The aids musical was a parody of a 90s Broadway musical called RENT.. (Lease in this). Which was eventually made into a movie... And yes several characters in that musical have aids and they sing about it.

In a way, this movie is life changing, I've never pronounced Matt Damon the same since.

I don't think I've ever seen someone take this movie so seriously😉

This movie is one of the greatest satires of all-time. I bust a gut every single time I watch this movie. :D

The hammer scene still makes me laugh my ass off.

Legitimately threw my head back and cackled when you said "I feel like this guy has really thought a lot about balls and penises and the possibilities with them"😂😂😂

“I’m so Ronery” is for reals one of the best musical film numbers ever😂

Its kinda refreshing seeing this viewed seriously. Trey and Matt really do things kinda perfect which makes their shows and films stand the test of time.

One of my best friends and his girlfriend both have family in Paris. In November 2015 they were very shaken after the terrorist attacks as they couldn't get into contact with their loved ones. They decided to calm down by watching a movie. You see where this is going. Because they'd loved my recommendations they went back to the list of stuff I'd recommended them over the years and happened to pick this one because it's a comedy......then the opening scene happened.

I like how the puppet gore is pixelated

Unfortunately there is no sequel. After the difficulties in making this movie, Matt Stone and Trey Parker said they would never make another movie with puppets. Great reaction. Thanks Mary.

When Matt & Trey do foreign languages they usually use rudimentary high school level Spanish - because many Americans understand rudimentary Spanish - and sometimes when there's Japanese dialogue they will actually use real, authentic Japanese (because Trey's first wife was a Japanese woman and he actually speaks fluent Japanese)... but when there's any other language it's just the mix of gibberish and random words you noticed them using for "Arabic." This whole film is supposed to be a joke making fun of Hollywood blockbuster action movies with dumb scripts, lots of explosions, and an extremely Amero-centric point of view where every location is introduced an explained via its relation to America, and each culture depicted is just a collection of stereotypes that Americans would know. That's intentional and part of the joke. Re: the R/L thing, though... in many East Asian languages including Japanese and Korean, R/L is actually the same phoneme so they do sometimes mix it up in either direction. It depends on where in the word the sound is placed. Sometimes "r" becomes "l" and sometimes "l" becomes "r" ... to them it sounds the same. The same way that to a native English speaker... the "p" sound in "Pepsi" and in "stop" sounds like the same phoneme when actually it's not... one is aspirated and the other is non-aspirated. English speakers don't differentiate because there is no change in meaning if you add or subtract aspiration from the "p" in either word you would just sound like you have a weird accent. But to a speaker of Hindi... aspirated and non-aspirated "p" sounds are understood to be different phonemes so they would make fun of Americans using them interchangeably the same way we make fun of Koreans who mix up L and R.

The aids song was a parody of the broadway musical Rent. One of my favorite parts of the movie. I crack up laughing every time that song comes on.

In an interview, Matt and Trey said they would never do another puppet movie because it was too much work lol

Finally, a clear-eyed and realistic assessment of America's role in the world...

Very happy to see Mary liked it and also just got it. First time I watched this back when it came out, the sex scene and vomit scene had me laughing so hard that it was that “silent” laughter and my stomach was hurting!

When I saw the thumbnail for this I was laughing and 100% in for this reaction lol

First watched this film with my dad... That was awkward 😂 absolutely love it though, and as a family we always rave about how funny we found it

"I promise, I will never die."

The "Lease" musical was a parody of the real musical Rent where I believe serval characters had Aids. I haven't actually seen it.

The suicide hammer joke kills me every time! I also love that he has it with him in the bar scene. I like to think it's still sitting on that bar, just in case somebody walks into that bar and wants to take their own life.

Interestingly, South Park (made by the same guys who made this) feature an episode explaining *exactly* when AIDS gains the age necesary to become funny, which itself is an interesting idea - when does "too soon" fade out? AIDS epidemic was in the 80s, that episode was in the 2000s - 20 years later! Compares pretty well with many other subjects, as well as with the time period of roughly a generation!

I’m torn between whether a foreign audience will “get” the “America as World Police” aspect (they should, probably more acutely than us) or the hyper-jingoistic post-9/11 Michael Bay-esque inside joke will be too on-the-nose. Like, it’s as much “outside the States looking” in as it is “inside the States looking out” during that particular era.

There were quite a few kids' shows made like this in the 1960s. "Fireball XL-5" was my favorite.

The "Lease" musical bit parodies the amazing musical RENT, which revolves to a large part around how people deal with AIDS. I think you'd enjoy it. There's an official stage recording (awesome) and a movie adaption (not perfect, but still a good for a few tears, and am amazing cast).

I would like to suggest the movie : A fish called Wanda (1988) Contains lots of humor and criminals after they robbed a jewelry store. with John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, and Michael Palin.

This movie is hilarious but definitely not for everyone.

