History YMMV / AKnightsTale

* FamousAncestor: William Tatcher could be one for [[Margaret Tatcher MargaretThatcher]]

* HilariousInHindsight: One of Chaucer's {{Red Baron}}s for William is "the seeker of serenity". Wat is played by Alan Tudyk, star of ''{{Series/Firefly}}'' and its film adaptation ''{{Film/Serenity}}''.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: Just before [[spoiler: his eventual defeat]] Adhemar imagines Wat, Roland, Kate and William delivering an IronicEcho of the speech he gave William. It's rather out of place and usually gets cut out of TV airings.

* RetroactiveRecognition:

** You know Jocelyn's maid? Believe it or not, but that's actually Berenice Bejo, who would go on to receive major critical praise and recognition for her role in ''Film/TheArtist'' and be nominated for an Academy Award.
** Creator/HeathLedger, natch. While some fans remember him for his role as William, he would only get his big break on [[Film/BrokebackMountain three]] [[Film/TheDarkKnight subsequent]] [[Film/TheImaginariumOfDoctorParnassus movies]] (even getting an Academy Award in one of them)... all before [[ActorExistenceFailure biting it midway in production of the last]].
** Also, Mark Addy, more widely know for King Robert Baratheon of Game of Thrones.
** He's not the only Game of Thrones face either. The priest who obliviously takes Jocelyn's deadpan lamentations of SoBeautifulItsACurse at face value? ''Mace Tyrell''.
** Chaucer was Creator/PaulBettany's BreakoutRole: he didn't start getting juicier parts like JARVIS until after this film.

* InformedAttractiveness: Jocelyn. The general consensus is that while she is lovely, the amount of praise over her looks is extremely over the top, particularly since she wears a lot of bizarre and unflattering outfits and hairstyles. Not helping matters is that other female characters, despite being just as, if not more, attractive, receive no attention or remarks. Granted she is a noblewoman, while they are a maid and blacksmith respectively, but some find it CharacterShilling.

** Kate is easily the most popular member of the supporting cast, despite being the last to join them. A lot of people wish she had been the main love interest, though just as many are happy that she is a prominent female character who ''doesn't'' end up as somebody's love interest.

* Chaucer was Creator/PaulBettany's BreakoutRole: he didn't start getting juicier parts like JARVIS until after this film.

** During the final joust, there's [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkp8TnCaNCg&t=0m43s WIIILIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!]]]] It doesn't help that the line is said by William himself.

* TearJerker: InUniverse example; William's friends all suffer some amount of this when he is about to be taken away for impersonating a knight.
--> '''William''': Roland, you would see me run?
--> '''Roland''': Yes.
--> '''William''': And you, Chaucer
--> '''Chaucer''': Yes, with all the pieces of my heart, William.
--> '''William''': Wat, you and me, we're not runners.
--> '''Wat''': Yes, today we are.
--> '''William''': Kate?
--> '''Kate''': Run William.
*** Will answers this by roaring 'No! I will not run!', before following up with a teary-eyed, broken "I'm a knight." He's wanted to be one since he was a boy and simply cannot ''bear'' to give it up.
** And then when they all help Will compose a love letter. "I miss you like the sun misses the flower".
** Anything involving William's father is genuinely moving, which is rather odd given the rest of the film's {{Camp}} tone.
*** Particularly the flashback to when William's father leaves him with Sir Ecter. Though it's simultaneously a CMOH that his father is trying to let William have a chance to follow his dreams, the look on his face as they say goodbye is utterly heart-wrenching. It's not helped by the fact that in the flashback, his father says he was apprenticed to Sir Ecter for seven years and the flashback was prompted by William admitting he'd not been back to England for ''twelve'' years...
** William's reaction when he sees his father again. His expression when he realises his father truly has gone blind is enough to make anyone tear up but then the moment when William's father realises he's talking to his son will be guaranteed to have you reaching for the tissues.

** And when they were all helping Will compose a love letter. "I miss you like the sun misses the flower".

** When William's secret is discovered and everyone, even Roland and Wat, are telling him to run away into obscurity, he eventually roars 'No! I will not run!', before following up with a teary-eyed, broken "I'm a knight."

