User reviews

I'm sorry not to read one other person - particularly a parent - complain about the last 20-30 minutes of this film. It went from a fairly inane-but-likable kids movie to a unbelievably stupid and profane film that I wouldn't show to any little kid. As soon as the "action" switched to the space command headquarters the language went with a number of Lord's name in vain instances include a loudly pronounced "GD" by the nerdy kid played by Rupert Gint. What kind of sleazy writers would put this stuff in? I thought Hollywood had no sense of decency but apparently Great Britain is just as bad, if not worse. American actor Ned Beatty led this verbal assault, which is no surprise, but all the religious cheap shots with his character was another typical thing we've seen in films for almost a half-century. When they start cropping up in "kids films," however, that's pretty low. The hero of this film - the kid with huge farting problem - says "ass" about a dozen times, too.

I say all the above because I had watched a half of an hour of this when a friend called. I told him about the film and he asked if it was safe for his grandchildren to see and hear. At that point, I hadn't heard anything offensive. Well, I'll call him back and inform him.

It's too bad it was a funny film, a takeoff on a couple of past films like "The Right Stuff," and was so corny, so stupid that it was funny. And, what true male doesn't laugh at the sound of a good fart? So, males and kids would laugh at this movie just for the audio highlights! But to see this film disintegrate the last half hour with all the PG material - none of which were necessary - was sad.

Born with two stomachs, Patrick Smash is a normal boy in that he constantly farts; however for Patrick it is different as he doesn't do it for laughs – he actually cannot stop. His father cannot cope and leaves, his mother turns to drink and his only friend at school is a ginger "genius" boy whose nerdy ways make him equally a target for bullies. Patrick has one dream – to become an astronaut but he knows that to do this he must solve his problems and discover the gift that will make him a unique member of any team. With Alan's help he gets a pair of trousers which contain his gases and make him "normal". When Alan goes away in mysterious circumstances, Patrick thinks he will never get the other half of his goal – to discover his gift, but then a series of chance events sees him starting the most important journey of his life.

I don't really feel like I have any reason to complain because, at the end of the day, I sat down to watch a children's film called Thunderpants in full knowledge that the plot was pretty much about a young boy with uncontrollable flatulence. Regardless of this I sat to watch it and found a film that had some things going for it but was overwhelmed by a film that revels in the silliness of the affair in a rather childish manner. I suppose that this will draw giggles from an audience of young children but then this still leaves adults with nothing to do. At least in some kids films the product is good enough to at least distract adults but here they will struggle to get over the fact that, unless you like fart jokes then there won't be much else for you. That said I did actually laugh a few times and it did have at least one aspect that kept me engaged – the cast.

This is not to say that they were any good but more that I was constantly taken by surprise by how many big names seem to have thought this material fit of adding their weight to. Cook is fairly bland, although with such a poor character this is no real surprise; his flat and unfunny voice-over is an irritation though. Grint is pretty simplistic as well, with no real imagination in his "genius" character. The film features a bewildering number of well-known faces in small roles and I really did wonder what made them feel that this film was worth supporting with their presence. Callow is pretty poor; Fry is amusing in his usual upperclass, rather clipped fashion; Beatty seems to be at least entering into the spirit of things but Giamatti just seems to be getting through the film rather than getting into it. However even he looks like he has made a good choice when compared to the presence of the great Leslie Phillips, who has nothing to do at all to do.

Overall this is a poor film but it is not as awful as some would have you believe. The fart jokes will amuse kids although it is likely that, at the age to find it funny, they will then get bored when the "plot proper" kicks in. Adults will find it all too childish and silly but will perhaps get some laughs here and there and will at least be bemused (if not actually entertained) by the presence of so many famous faces for no discernible reason. The ultimate message of overcoming etc is a bit smug and obvious and you do have to wonder whether parents will really want their kids to watch a film that encourages farting as an admirable quality.

Oh god, I've seen some bad films in my time, butt no pun intended this is by far one of the smelliest.

