''Three Flavours Cornetto'' trilogy

Three Flavours Cornetto
Cover of the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy DVD box set
Directed by Edgar Wright
Produced by
Written by
Starring
Production
companies
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date
 2004–2013
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Budget Total (3 films):
$38 million
Box office Total (3 films):
$156.7 million

The Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy (also known as the Cornetto trilogy or the Blood and Ice Cream trilogy)[1][2] is a series of British comedic genre films directed by Edgar Wright, written by Wright and Simon Pegg, produced by Nira Park, and starring Pegg and Nick Frost. The trilogy consists of Shaun of the Dead (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007), and The World's End (2013).

All three films, produced on a total budget of $38 million, have grossed more than $156 million worldwide.[3] Critics have given all three films very positive reviews.[4][5][6]

Connections and themes

The name originates from a "silly joke" during the promotion of Hot Fuzz.[7] Wright had written in Cornetto ice cream as a hangover cure for Frost's character in Shaun of the Dead, based on his own experiences. In Hot Fuzz, Wright included a couple of brief throwaway scenes that referred to the Cornetto joke in Shaun. On the promotional tour of Hot Fuzz during production of The World's End, one interviewer pointed out the use of Cornetto in the first two films, and Wright jokingly said that they represent a trilogy comparable to Krzysztof Kieślowski's Three Colours film trilogy.[8][9][10]

Wright seriously considered the three films as a trilogy, and wrote The World's End to complete themes set out in the earlier films, adding a Cornetto reference to the film. Each film in the trilogy is connected to a specific Cornetto flavour appearing in each film.[2][11] Shaun of the Dead features a strawberry-flavoured Cornetto, which signifies the film's bloody and gory elements,[12] Hot Fuzz includes the blue original Cornetto, to signify the police element to the film,[13] and The World's End features the green mint chocolate chip flavour (though shown only by a wrapper caught in the wind) representing "little green men" and science fiction.[14] According to Wright, Wall's, manufacturer of the Cornetto, were "very pleased with the namecheck".[15]

Wright considered each of the films a "Trojan horse", "genre films that have a relationship comedy smuggled inside a zombie movie, a cop movie and a sci-fi movie".[7] Thematically, Wright saw each of the films containing common themes of "the individuals in a collective [...] about growing up and [...] about the dangers of perpetual adolescence".[7] Wright reworked the script of The World's End to conclude on these themes.[7] The films are further linked by a common set of actors. Wright, Park, Pegg, and Frost collaborated previously in the TV series Spaced from 1999 to 2001. Martin Freeman, Bill Nighy, Rafe Spall, Julia Deakin, Patricia Franklin, and Garth Jennings appear in each of the films as well as other projects by Wright and Pegg. Clark Collis observes in Entertainment Weekly that the films also feature "a running gag involving garden fences".[9]

Films

Film U.K. release date Director Screenwriter(s) Producer(s)
Shaun of the Dead 9 April 2004 Edgar Wright Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg Nira Park
Hot Fuzz 16 February 2007 Nira Park, Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner
The World's End 19 July 2013

Shaun of the Dead

The first film is Shaun of the Dead, a 2004 romantic zombie comedy film (or "rom-zom-com"). Pegg plays Shaun, a man attempting to gain focus in his life as he deals with his girlfriend, his mother and stepfather in the midst of an apocalyptic uprising of zombies.[16]

The trilogy's Cornetto reference begins with a scene in which Shaun buys a cone for his friend Ed (Frost) at his request as Ed wakes up groggy and badly hung over after a night of drinking. Director Edgar Wright has said that he used to use Cornettos as a hangover cure.[17]

Hot Fuzz

The second entry is Hot Fuzz, a 2007 buddy cop comedy. Pegg and Frost play police officers who investigate a series of mysterious deaths in a small English village; Frost's character grew up there and Pegg is an outsider. The two officers purchase Cornetto cones at a convenience store at various times, and a scrap of the wrapper falls onto the counter when Pegg's character later makes other purchases at a motorway service station.

The World's End

Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con

The third and final installment is The World's End, a 2013 science fiction apocalyptic comedy. The film follows a group of friends, led by Pegg, reattempting an epic pub crawl during an alien occupation of their home town. In the final scene of the film, a Cornetto wrapper blows past in a breeze, briefly catching on a wire fence.

