I assumed Eric Idle and John Cleese were aware that Shrek 3 was using their coconut joke because they were in the film. It appears they were not informed or asked. We get this interesting story from Pink Is The New Blog via Cinematical
Monty Python legend and star of the new Shrek the Third was in toronto over the long weekend to promote his new play/musical “Not The Messiah”. He took some time to talk to Mad Dog & Billie on Toronto’s 99.9 MIX FM where he dished out some juicy goods: “I’ve always loved Toronto cuz we kicked off our world tour here in 1974 when we came as Python so there’s a great openness and a willingness to see something new … So many people love the coconut gag from Monty Python — it’s of course a radio joke and its been stolen patently by Shrek 3 I’m happy to say — So we’ll be able to sue their asses!” to which the MIX FM reporter said “GO ON …”
Eric: “No, I mean it’s like there it is in the first 30 seconds — you go — wait a minute, John [Cleese] and I are in this film and you steal our joke? Um, I don’t know how the others are going to take to this … I hope they (Dreamworks) cleared it with them — and they also steal from Spamalot, you know …
MIX FM: “Don’t you think they did that to pay homage to you?”
Eric: “Do you think if I stole your wallet that’d be homage to your money? — you see they neglected to tell us — so the first I saw it was in the premiere — and I was SHOCKED — my whole family went WHAT! How dare you! So I walked out — calmed down — and walked back in — but I was shocked and I think if you steal peoples jokes, I don’t think that’s homage, I think that’s theft.
I will have to side with Idle on this one. The guys were in the film and if you are going to use something from a Python sketch the least you could do is ask. If you take someones joke or parody someones joke without asking them, it is stealing – end of story.
I understand the Shrek movie is a parody of other fairy tales and things like this, but as long as the authors of original material are alive you should ask them if you can use their material for parody. It is common courtesy, it is prudent and it is right. There is one man who walks the earth who does parody like no other – his name is Weird Al Yankovic and he always asks permission, when people refuse, he does not parody their work. He is a gentleman.
All this being said I have a bias. I am a comedian and have no love for joke thieves and will never defend them. I also think spoof movies are the lowest common denominator in the history of cinema. I would rather watch 12 hyenas rape 5 underage gazelles than sit through another fucking spoof movie. They all steal and don’t even do it well, they are pure unfiltered shit (with a select few exceptions).
At the end of the day I side with Idle and yet I also hold him accountable. Why would you be part of a spoof movie if you have problems with thieves? I am certain the dudes at Shrek threw in the gag as an homage to the guys that were in the film and although they should of asked, they may have had good intentions and meant it as a surprise for them. It is hard to have a case when you were paid to be in the film but I can empathize with Idle’s discontent.
Moral of the story is: if you work with thieves, you lose things.
