Line #96 Film/TheAdventuresOfBaronMunchausen


1	[[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/BaronMunchausen_poster_formatted_951.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:310:"Baron Munchausen, at your service! Most of you won't remember me or my adventures. But I assure you, they are true!"]]
3
4	->''"Everyone — who had a talent for it — lived HappilyEverAfter."''
5	-->-- '''Baron Munchausen'''
6
7	Creator/TerryGilliam's fourth solo directorial effort, from 1988 (though it didn't get released in the US and UK until a few months later in '89). Based on 1785 novel ''Literature/TheSurprisingAdventuresOfBaronMunchausen'', it's a paean to whimsy and the irrational, and how stories are more important than "what really happened" and rationality.
8
9	It is the Age of Reason, and there's a war on. Somewhere Austria-y is at war with The Grand Turk. In a city on the border of this war, a rag-tag theatre company is staging a dramatic retelling of the life of famous TallTale teller Baron Munchausen.
10
11	The play is interrupted by the ''real'' Baron, who describes what really happened to cause this war -- namely, the Turks are after him. The Baron has come to the city to die, but is convinced by Sally Salt (the head of the theatre company's daughter) to instead save the city from the onslaught of The Grand Turk, as well as the forces of reason and mediocrity. Wackiness ensues.
12
13	The film is something of a MindScrew, as the viewer is never really sure if what's happening is really happening -- and whether or not that really matters. Due to a TroubledProduction and a regime change at Columbia Pictures that discouraged giving it proper treatment, it was [[BoxOfficeBomb a notorious flop]] at the time. (The combined losses for this and ''Film/{{Ishtar}}'' are what caused Columbia to merge with [=TriStar=].) However, the film was a critical success and is still remembered as the final film in Gilliam's classic [[ThematicSeries "Dreamer Trilogy"]], along with ''Film/TimeBandits'' and ''Film/{{Brazil}}''.
14
15	Earned an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nomination for Visual Effects, but had the bad luck of being nominated the same year as ''Film/TheAbyss''.
16
17	The film is sometimes considered a flop because it went wildly over budget and didn't make a profit, but part of the reason for ''that'' seems to be that the distributors had a change of management; as usual in such circumstances, the new guys had no faith in their predecessors' product and tried to bury it with poor marketing and few screenings.
18
19	Compare ''Film/{{Munchhausen}}'', a more faithful take on the source material made in UsefulNotes/NaziGermany in 1943.
20
21	----
22	!!Provides examples of:
23	%%
24	%% Zero Context Examples have been commented out. Please write up a full example before uncommenting.
25	%%
26	* AbsurdlyHighStakesGame: The Baron offers the Sultan his own head as a wager if he doesn't get him a better tasting bottle of tokaji within an hour, and the Sultan offers him all the riches of his treasury the Baron's strongest man can carry as a reward if he succeeds. The Baron manages to avoid his execution JustInTime due to Berthold deciding to take a nap near Belgrade.
27	* AccidentalTruth: When the Queen of the Moon's head (currently detached from her body) starts moaning in a very sensual way while they're traveling, the Baron tells Sally, "Her body is with The King, and he's...um, tickling her feet," instead of what all the adults are thinking. The film then shows two bodies moving on the bed, the covers slip, and... the King is tickling his wife's feet.
28	* ActorAllusion: In a deleted DVD scene [[CreatorCameo Gilliam, as the accordion player inside the whale]], falls off his chair and dies in exactly the same way that he did as the animator in ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail''.
29	* AdaptedOut: In the original story the Baron had a fifth servant, who could hear anything at great distances. In the film he’s [[CompositeCharacter combined]] with Gustavus, the servant with wind-related powers.
30	* AdvertisedExtra: Part of the reason behind Creator/RobinWilliams' pseudonymous credit [[AvertedTrope was to prevent this from happening]].
31	** Creator/UmaThurman after she became famous.
32	* AfraidOfDoctors: The Baron is afraid of doctors. He can easily avoid the Anthropomorphic Personification of Death until the doctor comes in.
33	* AlliterativeName: '''S'''ally '''S'''alt.
34	* AnachronismStew: Actually kind of works in the film's favor given its overall [[MindScrew surreal]] nature.
35	* AndYouWereThere: Many of the actors in the theater troupe bear striking resemblances to people in the Baron's "real" adventures (an example of ActingForTwo).
36	* ArabianNightsDays: The Sultan's court.
