CAMELOT Theatrical Special Effects

Just when I thought that every full-length feature concept had been topped by "Sky Captain," along come my favorite guys with "Team America: World Police." No, I'm not talking about Trey Parker and Matt Stone although I like their work (who else would have thought about making a TV series using a box of Colorforms? And "The South Park Movie" gave at least one 14-year-old stranger an excuse to sit next to me and pretend I was his father.)

No, I'm talking about the Chiodo Brothers: Charles, Stephen and Edward, the most famous puppeteers since Jim Henson. I added them to my list of special-effects superstars after seeing their classic "Killer Klowns from Outer Space" back in the '80's. While there hasn't been a "Revenge of the Klowns" (yet, and I hope there is!), the Chiodos have been working hard all along and the marionettes in "Team America" are their latest masterpieces.

While all of the puppets get a workout (and worked over) in the movie, the George Bush and John Kerry puppets were shelved as the producers were leery of using candidates during an election year or of appearing biased in any way politically; rather, they chose to offend everyone else equally. So: somewhere, sitting on a shelf, are the two candidate marionettes, still fresh in their boxes yet both more animated (and perhaps smarter) than their live models. I'm sure they'll end up as part of a private collection or in a museum someday so don't watch for them on eBay. Another marionette you won't be seeing is Michael Moore, which is, let's say, "hors de combat" at the end of the movie. Unless he had a stand-in.

posted by C. J. # 10:52 AM