Trivia for
Thunderbirds (2004) More at IMDbPro »

• As the young Thunderbirds prepare to launch towards The Bank of London with Lady Penelope, an insert shot shows a hand grabbing a lever. This hand is held up by strings, a quick reference to the style of animation used in the Thunderbirds television series. Also, this is in a complete reversal to the series, as all shots in the TV show were of marionettes, except when there was an extreme closeup of a hand or foot, at which point was replaced with a person's hand or foot doing the required action (pulling a switch, stepping on the gas pedal of a car, etc.)
  
  
• To promote the film, British distributors UIP took over Trafalgar Square with a 3/4-scale model of Thunderbird 3.
  
  
• The five brothers were originally named after five of the "Mercury Seven" - John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, Alan Shepard, Virgil Gus Grissom, and Gordon Cooper.
  
  
• The Hood's two main assistants are named with architectural terms for vertical (Mullion) and horizontal (Transom) pieces used in the construction of doors or windows.
  
  
• The Hover Bike used by Alan to tow Tin-Tin and Fermat is modeled on the same equipment used by the Tracy brothers in episodes such as "City Of Fire" and "Attack Of The Alligators!" from the original series.
  
  
• When The Hood controls Brains to activate the command controls on Tracy Island, he walks towards the desk in a jerky, puppet-like motion, even though the marionettes in the series did not walk in such a manner. The Hood states, "Like a puppet on a string" to further underline the reference.
  
  
• Whereas Lady Penelope's car in the TV series, FAB 1, was a futuristic Rolls Royce, in this movie the famous car was modeled by Ford Europe when Rolls Royce declined to participate on the project.
  
  
• The film is dedicated to the memory of Stephen Lowen.
  
  
• Director Cameo: [Jonathan Frakes] as a policeman at the end of the movie. His wife, Genie Francis, appears as a newscaster throughout the movie.
  
  
• Had been in development since 1996. Rumors circulated in April 1998 that Peter Hewitt was to direct the film and shoot it entirely in CGI, a la Toy Story (1995). It was later reported that Warner Bros. were going to produce a live-action spin-off of the television show, with the Baldwin brothers (Alec Baldwin, William Baldwin, Stephen Baldwin, and Daniel Baldwin) tipped to play four of the five Tracy brothers, and Rowan Atkinson as Brains. The WB project would be shot in Sydney, Australia, in a collaboration with Village Roadshow Pictures. PolyGram Pictures later picked up the project in October of that year, and had planned to produce it on a budget of $75 million, but it was during pre-production that Universal Pictures bought out PolyGram in 1999. The project was then shelved for three years until director Jonathan Frakes signed up for the film in July 2002. Universal then ordered a rewrite of the script with a much younger audience in mind than what was originally planned.
  
  
• Several script changes occurred during production of the film. Originally, the plot called for one of the Tracy brothers to be kidnapped whilst the others were retrieving a stolen object belonging to the government. The climax at the Bank of London was also initially meant to involve car chases (some involving Grand Prix racing cars), and a helicopter chase.
  
  
• All three police men who lead Transom, Mullion and the Hood away are Jonathan Frakes impersonators. The real Frakes is at the back of the shot as a policeman.
  
  
• The oil rig in the opening sequence is named the Abramovich after the Russian oligarch (and owner of Chelsea Football Club) Roman Abramovich.
  
  
• Richard Curtis worked on Lady Penelope and Parker's scenes uncredited.
  
  
• Although he shaved over 3 million dollars off the original budget due to his fast shooting style, director Jonathan Frakes has openly admitted that the film's disastrous box office performance probably means he is unlikely to be offered a feature directing assignment again.
  
  

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