THUNDERPANTS – About the film

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The Story

Patrick Smash has a problem and a gift: due to his anatomical abnormality (he was born with two stomachs), he cannot control his flatulence. This has driven his father to leave the family and made Patrick an outsider at school. His only friend is Alan A. Allen, a young inventor with no sense of smell.
To help Patrick with his “problem”, Alan creates Thunderpants, a pair of pants to contain the farting emissions.
After winning the Non-Assisted Flight Competition with Thunderpants 2, Alan is whisked away by the USSC to help them find a way to rescue astronauts stuck in space. Unaware of the reason for Alan’s sudden disappearance and hoping to find him, Patrick joins the world’s second best tenor Sir John Osgood on a world tour, but ends up being accused of being responsible for the world’s best tenor’s fatal accident. Will Patrick be saved, and will he reach his dream of becoming an astronaut? And where is Alan?

Rupert’s character

Alan A. Allen is a geeky boy genius who wants to become an inventor. As he has no sense of smell, he is the only person not bothered by Patrick’s farts and therefore his only friend. In his little invetor’s shed, he creates the Thunderpants to help Patrick with his problem. Clever as he is, he transfers the technology to build a hovercraft-like flying machine for the Flight Competition and eventually to help the USSC in sending a rocket into space.

Trivia Information

  • The beginning credits show a close-up of the Thunderpants, Tim Burton style.
  • Alan is the only student wearing a bow-tie instead of a tie as part of his school uniform.
  • Everyone seems to drive a green Mini Cooper.
  • During the line “in the eyes of society”, Alan rolls his own eyes.
  • The orange platform of Thunderpants 2 is built from an upturned childrens’ swimming pool.
  • Alan has a mole and a scar on his left knee.
  • One deleted scene explains why Patrick’s room is empty but for the furniture; another deleted scene explains why Alan throws Patrick a sad/nasty look when he is driven away by the USSC people.
  • Patrick’s Space suit has a Union Jack on the left arm. Hence, he’s a British spaceman.
  • Patrick is left handed. Alan is right handed.
  • When the babyphone goes off in the beginning, Mrs Smash’s bright green earrings are next to the babyphone.
  • In the scene when Alan explains to Patrick the design of Thunderpants 3, Alan’s voice breaks (from child-voice to Rupert’s “grown-up voice”).