The film focuses around an overweight child who constantly breaks wind, he eventually gets his dream to become an astronaut with the help of his goofy and annoying friend Rupert Grint. And thats it, the rest of this annoying film just focuses on toilet jokes. And I don't mean classy toilet jokes like Dumb and Dummer I mean stupid, unfunny, toilet jokes, like Thunderpants.

Every so often (literally every 6 seconds) the paragon of gluttony breaks wind. This is usually followed by a long pause; as if the cast are waiting for the audience to laugh, that laugh never comes. In fact after the first hellish 15 minutes of this tosh I could distinctly hear groaning coming from the back of the cinema, as the 219th fart in the film went off followed by the abnormally long pause for laughter. Some people would defend this film "its just a kids movie" they would say, this may be but I don't think the 30 children shuffling in their seats and whining to their parents about how much longer the movie was on for were entertained. One child even started crying "I'm bored, I'm bored" and burst into tears when the parents demanded him to stay and watch the rest of this sh*t. No, no he wasn't entertained. The only people who could enjoy this film and I mean REALLY enjoy are Harry Potter fanboys. They would only watch it for Rupert Grint though, marvelling at him and then make up some lie when the credits roll and say they liked it for the plot, the special effects or maybe even the music score. I truly believe if it was some other kid playing the part of the geeky kid and not Rupert nobody would like this film. Except the director, and maybe even he would be lying.

FEAR THIS FILM LIKE THE BUBONIC PLAGUE

I remember seeing this at the cinema when I was 10, and I didn't like it at all. Seeing it again recently made me completely understand why I hated it in the first place. While not the worst movie ever, to put it politely, as a movie it's a stinker! The movie is meant to be for kids, but there is the odd swear word, and kids will not understand the jokes. And what about the jokes? There were hardly any, just crude, childish and unfunny fart jokes, that are not actually appropriate for a kids movie and had a complete lack of sophistication. The subject matter was also lame and crude, and the pace was uneven, very slow in places. I was even unimpressed with the soundtrack, usually I love this sort of music in films, but the music was poorly placed, and just wasn't my cup of tea. The acting was fairly poor too, despite the undeniably talented cast. Stephen Fry, Paul Giamatti Celia Irmrie and Simon Callow quite visibly put some enthusiasm into their performances, but are given very little to work with, and came across as wasted. Same with Rupert Grint. And the direction was literally non-existent. Overall, a real stinker, that is too childish, crude and predictable for my tastes, and when we saw this at the cinema, my mum looked as though she wanted to go home less than 10 minutes into the movie. 1/10 for the talented cast. Bethany Cox

I've never quite seen a movie like Thunderpants. It was on the television at a friend's house, and just his description of the movie made me laugh, however we watched it anyway. I've honestly never laughed so hard in my entire life...I had to ask my friend to turn off the TV for a minute just so I could catch my breath. Everything from the stupid quotes about wanting to be a space man, to the Patrick's flat hair style, to the green theme as absolutely hilarious - but NOT in a good way. It was a pathetic excuse for a movie, but wow it really blew me away. This movie will break wind before it breaks any records. If you're ready to watch this wretched film, watch it with friends who will make you laugh.

I find it very hard to understand why this film is #89 on th IMDb bottom 100 movies. Although the initial premise of a boy with huge gas problems may not sound appealing, it's actually a good film. Quality acting from all involved (including Rupert Grint, and a tiny teensy role for Keira Knightley), and a sweet central storyline of the two boys friendship. It's obviously not taking itself too seriously, and the only reason I can think that people wouldn't like it is because they expect too much of it. Kids will love it. Adults will find it amusing. And I adored the colour scheme! The continued green theme gave the film an original edge that sets it apart from typical 'kid' films. A good one to watch on a rainy afternoon.

this movie is called thunderpants. it is about someone who breaks wind a lot. and yet many people seem to only see a boy continually breaking wind.