You left out "I'm so ronery??" That was the best part of this movie, lol.

Finally!! I've been suggesting this movie for every single reactor I subscribe to and one of them is finally doing it!! Thank you for that, Mary... Can't wait to watch it!!! EDIT: Just watched the reaction and loved it. Super fun!! But kinda sad you cut the bar and alley scene. 🤢 Oh, and you asked a few times about the cost of making a movie like this. Its budget was US$ 32 million... not a cheap production at all.

Noooooo! You edited away the scene at the bar and the alleyway!!! I live for that scene! How could you betray me so Mary!! Why God why?! 😭 😂

In the late 1960s there was a British series of Puppet-based shows called Thunderbirds. This movie directly emulated them. They did not originally plan to make Matt Damon so...special. But when they saw how his sculpture came out of the oven they thought he looked a bit...special. The AIDS song is a Broadway musical "Lease." Based on the plays "Rent" and "Grease." Rent was about someone getting AIDS. If you ever check out the unrated version the puppet-sex is even raunchier.

That song is now a staple during the 4th of July. Beer, Fireworks and Merica Fuk Yeah!!!

3:41 'He died of Aiiaiaiaaads' I KNEW that would break her, lol

I'm so glad you got to watch this movie favorite scene is when they give him the hammer in case he gets caught

Glad you didn't watch the uncut version if you thought this was a lot. Thanks for reacting!

Great reaction Mary. It was not that cheap as it was so difficult and time consuming to make, so much so that the producers swore to never make another. The idea (from which it is loosely based) came from 60's and 70's TV shows such as 'Thunderbirds; and 'Captain Scarlett' (not the more modern movies) which if you search online are easy to find. Take care. :)

The heroes the world doesn’t deserve 💪🏼 🇺🇸

This was made by the same folks who make South Park, so it had a ton of self deprecating humor mixed with vulgar language.. As long as people remember not to take this movie too seriously they can have a lot of fun watching this.

In the backwater of the digital revolution in animation, this movie became a very funny anti-example. Look at Toy Story 2, where they are dissing puppeteering - Woody's Roundup.

Well, Carson got his wish. He got to spend the rest of his life with her.

This movie is a good litmus test and I was really curious how you'd fare. I should not have been surprised. @13:25 that 'black and white' driver's side windshield freaks me out. The more I see this - the more I see.

Assuming this would be low budget because 'puppets' is one of the big mistakes Trey Parker and Matt Stone made too... it cost $32 million... they also assumed this would be easy, because... puppets. Turned out to be the hardest goddamn thing you can possibly do. All those sets, vehicles and puppets were built from scratch and required specialists to operate... but then the movement was to fluid so they literally told to puppeteers to make it look worse.

At $32 million it's not exactly a cheap movie, but it's very well made and hilarious if its humor jives with yours. :) There's a few other successful puppet movies out there, but I don't think there's any others with this style of animation as it's a tribute to the old TV shows.

If you look closely at scenes, they have actual chess pawns in France, cigarette pack on the wall in Egypt, and Chinese takeout box in the orth Korean town

I watched this movie in the theater with one of my childhood best friends whos father had passed from AIDS maybe 3 or 4 years earlier. And yes my friend thought it was hilarious.

Merica 🇺🇸

15:37 - Yeah balls, this scene is from Top Gun (the first) when Iceman yells at Maverick about his recklessness.

The cobblestone streets of Paris being croissants always make me laugh 😂

29:14 Wow, Jugdgemental!

We're going to need a montage! I don't know a lot of puppet movies. You have to go to Henson after this. Dark Crystal and Labyrinth.

This is BASICALLY a South Park movie. Made by the guys who make South Park, who also voice a lot of the characters, and exactly the same kind of dumb humor.

Everyone who worked on this movie said they'd never work with puppets every again. Apparently it was the biggest pain in the ass for everyone involved. Lol. They originally thought it would be great because production costs would be low, etc, but it turned out to be a nightmare.😂

Let's go!

The sex scene in the unrated version of this movie is something else. They went there. With puppets.

This movie is a fuckin genius masterpiece! Dirka drika!

Glorious... AMERICA!!!

Oh please let this be the 'R' rated version!

They are marionettes, a puppet controlled from above with strings. There were two or three television series out of Britain in the '60s that were the inspiration for this film. The most well known would be The Thunderbirds. These were produced in 'supermarionation' where the mouth movement was automated by electronics listening to the prerecorded dialog. If you look closely, there are all sorts of funny details in the sets of Team America like the pavement in Paris being made of croissant shaped cobbles.

Mary, me and my friends were crying with laughter watching this. You rule.

Loved your reaction, Mary. As others have mentioned, this was a parody/ homage to the 1960's British TV show "Thunderbirds". It was geared toward the 10 years old and above set. It was about a single father and his five grown sons and their organization International Resue. They used five specialized vehicles to help with natural and man-made disasters. It was all marionettes and miniatures. It is pretty good. You can see the very first episode on KZfaq and the series streams on-line.

