Thunderbirds (2004 film) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Thunderbirds |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Jonathan Frakes |
| Produced by | Tim Bevan Eric Fellner Mark Huffam |
| Screenplay by | William Osborne Michael McCullers |
| Story by | Peter Hewitt William Osborne |
| Starring | Bill Paxton Anthony Edwards Sophia Myles Ben Kingsley |
| Music by | Hans Zimmer Ramin Djawadi |
| Cinematography | Brendan Galvin |
| Editing by | Martin Walsh |
| Studio | StudioCanal Working Title Films |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 20 July 2004 (United Kingdom) 30 July 2004 (United States) |
| Running time | 95 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $57 million |
| Money made | $28.3 million |
Thunderbirds is a 2004 science fiction action-adventure film. It was directed by Jonathan Frakes. The movie is based on the 1960s TV show Thunderbirds. That show was created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson.
The film was written by William Osborne and Michael McCullers. It came out on July 20, 2004, in the United Kingdom. It was released on July 30, 2004, in the United States.
The story is about a bad guy called the Hood. He traps the leader of International Rescue (IR), Jeff Tracy, and four of his sons. They get stuck on their damaged space station, Thunderbird 5. The Hood wants to steal the other Thunderbirds vehicles. He plans to use them to rob banks. He wants International Rescue to get the blame.
Jeff's youngest son, Alan, and his friends Tin-Tin and Fermat, try to stop him. Unlike the original TV show, which used puppets, this movie uses real actors.
Many critics and fans of the old show did not like the movie. They felt it was too different from the original. The movie also did not make a lot of money at the box office. However, the film's soundtrack has a popular song called "Thunderbirds Are Go". This song was performed by the band Busted. It reached number one in the UK music charts. It also won the 2004 UK Record of the Year award.
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The Story of Thunderbirds
The Tracy family runs a secret group called International Rescue (IR). They help people in trouble during disasters. They use amazing high-tech machines called Thunderbirds. Their base is on Tracy Island in the South Pacific.
The youngest son, Alan, goes to a boarding school in Massachusetts. He dreams of flying a Thunderbird. His friend, Fermat Hackenbacker, is the son of the Thunderbirds' engineer, Brains.
IR agent Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward and her butler Aloysius Parker pick up Alan and Fermat. They use Lady Penelope's special car, FAB 1. This happens as the Thunderbirds return from putting out an oil rig fire.
What they don't know is that the Hood has put a tracking device on Thunderbird 1. The Hood is a criminal mastermind with special mind powers. He has a grudge against Jeff Tracy. He blames Jeff for not saving him from a collapsing diamond mine. Jeff had saved the Hood's brother, Kyrano, instead.
The Hood's submarine finds Tracy Island. He fires a missile at Thunderbird 5, which is in orbit. The Tracys in Thunderbird 3 go to rescue John Tracy.
The Hood and his helpers, Mullion and Transom, take over the island's control center. They trap the Tracys in Thunderbird 5. Their oxygen starts to run out. The Hood says he will use the Thunderbirds to rob big banks around the world. This would cause big money problems. International Rescue would be blamed and disgraced.
Alan, Fermat, and their friend Tin-Tin (Kyrano's daughter) use a air vent to reach the Thunderbird hangars. Fermat takes out Thunderbird 2's guidance chip. This slows down the Hood's plan. The teenagers then run into the island's jungle.
While in the jungle, Tin-Tin shows she has special mind powers like her uncle. Alan wants to fight the bad guys. But Jeff tells them to wait for Lady Penelope. The three friends run from Mullion. But Fermat and Tin-Tin are caught when Alan tries to pull them to safety on a hovercraft.
Lady Penelope and Parker arrive. They fight the Hood's helpers. But the Hood uses his powers to defeat them. Alan appears, but the Hood makes him hand over the guidance chip. He then locks Alan and the others in a cold freezer.
The Hood, Mullion, and Transom fly Thunderbird 2 to London. They use the Mole machine to dig a monorail line into the Thames river. They then drill into the Bank of England’s money vaults.
Alan and his friends escape. They contact the Tracys, who get control of Thunderbird 5 back. The adults go to stop the Hood. The teenagers, Lady Penelope, and Parker fly to London in Thunderbird 1.
In London, Alan and Tin-Tin save a monorail car stuck underwater using the water vehicle Thunderbird 4. Then they go after the Hood. Fermat, Tin-Tin, and Parker work together to defeat the Hood's henchmen.