the fact is, this movie has been misunderstood by most people. where they see a ridiculous and unrealistic story, I see a quirky, silly, and surprisingly un-fart-related tale of a boy trying to find his friend and them both fulfilling their ambitions. it does not show a story solely about flatulence; it uses flatulence as a basis for telling the story of the two best friends.

the acting is second rate, the plot is suitably silly, and I love the 'green theme' that is shown throughout. At some parts, it is actually very sad (but surprisingly, these seem to have been ignored by most people).

in my opinion, it tells the story really rather well. it doesn't take itself too seriously, it has some very big names in it, and it's really a shame that no-one seems to get it.

8/10

I enjoyed it and would recommend to to anybody looking for a bit of escapism. Thunderpants, at it's core, is just a story of hope, wrapped up in a ridiculous storyline. For me, it's simplicity, was the best bit.

Even better, along the way, it finds time to mock José Carreras & Plácido Domingo and poke fun at everything from the British legal system to NASA to duplicitous individuals. And finally, one the movie's best touches is, it creates a world were kids are more than equal of their adult counterparts.

I can't help but feel that a lot of people who saw this film took it alittle too seriously :), it is after all supposed to be, well.... fun.

Its clearly a film made for kids, but somehow I doubt that many kids would find it particularly engaging. As an adult, you can guess its going to be pretty bad from the title... and you would be right.

The script sometimes takes a quirky diversion, but on the whole it is too predictable and unfunny. You would expect more scatological humour, but surprisingly its not there. All you get is a lot of fart noises, some good shock wave special effects and plenty of references to baked beans.

I could find some things to like in the art direction and retro styling; the use of green as a signature colour, the fact that all of the cars on the housing estate are identical drab green minis (I'd suspect the influence of Cox's 'Repo Man' here). But you are clutching at straws if these are the best things you can notice in a film.

I enjoyed this film and so did my children. I can't see why anyone would consider this a poor film, it's only meant to be a bit of fun and it appeals to the traditional British love of the anus and flatulence. Rupert Grint is really excellent. In style the film reminded me a bit of Ron Bassett, England Manager - without the swearing.

This movie is a horrible, abysmal, awful, disgusting, sickening, stupid, senseless, childish, idiotic, just plain bad movie. There are probably many more adjectives I could use to describe this movie that I can not think of. First of all, the main actor (the farting boy) is awful in his role. It's not believable or funny, and when you listen to him talk, you feel like slapping him in the face. This movie is extremely childish with a stupid plot, and is totally ridiculous! For anyone who even considers seeing this train wreck of a movie, let me just say, THINK TWICE! So basically, I don't like it, and don't see it! EVER!

Thunderpants, as its title suggests, is the simple story of a young boy born with two stomachs who farts a lot. And that's it. For the next ninety minutes, all we get are obvious jokes, most of which are about flatulence, terrible performances from smug 'name' actors (whose "look at me, I'm hamming it up in a kid's film, that means I have a sense of humour after all, aren't I wonderful" posturing reminds me of the ego freaks who make televised charity appeals such a chore), and not much else. Whilst I'm always grateful for a British film that isn't an obvious Guy Ritchie knock-off or more profanity-laden kitchen sink excess about football hooliganism, films as obvious and deadeningly stupid as Thunderpants are about as welcome as a kick in the groin with a pair of lead-lined diver's boots. And if I was the creator of the Viz strip Johnny Fartpants, I'd be contacting my lawyer.

I watched this film with 5 of my friends one morning after a party, we just sort of put it on intending to stop watching after the first 15minutes, but my god was it bad, so bad that every scene turned into the one of the funniest experiences of my life. Every scene was slated by me and my friends and i was crying with laughter. The puns are stupid the story is ridiculous and the characters are not thought through, but we had so much fun slating this film and even a day after watching it i still laugh whenever i think back to that morning. Words cannot describe how bad this film is, but i would recommend watching it if you are A - Someone who really really REALLY enjoys fart jokes B - Drunk with a few of your friends and could use a laugh because of how poor the film is C - Have the most immature friends who can make anything funny

This was a crap review tbf, im not a proper reviewer but i just had to share my experience with this film....WOW its shockingly stupid.