25:12 "Kill Bill"

There are some DVD extras on the making of.... and yes, your instincts are right, it was VERY involved. I think one them said they never would've attempted it if they had any idea what they were in for. So I'm guessing there will never be a sequel. 😏 There is a special edition DVD that has a commentary track. It is HILARIOUS! Lots of inside stories and details that make the film even more enjoyable. Having grown up with Gerry & Sylvia Anderson's "Super Marionettes" on shows like Thunderbirds, Stingray etc, I found the puppet concept even funnier. They drew lots of humour from those shows and every over-the-top cliche Hollywood action movie. This movie has aged far better than I expected. Maybe because the world HASN'T changed that much since it was made. 🙄 Thanks for watching & sharing this.

mary, America Fuck Yeah, and Freedom isn't Free , are the best songs from this movie

"Fuck! Derk Derk Allah! Derka Derka Muhammad Jihad! Harpa Sherpa Sherpa, Baklava!" "Oh! DERKA DERKA DERKA!" 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Great reaction to one of the funniest movies ever made. When I was a kid we had a television series called Thunderbirds. It was a puppet action show, which is where I'm sure they got the idea for Team America.

With this one it's impossible to be ambivalent. Even though they roast everyone, you either love it or hate it.

Thanks for the video. I enjoyed it.

So you know the reference they based this movie on the works a Gerry anderson. Back in the 60s and early 70s he did futuristic children’s shows with puppets. Just take a quick look for the Thunderbirds, Fireball XL5, and stingray, and you know what they were trying to copy.

fyi "Lease" is a parody of "Rent", in which AIDS plays a major role

This is from the South Park guys. Underneath all the silliness and vulgarity, they actually have a tremendous understanding and storytelling tropes and what works emotionally.

29:21 That should be a world-wide recognized reaction image.

YES

If you want to see the inspiration of team america, watch an old english serie call "The Thunderbirds". There are two movies too.

You should try Dark Crystal (1982) a really really good movie with "puppets". Fantasy, adventures, really good effects.

on the bright side, Carson did get to spend the rest of his life with Lisa.

The parody of Rent at the beginning was great.

Thanks, Mary! 🌐 Trey Parker is a great writer/director.

Love this reaction! Mary...you're an amiable nutball. See you on the next one.

just what I needed to end the evening

Matt & trey wanted to make this a trilogy but they said it was so challenging and terrible to make that they would never make another puppet movie again

30:08 Look up "Thunderbirds" their creator made many children's serials in the 1960's and 1970's. Most of these serials were based on "Supermarination" puppets. Team America creators said they will never do another puppet movie.

Oh fuck yeah!

5:26 "Have you seen a man eating his own head?" - Funny enough, it is seen in the now censored South Park episode "Super Best Friends" (S5e3). In this episode, the magician David Blaine recruites the boys to his cult, performing this head eating act, only to be saved by the Super Best Friends - among them Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, Lao Tsu, Joseph Smith, Krishna and Sea Man (it's SEA-man!!).

Tim Robbins looks like Elton John 😂

Watching this was a lot of fun. But watching *_you_* watch this was even more fun! 😂

12:01 OMG Mary is amazing

It's definitely not a kids puppet show. it's what ive always imagined those marionette drivders always wanted to do with their clients. But of course, it was made by those SOUTH PARK guys. Glad you enjoyed it. Take care.

One of the things this movie criticized was the American media’s handling of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. While they occasionally interviewed retired soldiers and generals for their thoughts on the war, mostly they interviewed celebrities whose only opinion was that of the most recent publication they read. I’m so doing, the media shot themselves in the foot, as they did not assemble enough qualified experts to explain why the invasion was a bad idea.

Great comedy, which never gets old.

If you didn't know this was from the creators of South Park which shows. They said it was so hard and annoying to make this film with the puppets that they said they will never make another movie like this again. Which is a shame because it is so well made and a hilarious comedy without catering to feelings.

Lmao this movie was insane and when it came out my entire military unit went to watch.

I love that you took this with a good sense of humor. I saw this when deployed to Iraq and the ridiculousness was extra funny.

I ❤ your reaction!

So exited. Not even watched the reaction, but the movie is hilarious, and I'm sure the reaction will be too... 😅

Team America's budget was $32M. Which is pretty much in line with mid-tier movies back before Disney and the MCU blew so much out of proportion. Now it's practically the bare minimum you need for making a movie with any sort of production value. For example, Everything Everywhere All at Once had a budget of $25M, which is technically even less than Team America had considering inflation. Edit: Just calculated it. Team America basically had twice the budget EEAaO had. ($32M in 2004 = $52M today)

you have my like Mary

"Let's Go 🎉"

F@ck yeah!!!

"Matt ...Damon"

America! (Heck) yeah!!!