This is going to go very badly. I can already tell.
What? What do you mean, my mike is on? It’s not… *tap tap* Aw, man… *ahem*
Sorry about that, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Award Presentation Ceremony for the Least Competent Henchman Silmaril! If you have no idea what’s going on here, check out this description of the Awards on Jenelle Schmidt’s blog. You can also read more about our nominees for Least Competent Henchman in this post.
Here’s the Silmaril we’ll be presenting today.
It looked a lot nicer originally, but got damaged in the mail. You know how unreliable the interdimensional postal service is these days. This Silmaril’s light has gone out, but somehow it seemed appropriate for the category.
And now, without further ado, let me introduce the presenter of this Silmaril, the standard by which all incompetent henchmen must be measured…Ugluk the Uruk-hai!
Did I pronounce that correctly?
UGLUK: You’re still alive, aren’t you?
KYLE: … All righty, then. Good luck.
Our very handsome and eloquent master of ceremonies departs. The massive, hideous orc thunders across the stage, his armor rattling, his heavy footsteps shaking the floor. He snarls in irritation as he approaches the podium and snatches up the envelope holding the name of our winner. He casts a warning look at the audience and brandishes a sword in his free hand, daring anyone to test his patience further. A huge palantir rests on the podium.
UGLUK: Thank you for that introduction, Puny Blond Human.
KYLE, from backstage: That’s not my name!
UGLUK: Thank you, Kyall R’barrt Shlltz. I am Ugluk, servant of Saruman the Wise, the White Hand who gives me and my warriors man-flesh to eat.
KYLE: Uh, maybe you could avoid mentioning the whole man-flesh thing? It kinda freaks people out.
UGLUK: Shut up.
KYLE: Right. Sorry.
UGLUK: I am very annoyed to be here, taking time away from my busy career as a henchman, to give this stupid-looking Silmaril to some idiot from another reality. This envelope apparently contains the name of the winner, who I assume fought the other nominees to the death so he could win. How many others were there? Four? I guess that’s slightly impressive. Let’s see what his name is…
Mr. Smee from Peter Pan, at 39% of the vote.
The other candidates received the following percentages of the vote:
Puzzle from The Chronicles of Narnia: 33%
Fezzik from The Princess Bride: 24%
Antorell from The Enchanted Forest Chronicles: 2%
Drawlight from Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell: 1%
UGLUK: Rise, Miss-tar-Smee of P-tarr Pann, to receive your pathetic award.
A short, plump, middle-aged man in pirate costume nervously mounts the stage, fidgeting as he tiptoes toward the ferocious orc. He keeps a safe distance of five feet or so between himself and Ugluk, and speaks in a quavering Irish brogue.
SMEE: Y-yes, sir. Th-thank you, sir.
He reaches out a trembling hand for the Silmaril.
UGLUK: Wait a minute. How in the world could you have bested four warriors? You’re a dwarf.
SMEE: N-not a dwarf, sir, no.
UGLUK: A hobbit, then.
SMEE: No.
UGLUK: Then how…
SMEE: I didn’t fight anyone, Mr. Ugg…Mr. Oog…sir. I wanted to, but the master of ceremonies took away my knife.
UGLUK: A knife? Bah. A knife is for weaklings. You need a sword! Like mine! See?
Ugluk shakes his sword in front of Smee, the stage lights glinting off its keen blade. Smee pales.
SMEE: Ah. Yes. Very large. Very sharp. I can see how that would be effective. Would you mind, er, pointing it over there instead? What I was trying to say was, while I do stab people, I’m sort of polite about it. And children like me for some reason. And I secretly long to have a mother. So I didn’t quite measure up as a henchman to Captain Hook. Which is why I won the award.
The palantir on the podium begins to glow, and a voice echoes through the auditorium.
“One could mention many lovable traits in Smee. For instance, after killing, it was his spectacles he wiped instead of his weapon.”
“I know not why he was so infinitely pathetic, unless it were because he was so pathetically unaware of it; but even strong men had to turn hastily from looking at him, and more than once on summer evenings he had touched the fount of Hook’s tears and made it flow.”
“Feared him! Feared Smee! There was not a child on board the brig that night who did not already love him. He had said horrid things to them and hit them with the palm of his hand, because he could not hit with his fist, but they had only clung to him the more. Michael had tried on his spectacles.”
The palantir fades and falls silent. Smee blushes.
UGLUK. Bah. Whatever. Here, take it.
