''Thumb Wars: The Phantom Cuticle'' is a 1999

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

directed by Steve Oedekerk. Using dressed up and coifed thumbs as puppets, Oedekerk created a

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...

of ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

'', with characters like Loke Groundrunner, Princess Bunhead, Oobeedoob Benubi, Hand Duet, Crunchaka, Beeboobeep, Prissypeo, Black Helmet Man and Gabba the Butt. It is the first film in the ''

Thumbs! Thumbs! is a collective term for the O Entertainment short films created by Steve Oedekerk using "Thumbation" technology, a process which combines live-action thumbs and superimposition of the voice actors' faces. The first short, ''Thumb Wars ...

'' series. ''Thumb Wars'' debuted on

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

television May 18, 1999, on

UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which pr ...

. It had its cable premiere on

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...

on October 2, 2008 to promote the 2008 ''Clone Wars'' series that premiered the next day. The TV version provided a trimmed down version of the film. It was also re-released in 2002 alongside '' Thumbtanic'' as the ''Thumb Wars/Thumbtanic Thumb Double Feature'' on VHS and DVD. In 2005, the filmettes were again released together as a

UMD Video The Universal Media Disc (UMD) is a discontinued optical disc medium developed by Sony for use on its PlayStation Portable handheld gaming and multimedia platform. It can hold up to 1.8 gigabytes of data and is capable of storing video games, ...

on the PlayStation Portable system. The film is produced by

O Entertainment Steven Brent Oedekerk (born November 27, 1961) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, director, editor, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his collaborations with actor and comedian Jim Carrey and director Tom Shadyac (particular ...

and was released on May 18, 1999. The films stars voice actors Steve Oedekerk,

Ross Shafer Ross Alan Shafer (born December 10, 1954) is an American comedian, network television host, and motivational and leadership speaker/consultant. He has authored nine business books, won a stand-up comedy competition, and earned six Emmys as a ne ...

Mark DeCarlo Mark DeCarlo is an American actor, television host, comedian, travel, internet personality, and foodie expert. He is currently known for being a contributor to WLS-TV morning show ''Windy City Live'', a locally produced Chicago program that re ...

, Rob Paulsen, Paul Greenberg, Andrea Fears, and

Megan Cavanagh Megan Cavanagh (born November 8, 1960) is an American actress, who is best known for portraying Marla Hooch in ''A League of Their Own'' and the voice of Judy Neutron in '' Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius'' and ''The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Ge ...

. Steve Oedekerk, Mark DeCarlo, Rob Paulsen, and Megan Cavanagh also worked on the film Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, as well as the

TV Show A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed bet ...

that ran from 2002-2006 also done with

Storyline

The 29-minute film opens with a parody of ''Star Wars "A long time ago..." phrase: "If there were thumbs in space and they got mad at each other there would be... THUMB WARS." The film then cuts to rolling text flying into the distance, as in Star Wars: "It is a time of great unrest in the Universe. Using the nail side of the power of

the Thumb The Thumb is a region and a peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, so named because the Lower Peninsula is shaped like a mitten. The Thumb area is generally considered to be in the Central Michigan region, east of the Tri-Cities and north of M ...

, the Evil Thumbpire has taken a stronghold in the Sacul region of the Egroeg sector. The Thumbellion Resistance Fighters have retreated to a hidden base. The Thumbpire is constructing a big dangerous weapon thing with enough fire power to blow stuff up. If the Thumbellion can destroy the big dangerous weapon thing, they will live and the good side of the thumb will reign. If they don't there can be no sequels. No sequels means no merchandising, no fan clubs, no freaky guys at conventions that have way too much free time and no clear desire to date girls. Victory is imperative!" Opening scenes depict Black Helmet Man capturing Princess Bunhead and killing Thumbellion soldiers. On the surface of the planet below, Loke Groundrunner whines to his aunt and uncle about wanting to be of use to someone. His uncle consoles him. "Well you're plenty useful here Loke. The harvest is soon and you'll be getting help! I bought a couple of digits today from the freaky little hooded creatures. The big one is sort of effeminate and annoying, and I think the little one has an amputee inside!" Loke runs off in a huff and meets up with the man with the silliest name in the galaxy: Oobedoob Scoobi-Doobi Benubi. At Oobedoob's place, they view a

hologram Holography is a technique that enables a wavefront to be recorded and later re-constructed. Holography is best known as a method of generating real three-dimensional images, but it also has a wide range of other Holography#Applications, applic ...

of Princess Bunhead. She informs them that Black Helmet Man is building a " big, dangerous weapon thing" and that she needs their help. Loke and Oobedoob look up her holographic dress. After they viewed the message, they came back to Loke's house to find that his uncle Soondead and aunt Gonnabiteit have been 'clipped' by Black Helmet Man's troops. Loke determines to go and fight this evil menace. At the Cantina, Loke and Oobedoob meet up with Crunchy and Hand Duet. Hand tells them, "A one armed man killed my wife

Sabrina Sabrina may refer to: * Sabrina (given name), a feminine given name, including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name People * Sabrina (actress), stage name of Norma Ann Sykes (1936–2016), a British glamour model and actres ...