Thunderpants is an...interesting movie, to put it mildly. I think if I was about ten years younger, I might have found it very entertaining. The key to this movie to just sit back and accept everything you see. The weird green theme (green for noxious gas, I'm thinking?), the fact that Patrick Smash could actually find some real-life applications to his unusual talents, etc...stopping to actually think about this movie will just make it a terrible experience. There really isn't some sort of hidden code to decipher or deep symbolism for the meaning of life. This is a children's movie. It's meant to just be enjoyed. And it has some good messages about believing in yourself, overcoming adversity and the power of friendship. Kudos to them.

But even as kids' movies go, it could have been better. I've seen worse, so in perspective it's not so horrible...just mediocre. The acting was okay, but sometimes the actors could have tried harder. The cinematography was decent; nothing earthshakingly brilliant. I don't even remember noticing the music. The costuming, though all rather greenish, was spiffy. The inventions were funny and cool, I must say that. And there were some funny visual gags in it. So this movie does have a few redeeming qualities, I guess.

I honestly don't understand the negative reviews of this film. The film is silly, the acting is over the top, the entire premise of the film is that a boy farts a lot - how can anyone expect that it should be seen as anything serious?

I think that the movie is funny - silly, yes, but still funny. It is also touching, and actually has a quite heartwarming story about friendship, about being special, and about turning your uniqueness from a weakness into a strength. It is also a critique of adults, and their tendency to lie, cheat and misrepresent everything for their own gain. There is a small scene set in a courtroom, where a metallurgist is pressed to express opinions beyond his professional knowledge, and to me it conveys how everything in the adult world is about politics and power, rather than about friendship and respect as in the children's' world.

I also find it interesting that just as the main character describes every experience as either "the worst day of my life, ever" or "the best day of my life, ever" - the reviewers seem to think that this is the worst piece of film, ever - or the best ever.

It may not be the best film ever, but it is great fun, nice for an afternoon's laugh, and just so plain silly that you can't but smile at every single scene or character.

Enjoy!

My kids, husband and I were not happy about the many times God's name was used in vain. This movie was obviously geared toward children, what adult would rent a movie like that? Why does anyone feel the need to say G.D. so many times in a movie, ESPECIALLY in a children's movie!!!! I am convinced there is a conspiracy to indoctrinate children to think that calling God's name in vain is completely okay. It's not! I would like to hear the comments of the writers or the director about this. Why did they think it was okay to do this. The fact that I have to write 10 lines of context in order to get my point across is stupid too. I could have done it in two lines.

No wonder the British film industry is in a terrible mess if The Film Council is financing rubbish like this. Its badly directed, poorly shot, the acting is hammy beyond belief and even the props (check out the American car) are cheap beyond belief. I took my kids to see it in a half empty cinema and apart from a couple of Moms behind me who found it hysterical most of the children were bored stiff after the initial noisy farts. As a film school final film it could be passable but as far as a British film being shown to the rest of the world.....its too embarrassing for words.

This was actually the worst movie I've ever seen in my life. I watched it when I was, like, 11, so it's not like I was expecting sophisticated, polished comedy. It was just absolute sh**, and the more I thought about it, the more I hated it. I don't know exactly why, but it made me sick to the stomach, and it had nothing to do with the excessive flatulence. I'm typically a huge fan of really bad comedy (e.g., the Scary Movie franchise) and movies that are so bad, they're good, but this was just sh**. I don't know why the hell an actor like Rupert Grint would decide to do this as a side project between Harry Potter installments, but it kind of pisses me off that he did because his presence was the main reason I wanted to see the movie in the first place. Anyone who gave this film above a three-star rating is dead to me.