37	* ArtImitatesArt:
38	** Many images are directly inspired by Creator/GustaveDore's illustrations of the story.
39	* AsHimself: Played with. The King of the Moon, played by Creator/RobinWilliams , is credited as "Ray D. Tutto". In the movie, the King grants himself the title "re di tutto", Italian for "the king of everything".
40	* AudibleGleam: And visual, too -- the Baron's toothy smile.
41	* AxeCrazy:
42	** The [[Creator/RobinWilliams King of the Moon]] gets like this if you mess with his wife.
43	** The Baron himself with his sword in the theater.
44	** True to mythology, Vulcan loses his shit when the Baron flirts, dances and kisses with his wife Venus.
45	* BasedOnATrueStory:
46	** [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baron_Munchhausen Munchhausen was a real person]] (who accumulated his tall tales while fighting as a mercenary, mostly for the Russians against the Turks).
47	** The {{Tagline}}s played with this: One was "A true story. We've got the film to prove it."
48	* BatmanCanBreatheInSpace: On the Moon's surface it is perfectly breathable, and the Baron and Sally arrive there by traveling through space on a hot air balloon.
49	* BedsheetLadder: Rapunzel variant. The Baron, Sally, and Berthold climb down from the moon to the earth (almost) on a rope made from a lock of hair from the Queen of the Moon.
50	* BerserkButton:
51	** Due to his aforementioned fear of doctors, the Baron loses his cool whenever doctors are mentioned.
52	** Much like in the mythology, someone getting romantic with Venus is Vulcan's.
53	* TheBet: The Baron earned the ire of the Sultan for beating him at one. He had found his tokaji bottle average and offered to get him a better tasting one within an hour, if he failed, the Baron would've allowed the Turk to cut his head. The Sultan accepted and decided to raise the stakes on his part by promising the Baron to take all the riches his strongest man can carry had he won. [[SuperSpeed Berthold]] was sent to Vienna to take a bottle from [[HistoricalDomainCharacter Empress Catherine]]'s court and almost came late for falling asleep near Belgrade. The Sultan respected the promise and opened the treasury for the Baron, but was horribly offended by Albrecht being able to carry ''everything'' he had.
54	* BigDamnHeroes: The Baron and his crew may be old and decrepit and far removed from their glory days; but when they stand alone against the Sultan's entire army at the end, they do not disappoint.
55	* BigLittleMan: The Baron and friends fall on a pit and see Vulcan, the God of Fire, towering above them. It's only when he pulls them out of the pit that they see that Vulcan is a head shorter than the Baron.
56	* BigWhat: When Sally tells Vulcan (with no small amount of spite) that the Baron is kissing his wife.
57	-->'''Vulcan:''' I mean, [[FlatWhat what?]]
58	* BilingualBonus: While Robin Williams spouts off the occasional random phrase in Italian as the King of the Moon, he was listed as "Ray D. Tutto," which in Italian (''re di tutto'') means "King of everything".
59	* BizarreInstrument: The Sultan's "organ" is attached to a cage full of prisoners, and each key pokes a certain prisoner with a given pointy object to get the right tone of scream.
60	* BlackComedy: The Sultan's opera, "The Torturer's Apprentice," is nothing but this.
61	* BloodlessCarnage: Even decapitation has nary a drop of blood.
62	* BlownUpwardByABlowhole: When the heroes are swallowed by a SeaMonster resembling a mix between a MonsterWhale and a FiendishFish, the Baron sprinkles snuff in a way that makes the creature sneeze them all out through its blowhole.
63	* BlowYouAway: Gustavus possesses wind-related powers, such the ability to judge wind speed by [[SuperHearing merely listening]], and being able to literally [[SuperBreath blow powerful gales]].
64	* BluntYes: When Baron Munchausen, Sally, and Berthold are about to leave the moon, and Berthold finally remembers who he is, and then why he's no longer with the Baron:
65	-->'''Berthold:''' Hang on. Hang on! It's all coming back. I've-I've been stuck here for over twenty years, ever since you were last here on the moon... YOU abandoned me here! You swine! You toddled off with that old queen of tarts and left me to rot in that parrot cage, didn't you? [[LetMeGetThisStraight And now you come back here, just because it suits you, after wasting half my life and expect me to follow you to the ends of the earth!?]]\
66	'''Baron Munchausen:''' Yes.\
67	'''Berthold:''' (''{{Beat}}'') All right.
