Thumb Wars

with Steve Oedekerk, Andrea Fears, Ross Shafer
Written and directed by Steve Oedekerk
(Thumb/Image Entertainment)
by John Bikowski

When I first heard about a Star Wars spoof made with thumbs, I thought at best it would be in the mid-range of a continuum. The range I envisioned went from some guy with his thumb up his butt claiming to be Darth InVader to magic-markered faces on wrestling thumbs. I was shocked to find that Thumb Wars transcended my hopes and established itself as a must-see party DVD. Created by Steve Oedekerk, this 29-minute filmette pokes fun at all the quirks in Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back. What makes this a comedy gem is the use of computer technology to seamlessly superimpose animated faces onto real thumbs. Yup… everyone in the film is a thumb.

You know the basic tale; Loke Groundrunner teams with Princess Bunhead to stamp out Black Helmet Man and the evil Thumbpire. There are too many hilarious kickers to explain. Yoda cryptically admits to being a puppet, light sabers war with “Raooorrr” sounds made by the fighters’ mouths, heads pop off for asking inane questions, and much, much more. All delivered with great timing and at a quick pace.

The film looks and sounds great and is accompanied by some cool extras. There’s a nifty running audio commentary by the creators, storyboards, a disgusting Gabba the Butt interview, and trailers which include Thumbtanic and The Blair Thumb. Be the first to show this film to your friends and they will thank you for it, as soon as they stop laughing their asses off.
(www.thumb.com, www.image-entertainment.com)