Ugluk extends the cracked Silmaril to Smee, but at this moment, a trap door opens up in the floor between the two henchman. A long-haired, broad-shouldered man in the costume of an Inca warrior pops out of it and leaps onto the stage, his attitude triumphant. He flashes a big goofy grin at the audience. The trap door swings shut behind him.
KRONK: What are the odds that trap door would lead me out here?
UGLUK: What is the meaning of this? Who are you?
KRONK: I asked you first.
UGLUK: No, you did not!
KRONK: Oh.
UGLUK: I am Ugluk, Henchman of Saruman the Wise!
KRONK: Cool, dude. I am Kronk, Henchman of Yzma the Scary Beyond All Reason. Put ‘er there, buddy.
UGLUK: I will put her nowhere!
KRONK: Right. Anyhoo, Ugly–
UGLUK: UGLUK!!!
KRONK: –here’s the thing. I don’t mean any offense to this…little Scottish pirate guy over here.
SMEE: I’m Irish!
KRONK: But it’s pretty clear that I’m the one who deserves the rock.
UGLUK: It is not a rock! It is a Silmaril!
KRONK. … Sil–Silly–you just made that word up, didn’t you? I mean, that’s not actually a thing, right? … Whatevs. All I’m trying to say is that I should have been the winner. I mean, let’s face it. When it comes to being incompetent, nobody else is even in my league. Even my shoulder angel and shoulder devil agree on that.
He jerks his thumbs toward his shoulders. Ugluk and Smee stare at him, bewildered.
SMEE: I think he’s doo-lally. Begging your pardon, Mr. Kronk, but you’re not eligible for this award. You’re a cinematic character, not a literary one.
KRONK: Eh, potayto, potahto.
UGLUK: Do not attempt to distract me with vegetables, Man of Cartoonish Proportions! SECURITY! Attack, my warriors!!
KRONK: Oh, you mean those other ugly guys outside? Yeah, they’re llamas now. And a few other animals. Also, they quit.
UGLUK: WHAT?! What is a llama?!
KRONK: I kinda borrowed some of Yzma’s potions.
UGLUK: GRRRR. Begone, fool, before I relieve you of your head! Get out of here the same way you came in!
KRONK: So that’s a no on the rock, then?
UGLUK and SMEE, in unison: GET OUT!
KRONK: Right.
Kronk stomps on the trap door, but it refuses to budge.
KRONK: Huh. Weird. I’m just gonna mosy over there and see if I can find a lever or something to get this open with. Toodles.
He saunters off the stage, beatboxing his own theme music. Ugluk takes a deep breath, regaining his composure with some difficulty. He shoves the Silmaril into Smee’s face.
UGLUK: Enough of this brainless prattling. Take your award, fool.
SMEE: Thank you, Mr. Ugly, sir.
UGLUK: Ug. Luk. Why is that so difficult? The ceremony is over! Everyone leave!
Two additional trap doors suddenly pop open beneath Ugluk and Smee. The henchmen drop out of sight somewhere beneath the stage.
UGLUK: WRONG LEVEEEEErrrrrrr…
There is a distant splash. Kronk peeks out from the wings.
KRONK: Oops.
*dies laughing*
That was the best. thing. ever! I love it! Smee was perfect! Kronk’s timing was impeccable… and I loved the trap doors and the “wrong leveeerrrrrrr!”
Ah! I needed that laugh this morning. Thank you!
Many congratulations to Mr. Smee. He certainly deserves his Silmaril… even if it is cracked and a little dim. Poor Ugluk… he wasn’t quite ready for what he signed up for, presenting this award… 😀
???? Thanks so much! I’m thrilled to hear you liked it! The research was certainly fun, and eclectic. Barrie, Tolkien, and Disney… ????
I have to revise my earlier statement. The best thing ever was sharing this post with my husband and listening to him read it out loud doing all the different voices. Particularly when he actually TRIED to do Ugluk and Smee’s voices at the same time when they tell Kronk to get lost! Bwahahahahahahahahaha!
Oh my gosh, that is so funny!! Tell your husband I’m honored. ????
*giggles* This is hilarious. 😀
YES. So glad it was Smee!!! Yayy!! Congrats Mr. Smee!
Ugluk was so funny. XD
And KRONK!! 😀 Loved the lever. XD
Have fun cleaning up after them, Kyle. . . ;P Heehee.
Thank you!! ???? Yeah, it’s been a rough day of cleanup… ????
Hahaha!! That was GREAT!!! Oh, Kronk. Poor Kronk. Lol. Congrats to Smee, though! I wonder where Ugluk and Smee ended up.
Somewhere involving crocodiles, no doubt…which is oddly appropriate in Smee’s case… ????