68	* TheBurlesqueOfVenus: Venus is introduced emerging from a giant clam pulled out from the pond in her home in Vulcan's volcano, where she is quickly dressed by her ladies-in-waiting.
69	* TheCameo: Music/{{Sting}} shows up as the Heroic Soldier... who gets executed for being ''too good.''
70	* ChessWithDeath: A variation. Inside the sea monster, Sally notices to her horror that the Grim Reaper has joined the card game of the DarkestHour-stricken Baron and his friends.
71	* ClockworkCreature: Sybil, the King of the Moon's three-headed [[GiantFlyer giant bird]] creature. When her victims go in different directions, she splits up into three parts, revealing clockwork mechanism underneath.
72	* CloudCuckooLander: The King of the Moon, aka Creator/RobinWilliams. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by Sally and the Baron, after listening to his head spouting nonsense ("I think, therefore you is"):
73	-->'''Sally:''' Your friend's gone funny/[[{{Pun}} a lunatic]].\
74	'''Baron Munchausen:''' So it would seem.
75	* ColdHam: [[spoiler: Death]] has no lines, but is every bit as hammy as the rest of the film.
76	* CompellingVoice: The Baron has a way with words, whether telling a story or making demands.
77	-->'''Mr. Salt:''' Open the gates, dear friends, and let’s seize the day! Nothing destroys a man as ignorance and conformity! Grasp the mantle!\
78	'''Baron Munchausen:''' ''(critically)'' No, no, no. Quite wrong. ''(assumes a stance, sword forward)'' '''''OPEN THE GATES!'''''
79	* CoolOldGuy: Despite being, well, ''TheMunchausen'', the Baron remains an inspiring and resourceful gentleman who proves his worth with various physics-defying feats, and all of his old companions also still have it, as seen during their BigDamnHeroes moment.
80	* CoversAlwaysLie: The DVD cover includes Venus' face alongside Berthold's and the Baron's, and it lists Creator/UmaThurman as one of the three main stars. In fact, Venus is a OneSceneWonder with very little impact on the plot--even if Uma Thurman is the biggest name in the cast other than Creator/RobinWilliams (who appears uncredited), especially for American audiences.
81	* CraniumChase: The King of the Moon's head prefers to stay off its body, which fills it with animalistic urges. There is a scene with the body chasing after the flying head.
82	* CrapsackWorld: The movie is set in the "Age of Reason" and focused on helping a nameless European city that is under constant bombardment from the Turks. The town's Right Ordinary Horatio Jackson tries to negotiate with the Turks to bring an end to the chaos, but he himself is a cynical monster who orders one of his heroic soldiers dead for being "too brave" [[InsaneTrollLogic because it'd demoralize the others that aren't as good as him]]. The high-fantasy places the Baron takes Sally to are also populated by monsters and dangerous crazies.
83	* CreatorCameo: Gilliam, virtually unrecognizable, as [[AccordionToMostSailors a man playing an accordion]] inside the sea monster.
84	* DawnOfAnEra: PlayedForLaughs when an enchanted Desmond comments on the hot air balloon the Baron has [[MacGyvering MacGyvered]] out of women's underwear: "Look at all that underwear, isn't it beautiful? It's like a dream come true! It's the dawning of the age... of lovely, intimate things!"
85	* DeadpanSnarker: A lot of characters have their snarky jokes, but Berthold TheLancer has the most.
86	-->'''Baron:''' Abandon ship! Abandon ship!
87	-->'''Berthold:''' I think the ship's abandoning us, mate!
88	* DeathSeeker: He doesn't admit it, but he enjoys death -- it's implied he enjoys it because it makes for a good story.
89	-->'''Baron:''' And that was only one of the ''many'' occasions on which I met my death, an experience which I don't ''hesitate'' strongly to recommend!
90	* DescriptionCut: On three different occasions, the Baron tries to reassure Sally that the town is "perfectly safe" or in "no immediate danger". Cue to showing the town's DarkestHour with the Turks aggressively firing and trying to ram the gates open.
91	* DespairEventHorizon: When trapped inside the sea monster, the Baron becomes quite elderly, and completely gives up on the idea of escaping and decides just to play cards with his old friends. He's not snapped out of it til his trusty CoolHorse Bucephalus makes his entrance and reunites with him.