** The songs the rest of the FiveManBand sing in a tavern about William.

** Jocelyn's challenge for Will to lose the tournament and prove his love for her is a direct ShoutOut to the 12th century poem "Lancelot, the Knight of the Court".

--> He's blonde/he's tanned/he's the greatest in the land/Lichtenstein/Lichtenstein!

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: Adhemar's hallucination just prior to his defeat at the end is so bizarre and out of nowhere that it's actually cut out on many TV airings of the film.
** Unless you subscribe to the theory that Rufus Sewell's entire character/characterization is making fun of Joaquin Phoenix in "Gladiator".
* ClicheStorm: Some would argue that there isn't very much that's original in this film beyond the [[AnachronismStew main gimmick]].
** Then again, [[IntendedAudienceReaction this may have been the point]].
* [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic Crowning Music of Awesome]]: The songs the rest of the FiveManBand sing in a tavern about William.

** He goes with the noblewoman. A small consolation being that this makes Kate's dead husband a rare example of a male [[TheLostLenore Lost Lenore]].

* HoYay: Chaucer and Wat. They are also a major FanPreferredCouple.

* InformedAttractiveness: Jocelyn. The general consensus is that while she is lovely, the amount of praise over her looks is extremely over the top, particularly since she wears a lot of bizarre and unflattering outfits and hairstyles. Not helping matters is that other female characters, despite being just as, if not more, attractive, receive no attention or remarks.
** The only other women are Cristiana (a lady-in-waiting who can't look better the lady she serves) and Kate (a travelling blacksmith for whom clothing choice is far more about practicality than prettiness). Jocelyn's hair and clothing is probably a relic of her noble birth - she can afford to have crazy hair and useless clothes because she doesn't have to work.

* MagnificentBastard: A protagonist-friendly example in Edward, the Black Prince of Wales.
** Nearly every bad thing that has happened to Adhemar in this movie has been at least indirectly caused by Prince Edward -- or more accurately, by Adhemar's own refusal to joust him. A short time after this occurs, Adhemar is called away to war -- on the Black Prince's orders -- where he frequently sees the results of the tournaments that have taken place in his absence, all of them being won by William and the fact of it all causing him great anger. Then, when he comes back, he manages to expose 'Ulrich von Lichtenstein' as William Thatcher; Edward's retaliation is to fully pardon '''''and knight''''' William, urge him to fight in the tournament and then cheer him on.

* {{Narm}}: The romantic dialogue can sometimes come off this way.
** [[spoiler:[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkp8TnCaNCg&t=0m43s WIIILIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!]]]] It doesn't help that the line is said by William himself.
** NarmCharm: However, the romantic dialogue still works since William's supposed to be struggling with expressing his feelings.
*** Especially hilarious is when he's fumbling over words and manages to spurt out "Your breasts! They are ... below your throat."

** You know Jocelyn's maid? Believe it or not, but that's actually Berenice Bejo, who would go on to receive major critical praise and recognition for her role in ''TheArtist'' and be nominated for an Academy Award.

* TheScrappy: Jocelyn. Despite having some good lines and moments, for whatever reason (her status as TheObstructiveLoveInterest, her actress, the fact that [[FanPreferredCouple Kate's]] way cooler, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking her hair]]?) she grates on the nerves of a lot of people who otherwise love the movie.
** There's also her insane EngagementChallenge to Will, which a good deal of viewers [[NeverLiveItDown don't forgive]]. Though it was [[ShownTheirWork lifted from a 12th century poem]], 'Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart'. Jocelyn wants poetry in her life, after all, and she also wants to show Will that she doesn't regard herself as a mere trophy to be won by jousting.
** It goes into completely unreasonable territory when people invoke ''[[RealWomenDontWearDresses feminism]]'' as a reason to hate Jocelyn, saying that Kate was [[DieForOurShip a better romantic option for Will due to being a "strong female character"]]. There's the small fact that if the fans were as "feminist" as they claimed, they wouldn't say that a "strong female character" needs a (male) romantic interest to make her truly whole, not to mention Kate is a ''widow'' going through TheMourningAfter. Kate is a rare example in film of a female teammate in an otherwise male team who is accepted entirely on her own terms, not as someone's love interest.

