Disaster!

So you thought "Team America" and "Thunderbirds" were crap? Then just wait until you see the marginal and totally retarded puppet-farce called "Disaster!". It's the ultimate reason for Muppet Show creator Jim Henson to turn in his grave. I guess I must have seen a different movie than the other two reviewers on this site, as I certainly did NOT see a funny Sci-Fi parody with wit dialogs and hilarious effects, but a hugely irritating and infantile 80 minutes homage to fart-jokes. Released in my country as "Apollo 13 1/3", the plot (haha!) is identical to "Armageddon", with an asteroid threatening to wipe out mankind upon its collision with earth. All the recognizable sequences from that film, as well as several other ones, are ridiculed in a very un-funny and clichéd manner. The male puppets all are perverted and trigger-happy idiots and the females are dumb sluts with giant plastic breasts. You may anticipate crude humor about handicapped people and racist remarks towards pretty much every ethnic group living on this planet. In good old South Park tradition, the film is very gore and multiple puppets have their heads blown off or their entrails ripped out. But the humor in Trey Parker's films is actually really tasteful & original compared to the pathetic imagination of director/creator Roy T. Wood. This type of crap isn't even funny when you're drunk or stoned and I truly regret wasting the money of a rental on it.

I just had the luck to see this film at the Hamburg Fantasy Film Fest and loved it, why? It is so far out and funny, in all shades, good humour, bad humour and very bad humour. A little like the Team America makers decided to save the budget by using wax puppets and use the saved cash for really bad substances (I know of course that this is not the case, but look at it and you should see what I mean ;-)) The plot follows the Armageddon script and has some very recognizable scenes almost exactly taken from, it well, momentarily to change drastically and create humour this way and it works! If you like your puppet comedies tough, go and see this one. If you mind bad language and/or explicit themes and scenes, maybe reconsider...

As the title suggests it is definitely a disaster of a movie. In the Netherlands I found this title in the 0,50 Euro bin, but it wasn't even worth that amount. The humor is over over over the top, the script would not have been approved even by a 12-year old who loves fart jokes and naked dolls, which is basically 3/4 of the movie. The endless repetition of this type of jokes made for a 90 minute film that felt like it had a running time of 90 hours. I'm afraid to be caught throwing the DVD in the thrash and somebody noticing it. It would reveal I actually watched this movie.

Many many negative stars.

Just don't watch it......

If you are the type who will giggle uncontrollably at the mere mention of poop or penis, no matter what the context, then you will love this movie. However, if you happen to be over 12 you will most likely be yawning and looking at your watch waiting for the film to be over. I am by no means prudish or sensitive to crude humor, I am a big fan of South Park. However, unlike South park, there is no intelligent satire or clever parodies in this movie. The jokes are so juvenile and predictable that it consistently falls flat on its face.

It's almost as if the makers were expecting the long worn off novelty of adult animation to carry this movie alone, without giving any particular thought to the script whatsoever. Oh look, they are parodying Armageddon, ha ha, oh look there's poop, ha ha, oh my god, that is so funny. This basically sums up the whole movie, minus the laughs. There is absolutely nothing funny about this movie. It is aptly named "Disaster!". It is not even worth 99 cents from the bargain bin. It would be a waste of 99 cents. Even if you got to see it for free it would be a waste of 83 minutes.

Bottom line: avoid this movie if you value your time or money.

"Disaster! The Movie" is a weird mix of the profound and the profane. The profound: a good reflection of our own reflection (ref. Borat's humor). The very fact that the movie's stereotypes and clichés can be funny at times says something about our own values/views of the world. (Guilty...I laughed out-loud at times.) The profane: fart jokes, racism, sexism, homophobia, lackluster plot. Although the plot was soft, the writers have a good eye for those nonsensical sensibilities which seem to SELL and which have been so deadly to quality movies. Also; terrific animation,production values and talented voices. The "Director's Comments" and"Behind-the-Scenes" extras are interesting. If you like "South Park"and "Team America", then give it a try.