92	* DiggingToChina: In retaliation for having flirted with his wife Venus, a furious Vulcan throws the Baron and his friends into a whirlpool that sends them across the Earth (from Mt. Etna, where Vulcan's place is located) and makes them resurface on the other side, somewhere in the South Seas.
93	* DisneyDeath:
94	** The Baron is briefly believed to have died when Sally and the others are sneezed out of the sea monster, before the Baron pulls himself and Bucephalus out of the water.
95	** [[spoiler: Happens again after Horatio Jackson shoots the Baron dead, [[MindScrew but that's revealed to be a story the Baron himself is telling]], explaining it was one of the [[DeathIsCheap many times he had died]].]]
96	* DistractedByTheSexy: The Baron always has his eyes for women, even if they're married to gods.
97	-->'''Baron:''' Beautiful ladies... ''beautiful'' ladies!
98	%%* DivineDate: Narrowly averted with Venus (much to the Baron's disappointment).
99	* EasyAmnesia: When the Baron and Sally find Berthold on the Moon, he doesn't recognize him or even remember his own identity. After they avoid the King of the Moon and Sybil's attack, Berthold finally gets his memory back.
100	* ElephantsAreScaredOfMice: Sally and Gustavus deal with the Grand Turk's WarElephants by shooting a mouse at them, which sends the whole herd into a panicked stampede through the Turkish camp.
101	* EmpathicShapeshifter: The Baron's age depends on how he feels.
102	-->'''Sally:''' You look different, younger.\
103	'''Baron Munchausen:''' ''(brightly)'' I always feel rejuvenated by a touch of adventure. For heaven's sake, don't you get any younger or I'll have to find a wet nurse.
104	* EveryoneHasStandards: As the Sultan plays his organ -- which is powered by captives trying desperately to avoid being stabbed -- the Baron looks more and more horrified.
105	* ExactWords:
106	** For his part of the wager, the Sultan said that the Baron could take as much of the Sultan's treasure as the strongest man could carry. Unfortunately, the Sultan did not anticipate that the Baron's strongman Albrecht would be able to carry out all of it all at once. Except for one coin.
107	** When Sally excitedly describes to the adults how the Baron jumped onto a cannonball and flew miles up into the sky, she gets enraged when he tells he didn't, assuming he's calling her a liar. After Sally storms off, the Baron explains that it wasn't "miles" but more a mile and a half, and that he didn't precisely "fly" but merely held on to a mortar shell.
108	* ExternalRetcon: Played with. The real Baron is enraged by the "inaccuracies" of the stage show depicting his tales and hijacks it to gives a more precise account of the events, which also doubles as an elaborate ExpositionDump to explain the citizens the real reason behind the invasion of the Turks.
109	* FacePalm: Berthold does it when Sally informs Vulcan that the Baron kissed Venus, due to him having spent the whole time dancing to distract the God of Fire and avoid pissing him off, [[AllForNothing which she just did]].
110	* {{Fanservice}}: Creator/UmaThurman stepping out of a giant clamshell naked, à la Creator/SandroBotticelli's painting ''Art/{{The Birth of Venus\|Botticelli}}''.
111	* FluffyTheTerrible: Introducing the King of the Moon's monstrous three-headed giant bird... "Sybil".
112	* {{Foreshadowing}}: Early on in the film Sally's father and his theater company are putting on a Baron Munchausen show and in it they display a stage production of the adventure in which the Baron got swallowed by a MonsterWhale but managed to escape by making the monster sneeze with some snuff. Which is exactly what the real Baron will do later to get his friends out of the sea monster.
113	* GainaxEnding: Out of nowhere, after the climatic battle, the Baron dies. Except… suddenly we cut back to the theater of the beginning, where the Baron has apparently been telling the whole story (from which point exactly it was the Baron's narration is unclear, since the theater crew was featured ''in'' the story, somehow). That would be pretty confusing on its own, but afterwards, when the crowd opens the gates of the city, they find the remains of the battle that was allegedly only a fiction of the Baron at this point. Except since the theater crew was involved in the story and yet doesn't seem to remember it since they don't believe the Baron until he shows them what lies outside the gate, it can't just be that the story was entirely true all along. To boot, the Baron then rides off into the distance, bows, and disappears. Don't ask.
114	* GentleGiant: Albrecht doesn't really like being the BigGuy, and would rather serve tea. Or so he claims.
115	* GentlemanAdventurer: The Baron and his friends.
