Western Animation / The Loud House Movie

Life is better loud!

"Mom, Dad, we can make this work! Trust me. We just gotta be... a little adventurous."

— Lincoln Loud

The Loud House Movie is an animated movie based on the popular Nickelodeon animated TV series The Loud House. The film is produced by Nickelodeon Studios with animation production done by Top Draw, while being distributed by Netflix, and released on August 20, 2021.

Set in-between the fourth and fifth seasons of the original show, the story is about the titular Loud family, who learn that their ancestors hailed from Scotland. When they go there, they realize that said ancestors were also royalty and the family takes the opportunity to indulge themselves in the royal life with Lincoln being crowned Duke. Little do the Louds know is that the castle’s caretaker Morag is planning against them.

A sequel, called No Time to Spy: A Loud House Movie, is set to release in 2024.

---

The Loud House Movie provides examples of:

#-L

• 0% Approval Rating: Morag has this after her lie about being appointed Duchess by Lincoln is exposed. Lincoln too after her plan to frame him for destroying the Loch comes to fruition.
• Abdicate the Throne: In the end, Lincoln turns down being the Duke of Loch Loud and chooses to return to Royal Woods with his family, letting Angus take his place. The ancestral duke similarly had to abdicate when his dragon refused to let the family return from their trip.
• Acquired Situational Narcissism: Downplayed with Lincoln. When he becomes Duke, he doesn't really get a big head, he just wants to feel special. He is acting self-centered when first campaigning to become the Duke, but understands that having glory must be earned via good deeds halfway through the song.
• Aerith and Bob: If we only count the movie characters, we have Scott (normal in general), Angus (normal for the setting) and... Morag.
• Ambiguous Situation: The final fate of the Louds' ancestors remains uncertain, as it's unclear if the 1600's Louds died at sea or simply chose to have the forms as depicted in the family portrait as spirits.
  • Averted, as Word of God has confirmed that they did not die as children, and only chose to appear as their portrait appearances because that's how they appeared in the painting.
• Animation Bump: Zig-zagged. While some of the character movements have more fluidity, as well as panning shots and vehicles being rendered in CGI, the animation is otherwise about the same as the show. That said, some scenes seem to invert this trope, by having animation noticeably choppier than on the show. In part, this is due to the switch in animation studios from Jam Filled Entertainment to Top Draw for the movie.
• Art Evolution: The backgrounds make more use of gradients than on the show.
  • A few character models have got slight upgrades: Luna is consistently drawn with a single paperclip earring on her left ear, and Lynn's ponytail has a visible red hair tie at the end when it's shown from the back.
• Artistic License – Law: This movie takes liberties with how British noble titles work. Firstly, noble titles in the U.K. are hereditary; Morag usurping it and Lincoln passing to Angus should not be possible. Secondly, Lincoln would not have been the first in line to inherit the title, regardless of it being for men only, since his father and paternal grandpa are still alive. Third, Lincoln being given control of the town alongside his title would be extremely unlikely; Scottish dukes were never rulers of cities to begin with. In the 21st century noble titles have no real political power, they're just proof of a prestigious ancestry.
• Awesome Moment of Crowning: After accepting the title of Duke, Lincoln is crowned Duke of Loch Loud in front of a huge crowd.
• Avoid the Dreaded G Rating: The movie is rated PG, marking the first time a work in the franchise has been rated by that.
• Big Bad: Morag is the villain for the movie, who plans to drive the Louds away from Scotland.
• Big Damn Heroes: Lucille discovering Aggie's book and flipping to the page with the dragon mind control spell, causing her to realize it's Morag who's the true threat and Lincoln is innocent.
• Big Damn Movie: The show is about Lincoln's day-to-day life with his family. The movie has that same family revealed to be part of royal heritage.
• Big "NO!":
  • Angus after Morag lies to the crowd that the Louds gave her the crown before their exile and made herself Duchess of Loch Loud, knowing what he heard from her is nothing but lies.
  • Lincoln, when protecting his family from Morag and a mind controlled Lela.
  • Morag, after being banished to a small island of noisy sea lions.
  • Bobby lets out a shrill-sounding one at the end upon seeing that Lori is already leaving Scotland with her family by ship.
• Big "YES!": By Lincoln when he is crowned the duke.
• Brick Joke: As the Louds are about the enter Scotland, Lori calls Bobby. Unfortunately, the reception is so bad that the connection is breaking up. Bobby took it as Lori breaking up with him for a guy named Scott. So he marches all the way to Scotland. He doesn't arrive until after the Louds are already heading for home.