The Hood locks Jeff and Lady Penelope in a vault. He challenges Alan to fight him. Alan hangs from a walkway over the Mole machine. But Tin-Tin appears. She uses her own powers to turn things around on the Hood.
The Hood tries to make Alan let him fall, like his father supposedly did. But Alan knows his father tried to save the Hood before. So Alan rescues him, saying, "that's what (they) do." The Hood and his helpers are arrested. The Tracys return to their island. Alan, Fermat, and Tin-Tin become official members of International Rescue. They leave for their first mission.
Who's Who in the Movie
- Brady Corbet as Alan Tracy
- Bill Paxton as Jeff Tracy
- Ben Kingsley as the Hood
- Vanessa Hudgens as Tin-Tin Belagant
- Soren Fulton as Fermat Hackenbacker
- Sophia Myles as Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward
- Ron Cook as Aloysius Parker
- Anthony Edwards as Ray "Brains" Hackenbacker
- Philip Winchester as Scott Tracy
- Lex Shrapnel as John Tracy
- Dominic Colenso as Virgil Tracy
- Ben Torgersen as Gordon Tracy
- Bhasker Patel as Kyrano Belagant
- Harvey Virdi as Onaha
- Deobia Oparei as Mullion
- Rose Keegan as Transom
How the Movie is Different from the TV Show
The Thunderbirds movie has some big changes from the original TV show.
Changes to Vehicles and Base
The most noticeable difference is how the Thunderbird machines look. They were given a newer, sleeker design. But they still looked like the original ones. Thunderbird 4 and 5 changed the most.
Tracy Island and the inside of the house were also updated. The way the Tracy brothers got to their machines changed. In the movie, they stand in front of their pictures on the wall. In the show, they had specific spots in the lounge.
Lady Penelope's car, FAB 1, also changed. It became a Ford Thunderbird instead of a Rolls-Royce. It could only seat two people and could turn into a jet plane.
Changes to the Team and Characters
In the movie, the group is often called "Thunderbirds." In the TV show, they were usually called "International Rescue." But at the end of the movie, Alan, Tin-Tin, and Fermat get badges with the "IR" logo. This shows the official name is still International Rescue.
A big change in the movie is that the younger characters, Tin-Tin, Alan Tracy, and Fermat Hackenbacker, are the main heroes. In the original show, Alan sometimes had a bigger role, but he was never the main character. In the show, Alan and Tin-Tin were closer in age to the other Tracy brothers. Alan was even the pilot of Thunderbird 3 from the start.
Fermat Hackenbacker was only in the movie. Brains, the engineer, never had a son mentioned in the original show. Also, Brains' real name was never officially said in the show. In the movie, it seems to be Hiram Hackenbacker.
The character Onaha is also new to the movie. In the TV show, Kyrano was a single parent. Jeff Tracy's mother, Grandma Tracy, is not in the movie. Tin-Tin and Kyrano's nationality also changed. They were Malaysian in the TV show but Indian in the movie.
In the TV show, Gordon Tracy was the pilot of Thunderbird 4 (the submarine). Alan Tracy was the pilot of Thunderbird 3 (the rocket). In the movie, these roles are switched. However, Alan only uses Thunderbird 4 when Gordon is not available.
Other Differences
The International Rescue uniforms are very different in the movie. The original show had blue uniforms with colored sashes and hats. In the movie, they wear modern grey astronaut suits with colored stripes. The color depends on which Thunderbird machine they use. Lady Penelope also wears an IR uniform in the movie, which she never did in the show.
Another big difference is that International Rescue allows itself to be filmed in the movie. In the TV show, it was a strict rule that no one could ever photograph or film the team or their machines.
The Hood is actually called by his name in the movie. In the TV show, he was just called "the Hood." In the movie, his eyes turn red when he uses his powers, and using them seems to make him weaker. In the original show, his eyes were always bright yellow. Also, in the movie, Tin-Tin has the same special powers as her uncle, the Hood.
In the movie, the island is called Tracy Island in conversations. In the TV show, it was only called Tracy Island on toys and other merchandise.
As a fun nod to the original show, one quick scene in the movie shows a puppet hand with wires pushing a switch. This was a playful way to remember how the TV show would often show close-ups of real hands operating controls.
Music from the Movie
- "Thunderbirds Are Go" – sung by Busted
See also
In Spanish: Thunderbirds (película) para niños