Wright said in an interview for Entertainment Weekly, "We thought it would be a funny idea to do a sci-fi film where even the people who are going to be your saviors are hammered."[9]

Recurring cast

Actor / Actress Movies
Shaun of the Dead Hot Fuzz The World's End
Simon Pegg Shaun Riley Sgt. Nicholas Angel Gary King
Nick Frost Ed PC Danny Butterman Andy Knightley
Julia Deakin Mother of Yvonne Mary Porter B&B Landlady
Martin Freeman Declan Met Sgt. Oliver Chamberlain
Bill Nighy Philip Met Ch.Insp. The Network
Rafe Spall Noel DC Andy Cartwright House Buyer
Patricia Franklin Spinster Annette Roper Upstairs Beehive Lady
Reece Shearsmith Mark Collaborator
Michael Smiley Tyres Rev. Green
Peter Serafinowicz Pete Ding Dong Home Owner
Nicola Cunningham Mary Patient
David Bradley Arthur Webley Basil
Paddy Considine DS Andy Wainwright Steven Prince
Alice Lowe Tina House Buyer

Discussing The World's End, Wright said that any actor who appeared in the first two films would also appear in the third, adding, "We even got back Nicola Cunningham, who played Mary the zombie in Shaun of the Dead. And Mark Donovan, so the first two zombies from Shaun of the Dead are in this. The twins are in it."[18]

Reception

Box office performance

Motion picture Release date Box office gross Budget Ref(s)
United Kingdom USA & Canada Other countries Worldwide
Shaun of the Dead 9 April 2004 $12,349,489 $13,542,874 $4,147,029 $30,039,392 $6 million [19]
Hot Fuzz 16 February 2007 $41,212,142 $23,637,265 $15,724,367 $80,573,774 $12 million [20]
The World's End 19 July 2013 $13,354,358 $26,004,851 $6,730,078 $46,089,287 $20 million [21]
Total $66,915,989 $63,184,990 $26,601,474 $156,702,453 $38 million [3]

Critical response

Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic
Shaun of the Dead 92% (204 reviews)[4] 76 (34 reviews)[22]
Hot Fuzz 91% (202 reviews)[5] 81 (37 reviews)[23]
The World's End 89% (223 reviews)[6] 81 (45 reviews)[24]
Average 90% 79

References

  1. ↑ Edward Douglas (16 April 2007). "EXCL: The Guys of Hot Fuzz!". Retrieved 2009-05-23.
  2. 1 2 "Hot Fuzz duo confirm third movie". BBC News. 3 April 2008. Retrieved 2009-05-25.
  3. 1 2 "Three Flavours Cornetto Movies at the Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Shaun of the Dead (2004)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  5. 1 2 "Hot Fuzz (2006)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  6. 1 2 "The World's End (2013)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Howell, Peter (23 August 2013). "Edgar Wright: Crawling toward the apocalypse, and a sweet finish". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  8. ↑ Elisabeth Rappe (3 April 2008). "Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg going to The World's End". cinematical.com. Retrieved 2009-05-23.
  9. 1 2 3 Collis, Clark (30 August 2013). "3 Blokes. 3 Films. Many, Many Laughs". Entertainment Weekly: 46–47.
  10. ↑ "The World's End - The Origins of the Cornetto Trilogy". IGN. 23 June 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  11. ↑ "Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost Might Finally Finish Up Their Ice Cream Trilogy". I Watch Stuff. 12 December 2011. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
  12. ↑ Shaun of the Dead DVD commentary
  13. ↑ Hot Fuzz DVD commentary
  14. ↑ "World's End panel SDCC 2013". YouTube. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  15. ↑ Huddleston, Tom (9 July 2013). "Edgar Wright: 'I can't watch zombie movies'". Time Out. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  16. ↑ J.C. Maçek III (15 June 2012). "The Zombification Family Tree: Legacy of the Living Dead". PopMatters.
  17. ↑ The World's End - The Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy on YouTube
  18. ↑ "13 Things We Learned on the Set of The World's End – IGN". Uk.ign.com. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  19. ↑ Shaun of the Dead (2004) at Box Office Mojo
  20. ↑ Hot Fuzz (2007) at Box Office Mojo
  21. ↑ The World's End (2013) at Box Office Mojo
  22. ↑ Shaun of the Dead at Metacritic
  23. ↑ Hot Fuzz at Metacritic
  24. ↑ The World's End at Metacritic
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