116	* AGodAmI: The King of the Moon, "Re di tutto."[[note]]"But you can call me Ray."[[/note]]Literally "King of Everything".
117	-->[[SophisticatedAsHell "Cogito Ergo Est. I think, therefore you is."]]
118	* GoneHorriblyRight: The manner of leaving Vulcan's place. After telling the Baron that they must hurry back to town proves unsuccessful (with him being too distracted waltzing with Venus) Sally making Vulcan snap by informing him that the Baron kissed his wife does the trick... but she definitely didn't want to leave via being sent across the Earth and get eaten by a SeaMonster.
119	* GratuitousItalian: Courtesy of the King of the Moon, to be expected from a guy who calls himself "Re di tutto".
120	* GravityIsAHarshMistress: "Gravitational Cognizance" variant. The Baron, Sally, and Berthold are climbing down a rope from the moon to the earth. They find that the rope is too short and will leave them far too high above the earth; but the Baron produces more rope and instructs Berthold to tie it to the end so they can continue climbing down. And where did the additional rope come from? ''The Baron cut it from the top of the rope on which they were already climbing.'' They don't start to fall until Sally thinks about that for a bit.[[note]]To be fair, the Baron says he ''spliced'' the rope from near the top, but leaving in a tiny thin strand wasn't a great idea, either.[[/note]]
121	* TheGrimReaper: The angel of death has it in for the Baron, trying many times to kill him. [[spoiler:He succeeds. But the Baron got better.]]
122	* HairTriggerTemper:
123	** The Sultan does not take the news that his treasury has been completely emptied by his guests very well, beheading his treasurer on the spot and supposedly starting the whole war that acts as the main plot for the movie, in an attempt to kill Munchausen.
124	** Vulcan, fittingly enough for the [[HotBlooded God of Fire]], displays this along with some HighPressureEmotion when Venus takes the Baron for a dance.
125	* HangingUpOnTheGrimReaper: Sally fends off the Grim Reaper on two separate occasions when it tries to get the Baron during his lowest points.
126	* HappilyEverAfter: "Everyone -- who had a talent for it -- lived happily ever after."
127	* HatDamage: Adolphus interrupts the Baron's execution by blasting the executioner's axe, which sends its blade flying off and barely misses the Sultan, at the cost of his turban getting horizontally chopped.
128	* HolyBacklight: After Sally rescues the Baron from the Grim Reaper, he opens his eyes and sees her with a light casting behind her, along with the wings belonging to a stage prop that makes her look like an angel. An audible EtherealChoir hammers the symbolism further.
129	-->'''Baron Munchausen:''' Am I dead?\
130	'''Sally:''' No.\
131	'''Baron Munchausen:''' ... [[DeathSeeker Blast]]!
132	* ImmodestOrgasm: {{Parodi\|edTrope}}cally {{Subverted\|Trope}} because a child was present. The Queen of the Moon, whose head was with Sally and the Baron, starts making those noises. At Sally's question, the Baron hems and haws, and tells her that the King is tickling her feet. The {{Blatant Lie\|s}} turned out subverted: the King really ''was'' tickling her feet.
133	* ImprobableAimingSkills: Adolphus is capable of pulling off some truly ludicrous shots from great distances thanks to his [[SuperSenses inhuman sight]]. He demonstrates both when he sees that Berthold has fallen asleep under an apple tree near Belgrade, and shoots an apple down ''all the way'' from Turkey to wake him up.
134	* InstantlyProvenWrong: After escaping from the sea monster, the Baron and his friends spot mainland with Sally's town, and the Baron happily reassures that there's nothing to worry about before the Turkish cannons start firing at them.
135	* ISeeThemToo: Sally can see the GrimReaper that wants to take the Baron's life. [[spoiler: It gets tragic when she can see through its human doctor disguise and is held back by the adults that don't understand why she's attacking a man trying to help the fallen Baron. Jackson also seems to be able to see the Grim Reaper when it hatches out of a statue, but reacts with DullSurprise.]]
136	* IsThereADoctorInTheHouse: Berthold jokes "Is there a doctor in the fish?" after they get swallowed by the sea monster.
137	%%* ItsAllAboutMe: The Baron is so self centered, that it's actually amazing.
138	* JabbaTableManners: The King of the Moon stuffs his mouth with a papaya fruit rather messily.
139	%%* JerkAssWithAHeartOfGold: The Baron.
140	* KnightOfCerebus: [[spoiler: Death, in all its terrifying glory.]]
