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S2:E2.5 - Bonus: The Princess Bride Extras & Buttercup's Baby
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Surprise! We’re back with a little extra Princess Bride magic. In this bonus episode, Crystal gets personal about how The Princess Bride shaped her love for whimsical romance and epic one-liners, while Lindsey dives into Buttercup’s Baby—the lesser-known follow-up/extension to this beloved fairytale. Is it official canon or just more narrative mischief from William Goldman? We’ll let you decide!
Books & Adaptations Mentioned:
- The Princess Bride by William Goldman
- The Princess Bride (1987 Film)
- As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes
- Home Movie: The Princess Bride (2020 Mini Series)
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Thanks for listening to Based on a Book - see you in the next chapter!
Chapters:
(00:00) Introductions
(0:20) More About The Princess Bride
(9:50) Buttercup’s Baby
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Mini Episode
00:00:08
Speaker
Hello and welcome back to Based on a Book. This is going to be a quick mini episode to cover all the stuff about the Princess Bride that we didn't get to in the incredibly long original episode.
00:00:22
Speaker
be almost two hour episode. There's just, there's so much to cover. It is such a classic.
Cultural Impact of 'The Princess Bride'
00:00:28
Speaker
There are so many small moments in the movie. There are so many excellent stories already out in the world because the movie is a classic and it is at this point, what? Almost 40 years old, like 37 years, 36 years. It's been out for a long time. ah So because it's such a classic, you know, there's tons of bloopers and outtakes on YouTube. There's tons of other materials to read and watch referencing the Princess Bride. There are so many there are so many cultural references in other shows where they say like, hey,
00:01:10
Speaker
check out, you know, or they'll quote the princess bride and they'll be like, oh, that's my favorite movie or whatever. And then they'll move on. But like, it's just such a part of, I think our culture at this point, that there was no way we were going to fit everything in a normal episode. And I'm surprised we kept it under two hours. I don't know why that was, it was just so much to say.
Initial Reception and Marketing Challenges
00:01:33
Speaker
I think it's super interesting that the movie actually didn't do so well.
00:01:40
Speaker
in the beginning and I didn't know that yeah at all. I was five or six when it came out and it was a time in my life where my parents were taking us to the movie theater. I don't remember seeing this in the movie theater. it was not in Um, Carrie in his book, as you wish, talks about how the studio didn't know how to market it. And it kind of makes sense. Like when you think about it, because this movie crosses so many genres and it, and it is a, they the original goal all along was to be a family friendly movie. So. Yeah. Like what audience is it targeting?
00:02:22
Speaker
Right. And it's kind of targeting everyone. Yeah. But how do you market to everyone? You know, from a marketing standpoint, I can understand why that was complex, you know, because even now when you look at it, like the cover of As You Wish is a picture of Carrie dressed as the man in black with a sword. Right. So we're thinking like it could potentially be a pirate movie.
00:02:47
Speaker
but the cover of the copy of the Princess Bride that I have is a still of Carrie dressed as the man in black with a sword but holding onto Buttercup in her red dress, so pirate romance. um At no point do we get in there anything about revenge or anything about giants or anything about, you know, the the zoo of death or, you know, so like it's very I don't know. or Or like the comedy because yeah this, the movie is hilarious. The book is also hilarious. Yeah. But how do you market that? You can't market this as a comedy, but it's got Billy Crystal in it. Yeah. They were talking about how it was difficult. Like they weren't even making the movie trailers, right? Right. Because how do you, you can't fit what this movie is in a minute and a half, you know?
00:03:43
Speaker
Yeah, I kept thinking that was really interesting. And then all of a sudden it becomes this classic. And it's like, how does it become
Rise to Classic Status
00:03:53
Speaker
this classic? It's like word of mouth or something, you know, like people blockbuster. Yeah. Blockbuster VHS movie rentals. Yeah. That's what it was. I will say because because I think I probably experienced this in real time, that the the movie came out, I was a small child. It did not do well. It didn't do bad, but it didn't do well. There was no social media, so there was nobody to post about like how great the movie was, and it got good reviews. But like again, there was no Rotten Tomatoes online. There was no IMDB. There was no you know so there weren't there there was no Chatter.