• British Royal Guards: During Lincoln's ducal coronation parade, a 12-soldier musical band section^note The British equivalent of a squad. of the Scots Guards is shown marching in said parade.
• Brother–Sister Team: As expected from Lincoln and his sisters, but Lily is remarkable for act as Lincoln's partner in many moments throughout the movie.
• Butt-Monkey: Morag throughout the first half of the movie, constantly being pushed around by the Loud children (with the exception of Lincoln).
• Call-Forward:
  • During the siblings' Minor Kidroduction, baby Lucy is seen with her bangs having been grown out, which according to Lynn Sr. in "The Crying Dame" was because her gaze was creepy and spooked everyone. In this case, this trope overlaps with The Unreveal.
  • One of the photos in the credits shows baby Lori cuddling Fenton the Feel-Better Fox.
• The Cameo: Younger versions of Kotaro, Flip, and Mr. Grouse all appear at the beginning, with Lynn Sr. passing by them. Sam also briefly appears in the crowd of Luna's concert at the beginning, while very Off-Model versions of Haiku and Bertrand are seen at Lucy's premiation.
• Cannot Spit It Out: During Lincoln's coronation, Morag has great trouble to bring herself to crown Lincoln duke.
• Casting Gag: It's probably not a coincidence that the kindly groundskeeper and the evil caretaker are respectively voiced by a Doctor and a Master.
• Chekhov's Skill: Lincoln performs a magic trick for Angus, but ends up revealing that it's just Lily making the swamp while Lincoln distracts. This is used at the climax to get the Dragon Gem away from Morag's scepter.
• Chekhov's Gun: At one point, it is revealed that Lola used the family's vacation money to get her teeth whitened. In the climax, she uses that whiteness amplified with Lisa's glasses to blind Morag.
• Color Wash: Each of the sisters' rooms in the castle are awash with their theme colors. Luna's is purple, Lucy's is grey-blue, Lola's is pink, Lana's is blue, Lori's is gold, Lisa's is green, Leni's is teal, and Lynn's is red. Luan's is a weird example. It looks dark but has a spotlight for her stand-up routines.
• Comedic Work, Serious Scene: This is largely a comedy, with a bit of action thrown in. However, towards the beginning, Lincoln sings a slow, sad song about how he hates how "ordinary" he is.
• Creative Closing Credits: The end credits are accompanied by various photos of the Louds after returning to Royal Woods. Among other things, they show Lori reuniting with Bobby, and Lincoln finally winning a trophy for himself (3rd place in a magic contest), ending with a picture of Lynn and Lana dressing Charles as a dragon. They also show that Morag was eventually welcomed back to the castle... where she now has to care for the ghosts.
• Darker and Edgier: Downplayed. Most of the movie is about as lighthearted as the show and there was no physical violence or death or bloodshed, but Lincoln's insecurities are taken more seriously, Morag is a Vile Villain, Saccharine Show, and the climax features an action sequence taking place at night that culminates with Lincoln and Lily nearly falling to their deaths. Also during the action sequence Lincoln gets knocked unconscious at one point and Morag would have killed Lincoln's whole family if he had not intervened at the last second. On the other hand, the movie lacks the mean spiritedness at times prevalent in the show, particularly in the first season.
• De-aged in Death: The Louds' ancestors are implied to have died of old age centuries ago. However, when they come back as ghosts, they appear how they did in the painting, with the eldest five being teens, the boy being a preteen, and the youngest five being little kids with the youngest even being a baby.
• Demoted to Extra: Clyde and Bobby's roles are much more minor in the movie than in the show. Even more so with Ronnie Anne, who only appears in one scene.
  • Likewise, Flip, who has been a one-man Spotlight-Stealing Squad as of late, is reduced to a voiceless cameo.
• Destroy the Villain's Weapon: Lincoln and Lily manage to get the dragon gem away from Morag and have Lela burn it so it can never be used again.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: Basically Lincoln's arc in the movie as he feels overshadowed by his sisters.
• Evil Is Petty: Morag, and by extension her ancestor Aggie, commit their unscrupulous actions just because they want some peace and quiet.
• Evil Makeover: While Morag was never "good", her hairstyle changes simply by wearing the crown.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: Morag's Prim and Proper Bun becomes loose and matted as her true nature starts to fold through. She then gets an Improbable Hairstyle where her hair splits in the middle and stands up on end like devil horns when she wears the crown.