141	* KnightTemplar: Horatio Jackson isn't just a callous ObstructiveBureaucrat of the worst kind, he believes that those who perform better than others should be sentenced with death, such as the heroic soldier played by Music/{{Sting}}, [[spoiler: and the Baron, who Jackson personally snipes down during the parade [[UngratefulBastard despite]] him having saved the town from the Turks. [[MindScrew Maybe]].]]
142	%%* LampshadeHanging: "This is precisely the sort of thing that nobody ever believes."
143	* LargeHam: Everyone (excluding Sally), but special mention must be given to Creator/RobinWilliams as the King of the Moon, and Creator/OliverReed as Vulcan.
144	* LethalDiagnosis: The Baron is GenreSavvy enough to know a doctor's diagnosis can be lethal in fiction.
145	* LittleStowaway: Sally follows the Baron by sneaking on his hot air balloon to the Moon and is almost dropped to her death when he empties the ballast she was hiding into.
146	* MeaningfulEcho: "I have learned from experience that a modicum of snuff can be most efficacious." -- Spoken by Henry Salt in his onstage portrayal of the Baron escaping from the belly of a whale; later spoken by the Baron in his actual escape from the belly of a whale.
147	* MeaningfulName: Horatio Jackson does not has a meaningful name, but his rank of "Right Ordinary" definitely fits with his TallPoppySyndrome.
148	* MedleyOverture: The main theme plays over a black screen for 15 seconds, then over the Columbia logo for additional 30.
149	* MsFanservice: Venus' first scene has her butt-naked and very barely covered up in her naughty bits, and does not stops from there.
150	* TheMunchausen: The legendary character upon whom the film is based is the TropeNamer.
151	* NakedOnArrival: Venus; in fact, the scene where she appears is a {{homage}} to Creator/SandroBotticelli's ''Art/{{The Birth of Venus\|Botticelli}}''.
152	* NamedByTheAdaptation: In the original tall tales, the Baron's super-powered companions didn't have names.
153	* NestedStoryReveal: Turns out [[spoiler:most of the movie]] was a story cooked up by Munchausen. [[spoiler:[[RealAfterAll Or maybe not.]]]]
154	* NippleAndDimed: A notable subversion. Although [[MsFanservice Venus]]' introduction shows some rather interesting anatomy at the bottom edge of the screen, the movie itself is rated PG.
155	* NoKillLikeOverkill: The RX Intercontinental, radar-sneaky, multi-warheaded nuclear missile, which kills the enemy, the enemy's families, and all of the enemy's animals for good measure.
156	-->'''Baron:''' What does it do?\
157	'''Vulcan:''' Do? Kills the enemy.\
158	'''Baron:''' All the enemy?\
159	'''Vulcan:''' Aye, all of them. All their wives, and all their children, and all their sheep, and all their cattle, and all their cats and dogs. All of them. All of them, gone for good.
160	* NonMaliciousMonster: The SeaMonster of the South Seas. It swallows the Baron and his friends because they ended up to its territory, and doesn't seem to care (or notice) having sneezed them out.
161	* OffWithHisHead: The Sultan wants the Baron executed this way, and neatly cuts off his treasurer's head with his scimitar when he gets AxeCrazy upon hearing that the Baron took everything -- but it's PlayedForLaughs as not only is it bloodless, but the head lands in the lap of a concubine and ''winks at her''. Later when the final battle begins the Baron avoids the execution once again and performs a multi-decapitation on a line of Turkish leaders while running past them on horseback.
162	* OopNorth: Oliver Reed affects a northern accent for Vulcan.
163	* OurLawyersAdvisedThisTrope: The owners of the 1942 German film classic ''Münchhausen'' insisted that Gilliam's movie would carry a disclaimer at the end, stating that it was a new motion picture and not to be confused with the earlier one. It was also on the VHS packaging, but not the DVD or UsefulNotes/BluRay.
164	* ParentalBonus: The movie manages to get away with a PG rating in spite of some pretty saucy sexual innuendo in the scene with the King of the Moon, including the King calling the Queen a "puttana" (Italian for "whore") at one point. And the adults in the audience probably found [[{{Fanservice}} Venus']] [[NakedOnArrival introduction]] a lot more interesting than the kids. Plus there's an awful lot of near nudity in the Great Turk's harem, although that's not always a bonus.