00:04:36
Speaker
So years later, it was on television all the time. It was on MTV. It was on TBS. It was on all the all the the cable networks. like It was the movie you watched when you were homesick with grandma. If you watched The Price is Right and then you watched The Princess Bride. That's the order of operations for sickness. Like you stayed home from school. That's what you were going to do. Well, you're probably going to watch Days of Our Lives in there, too. but That's what I was going to say. Yeah. Price is Right, Days of Our Lives, The Princess Bride. like that's That's how it goes. And you were going to have soup and you were going to lay on the couch. And, you know, there was no grandpa to read you the story, but grandma was going to make you watch it.
00:05:22
Speaker
Yeah. And so so then you've got this whole generation of kids, yeah even my like teenage cousins, the older teenage cousins, they saw it on television all the time. So then when they did go to the you know the movie rental place, it was one of the ones that they were going to rent. It was one of the ones that everybody was and everybody likes it. So it was one of those that they kept going back to because you could rent it if you were a girl wanting to watch a romance. You could rent it if you were a guy wanting to watch an adventure movie. You could rent it if you were a grown-ass adult looking for something funny. It really ticked all the boxes. or like Or the thing where it's like, you want to watch a movie with your kids, but you also like it's like a movie for kids and adults. where like It's adult humor in there, but also like good for like kids like your kids can watch with you kind of thing.
Personal Anecdote: Army Bonding Experience
00:06:17
Speaker
so
00:06:18
Speaker
I don't share this a ton. It's not a part of my life that I talk about with a lot of people, but I joined the army when I was 19 and I was far away from home. It was the year 2000. So like, A, I was in the army. So it's not like I, and in basic training. So it's not like I had access to a phone all the time.
00:06:38
Speaker
And B, like there wasn't, you know, yes, there was email, but not everybody had the internet in their house or access to stuff like that. So here it was in basic training, far away from home with no friends or family. And I got hurt. So I was pulled out of my platoon to be in a, what they call PTRP physical therapy and real rehabilitation platoon. So I got pulled out.
00:07:04
Speaker
I'm in a group of people who are all also injured or homesick. We are just, we're just grumpy and sad and hurt. And all we want to do is go home. And on Sundays, we were allowed to go to chapel. And so we all went to chapel one Sunday and they decided they were going to do like a like a movie, like ah a group movie. And they played the princess bride.
00:07:31
Speaker
and everyone in chapel was quoting the movie along with the movie we were all yelling out the lines we were all just and it was it was one of these moments like you've got people who are i i was hurt but i could still like i still had my whole body there were people in there who were hurt missing fingers who were hurt and couldn't walk anymore who were hurt like it was it it like ran the gamut of injuries And so there were a lot of people in there who were really depressed and separated from their families, you know, like far away from home and hurt is the worst kind of hurt. But this moment brought us all home and.
00:08:15
Speaker
And so I feel like, you know, here we have like men, women, you know, uh, the military is full of minorities. So like Asian and African-American and, and we were just like ran the gamut of whatever community you were from. We all knew this movie. We all knew this movie, you know, and it was such a beautiful moment for us to all kind of like,
00:08:45
Speaker
feel that together and that's right at as this movie is really gaining its most popularity is like the mid to late 90s those early 2000s and I will never forget that moment that like being able to bond with all these people around me who In general, I probably didn't have a ton in common with. We probably grew up in completely different lives. you know Lots of of Puerto Ricans that you know didn't even speak English very well yet, but you know we still accept them into our military just fine, but they knew this movie too. you know It was really an awesome moment. and so When I talk about how this movie really just appeals to everyone, that that was the that was my as you wish moment.
00:09:27
Speaker
that That was it. And I have shared this movie with my kids. and And I think that we're kind of hitting that age where we have the kids who grew up on it, like me, who are now sharing it with their children. I don't know, this movie is just beautiful. It's... and I was really excited to read this book and find so much of what I love about the movie in the
Exploring 'Buttercup's Baby' Sequel
00:09:52
Speaker
book. who But I was a little shocked to find a whole other story
00:09:58
Speaker
in the book too, which brings us to Buttercup's Baby, which Lindsay told us to read, and then we promptly did not. So, Buttercup's Baby is actually, so correct me if I'm wrong, Buttercup's Baby is a sequel to The Princess Bride, but it's is it actually, it's like an actual full length novel. No.