• Extremely Protective Child: When Lincoln sees Morag about to use a mind controlled Lela to murder his parents, sisters, and Angus, he unhesitantly risks his own life to save them, despite having just woken up from being knocked unconcious.
• Face Death with Dignity: When they are about to fall to their deaths, Lincoln and Lily embrace each other. Fortunately, they are rescued by Lela.
• Fall Guy: Lincoln, with thanks to Morag secretly mind controlling Lela into destroying Loch Loud and making it appear he is responsible for it, prompting him to evacuate the throne and have Morag take over. Fortunately, Lucille discovers the spell book and flips to the mind control spell to prove his innocence.
• Fisher King: With Morag was the technical highest authority, before Lincoln becomes Duke, the town is in massive disarray, to the point of even having an incomplete bridge. After Linc takes Dukedom seriously, the village is in its best shape in centuries.
• Foregone Conclusion:
  • Lincoln convinces his family to permanently move to their ancestral home in Scotland. But since it was confirmed that the movie is set between seasons 4 and 5, we already know it won't stick and the Louds will go back to Royal Woods eventually. Morag even says that the Louds are only going to be in Scotland for a week.
  • In addition, Lincoln, his sisters, and family all have to survive, since they are all alive and well by Season 5.
• Gaslighting: When Morag successfully implicates Lincoln for the damages Lela has caused when she used the dragon Gem on Lela, it causes Lincoln to believe he was responsible.
• Haggis Is Horrible: A girl in Loch Loud makes a face while holding a plate of haggis. Lincoln passes by and replaces it with a burrito, which she happily eats.
• Hollywood Law: The movie takes a lot of liberties with British noble titles:
  • Noble titles in the U.K. are by default hereditary, so Morag usurping the title, and Lincoln passing it on to Angus in the end would be impossible on grounds of them not being related to the Loud family.
  • Lincoln wouldn’t have been the first in line to inherit the title, even if the title is for men only, since his father and (as proven in season 5 of the show) paternal grandfather are both still alive. Likewise, the duke in the flashback wouldn’t hold the title as his father is shown to still be alive.
  • Lincoln being given control over the town along with his new title is also not likely to happen in real life; Scottish dukes were never rulers of cities to begin with, and in the 21st century noble titles in the UK no longer grant political power or duties; they’re just proof of having a prestigious ancestry. British towns are governed by elected officials; Scotland in particular only has distinct municipalities for Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow, while all other cities and towns are governed by the district they're in. Lincoln being granted control of a town is also highly improbable given that he’s a minor.
• "I Am Great!" Song: Lincoln's "I'm Gonna Be a Duke" song is all about this trope, as he finally has something to brag about.
• Identical Ancestor: The Louds' ancestors look exactly like the modern family, just old-fashioned. One portrait even shows they had a dog that looked like Charles.
• I Just Want to Be Special: Normally Lincoln is cool with being the middle child, but here, his sisters have overshadowed him to the point he wishes he were special like them. He soon gets his wish upon being named the heir to the throne of Loch Loud.
• Interquel: The story takes place between seasons 4 and 5, since Lori isn't in college yet, and Lily still has her diaper.
• Innocently Insensitive:
  • The Loud kids (sans Lincoln, who showed genuine politeness) unintentionally cause Morag pain and humiliation.
  • Likewise, everyone overlooking Lincoln in favor of his sisters. Except for Scoots, that is.
• Internal Reveal: While the audience sees Morag use the Dragonstone to mind control Leela into destroying Loch Loud with Lincoln still on her, the heroes are unaware of her villainy and it isn't until after Lincoln resigns from the throne and the Louds are about to leave does Lucille discover the truth and reveal it to the Louds, admitting Lincoln was innocent and Morag is the true threat.
• Ironic Echo: More an action than words, but Angus hesitates to place the crown on Morag's head just as she hesitated when crowning Lincoln.
• Ironic Hell: Morag's penalty for her actions is that she is banished to an island of loud sea lions. Subverted as one of the credit scenes show her being taken from there by Angus, though she is still forced to serve the spirits of the Loud ancestors.
• It's All My Fault: When Lincoln finds out about what Morag is doing to Loch Loud, he blames himself for trusting her, despite the extent of her manipulations and his young age.
• "I Want" Song: Lincoln has "Ordinary Me" as he feels upset over living in the shadows of his sisters and wishes he were special.
• Just Plane Wrong: No modern airlines would ever allow passengers to hold travel inside an airliner's cargo hold, let alone parachute out mid-flight.

