Puppet Government (Team America!)

Reason ^ | Oct 13 2004 | Brian Doherty

[RightWingAtheist]

If you're not convinced the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States changed everything, ask yourself this: If anybody had told you on September 10 that the talk of early-21st-century Hollywood was going to be an action feature film in which marionettes play celebrities and world leaders, would you have believed it?

That, as everybody now knows, is the idea behind Team America: World Police, a new film, opening Friday, written by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone (with Pam Brady), and directed by Parker. The premise: a team of American hotshots save the earth from terrorist evil, in a Bruckheimeresque world-spanning blockbuster, complete with original musical numbers. The actors—of course!—are portrayed entirely by marionettes-on-strings, with animatronic heads.

America's role as the world's policeman is the hottest and most contentious topic this election season. Given Parker and Stone's characteristic not-at-all delicate demolitions of the pretensions of officious busybodies, political shibboleths and authorities of all varieties—with a special focus on the inanities of our gods in the world of entertainment—you might have expected the filmmakers to deliver hilariously inappropriate entertainment edged with that potential comedy killer, An Important Point.

[RightWingAtheist]

I excepted the article so as not to reveal any potential spoilers to those who are waiting for the film's premiere, but this review/analysis is a must-read.

[EveningStar]

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[Patrick1]

Andrew Sullivan has a link to a blog that talks about how the DU crowd is going ape sh**t over this film. They hate it already..meaning this is a must see flick.

[atomicpossum]

He raves about the puppetry? Didn't Thunderbirds (and other Anderson shows) pretty much do it as well 30-40 years ago?

[MarkeyD]

Didn't Thunderbirds (and other Anderson shows) pretty much do it as well 30-40 years ago?

Yeah, but no sex:)

[technochick99]

Only a few more days to me seeing it on Sat :)

[Patrick1]

My understanding is that they did it partly as a tribute to the Thunderbirds. Though for comic relief it is hard to imagine a more useful tool than puppets doing what these puppets do.

[MarkeyD]

I never saw Thunderbirds, but I always liked SuperCar.

[TheBigB]

5...4...3...2...1...THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!!!

[dts32041]

Fireball XL5 rocks

[Rise of South Park Republicans]

I hope to see the theaters packed for Team America. The #1 movie blowing up all Hollywood liberals. It would be perfect.

Can't wait

Go forth South Park Republicans

[Phantom Lord]

My wife is making me go see a freaking play on Saturday night. And it is going to suck. Will have to see Team America the following Saturday.

[Snake65]

I heartily enjoyed Team America but he might be reading a little too much into Trey and Matt. They like to call crap crap and lampoon celebrities. I posted a spoiler-filled review already.

[Starter]

Actually, the puppetry is more advanced than the Gerry Anderson shows were. The puppets in Team America have an actual range of facial expressions. And Matt and Trey tried to have the puppets do things that puppets hadn't done before. (The Matrix-esque fight scenes, the drinking, smoking, the, ahem, sex scenes...)

[45semi]

After reading all the moaning and whining from the lefties who are now ready to crucify Parker and Stone...
Well...the movie is going to have to be funnier than anything ever done to compete with the hilarity of the commentary from these crybabies!
They just dont seem to get the irony of it...
If it was all one-sided, and only depicted right-wingers as idiots or villains

(They CANNOT see the 'Cowboy American/Uber-Patriotic/Rambo-esque' mentality they decry so screechingly!)

Well, whats interesting, or entertaining about preaching to the choir?
You can only suppose that the lefties crying about this film had their sense of humor
(and irony, not to mention sarcasm)
atrophy, wither, and fall off...
Which only doubles the joke at their expense...that puppets can piss them off so badly!
I think I owe Parker & Stone a visit to their movie...I laughed my arse off before I ever got to see it!...reading leftys sniveling about it!

[skinkinthegrass]

Actually, the puppetry is more advanced than the Gerry Anderson shows were...(The Matrix-esque fight scenes, the drinking, smoking, the, ahem, sex scenes.)

...the wonders of linseed oil.

[OESY]

"Team America: World Police," the new movie by "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, opens Friday, and the In DC Journal blog has compiled a list of comments from folks on the Angry Left site Democratic Underground, some of whom have seen advance screenings (quoting verbatim):

"I can't wait for everyone to get pissed off at US... When its seen around the world"

"Okay, I laughed in some of it but overall this is a Freepers wet dream. They poke fun at liberals BIG TIME!!!Nothing against ANY rightwingers, ONLY LIBERALS!!! Liberals are the butt of the joke & are even the villians in this.Oh, & all the liberals Die a horrific death in this. TOTALLY bias! I mean, c'mon. How can they NOT have Bush puppet? I mean, he so much a charachter that needs to be mocked. This film was very mean spirited IMO. My firned said I didn't get it. That it was an extreme right wing edge to it & that was the joke. Well, I didn't get that when I saw it. TRUST ME, Freepers will call this film their own & Trey Parker & Matt Stone have sold out BIG TIME!"

"those guys lost me years ago, when they trashed rain forest preservation & biodiversity. Call me touchy and humorless but I can't get any chuckles out of human caused mass extinction."

"Alec Baldwin is shot by Kim Jong-Il, for being an ineffective terror supporter. Hans Blix is also killed by Kim. Eaten alive by sharks. Michael Moore is portrayed as a fat socialist double-fisting some hot dogs, with ketchup and mustard running down his face. Of course, he dies. Suicide bomber."

-- BEST OF THE WEB TODAY

Did you note the Freepers reference by DU in the third paragraph? --Ed.

[mewzilla]

"Okay, I laughed in some of it but overall this is a Freepers wet dream. They poke fun at liberals BIG TIME!!!Nothing against ANY rightwingers, ONLY LIBERALS!!! Liberals are the butt of the joke & are even the villians in this.

Cool beans. Sounds like my kinda movie!

[dfwgator]

"those guys lost me years ago, when they trashed rain forest preservation & biodiversity.

Ah my favorite SP episode ever:

Doo-doo-doo, da-da-do-do-wow!
There's a place called the rainforest that truly sucks ass
Let's knock it all down and get rid of it fast
You say 'save the rainforest', but what do you know?
You've never been to the rainforest before!
Getting Gay with Kids is here
To tell you things you might not like to hear
You only fight these causes 'cos caring sells
All you activists can go f--- yourselves.

Someday if we work hard boys and girls..
There'll be no more rainforests left in the entire world..
Getting Gay with Kids is here
To spread the word, and bring you cheer
Getting Gay with Kids is here
Lets knock down the rainforest, whaddaya say?
It's totally gay, It's totally gay!

[Starter]

Okay, I laughed in some of it but overall this is a Freepers wet dream. They poke fun at liberals BIG TIME!!!Nothing against ANY rightwingers, ONLY LIBERALS!!!

I won't spoil any jokes here, but wrong. DU seems to not been listening to Gary's speech to the world at the end. Or the bits in the beginning. Heck, Matt and Trey take shots at the right throughout the film, but I guess that the poster was so in shock from the spoofing of the Film Actors Guild that their brain simply went into lockdown mode. (If it hadn't been there already.)