Team America: World Police (www.the-usher.com)

"...Things are going to change"

Kim Jong-Il

The world is danger. Terrorists want to destroy our way of life and are not afraid of using WMDs (Weapons of Mass Destruction) to achieve this. As the people of the civilised world cower in fear there is only one group of people who can save us, Team America: World Police. From their secret base they fly out to the danger zones and stop terrorists in their tracks but they are getting clever and organises and now Team America need something to combat this, an actor.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone have been satirising America for years with their hugely successful animated series South Park but can they have the same success with marionettes? F*ck, yeah!

Taking a swipe at everything American, whatever the political or social persuasion, Parker and Stone make a big joke out of the current role the US sees itself as having in the world at the present time but they also put an intelligent message of tolerance and different kinds of extremism as well. Not taking either a Republican or Democratic stance, the movie takes shots at both sides and this is why is succeeds so well. It highlights American disregard for other cultures, religions and ways of life but also shows the extreme liberal view of leaving everyone to their own devices and concentrating on all the issues. It portrays the divided America the rest of the world see but the American themselves seem to be blind to.

The underlying message is presented in an extremely funny way however. Paying homage to Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation, Parker and Stone take everything what was great about the cult 60s series and add a lot of new millennium humour. Now we have marionettes killing people, swearing, destroying famous landmarks and partaking in puppet passion. The characters are clichés, taken straight out of Jerry Bruckheimer action flicks. With over-the-top dialogue, excessive slow motion violence and a gung ho attitude, this could so easily be a Bruckheimer movie if it wasn't for the fact that you where watching marionettes.

Making fun of the US Government and celebrities Alec Baldwin, George Clooney, Janeane Garofalo, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Sean Penn, Michael Moore, Samuel L. Jackson and Matt Damon, the film even makes the villain, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il loveable, even though he is slightly mad. All of the terrorists look like Osama Bin Laden and the only disappointment is that there isn't a George W. Bush marionette. Our heroes are typical, all-American heroes who are overly positive and hit the bottle when things do go their way (with hilarious results).

Trey Parker and Matt Stone have produced a hysterical movie with a message. As they do with their South Park show, they push the boundaries of decency to their extremes but they also have a social or political significance to accompany it and this is were Team America: World Police succeeds. All they want is that America don't take themselves too seriously and they learn to understand that they are other people in the world other than them, only with loads of childish, gross out humour.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Widescreen 2.35:1 Anamorphic with Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, the transfer is extremely good. The puppet world of Team America has never looked so good, as the brilliant picture allows you to see how much work went into the production. The sound is also first rate, with the extremely funny songs and the blistering action filling your speakers.

BONUS FEATURES

Team America: An Introduction (5.10 mins)
Co-writer/director Trey Parker and co-writer/producer Matt Stone introduce the concept and story behind 'Team America: World Police', which is basically they wanted to lampoon Jerry Bruckheimer movies with puppets.

Building the World (12.42 mins)
Co-writer/director Trey Parker, co-writer/producer Matt Stone, production designer Jim Dultz, visual consultant David Rockwell and property master Brad Elliott take you behind the scenes of sets constructed for 'Team America'. The reveal how they wanted to create a world as the American's see it, as they show us the huge Paris, Cairo, Panama, North Korea and Mount Rushmore sets constructed and designed for the movie.

Crafting the Puppets (8.00 mins)
Co-writer/director Trey Parker, co-writer/producer Matt Stone, puppet supervisor Stephen Chiodo, puppet producer Edward Chiodo, puppet art director Charles Chiodo, puppet designer Norman Tempia, puppet sculptor, Dan William Lanning and puppeteer Mark Bryan Wilson talk about creating the marionettes for the movie. Here we see the design of Team America, the celebrities and the extras, including their costumes, faces, hair and the mechanics used to articulate their facial movements.

Pulling the Strings (10.08 mins)
Co-writer/director Trey Parker, co-writer/producer Matt Stone, puppet supervisor Stephen Chiodo, puppet producer Edward Chiodo, puppet art director Charles Chiodo, puppet coordinator Frank Langley IV and puppet designer Norman Tempia reveal how they got the puppets to act. With 'Team America' been an action driven film, the filmmakers had to figure out a way for the puppets to fight, drive cars, fly jets and helicopters, deliver lines and have sex.

Capturing the Action (6.44 mins)
Co-writer/director Trey Parker, co-writer/producer Matt Stone, director of photography Bill Pope and puppet coordinator Frank Langley IV talk about the differences between shooting real life and puppet action sequences. Bill Pope was the DP on 'The Matrix' and he explains why he became involved with the project and what skills he brought with him to shoot the extensive action sequences in the film.

Miniature Pyrotechnics (4.50 mins)
Co-writer/director Trey Parker, co-writer/producer Matt Stone and special effects supervisor Joseph Viskocil talk about blowing up Paris, LA, India, Panama and Tokyo.

Up Close with Kim Jong-Il (5.10 mins)
Co-writer/director Trey Parker, co-writer/producer Matt Stone, director of photography Bill Pope and puppet designer Norman Tempia talk about bringing the real life North Korean leader to life in puppet form. They reveal how they created his look, his glasses, writing his song and the amount of research that went into the character.

Dressing Room Test (2.05 mins)
Watch an early test of the meeting between Gary and Spottswoode in his dressing room.

Puppet Test (4.10 mins)
See the Spottswoode puppet get puts through its paces walking, talking and using facial expressions.

Deleted/Extended Scenes and Outtakes (6.11 mins)
Entitled 'Gary outside the tavern', 'I'll never be a racist again', 'Gary fights the guards', 'You're puppets', 'You're gay now', 'Choreographing 'Lease'', 'Anytown, USA explosion', 'More Seriouslyer', 'Tonight's news', 'Team America ate my Baby', these deleted, extended and outtake scenes could have done with a commentary track or introduction as some of them are very funny and you wonder why they were cut. Animated Storyboards Watch the animated storyboards for 'Gary's flashback', 'A member of the team', 'Kim Jong-Il's underwater lair', 'F.A.G. meets Team America' and 'Kim Jong Il's bedroom'.

Theatrical and Teaser Trailers (3.43 mins)
Watch the promotional trailers for 'Team America: World Police'.

OVERALL

Paramount has done an excellent job with the DVD for 'Team America: World Police'. The behind the scenes featurettes are informative and very funny. The only thing missing is a commentary track and a film like this was crying out for one. This aside, for fans of the film and Trey Parker and Matt Stone this is a must buy and a great rent for everyone who didn't see this extremely funny movie at the box office.

DVD

South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut

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2005