"Lawn Gnomes Chapter IV: Fun in the Sun" is the only Lawn Gnomes short, written by John P. McCann and directed by an unknown director who took the pseudonym Turk Flipnutt. It is part of Episode 4.
Synopsis[]
The Lawn Gnomes lived in Denmark in 995 A.D. They were mischievous creatures who delighted in annoying humans, stealing their food, money, and pants. Even their deity, the Great Mystic Gnome, berated them for being too obnoxious. One day, they ticked off the wrong viking, and he had his brother Rathgar the Wizard place a curse on the gnomes, turning them into statues during the day until they learned to start helping people out of the goodness of their hearts. A thousand years later, they still haven't quite kicked the curse.
Characters[]
Three of the four Lawn Gnomes inexplicably have thick New York accents, uncharacteristic of tenth-century Denmark. Baffeardin has a British accent.
- Baffeardin: The eldest and wisest of the Gnomes. The other Gnomes tend to follow his lead. When cornered, his strategy is to grovel. Voiced by Clive Revill.
- Eric the Large: Viking whose pants the Gnomes steal. Voiced by Maurice LaMarche.
- Freakazoid (intro, cutaways, outro)
- Great Mystic Gnome: Seems to be omniscient, but still can't avoid getting his beard stuck in branches. He threatens to have the Gnomes roughed up if they disobey him. Voiced by Roscoe Lee Browne.
- Honna: The only female Gnome. Voiced by Rose Marie.
- Huska: Young Quist's great uncle. Voiced by Carl Ballantine.
- Rathgar the Wizard: Eric's brother. Puts a curse on the Gnomes. Voiced by Maurice LaMarche.
- Young Quist: The youngest and most inexperienced of the Gnomes. He loves eating crows, and carries a concealed knife. Voiced by Larry Gelman.
Other Appearances[]
- Baffeardin, Huska, Honna and Young Quist previously had cameos in "Freakazoid and Friends."
Trivia[]
- The short is a parody of the Disney TV show Gargoyles, which also involves an ancient race of creatures that turns to stone during the day, and a thousand-year curse. The shot of the gnomes awakening under dramatic rainfall (here lawn sprinklers) and yelling, "We are Lawn Gnomes!!" is straight out of the Gargoyles pilot.
- The numbering of this segment as "Chapter IV" is an obvious reference to the first Star Wars film being Episode IV.
Quotes[]
- Young Quist: "We stole man's fire and tried to hide it in our pockets." Baffeardin: "That was painful and dumb."