M-Z

• Magic Realism: At its core, it's about a kid thinking to himself "I Just Want to Be Special," and eventually discovering what makes him truly special to the ones he loves. It's also a story that involves a dragon, ghosts, and a magic gem that mind controls said dragon.
• Meet Cute: The opening montage shows this is how Lynn Sr. and Rita first met; Rita, who was working as a crossing guard, was instantly smitten when she saw Lynn Sr. dancing while listening to his walkman, but Lynn Sr. was so engrossed in his music that he walked right up to Rita and started spinning her around without realizing it. Once he realized what he was doing and fell for Rita as well, a crowd of children swept Rita away from him, but not before Rita slipped Lynn Sr. her number. Their relationship is shown to have blossomed from there.
• A Minor Kidroduction: The opening montage shows Lynn Sr. and Rita from their first meeting to their wedding to when they gave birth to the Loud kids one by one, from Lori to Lincoln to Lily.
• Missed Him by That Much: Bobby gets to Scotland right as the Louds are leaving.
• Nightmare Fetishist: Downplayed. Lincoln actually likes the spooky aesthetic of Lucy's (technically Lucille's) room in Loch Loud castle.
• Non-Serial Movie: The full story is trivia, but while this was intended to be the movie's status, the final product averts this trope, being an Interquel that takes place between seasons 4 and 5.
• Oh, No... Not Again!: Lincoln has this reaction after a flier of his sisters like the ones back in Royal Woods lands on his face.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When lamenting about being stuck in his sisters' shadow to Clyde, Lincoln actually breaks down crying, a stark contrast to how calm he usually is and how well he normally handles things.
• Opening Shout-Out:
  • The "Life is Better Loud" sequence has the theme song's "In the Loud House!" refrain quoted at the end. The same sequence also ends with Lily toddling past the show's logo, just like in the show's opening, only this time, she takes off her diaper and hits the logo, transforming it into the movie logo.
  • Morag and Angus briefly quote the theme song in dialogue, mentioning that the Louds are "crashing through the crowded halls, dodging girls like ping-pong balls, just to reach the bathroom on time".
  • The montage of the Louds settling into their life in their new castle following Lincoln's Duke coronation is set to "Loud Castle", a Scottish arrangement of the theme song.
• Orbital Shot:
  • Used several times during "Life is Better Loud".
  • Also used on Lincoln when he finds out he's a Duke.
  • Used on Aggie and Morag as well during "The Duchess I Must Be".
• Our Dragons Are Different: Not only are they actually real, like Lana speculated, but they seemingly grow older by how much they eat: during the course of the movie, Lela goes from about Lily's size to twice her size just by eating some burritos, and by the climax she's about as big the former dragon of the family.
• Our Ghosts Are Different: Lucy ends up summoning the ghost of Lucille, one of the Louds from the 1600s. As depicted by her, ghosts fly, are surrounded by an ethereal blue light, and have telekinetic powers. They can even manipulate objects that would be destroyed otherwise, which is how Lucille finds the diary containing info on the Dragonstone, and Morag's true plan. However, Lucille also subtly implies not everyone gets to linger as a ghost after death, though this is never explored.
• Overshadowed by Awesome: The impetus of the plot is Linc feeling like nothing in comparison to his sisters, despite the fact that, as shown by the beginning, he's an amazing Roadie for his family (being able to organize things so that all his sisters' events could happen in a single day). Likewise, he's the fifth best Magician in Royal Woods, so that's something.
• "Pan from the Sky" Beginning: At the beginning, it zooms in from above on a younger Lynn Sr.
• Parental Bonus: "Life is Better Loud" begins with Lynn Sr. walking out of a movie theater showcasing "Midnight Cowbell." This is a reference to the 1969 film "Midnight Cowboy," the only X-rated film to ever win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
• Passing the Torch: In the end, Lincoln decides to surrender his position of Duke to Angus, so he can return to Royal Woods with his family and live a perfectly normal life.
• Plank Gag: Leni accidentally does this to Morag with a large bolt of fabric, causing her to fall out of the window and into a wheelbarrow full of manure.
• Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: This exchange between Angus and Morag.
  Angus: (lifts Morag in a hug) Our dreams have come true, Morag! Louds are back after 400 years!
  Morag: Oh, my! (whispers into Angus' ear) Put! Me! Down!
  Angus: Oh! (does so)'' Sorry, sorry.
• Puppy-Dog Eyes: Lincoln does this after he gives up on being the duke after what happened when he rode the dragon Lela (not knowing Lela was mind-controlled by Morag by the power of the Dragonstone), asking his parents and sisters if they could go home.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Lincoln gives one to Morag, telling her she can have all the crowns in the world, but she'll never be Duchess.
• Rightful King Returns: In conjunction with Fisher King, Lincoln taking his rightful place as Duke is this, due to the Louds royal ancestors being driven out of Loch Loud by Morag's ancestor, Aggie, 400 years ago.
• Satellite Love Interest: Scott serves as one for Leni. He's a Spear Counterpart to her, and they both show an interest in each other, but there is otherwise no conflict to their relationship.
• Save the Villain: In addition to Lincoln and Lily, Lela also catches Morag to save her from falling to her death.
• Scary Symbolic Shapeshifting: At one point in her Villain Song, Morag suddenly gains sharp teeth. The camera zooms out to show that she is giant compared to the Louds, and as she scares them away, she fades to black so that her whole body is in shadow except for her eyes and teeth.
• Schrödinger's Canon: While the movie was confirmed to take place between the 4th and 5th Seasons and was made with the intent of being canon, its events so far have not been referenced in the main series.
• Series Continuity Error:
  • During the "Life is Better Loud" sequence at the beginning which shows each of the Loud siblings being born in order, Luna is seen as a rocker girl from her birth, when she did not technically become a rocker until seventh grade when she met Mick Swagger. Other continuity errors in the same sequence involve Lori having a normal head while her baby photo in "Not a Loud" depicted her with a cone head, baby Lincoln having freckles and a chipped tooth as a baby even though a flashback in "The Whole Picture" did not depict him as such, and Lola and Lana having full heads of hair as babies while according to "Strife of the Party" they were bald with only a single hair. Leni has a new love interest in the form of Scott, when she already has Chaz (although he has not appeared on the series since Season 3).
  • Lisa is shown to have poor eyesight without her glasses, missing Lola's hand when attempting to high-five her, even though she'd surgically corrected her eyes in "Making the Grade".
• Shoo Out the Clowns: By the second act of the movie, Clyde, Bobby, Ronnie Anne, and other previous background characters, such as Sam and Flip, are absent and are unable to lighten the mood. Given that this is the half where Morag not only attempts to get rid of the Louds, but also tries to kill them as well.
• Shout-Out:
  • In the opening the newspaper Mr. Grouse is reading has a story about Four Armed Turtles in the Sewers. There's also an "Advice from Gary" column, and an article saying that "Reptar XII crushes box office records."
  • Mr. Coconuts can be seen multiple times dressed up as William Wallace.
  • Luna continues her Waxing Lyrical Running Gag during the climax with an exclamation of "Come on, feel the noise!".
• Skyward Scream: Morag does this after walking out of the castle all the way to a cliff far from there:
  Morag: III HATE THE LOOOOOOOOUUUDS!!!
• Small Role, Big Impact:
  • Had Clyde not told Lincoln about his own ancestry, which gave the latter quite the idea, the events of the movie never would've happened.
  • Morag's ancestor Aggie counts. By driving away the Louds' ancestors, she caused them to relocate to somewhere in the United States and then finally Royal Woods. As a result, she is responsible for the entire Loud House series.
• Stating the Simple Solution: Lisa subjects her father through a series of seemingly random "tests" which ultimately ends with him drooling on the floor, which she collects. When asked why he couldn't just spit in a cup, she replies, "There's a scientific word for that: Boring."
• Status Quo Is God: Lincoln realizes if he becomes the Duke of Scotland, he won't be able to return to Royal Woods with his family and he'll never see his friends again, so it was natural of him that he passes his position to Angus.