00:10:28
Speaker
I thought that the end ah like of the book was like a sneak peek, like an introduction first chapter to what is the full length novel. But there never was a full length novel.
00:10:41
Speaker
Oh, okay, I got you. It's all fake, Carrie. You've discussed this. Okay, okay, okay. It's about 50 pages-ish, 50, 60 pages. Okay, let me explain something really quick. It's harder to read with when you're reading the Kindle, okay? I can't speak for the paperback or anything. I'm reading the 30th or the 30th anniversary Kindle version.
00:11:03
Speaker
Okay, so you finish the book. Okay, then you're going to the next chapter, it says buttercups baby explanation, and it's going in for this. Oh, Lord That's why I read it. Yeah. And why buttercups baby was made And it's saying like all this like crazy stuff about like publisher things and like saying why I wrote it or why I didn't write it. But and then there's lawyers and but it's not a real explanation. And it's a fake. It's a fake. So it honestly has me... My mind is...
00:11:45
Speaker
It's ruined after this book because I don't understand what's going on. I don't know what's not real. I don't know what's real life. I don't know what's fake. It's gaslighting is what it is. It's all fake. It's all fake. William Goldman in the book as the narrator has a fat son and a horrible wife.
00:12:08
Speaker
William Goldman in real life has daughters. And as far as two daughters, as far as I know, a wife who loves him just fine. Like. Yeah. Oh yeah. The way he's treating his wife in the book is horrible. but like The way he treats his son. Yeah. Yeah. no Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So fake author said he's right. He said he's not writing a sequel, but wrote the first chapter or wrote an introduction.
00:12:39
Speaker
So S. Morgan Stern did write a sequel, Buttercup's Baby. That happened. S. Morgan Stern, the fake person wrote a fake. So william bra make sequels ah William Goldman was going to abridge Buttercup's Baby.
00:13:03
Speaker
But due to S. Morgan Stern's legal, his family, and then- His estate's lawyer, yeah. Yeah, with the legal team. They were, they actually gave it to Spade the king. Spade the king. And this is all not true. Spade the king. Spade the king. And this is all not true.
00:13:19
Speaker
This is all not true. They decided
Plot Insights of 'Buttercup's Baby'
00:13:21
Speaker
they were going to have Stephen King abridge Buttercup's baby. I can't. I can't do it. William Goldman flies to meet with Stephen King to convince King to let him try to abridge it.
00:13:35
Speaker
Stephen King's like, I got nothing to do with this. Pretty much. It's not. None of this is true. None of this is true. So actually what ends up happening is Goldman or the fake narrator in the book goes to Florin with his grandson. Not a real place. And they go to like the, it's not a library, but It's like the historical records where S. Morgan Stern's Buttercup's Baby book is. Fake news. And the grandson actually steals it. Not a real person. So that he can take it back to their hotel and look at abridging it before he returns it back to the historical records. Fake historical place.
00:14:32
Speaker
Okay, so what is this Buttercup's baby about? So immediately at the end of the Princess Bride, when they're all riding off into the sunset,
00:14:44
Speaker
um Humperdink actually does catch up. But there's like chaos and Wesley is dying because his miracle pill didn't really last forever. It only lasted for 40 hours. Because you know what's interesting is that in the book, they actually say in the book that whenever he's creating the abridged version, he talks about how his grandfather stopped it at the kissing scene at the very end. He's like, but really reading it now, the end is actually
00:15:23
Speaker
like saying that they wrote off and but you know they were running away from like comforting for a while and like they were like it was like actually an ending that could be continued into something right it didn't end at the kissing scene and that's where buttercups may literally yeah yeah yeah ah So, Fezzik is... So Inigo's bleeding out because he's been stabbed. Wesley's dying because his pill is wearing out. And Humperdink is on their trail. And Fezzik is trying to bring everyone together because Buttercup is panicking over Wesley dying. So everyone is like with Fezzik and they come to... a fork in the road and they have to choose which path they go down. And of course, Fezzik always chooses the wrong way. He did it in the Princess Bride, so once again, he goes in the wrong direction. They're trying to get back to Buttercup's farm and they end up going off somewhere else. This is where I forget what happens. Oh, no, no, no. They're trying to get to the Dread Pirate Roberts ship. The ship revenge. Yes, that's what it is.
