Thunderbirds (2004 film)

Thunderbirds
Thunderbirds
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jonathan Frakes
Screenplay by	William Osborne; Michael McCullers;
Story by	Peter Hewitt; William Osborne;
Based on	Thunderbirds; by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson
Produced by	Tim Bevan; Eric Fellner; Mark Huffam;
Starring	Bill Paxton; Anthony Edwards; Sophia Myles; Ben Kingsley;
Cinematography	Brendan Galvin
Edited by	Martin Walsh
Music by	Hans Zimmer;
Production; companies	Working Title Films; StudioCanal
Distributed by	Universal Pictures (international); Mars Distribution (France);
Release dates	20 July 2004 (United Kingdom); 30 July 2004 (United States);
Running time	95 minutes
Countries	France; United Kingdom; United States;
Language	English
Budget	$57 million
Box office	$28.3 million

Thunderbirds is a 2004 science fiction action-adventure film^[2] directed by Jonathan Frakes, written by William Osborne and Michael McCullers, and based on the television series of the same name created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson.

The film's plot concerns the Hood, who traps International Rescue (IR) leader Jeff Tracy and four of his sons on board the damaged Thunderbird 5 to steal the other Thunderbird vehicles and commit crimes that IR will be blamed for, prompting Jeff's youngest son Alan and his friends Tin-Tin and Fermat to stop him. Unlike the original TV series, which combined puppetry and scale-model visual effects in a filming style dubbed "Supermarionation", the film was made in live-action with CGI effects.

Released on 20 July 2004 in the United Kingdom and 30 July 2004 in the United States, the film received negative reviews from critics, who disparaged its wooden characters and thin plot, and was also a box-office bomb. Gerry Anderson also criticised the film, describing it as "the biggest load of crap I have ever seen in my entire life",^[3] although Sylvia Anderson praised it as a "great tribute" to the series.^[4] The film's soundtrack includes the songs "Thunderbirds Are Go" by pop-rock band Busted, which peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart and later won the 2004 UK Record of the Year award.

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Thunderbirds (2004)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 10 March 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
^ Puig, Claudia (29 July 2004). "Fantasy propels Thunderbirds". USA Today. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
^ Cite error: The named reference Gerry was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Sylvia was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[bfi-1] "Thunderbirds (2004)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 10 March 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2021.

[2] Puig, Claudia (29 July 2004). "Fantasy propels Thunderbirds". USA Today. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2013.

[Gerry-3] Cite error: The named reference Gerry was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Sylvia-4] Cite error: The named reference Sylvia was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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