Jackboots on Whitehall (2010)

A satirical alternative history of World War II where the Nazis seize London and England must band together to prevent a full-on invasion.

Directors:

Edward McHenry, Rory McHenry

Writers:

Edward McHenry, Rory McHenry

Stars:

Hugh Fraser, Alexander Armstrong, Rory McHenry

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hugh Fraser	...	BBC Newsreader / Gaston (voice)
Alexander Armstrong	...	Red Leader (voice)
Rory McHenry	...	Johnny (voice)
Ewan McGregor	...	Chris (voice)
Stephen Merchant	...	Tom (voice)
Richard E. Grant	...	The Vicar (voice)
Tom Wilkinson	...	Albert / Goebbels (voice)
Tobias Menzies	...	Captain English / Monty (voice)
Caroline Duff	...	F.A.N.Y. Girl 1 (voice)
Charlotte Moore	...	F.A.N.Y. Girl 2 / Dairy Maid / Heidi / Helga (voice)
Rosamund Pike	...	Daisy (voice)
Martyn Ellis	...	Zeppelin Captain / A.R.P. Wardens / Cumberland Farmer / Scottish Savages (voice)
James Hicks	...	Igor / Joseph Kaplinsky / Farmer 1 / Skinny Guard / Scottish Savages (voice)
Pam Ferris	...	Matron Rutty (voice)
Brian Conley	...	Zeppelin Crewman / Farmer 2 / Stupid Farmer / Erummel / Squire / Hereford Farmer (voice)

Storyline

World War II: What if Nazis seized London and all of England had to band together? When scarily campy Nazi leaders invade by drilling under the English Channel and up through the cobblestones on Whitehall, Churchill leaves his quiet retirement with a cat that looks like Hitler to issue a call to arms from his bunker under Downing Street. Chris, a young farm worker with large hands, rallies the village to fight the good fight -- including an alcoholic Vicar, the oldest man in the town, several idiots, a random Frenchman and Bobby Fiske, a swearing American who believes he's battling Russia. The world's future is in their tiny plastic hands. Innovative puppeteering animatronics from Scottish brothers Edward and Rory McHenry combine with the larger-than-life voices of Ewan McGregor, Alan Cumming, Dominic West, Rosamund Pike, Tom Wilkinson, Timothy Spall and Richard E. Grant.

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Plot Keywords:

puppetry | puppet | england | scot | german | 

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Taglines:

The smallest epic film you'll ever see!

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Sci-Fi | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The ale being drunk at hadrians wall called Spitfire is a real drink. Spitfire Premium ale is a Kentish Ale and was brewed to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Britain

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Goofs

A German tank destroys The Cenotaph to gain access to Downing Street. The Cenotaph is not located at the junction of Downing Street & Whitehall, it is further down the street.

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Quotes

The Vicar: I'm waiting for you, you son of a Nazi whore!
Daisy: Father!
The Vicar: Come and fight me! My God against yours!
Monty: Sorry, sir, he must have found his way back to the bottle.
Churchill: Good man.
The Vicar: Sausage eating wankers!
[echoing]
Churchill: Let us take example from the Church... double the ale ration!

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Connections

Referenced in The King's Speech (2010)

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Soundtracks

Jerusalem
Words by William Blake and lyrics by Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry
Performed by Rosamund Pike, Tom Wilkinson, Stephen Merchant, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Pam Ferris and Cast

User Reviews

Funny and well-written but more please...

After seeing the tag line on the trailer "Team America meets Inglourious Basterds", I was eager to see this. And it didn't disappoint. Well not too much.

Some may bemoan the puppetry, you can see the rivets a mile away on the joints (imagine the elbow of an Action Man figure), but the non-stop action distracts you from this. It's funny too, delivering excellent caricatures of historical characters, as well as a huge amount of comical references to other films.

However, the nature of a puppetry film is that a lot of hard work goes into it, and as a consequence, the length of the film cannot be too long. This film was so good, that I almost forgot at some parts that it wasn't a live action film. So when it ended, I was left wanting more. I felt as if not enough had happened, and was slightly disappointed.

But not to worry, it's still worth a watch.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

UK Spain Belgium

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 July 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Jackboots

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$20,776

Company Credits

Production Co:

Entertainment Motion Pictures (E-MOTION), McHenry Brothers, Swipe Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Color:

Color Color (HD)