The Cornetto Trilogy – 6 Interesting Things You Didn’t Know About The Series

The Cornetto Trilogy – 6 Interesting Things You Didn’t Know About The Series

The Cornetto trilogy or Blood and Ice Cream trilogy as it is fondly referred to by fans is a series directed by Edgar Wright, a British director known for his comedic movies that weave through multiple genres such as horror, sci-fi, and fantasy. All the films in the trilogy are written by Edgar and Simon Pegg, with Nira Park serving as the producer.

The main characters are played by Nick Frost and Simon Pegg, and the series has gone on to achieve cult status in the UK and beyond. The Cornetto trilogy is considered a classic comedy series by critics and viewers alike.

The Cornetto Trilogy Film Series

Shaun of the Dead

The first film in the series is Shaun of the Dead. Released in 2004, it is a blend of romance with comedy and zombie genres. It follows two roommates Ed and Shaun (Nick Frost and Simon Pegg) as they struggle to maintain some sort of control of their lives after a zombie apocalypse begins.

The pair work out a plan to find and rescue Shaun’s ex-girlfriend, as well as his mother and bring them to safety before the zombie’s feast on their brains. Their plan goes awry really fast and they have to improvise and make a lot of crazy decisions along the way.

Shaun of the Dead is a tale of love and friendship. During the zombie outbreak, Shaun sneaks off to the store to buy strawberry-flavored Cornetto ice cream for Ed to cure his hangover.

Hot Fuzz

Depending on whom you ask, Hot Fuzz is arguably the best movie in the Cornetto trilogy. It’s also a buddy comedy, but this time Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s characters are partners on the police force in a town that soon sees its murder statistics go all the way up.

The cop buddies eat Cornetto ice cream while investigating the mysterious murders taking place in the small village of Sandford where they are stationed. Hot Fuzz is a satirical take on politics, crime, and the police force, so it cradles an inspiring message at the heart of its hilarity.

The World’s End

The final installment in the series, The World’s End was released in 2013. It is a sci-fi apocalyptic comedy starring Frost and Pegg as Andy and Gary go on an epic pub crawl at the same time that their town is being invaded by aliens.

This time around, Pegg and Frost reverse roles with the former playing the childish character while Frost is the mature one. The movie is full of crazy action and endless jokes, but it also seriously asks the viewers to consider their options: forever dwelling in faded glory or making peace with your life as it is in the present.

The Cornetto reference in this installment is more subtle — an ice cream wrapper is rustled by the wind and sent floating across the land.

The Cornetto Trilogy – 6 Interesting Things You Didn’t Know About The Series
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6 Things You Didn’t Know About The Cornetto Trilogy

1. Nearly everything from the trilogy is drawn from the writers’ lives

There is a scene in The World’s End where Gary pays Andy a debt of £600 because in real life, Edgar Wright had borrowed the same amount from Simon Pegg while they were trying to get the Cornetto movies made and he never repaid him. They also went on bar crawls, grew up in a small village, and used Cornetto ice cream to cure hangovers.

2. The Trilogy got its name because the writers wanted to get free ice cream

After Shaun of the Dead was released, the company shared free Cornetto ice creams at the premiere after-party, so Wright and Pegg decided to add a Cornetto reference to the second movie hoping to get more ice cream. They didn’t get any this time around, but they kept trying, and their patience was rewarded with free ice cream once more after The World’s End was released.

3. All the main cast members from Wright’s former show, Spaced appeared in the Cornetto trilogy

Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jessica Hynes, Julia Deakin, and Mark Heap all starred in the sitcom, Spaced, and also in one or more of the movies in the Cornetto series.

4. The gang members in The World’s End have starred opposite each other in other British Sitcoms

It might take you a while to notice, but there is a subtle joke hidden in the scene where the gangs meet in the alley. The first three pairs in each opposing gang have acted together in other series:

Dylan Moran and Tamsin Greig starred as Bernard and Fran on Black Books.

Martin Freeman and Lucy Davis starred as Tim and Dawn on The Office.

Jessica Hyne and Simon Pegg starred as Daisy and Tim on Spaced.

5. The ice cream references in the series have a deeper meaning

The red Cornetto ice cream in Shaun of the Dead represents blood and the horror movie genre. The blue Cornetto original flavor in Hot Fuzz represents the police force. The green mint Cornetto ice cream wrapper in The World’s End signifies aliens.

6. Curse words were used very generously

In the Cornetto trilogy, the F-word was said a total of 77 times.

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