Horrible Histories, we see that Orla is trying to make her name known among her people, but her father is skeptical.
EMPEROR NERO WILL REMIND YOU OF EMPEROR CUZCO
Perhaps you’ll remember a highly underrated Disney animated film called The Emperor’s New Groove, in which Aztec Emperor Cuzco was turned into a talking llama by his royal adviser. Cuzco was an arrogant, spoiled Emperor who had to team up with a peasant in order to have the spell reversed, and even afterwards wanted to be the center of attention.
Emperor Nero comes off the same way in this trailer, full of blustering bravado and arrogance. His mother, Empress Agrippina has instilled in him a ridiculous amount of self confidence, as can be seen whenever he wanders around in a pair of sunglasses ordering people to be executed for looking at him oddly.
IT HAS A LOT OF RECOGNIZABLE STARS
Most of the cast of the Horrible Histories television series wouldn’t be known to American audiences, though a few may pop up in the movie with cameos. You will however recognize a good deal of the faces that appear in the trailer, as a combination of both lauded British thespians and comedians take turns mocking Ancient Rome.
Kate Nash (Glow, Bridesmaids) plays Queen Boudicca of the Iceni, Kim Catrall (Sex in the City, Manneuin) plays Empress Agrippina, Nick Frost (Shawn of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) plays the Celt Arghus, Rupert Graves (V for Vendetta) plays the Roman commander Paulinus, and Derek Jacobi (Gladiator) plays Claudius. Warwick Davis (Star Wars, Willow) even appears in a cameo!
IT FEATURES PLENTY OF MODERN CONCEPTS
Like A Knight’s Tale, there is a sense of modernity about the Horrible Histories film. Yes, it’s set in Ancient Roman times, but the ideologies adopted by everyone in the cast seem to contradict the historical setting. This is especially true around what constitutes “teenager behavior” between Orla the Celt and Atti the Roman boy.
In one particular instance, a Roman family is at a public event hosted by Emperor Nero, and the son pulls out a scroll to read. His mother admonishes him quickly with, “I think we’ll limit your scroll time” very much the same way a mother today would limit her son’s “screen time” with his smartphone or tablet.
THERE WILL BE PLENTY OF BATTLES AND DANCE OFFS
Considering the film concentrates on the Roman Emperor Nero’s clash with Queen Boudicca of the Iceni’s Celtic forces, we can only hope there would be plenty of epic battles. The trailer showcases a lot of troops on both sides marching about and participating in scout missions, as well as several scenes with gladiator games. Near the end of the trailer, several skirmishes between the two sides seem to point towards a violent climax.
Aside from historical battles, it also shows plenty of dance offs! Members of each side step forward from the circle of onlookers and bust out their best moves, reminding us that it would be better if all major disputes were solved that way.
IT HAS A LOT OF CRUDE HUMOR AND SLAPSTICK COMEDY
The Horrible Histories franchise has always focused on the dark underbelly of history. It overturns rocks and looks under outhouses to find the most disgusting aspects of ancient times and highlight them in a humorous way. Viewers learn something new about a civilization, and can laugh about the topic, whether it pertains to the Black Plague or a gruesome torture device.
The movie will be no exception, with a plethora of toilet humor and slapstick to satisfy even the most heathen audience. In one memorable scene, a group of Celts is standing before a Roman Legionnaire when one lets out a fart. Soon the entire group is claiming, “I’m Farticus!” to the chagrin of the stuffy Roman.
IT WILL REMIND YOU OF MONTY PYTHON
The Horrible Histories series of sketches take place in a variety of historical eras. Though they are often irreverent and hilarious, the comedy specials never fail to focus on being accurate and highly detailed. In particular, the franchise examines the more gruesome and profane aspects of British world history, as well as other eras from the time of cavemen, to after World War II.
The humor is equal parts deadpan and ridiculous, combining aspects of what made Monty Python so funny. A Roman town crier yells feverishly in the beginning of the trailer, “The chicken guts speak the future! Betrayal, conspiracy, and death!” only to shrug two seconds later, remarking, “In other words, just another day in Rome, really”.
IT BORROWS A LOT FROM “BLACKADDER”
Britain has a great history of comedy sketch programs, from Monty Python in the ‘70s to The Young Ones in the ‘80s, to A Bit Of Fry and Laurie in the early ‘90s. Horrible Histories borrows its zany comedic influence from many of those, but most notably from one in particular, the historical comedy program Blackadder.
The series, which starred Mr. Bean’s immensely talented Rowan Atkinson, followed the titular character Blackadder from the 18th century all the way up to WWII, highlighting the hilarity of social norms and events from each era he was involved in. The writers of Horrible Histories seem to have channeled Blackadder a great deal in their new film.
IT’S A WHO’S WHO OF HISTORICAL FIGURES
Given the nature of the Horrible Histories series and books, historical figures were the highlight of the punchlines. Not only was it amusing to see revered famous people in embarrassing situations, it was fun to see them interacting with individuals that they may or may not have had contact with in real life.
In the Horrible Histories film, we see famous Roman monarch Emperor Nero, and we see the rebellion led by Queen Boudicca of the Iceni. Not to mention there’s Nero’s mom, Agrippina, a famous Empress herself, and her husband, the infamous Emperor Claudius, who completed the annexation of Britain to the Roman Empire.
