The concept was created by Gerry Anderson when he saw a news story about a group of men trapped in a mine in Germany. He was appalled by the amount of time it took to actually rescue them. The real life event inspired him to concoct a scenario featuring an altruistic family with the abundant resources and determination to help those in life or death crisis situations. Anderson feels the show became popular due to its "action, adventure, science fiction, great characters, interesting vehicles and a visual that looks like no other show of television."
The new film, Thunderbirds (2004), is a completely different take on the Traceys. When director Jonathan Frakes was asked in an online chat with fans about the newest manifestation of the brand, he called the film, "fun, fast and you fill in the third (FAB)." He said he was proud of the varied but positive response by fans to an early screening of the film, adding "Some like the ships, some like the heroes, some like the villains, some like the humor and some like the message."
Mr. Frakes does not mention how he fails to preserve the two characteristics that made the TV series a hit in Britain: a straightforward, intricately mechanical visual style and storylines that focus on teamwork and family. Viewers of the new Thunderbirds do not see the Tracey family working together as International Rescue in this Lilliputian world of human peril. Instead, the film follows in the footsteps of countless other big budget fantasy films (such as Spy Kids) featuring young kids who become superheroes, as if in some hyper-video game reality, and discovering their true identity in the process. This blatant attempt to appeal to a demographic has completely altered what was truly unique and inspiring about the original. Most of all though the new Thunderbirds has none of the kitschy charm of the television series but it does have plenty of big explosions, cartoony sound effects, and overblown CG graphics.
Most importantly, the new Thunderbirds no longer has the endorsement of its creator. Anderson comments on his relationship with the production company, Working Title, saying "...they offered me money to say how nice the picture was. And to impress me, they e-mailed me the picture of the new 'Rolls-Royce'. I took one look and thought, if that's the kind of movie they're making, I'm out." Working Title's President of Marketing, David Livingstone, countered, "The reality with Gerry is that he's upset with everything. We'd had an incredible response to this 27ft pink car. All the geeks loved it - the fans of the original who have stayed with it for 40 years. But Gerry thought it was a horrible design." He added that any future relationship with the Thunderbirds creator would be difficult because "frankly, he's been such a pain in the arse."
The cast and crew of the new Thunderbirds, however, have been upbeat and positive in press interviews. Bill Paxton, who plays the father, Jeff Tracey, proclaimed it to be a "tour de force" on the screen with "an innocent charm" that he had rarely seen in films these days. Rising star Sophia Myles, who has received consistent praise for her reprisal of the Lady Penelope character says, "We're trying to add something to the institution that is Thunderbirds. It has such a magic about it and if the energy that flew around the set transfers to the screen then I think it will be a rather special film."
Since the film opened, however, it has met with predominantly harsh criticism by fans, kids, critics, and a pitiful $2.8 million opening box office weekend. Here's just some samples: Nev Pierce of the BBC called it "A witless reworking of the 60s TV hit, Thunderbirds is a triumph of design over invention. The sets looks spectacular, the vehicles va-va-voom, and the effects suitably special. But the sheen can't compensate for dreary dialogue, a tedious story, and acting often as wooden as the original's puppets (a cheap shot, but still true)." And Peter Bradshaow of The Guardian wrote "their adventures are here transformed into an unfunny and unexciting live-action feature that doesn't know whether to reinvent the original lovingly, like Mission: Impossible or send the whole thing up as a naff bit of Brit-kitsch. So it tries to do both - and rips off Spy Kids into the bargain. And what's particularly unforgivable is the way the theme music is ruined. Thunderbirds are not go. Thunderbirds are very much stop. Not FAB at all." Perhaps the behind-the-scenes grumbling, two years of tinkering, and a visual style not comparable to the original, has factored into the film's critical and financial failure. Certainly, it is a shame that the film did not stay true to the puppeteering roots of its predecessor, instead of becoming just another big budget Hollywood summer movie.
by Tom Cappello
