Watch Awesome, Long-Lost 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' Animation by Terry Gilliam

A Holy Grail for hardcore Monty Python fans has been found.

One of the special features to entice people to buy the new Blu-ray of Monty Python and the Holy Grail is 14 minutes of animation produced by Terry Gilliam that was cut from the original 1975 comedy. It was seemingly lost to the world until archivists stumbled on the cartoons’ negatives. Gilliam worked to reassemble the footage, and then recorded a special voiceover that — in between wry complaints — gives some solid insight into his creative process. (Watch the footage above, which just landed online this week.)

According to Gilliam, the now-famous animations were based on doodles he found in a book called Illustrations in the Margins of Medieval Manuscripts, which collected the drawings made by monks in the margins of their Bibles. Of course, the monks were probably not drawing people playing trumpets with their butts, but their illustration style definitely inspired Gilliam.

It’s all fascinating stuff, though the eccentric director isn’t exactly sure it’s worth purchasing another Blu-ray. “I don’t watch the film. I’m glad it makes a lot of money and keeps me in the style I’ve grown accustomed. But watch it again? Why? We have lives to lead,” he cracks in the video, adding later, “Remember, I’m not getting paid for this commentary, so the low quality of information you’re getting is a result of that.”