• The Stinger: Clyde and Lincoln share some cupcakes in celebration of the family's return. Unique in that the scene is only separated from the rest of the film by the director's credit, the rest of the credits play after it.
• Successful Sibling Syndrome: Lincoln feels overshadowed by his sisters, who win trophies and have their pictures taken, spurring him to try to become the Duke of Scotland to finally feel special.
• Tears of Joy: Lincoln lets out a single tear of joy over being crowned Duke.
• Tempting Fate: After Lincoln has been framed for the destruction of the Village of Loch Loud (thanks to Morag), Angus says to him that if there's one thing that he (Angus) knows is that the people of Loch Loud do not hold a grudge. Well, that's not what a mob of the villagers revolting happen to say.
• There Can Only Be One: Bobby declares this when he decides to go to Scotland, thinking Lori has broken up with him.
  Bobby: "There's only one Boo-Boo Bear, and that's me!"
• Tickle Torture: One of the "tests" Lisa subjects Lynn Sr. to in order to discover his familial origin involves him being strapped to a machine with fingers repeatedly poking him, causing him to laugh hysterically.
• Took a Level in Kindness:
  • While Lincoln was never a bad person, in the show he had his fair share of foolish and/or selfish moments (especially in the first half of Season 1) despite mostly being nice overall. In this movie, however, he is very kind-hearted, compassionate, heroic, and generous, demonstrated best when he looks after and takes care of his sisters' accomplishments, unhesitantly risks his life to save his family, was willing to forgive Morag even after she tried to murder his family, and graciously gives the crown to Angus, deeming him truly worthy due to the way he cared for the people of Loch Loud. The worst Lincoln gets is a temporary case of Acquired Situational Narcissism after becoming Duke, but even then it only took a few words from Angus for him to focus on the needs of the people, rather than himself.
  • The Loud sisters deserve mention too. In the show, they (with the sometimes exception of Leni, Luna, Lana, and Lily) more often than not were rather mean spirited towards Lincoln, making their relationship come across as heavily dysfunctional (again, especially in the first half of Season 1, as well as a few episodes of Season 2). But here, they are at their most supportive, quickly coming to comfort their brother after Lela is controlled by Morag into destroying Loch Loud while Lincoln's riding her, not to mention supporting him as Duke, and even when they accidentally make him feel not special, it's them being Innocently Insensitive rather than outright malicious.
• Toy-Based Characterization:
  • In the intro, Lucy is seen as a baby playing with a rattle with a skull on it. Now, she's a goth.
  • When Luan is shown as a baby, she's playing with two sock puppets. In the present as a teenager, she's a ventriloquist.
• Trrrilling Rrrs: Morag does this quite a lot.
• Villain Song: "The Duchess I Must Be" by Morag, as she plots to ruin Lincoln's reign as duke and take over Loch Loud.
• Villainous Breakdown: Morag has one after Lincoln and Lily destroy the Dragon Stone keeping Lela enslaved. Instead of just surrendering, Morag makes one last desperate attempt to snatch the crown away from Lincoln and Lily, despite being dangerously close to a cliff that they end up falling from.
  Morag: All I wanted was my peace and quiet... AND I WILL HAVE IT!!
• Welcoming Song: "This Town is Named For You", sung by Angus as he shows the Louds around Scotland.
• When It All Began: The movie opens with a montage of how Lynn Sr. and Rita first met 22 years before the show, which led to their first date, their marriage, how they moved into the Loud House, and gave birth to their eleven children, all set to the song "Life is Better Loud".
• Would Hurt a Child: Morag has no problem attempting to murder the Loud children.
• Xanatos Gambit: Even if he hasn't fully mastered it himself, Lincoln teaches Lily the value of always having a backup plan.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: What the family ultimately tell Lincoln at the end, what Lincoln and The Duke tell Angus, and what Lela subtly tells Lincoln by returning the crown to him.
• Yo Yo Plot Point: Lincoln wanting to be popular and have trophies was already used in "Making the Case". The approach is different, though, as it's more about him having something that makes him special than earning a trophy itself.

---