Barnes & Noble

Having already offended just about everyone with their profanely brilliant animated series South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone set out to get the nation's dander up again -- this time with puppets. Inspired by Gerry Anderson's “supermarionette” kids' show Thunderbirds, Parker and Stone poke fun at myriad targets, including Broadway musicals, the war on terror, mindless jingoism, and politically active celebrities. Above all, Team America -- World Police skewers overblown action movies, in particular those made by mega-producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Armageddon, Pearl Harbor). The story is appropriately apocalyptic: Team America is an international police squad dedicated to maintaining global security at any cost, and it never lets things like national landmarks or the safety of innocent bystanders get in the way of nailing the bad guys. When they need to go undercover to infiltrate a terrorist organization, they recruit an actor, Gary (voice of Trey Parker), for the job. They discover that North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il (also voiced by Parker) has hoodwinked a group of Hollywood liberals into helping him in a vast terror scheme. Of course, this is all just an opportunity for Parker and Stone to blow stuff up, as well as have the puppets do all sorts of things you never imagined, such as a lengthy and hilarious sex scene that is as graphic as can be with non-anatomically correct stars. (There is also an extended vomit gag that goes on even longer.) The best bits, though, are the Parker-penned musical numbers, including the Toby Keith parody "Freedom Isn't Free," Kim Jong Il's illuminating ballad "I'm So Ronery," and Team America's subtle theme song, "America, F#%@ Yeah!" It's a bit disappointing that Parker and Stone settle for toilet humor and cheap jokes, considering South Park’s deft handling of hot-button issues in the past; but funny is funny, and Team America provides more laughs than just about any other film in recent memory. Although Sean Penn might disagree. Bill Pearis

All Movie Guide

Directed by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Team America: World Police is a tongue-in-cheek but nonetheless politically biting send-up of the CGI-laden, big-budget action movies that have taken an almost exclusive hold over mainstream box offices, particularly during the summer months. Inspired by the Thunderbirds, a popular 1960s children's series, Team America: World Police uses similarly styled, but significantly more crass, marionette puppets in lieu of computer-generated images to breath life into an elite group of adventurers known as Team America. Their mission: to travel the world, root out its terrorists, and keep evil at bay. Aside from intentionally employing all of the hallmarks of standard action-adventure blockbuster formulas, from a prototypical hero to his communist arch-rival, the film also boasts the occasional musical number. The puppets were created by Norman Tempia along with Charles and Stephen Chiodo, the brothers behind the cult classic Killer Klowns from Outer Space. Team America: World Police is not based on Team America, a 1980s series from Marvel Comics, which followed a patriotic team of racecar drivers. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

Product Details

• UPC: 097363423744
• Source: PARAMOUNT
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Cinemascope (2.35:1)
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: English, Français
• Subtitles: English, Español
• Time: 1:37:00
• Sales Rank: 39,560

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