Thunderbirds

The enjoyable thing about this movie is how faithful it is to the original machines and scenario. The opening credits (done in cartoon fashion) use many of the story line rescues from the TV show. The franchise is much better protected and lovingly recreated in this live action film than others of its ilk (e.g., “The Grinch,” “The Cat in the Hat,” etc.).

However, some license was taken to make the story more appealing to youth (according to the producer). Allen Tracy, the youngest of the 20-something brothers is now 12 in the movie, played by a 16-year-old actor (while his older brothers are still the same age). If you can get around that, you can enjoy the film. There are a few inconsistencies that are fun to notice. For example, if the year is 2065, why does Lady Penelope have a 1998 T-bird sitting in her driveway? It seems unlikely that a 67 year old car would be used for general transportation.

A family film needs to have family values, and this movie has more than a few. Loyalty, honor, devotion, duty are all displayed in force by the Tracy family to the citizens they serve. The kids learn to work with each other as they struggle to overcome obstacles. One particularly effective subplot is Allen’s temporary abuse of Fermat’s disability which causes Allen to grow up on screen. The movie teaches that wrong is wrong, and no matter how tempting it might be to take revenge, taking the moral high road is what we are supposed to do.

However, the film does occasionally diverge slighty from family values. There is some minor language (2 different “d” versions, plus, oddly, one in the closing credits music: “Thunderbirds kick some a**”). The villainess (Rose Keegan playing Transom) spends half her time trying to explore anything but her counterparts “Brains” (pun intended). Nothing ever comes to fruition, but it gets close enough to obvious intent to leave a small but bad taste in the mouth. Along the same lines, things like Lady Penelope in the bubble bath with Parker serving tea are right out of the 1960s TV show, but the furtive glances are Hollywood’s addition, I suppose to keep the parents watching.

A final piece of Hollywood is the continuing idea that adults can’t fend for themselves and need a child to save the day. The Tracy family of the TV show were all mature, honorable people. In this movie, with the rewind of Tin Tin and Allen’s ages, we find a mano-a-mano argument between the emerging man of Allen and the head of the household Jeff Tracy. It is a shame after spending all this money to make a live action movie with an enduring franchise that Hollywood can’t come up with a more effective strife mechanism for protagonists.

I’m a huge fan of the “Thunderbirds,” watching it as a kid and introducing it to my brood when they were 9-11 years of age. I’m sure they watched it as a kindness to an aging father, rather a museum piece. The movie version of “Thunderbirds” is absolutely a kid flick, a nicely done one; fine for most ages (I’d say 7 and up) given the discussion above (language, extra curricular). “Thunderbirds” may not go down in the same breath as “Spiderman 2,” but you can take your kids and gain several opportunities to talk “adult” language with them—honor, maturity, teamwork, respect and values.

Many press reviews have panned this movie. But the message that can’t get lost, desperately needing reinforcement to our children is that a strong head of household, loving family is really a matter worth our time and attention. We should surround our children in our homes with this and in the culture that we frequent—even our entertainment. “Thunderbirds” offers us the chance to do just that.