, a

working girl ''Working Girl'' is a 1988 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols, written by Kevin Wade, and starring Harrison Ford, Sigourney Weaver, and Melanie Griffith. Its plot follows an ambitious secretary from Staten Island who t ...

. Now I'm a

fugitive A fugitive (or runaway) is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also known ...

and in

clear and present danger ''Clear and Present Danger'' is a political thriller novel, written by Tom Clancy and published on August 17, 1989. A sequel to '' The Cardinal of the Kremlin'' (1988), main character Jack Ryan becomes acting Deputy Director of Intelligence in ...

. I should be presumed innocent but they're playing

patriot games ''Patriot Games'' is a thriller novel, written by Tom Clancy and published in July 1987. '' Without Remorse'', released six years later, is an indirect prequel, and it is chronologically the first book featuring Jack Ryan, the main character i ...

with me. Raiders.

Regarding Henry ''Regarding Henry'' is a 1991 American drama film directed by Mike Nichols and written by J.J. Abrams. It stars Harrison Ford as a New York City lawyer from a dysfunctional family, who struggles to regain his memory and recover his speech and mo ...

Blade Runner ''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott, and written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick' ...

. Air Force One..." Loke and Oobedoob pay Hand and Crunchy in "girly giggles" at Hand's request, to save his skin from Gabba the Butt. The group boards Hand's ship '' Hand's Hand'' and set off to save Princess Bunhead and the galaxy. They are caught in a tractor beam outside of the Thumb Star which can spin planets. Once on the space station, Oobedoob and Black Helmet Man engage in a final duel, which Oobedoob is tricked into losing. Princess Bunhead appears and says, "I escaped somehow. Let's go." The team, minus Oobedoob, flee. However, Oobedoob's voice can be heard in Loke's head saying that he is still there "in spirit." Loke mentions that he considers this to be "kinda creepy". The group hides in an asteroid where Loke meets Master Puppet. Master Puppet agrees to train Loke in the ways of The Thumb. After a training session, which Loke ends up failing miserably, Master Puppet (deeply humored by Loke's bumbling) dubs him a Thumb Master. The group travels to the Thumbellion base to regroup for the final attack on the Thumb Star. They learn that there is a button on the station designed to blow the entire thing up, much to the confusion of Princess Bunhead. The Thumbellion fleet launches an attack on the station. This sets the stage for the final confrontation between Loke Groundrunner and Black Helmet Man atop Loke's Finger-wing fighter. It is then that Black Helmet Man reveals: "Loke, I am your... mother!" and throws his cape back to reveal a pink dress. ''Hand's Hand'' appears and knocks Black Helmet Man off into space. As he floats into space, Black Helmet Man calls out to Loke by yelling, "Just wait till your father gets home!" When Loke proudly proclaims that he will use the Power of the Thumb to hit the destruct button, Oobedoob's voice is heard saying to use the ship's targeting system, as "that's what it's there for." Loke fires a missile which hits the button and the giant thumb is destroyed. The last scene shows the cast at a Chili Cookoff, along with Master Puppet (visibly controlled by a puppeteer) and the ghost of Oobedoob. The film ends with a voiceover from Oobedoob: "The Thumb will be with you...always."

Production

The production for ''Thumb Wars'' started in 1997 with Steve Oedekerk, Paul Marshal, Tom Koranda,

and Jim Jackman. In 1998, the production for ''Thumb Wars'' developed more seriously into filming. The production started filming in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in the California suburbs.

Running gags

Throughout the movie different characters will ask Loke to touch tongues. First to do so is Oobedoob, requiring the act to "seal the training's beginning" and "make it all official", followed by Master Puppet asking for the same in order to train Loke in the ways of the Thumb. As a running gag between all of the

featurettes, a one-eyed thumb appears in each one; in ''Thumb Wars'', the one-eyed thumb is the bartender at the cantina.

Releases

''Thumb Wars'' was first released on VHS, and then again with additional features, including character bios, commentary, and a 'Gabba the Butt' interview, on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

. It is also available as part of the ''Thumb Wars/Thumbtanic Double Feature'' on DVD and UMD for the PlayStation Portable, released by

and

Image Entertainment RLJ Entertainment (formerly Image Entertainment) is an American film production company and home video distributor, distributing film and television productions in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 34 ...

. This disc features the two Thumbation filmettes '' Thumbtanic'' and ''Thumb Wars'' in that order. It also includes wraparound footage of The Thumbersons. Despite including the cast interviews from ''Thumbtanic'' and the Gabba the Butt interview and Character Bios from ''Thumb Wars'', the film lacks the commentary available on the single-film releases.

References

External links

* *
''Thumb Wars''
on

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