165	* PerilousOldFool: The Baron when he is first introduced. It's clear to the theater actors that he is frail, senile, and off his rocker when he announces that he will save them all from the Turkish siege.
166	* PetTheDog: The first time Mr. Salt apologizes to Horatio Jackson (for the technical issues in putting on the play), Jackson assures Salt he and the other actors are doing the best they can under difficult circumstances. (Jackson isn't so forgiving the second time Salt apologizes)
167	* PetsHomageName: Baron Munchausen's CoolHorse is named [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bucephalus Bucephalus]].
168	* PublicDomainCharacter: Baron Munchausen.
169	* {{Pun}}: ''(While being held in a cage by the King of the Moon)'' This cage isn't real! It's just a party of the King's ''luna''cy.
170	* PunnyName: ''Gust''avus.
171	* PuttingTheBandBackTogether: One by one, the Baron re-encounters the members of his old crew and convinces them to join him for one last adventure.
172	* RedFilterOfDoom: Vulcan's realm is lit in a dark red light. Justified, as it's a fiery, industrialized FireAndBrimstoneHell-looking place located in the depths of Mount Etna.
173	* TheReveal:
174	** [[spoiler: It was all just a story being told in the theatre...]]
175	** It's implied that Horatio Jackson [[spoiler: was lying about a war, just to get the townspeople to ration money and food and pocket the excess.]] But that would be the ''rational'' explanation.
176	* RomanticismVersusEnlightenment: Definitely a theme-- skewed ''heavily'' in favor of Romanticism via the Baron.
177	* RuleOfCool: A waltz in the air with the goddess of love, flying to the moon in a hot air balloon, climbing constellations, riding a cannonball, etc.
178	* RuleOfFunny: It's highly improbable that you could make a hot air balloon out of ladies' undergarments, but that doesn't mean Munchausen can't.
179	* SandIsWater: The ship-looking stage prop the Baron and Sally used as basket for the hot air balloon navigates through the Moon's sandy surface upon arriving.
180	* SceneryDissonance: The heroes getting swallowed by a gigantic FiendishFish under a beautiful late afternoon sky.
181	* SceneryPorn: The movie was made with a very high budget, ''and it shows'', displaying everything the visual effects at the time were capable of accomplishing. The results are complex and visually rich sets and some amazing vistas such the hot air balloon above the clouds, the Moon and the cosmos, and the Baron waltzing with Venus looking like Baroque paintings come to life.
182	* SerialRomeo: The Baron, naturally. During the movie his fancies are such as the Russian royalty, the goddess of Love Venus, the theater troupe women, the Queen of the Moon... the list goes on.
183	* SeriousBusiness: The Baron's crew aren't moved by the Sultan executing him, but when he states, "This isn't a joke! It's a wager!", they all snap to immediately.
184	-->'''All: ''A WAGER?'''''
185	* ShoutOut: The Sultan's "organ" ''might'' just be a SelfPlagiarism to Creator/TerryJones' mouse organ from ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'', comprising a row of mice, strapped to a board, which ''supposedly'' squeaked musically when hit with hammers. (Both are based on the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katzenklavier Katzenklavier]], a conjectural (and thankfully never realized) instrument in which nails would be driven into the tails of a series of different-sized cats in order to play a tune. Or just create an almighty ruckus and be mean to animals along the way. The Sultan's instrument probably owes far more to the [[Literature/TheElricSaga Melnibonean]] music form, since both involve torturing slaves.)
186	* TheShowMustGoOn: Sally's father is trying to put on a Baron Münchausen stage play but it's peppered with technical difficulties due to the rampant invasion from the Turks, with actors being forced to man the props due to the stagehands having killed themselves.
187	-->'''Mr. Salt:''' We are supposed to be professionals! And we're trying to stay alive!
188	* ShownTheirWork: The Sultan's harem comes off as FanDisservice, showing the Sultan to be a ChubbyChaser. This is quite accurate to the period, however. Likewise, the seriousness of the Baron's wager is appropriate for the day, if handled as ComicallySerious.
189	* SignificantWardrobeShift: In the Baron's tale, Jackson's wardrobe becomes darker and darker until he's swathed in a black cloaked outfit.
190	* {{Slapstick}}: The heroes are all subjected to comical violence.
191	* SneezeOfDoom: The King of the Moon's disembodied head [[TemptingFate brags about being free from his evil body]], only to inadvertently have an itch to the nose and ending up sneezing so hard he hurls himself into deep space.