* TheScrappy: Jocelyn. Despite having some good lines and moments, for whatever reason (her status as TheObstructiveLoveInterest, her actress, the fact that [[FanPreferredCouple Kate's]] way cooler, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking her hair]]?) she grates on the nerves of a ''lot'' of people who otherwise love the movie.
** There's also her insane EngagementChallenge to Will, which a good deal of viewers [[NeverLiveItDown don't forgive]]. Though it was [[ShownTheirWork lifted from a 12th century poem]], 'Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart'. Jocelyn wants poetry in her life, after all.
** It goes into completely unreasonable territory when people invoke ''[[RealWomenDontWearDresses feminism]]'' as a reason to hate Jocelyn, saying that Kate was [[DieForOurShip a better romantic option for Will due to being a "strong female character"]]. You know, there's the small fact that if the fangirls were as "feminist" as they claimed, they wouldn't say that a "strong female character" needs a (male) romantic interest to make her truly whole, not to mention Kate is a ''widow'' going through TheMourningAfter...

** Nearly every bad thing that has happened to Adhemar in this movie has been at least an indirect result of Prince Edward -- or more accurately, Adhemar's own refusal to joust him. A short time after this occurs, Adhemar is called away to war -- on the Black Prince's orders -- where he frequently sees the results of the tournaments that have taken place in his absence, all of them being won by William and the fact of it all causing him great anger. Then, when he comes back, he manages to expose 'Ulrich von Lichtenstein' as William Thatcher; Edward's retaliation is to fully pardon '''''and knight''''' William, urge him to fight in the tournament and then cheer him on.

** It goes into completely unreasonable territory when people invoke ''[[RealWomenDontWearDresses feminism]]'' as a reason to hate Jocelyn, saying that Kate was [[DieForOurShip a better romantic option for Will due to being a "strong female character"]]. You know, there's the small fact that if the fangirls were as "feminist" as they claimed, they wouldn't say that [[UnfortunateImplications a "strong female character" needs a (male) romantic interest to make her truly whole]], not to mention Kate is a ''widow'' going through TheMourningAfter...

** Then again, [[TheyPlottedAPerfectlyGoodWaste this may have been the point.]]

* FanPreferredCouple: A ''lot'' of people feel that Will should have persued Kate rather than Jocelyn.

** Creator/HeathLedger, natch. While some fans remember him for his role as William, he would only get his big break on [[Film/BrokebackMountain three]] [[Film/TheDarkKnight subsequent]] [[Film/TheImaginariumOfDoctorParnassus movies]] (even getting an Academy Award in one of them)... all before [[ActorExistenceFailure biting it midway in production of the last.]]
* TheScrappy: Jocelyn. Despite having some good lines and moments, for whatever reason (her status as TheObstructiveLoveInterest, her actress, the fact that [[FanPreferredCouple Kate's]] way cooler, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking her hair?]]) she grates on the nerves of a ''lot'' of people who otherwise love the movie.
** There's also her insane EngagementChallenge to Will, which a good deal of viewers [[NeverLiveItDown don't forgive.]] Though it was [[ShownTheirWork lifted from a 12th century poem]], 'Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart'. Jocelyn wants poetry in her life, after all.
** It goes into completely unreasonable territory when people invoke ''[[RealWomenNeverWearDresses feminism]]'' as a reason to hate Jocelyn, saying that Kate was [[DieForourShip a better romantic option for Will due to being a "strong female character"]]. You know, there's the small fact that if the fangirls were as "feminist" as they claimed, they wouldn't say that [[UnfortunateImplications a "strong female character" needs a (male) romantic interest to make her truly whole]], not to mention Kate is a ''widow'' going through TheMourningAfter...

* FoeYay: Quite possibly deliberate, according to the {{DVD Commentary}}.

* RetroactiveRecognition: You know Jocelyn's maid? Believe it or not, but that's actually Berenice Bejo, who would go on to receive major critical praise and recognition for her role in ''TheArtist'' and be nominated for an Academy Award.

--> '''William''': And you, Chaucer?