Oh my goodness!! This my new favorite thing! I think I laughed for 20 minutes straight!
The whole thing is extremely well written. The humor, the character portrayals, the timing of each character appearance, etc…
So thank you for giving me a really good laugh today! 😀
P.s. I agree with Kronk, he’s clearly the most incompetent henchmen
Thank you!! ???? A surprising amount of over-thinking and editing goes into these humor posts, but I guess it pays off. ????
Kronk. Was. Stupendous. Oh my goodness. And that ending! Brilliant writing the whole way through, though. *still snickering*
Aw, thank you!! I had such a good time writing it. XD
OH MY WORD. I can’t with this post. *cracks up* XD You deserve to be knighted or something. 😉
BUT HURRAY FOR SMEE!! Two out of two of my favorites have won so far. He…er…certainly deserves the award.
AND THAT PART WITH KRONK. *dies laughing* That was the bestttttt. I seriously loved this post an unhealthy amount, lol.
Why, thank you! ???? “Sir Kyle Robert Shultz” does have a nice ring to it. ????
Yay for Smee!! He’s definitely quite fit for the title of Least Competent, I’d say. 😀
THE PART WITH KRONK IS GOLDEN. 😀 I LOVE it!!
Thanks! I had a good time with it. 😀
OHMYWORD. I am DYING. I had to press my hand against my mouth so I wouldn’t scare my family with a sudden burst of uncontrollable laughter for seemingly no reason. xD This was the greatest thing ever! And I’m so happy Smee won. He’s the one I voted for. Teehee. But really, you can never go wrong with Smee!
BUT KRONK. Best. Surprise. EVER.
All of this just killed me. I never thought in my life I’d see Ugly–ahem, excuse me, UgLUK, Kronk, and Smee all in the same room but…here we are. And it was the most amazing thing ever! XDDD
XD I’m so glad you liked it!! I’ve been planning the surprise appearance from Kronk for weeks now; couldn’t wait to finally post it. Plus, it gave me an excuse to watch The Emperor’s New Groove again. *punches the air* YES. XD
This was historically hysterical! Thanks for MC-ing!
Also, congratulations to Mr. Smee!
You’re very welcome! Thank you for the kind compliment! 😀
Oh stars this is utterly brilliant. XD Love it!
Thank you!! ????
Bahahahaha. You nailed it, Kyle. Great job! And even though I don’t know who Kronk is (goes and hides under a rock), his appearance was a perfect touch.
Smee definitely deserved this award, so congrats to him. Assuming he hasn’t lost it already…
Good heavens. You’ve never seen The Emperor’s New Groove??? You poor, poor person. You have missed out on so much joy. Netflix it at once. XD
And thanks! I really appreciate it! 😀
This was great! Love Smee.
Thanks! Yeah, he was fun to write. ????
Okay, so this was awesome and made me laugh and was just as fabulous as I expected. XD Perfect on all counts — great representations of ALL the characters — and just absolutely hilarious! XD (Curious what Puzzle’s percentage was?) Kronk showing up was priceless. XD Yep, Mr. Smee definitely deserves the Least Competent Henchman award, so congrats to him! Thanks for an awesome presentation, Kyle (and Ugluk of course. XDDD)! And the research for all the different parts must have been verrrry interesting. 😛 But paid off! AWESOME!
Whoops! I totally messed up and didn’t get Puzzle in. What I should have said was that Smee got 39% of the vote, and Puzzle got 33%. I’ve edited it. Thanks for catching that! 😀 So glad you enjoyed the post! The research was a lot of fun, LOL. ????
Oh my goodness. This is uproariously funny! I was expecting humor, but not to this degree! Fabulous portrayals (even if I’ve never seen Kronk apart from snippets of the movie…apparently I need to fix that!) and the Ugly comment totally reminded me of the Epic movie. “Ugly said what?” XD
It’s so perfect that Mr. Smee won! He’s a lovable henchman–and quite an awesome incompetent one too.
Whoever presents this award next year will certainly have big shoes to fill! 🙂 But I’ll get it’s nice to have your house free of bumbling baddies.
Yes, it’s a great relief. XD Thanks so much!! I really enjoyed writing the post, and I’m hoping to participate again next year. This was so much fun.
(And yes, you definitely do need to see The Emperor’s New Groove in its entirety. :D)
Smee, Kronk, and Ugluk together? this was the best ever! Their voices were spot-on, and so funny!
Thank you!! So glad you liked it! ????
This was hilarious! Kronk’s cameo was brilliant!! xD That’s the way to present an award!
Thank you! ???? I really enjoyed writing this.