Marionette puppets seem to get little respect in the cinema. With the notable exception of puppetry displayed in \Being John Malkovich,"" puppets have received a small amount of screen time. Even ""Thunderbirds,"" a remake of a marionette, TV show was made live action. It seems like they are finally getting their due, as Trey Parker and Matt Stone, best known as ""The South Park guys,"" set out to correct this lack of exposure. ""Team America: World Police,"" one of the most bizarre movies to come out in recent years, resulted from their experimentation.
""Team America,"" tells the story of Gary Johnston, an actor recruited to help the somewhat secret, super jingoistic Team America to prevent terrorists from obtaining and using WMDs. When Johnston's first mission with Team America results in the destruction of Cairo and a retaliatory terrorist attack in Panama, a band of anti-war Hollywood liberals including Alec Baldwin and Sean Penn join together with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il to put a stop to Team America's pro-United States agenda.
Puppetry aside, ""Team America"" is actually a parody movie that launches numerous barbs at the Jerry Bruckheimer/Michael Bay philosophy of movie making-overusing wisecracks and fiery explosions. Seeing the puppets explode in fiery deaths is a sight to behold. There is even a scene further insulting Bay by having the background music feature lyrics such as ""I miss you more than Michael Bay missed the mark in 'Pearl Harbor.'""
Parker and Stone have learned after seven years of ""South Park"" how to walk the politically incorrect humor line. Neither the left nor the right is spared in the debate over terrorism. America's destructive policies are taken to task in the first half of the movie, mocking the right. However, in the latter half the left is taken to task for not supporting the American cause with Baldwin being portrayed as the lead villain. It is entirely possible that either side could claim ""Team America"" backs their political viewpoints but would also have to concede that it backs the other side's view as well.
While Parker and Stone have only made a few movies, what has always stood out were the musical numbers involved in them. ""Cannibal! The Musical,"" and the South Park movie had some excellent, hilarious sons in them, and ""Team America,"" doesn't stray from that precedent. However, the former two movies were designed to be musicals. Team America is not designed to be a musical, so it seems odd the songs actually do work. None of the songs further the plot, but they provide a tongue in cheek reference to what is occurring on screen, like a song laid over a montage that describes what a montage is. While none of the songs are as memorable as South Park's ""What Would Brian Boitano Do?"" they still provide numerous high points throughout the movie.
Would ""Team America"" have been the same movie if it were live action or possibly even animated? The puppets actually don't provide for many laughs, occasionally a joke is made about how puppets look funny when walking
What the puppets do provide is a very unique cinematic experience. Nobody has brought puppets to the screen with this much movement and emotion before. Sure, the excellent storyline would have translated to a fairly good animated picture, but the puppetry takes everything to a new level, which is a very good thing.