192	* SoreLoser: The Sultan, big time. The Baron won TheBet fair and square and he took all the riches of the treasury his strongest man could carry, which is a prize ''the Sultan himself offered''. He didn't count on Albrecht being able to carry EVERYTHING, but still.
193	* StealthPun: [[spoiler:Here Lies Baron Munchausen]].
194	* SuperSpeed: Berthold is able to run at ridiculous speeds, able to reach Vienna from Turkey and make it back within an hour (while getting a nap in, at that.)
195	* SwallowedWhole: The Baron and Sally get eaten by a gigantic SeaMonster, only to find a functioning inn, and a few of the Baron's old friends! And his horse, somehow.
196	* TallPoppySyndrome: Mr. Jackson has [[TheCameo Sting's character]] executed for excessive heroism, because it's demoralizing to the mediocre people of the town. [[spoiler:He later snipes the Baron while the town is celebrating his victory, both because of this and because ''he'' was about to sign a treaty with the Sultan (with no assurance whatsoever that the Sultan would keep his part of the deal).]]
197	* TallTale: Subverted -- it appears the Baron's stories were true, after all. [[MindScrew Or are they?]] After all, the whole film is a Tall Tale told by Mr. Gilliam...
198	* TreasureRoom: The Sultan's treasury. Of course, after the Baron collected his winnings from his wager with the Sultan, it wasn't so much of a treasure room as it was just a regular room with one solitary coin lying on the floor, which Adolphus [[NiceToTheWaiter gives to the treasurer as a tip]] before leaving.
199	* TricksterArchetype: The Baron.
200	* TurtleIsland: The stonefish-looking SeaMonster that swallows the Baron and his posse is initially mistaken to be a volcanic island, before it rises up [[ThatsNoMoon revealing]] that the "volcano" was its blowhole.
201	* UglyGuyHotWife: Vulcan and Venus. It's a bit of a DeconstructedTrope as, though Vulcan is obviously proud of his beautiful young wife, it's just as clear that they're making each other ''miserable''. It also doubles as a literal MythologyGag, as Venus despised being married to Vulcan/Hephaestus, and tended to carry on with Mars/Ares instead.
202	-->'''Vulcan:''' ''(squeezes a lump of coal into a diamond)'' A diamond. For you, my precious.\
203	'''Venus:''' ''(pets along his face)'' [[SarcasmMode How sweet]]. ''(passes it to one of her servants)'' [[WorthlessYellowRocks Another diamond]].\
204	''(her servants pass it down the line, and the last looks annoyed before tossing it into a large pile of diamonds)''
205	* WarElephants: The Grand Turk uses elephants, some carrying cannons on their backs, to propel his war machines. However they're easily dealt with by the heroes through [[ElephantsAreScaredOfMice strategic use of mice]].
206	* WeNeedADistraction: Berthold, knowing that [[CrazyJealousGuy Vulcan]] won't be happy with the way the Baron is flirting with Venus, decides to distract him by showing off his own dance moves, and it does work until Sally blows it.
207	* WellDoneSonGuy: Sally is annoyed at her father for wanting a son, demanding to know where her brother is since he insists on calling the theater "Harry Salt & Son". [[spoiler: In the ending, he amends it to Harry Salt & Daughter.]]
208	* WorldOfHam: Everyone here is a ham (on Earth, beyond Earth, and the afterlife, it seems), there's just different degrees of haminess, seeing how [[spoiler: it's a story being told by one of the biggest hams]].
209	* WheelOFeet: Used when Berthold runs off to Austria for a bottle of wine.
210	* WheresTheFunInThat
211	-->'''Baron Munchausen:''' What's this?\
212	'''Vulcan:''' Oh, this is our prototype. RX, uh, Intercontinental, radar-sneaky, multi-warheaded nuclear missile.\
213	'''Baron Munchausen:''' Ah! What does it do?\
214	'''Vulcan:''' Do? Kills the enemy. [snip] Well, you see, the advantage is you don't have to see one single one of them die. You just sit comfortably thousands of miles away from the battlefield and simply press the button.\
215	'''Berthold:''' Well, where's the fun in that?
216	* WouldHurtAChild: Pretty much ''every'' unsavory character the Baron and Sally encounter is at least rough with her; the King of the Moon specifically tells one of the heads of his three-headed mount it can have her "because you are my favorite."

Context Film / TheAdventuresOfBaronMunchausen