00:16:41
Speaker
They do eventually escape. They decide they're going to go to this island that's really hard to get to because of the whirlpools. Boats can't cross. You can't swim it. So it turns out that because Fezzik is so strong, he can swim through the currents.
00:17:02
Speaker
So he gets them to the island and they're living on this island away from Humperdink. And, um,
00:17:13
Speaker
Buttercup gets pregnant. You get a little backstory on Inigo and what he was doing while he was training to become the wizard, um, censor that he is now. The backstory is that he ends up He's like, he's almost like a farmhand like Wesley. He's like, um i get I guess like a servant. Yeah. And he meets a girl and she's like, let's sneak into this party.
00:17:47
Speaker
and they sneak into the party and it turns out that it's actually her party that her father no okay i read this part and yeah so she sneaks into the they she sneaks him into the party and then he's confronted by her father well who he doesn't know is her father and he's the count or whatever and then she he's all like my daughter is good for nothing or whatever and she runs off he rate the count runs off And then he's all, you lied to me. And she was like, listen, I can't trust anybody because if they all knew I was a countess and rich, like they treat me differently and they say they love me, but they don't really love me. They just love my money. But now I know that you love me, uh, from who I am. And I also love you too. So I threw this party for us. And he's like, okay, let's dance. Okay. And then they kiss and then he goes off because he has to avenge his father. Obviously, obviously.
00:18:42
Speaker
back on the island buttercup is having the baby obviously they're on an island so you know complications is this the island of despair i don't know somebody said something about the island of despair and the little bit that i read i don't know what that's about anyways that's probably it because there's only one island and they're on it so oh okay all right So Buttercup is actually dying while giving birth. Like, she's in labor for hours and hours and hours, and Fezzik doesn't do well with blood, so he can't be around them. And Wesley and Inigo, they don't know what to do. They're trying to help her through it.
00:19:23
Speaker
But apparently there's like this Turkish tradition where you are possessed by an ancestor. So Fezik gets possessed by some ancestor and he's able to come in and save Buttercup and the baby and he's able to deliver the baby. oh What in the actual hell is going on? And so the baby's born and Fezik and the baby He babysits often because they get along really well. It's like they can read each other's minds. They're really close. But she calls him... Shade. Shade. Because he blocks the sun. I didn't know why. It's because he was so big he blocks the sun. They're on an island. He blocks the sun for her. Oh my God. Okay. So then a man shows up, or I can't say a man, a hooded figure shows up. Right, the faceless yeah dude.
00:20:19
Speaker
steal the baby. okay And they run up the cliff and Fezzik is chasing them because Fezzik is watching the baby. And the hooded figure takes the baby and throws it off the cliff. And Fezzik pulls a warm bodies and jumps off the cliff and catches the baby. And his plan is that he's going to hit the ground and save the baby because the baby will hit him and he'll take all the impact. And Fezzik supposedly dies. OK, science says that that's not how that works. The baby would still die. But OK. That's the end. Oh, all right. well Wow. Wow. RIP Fezzik. So the fake narrator is like, that's as far as I could get because I couldn't imagine
00:21:12
Speaker
S.
Speculations on Fezzik's Fate
00:21:13
Speaker
Morgenstern killing Fezzik because he's such a beloved character. I mean, that's true. So he keeps hinting that, oh, there's got to be some miracle that saves Fezzik from this fall. But you never figured out. These miracles are so convenient. Right? Right? He's only mostly dead. How do you save a mostly dead giant? though Anyways. miracles So that is our thoughts on the princess bride.
Conclusion and Future Directions
00:21:43
Speaker
Most of them at least. I'm sure we have more. Maybe we'll come up with another many episodes later. There's enough material for it. So, so that wraps it up. I hope you guys enjoyed this last little bit. Don't forget to follow us on social medias. All of them based on a book podcast everywhere you look and join us next time. Bye.