Thumb Wars: The Phantom Cuticle (1999 TV Movie) User Reviews

A fun little short film created by Steve Oedekerk

[SinjinSB · 6/10 · 29 September 2002]

A fun little short film created by Steve Oedekerk. An altered version of Star Wars (the original) acted out by thumbs. Sure it's a silly idea, but it had me laughing out loud at some of the lines. The names are hilarious, especially "Oobedoob Scobydoob Benubi". It's the only movie in the Thumb series that I've seen, but I found it pretty amusing. With a running time of 29mins, it's gimmick doesn't overstay it's welcome.

*** (Out of 4)

Not Oscar material, but it was never meant to be in the first place.

[whiteboyroy · 8/10 · 30 December 2004]

I have read some of the IMDb user comments for this "movie" and have come upon the conclusion that some people need to lighten up! It's a comical parody, for Pete's sake - not an Oscar entry! It's not supposed to WOW you over with million dollar special effects - it's supposed to poke fun at our modern film culture.

This film was not released in theaters but was made strictly for home entertainment uses. I purchased the DVD box set of all 6 Thumb films for my kids for Christmas and we have laughed ourselves silly at these clever and quite creative shorts. Such titles as, "Thumbtanic", "The Blair Thumb", "Frankenthumb", "The Godthumb" and "Bat Thumb" - each one a hilarious and extremely inventive jab at classic cinema. Who would have ever thought of making films with thumbs as the stars? Only Steve Oedekerk and Co., that's who!

Who cares if Star Wars came out in 1977 and the jokes for this film are old and tired? This is good stuff, people! Sure, the characters in the film are all thumbs – that's why it's called "Thumb Wars"! Want a hearty, cheap laugh at a classic sci-fi film? Watch this and you won't be sorry!

Thumbs up; even more quotable than Star Wars

[Flagrant-Baronessa · 8/10 · 9 July 2006]

Ace Ventura director Steve Oedekerk is all about overblown physical comedy and Thumb Wars, a Star Wars parody, is in no way an exception to his style. It is a half hour's long spoof of the old Star Wars trilogy (not the Phantom Menace, as the title suggests) in which thumbs are used as characters. You may think you have the good taste not to see this, but I assure you that some of the jokes had me in stitches when I first saw it and I am still quoting this film today, years later. However, you most definitely need to be a Star Wars fan and/or well familiar with the films in order to appreciate the gags that Oedekerk attempts.

Oedekerk has snapped up on all of the already silly things and the poor writing in the original Star Wars saga, and taken them to the extreme by making them twice as silly and overblown. Take the borderline whiny attitude of Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker; in Thumb Wars an opportunity to make fun of this is never missed and the character has this whiny voice and complains about everything. It starts with Luke living at his uncle and aunt's house, much like the original saga, and confronting them one day with: "YOU DON'T KNOW WHO I AM INSIDE! YOU NEVER HAVE! I'M GONNA RUN AWAY AND NEVER COME BACK EVER! " (*storms out crying*) And so starts his adventure to overthrow the empire. Oedekerk also points to the things that George Lucas simply never bothered to explain. Like, Leia (or Princess Bunhead, as she is appropriately called here) once in the empire ship: "I escaped somehow. Let's go." Priceless.

Sometimes, the observant viewer can tell that a lot of thought has been put into some of the lines, like the thumb of Han Solo constantly making references to Harrison Ford's movies. While other times, the lines are so random that you just have to laugh out loud. It's also freaky how much thumb Obi-Wan Kenobi sounds like Alec Guinness, the real Obi-Wan. Pay attention to details like this and remember not to take things too seriously. Thumb Wars isn't flawless and there were one or two gags that I thought could have been removed completely, but the awesome dialogue usually makes up for this. I've seen all of the thumb parodies (Blair Witch Thumb, Thumbtanic, etc) and this is my favourite.

May the thumbs be with you, always...

[Take2-2 · 2 September 1999]

'Thumb Wars' is a hilarious 'Star Wars' parody! The cast of thumbs couldn't be better. Steve Odenkirk has created a spoof that will stand the test of time. I hope that it will continue to be shown on TV and released on video. May the thumbs be with you, always...

Amusing

[Tintin a Tokyo · 7/10 · 18 October 2000]

Thumb Wars is a nice, odd little parody on the now culturally mythical original Star Wars. The short interview/making of sequence following the filmette added to the enjoyment when you saw the number of people and the amount of effort which went into filming some thumbs (and one foot).

It's true that some of the jokes made are pretty much standard fare (Leah is Princess Bunhead - with cinnamon buns for hair, a Stormtrooper comments on Darth Vader's "cool" voice). However, the curious effect of faces superimposed on thumbs, some of the attention to detail and references to the original (the bar scene), and some of the just plain whacked out humour (the naked X-wing pilot) are what maintain the pace.

2 minutes longer and I think I would have begun to lose interest, but for something different and a good laugh Thumb Wars does the job. The preview for Thumb Tanic looked good too.

Spoof At Its Best

[dobbin-4 · 7/10 · 13 September 2008]

Spoofs are a very hit and miss thing type of movie background. When done right, it can be a zany adventure that you seem to have a permanent smile whacked on your face from start to finish like Flying High, Miss. Cast Away and to a much lesser extent, Scary Movie.

But when spoofs are done badly, it really shows. They can go from being an enjoyable film that makes fun of other films to being one reference of movie after movie with stupid pop culture references that are vomit inducing (Friedburg, Seltz).

This is a great spoof, it has zany humor, accomplishes what is promised and best of all, has the smile on face factor that makes this type of movie, however stupid the humor is, very, very enjoyable.

This is, by the way the first in the 6 part series of Thumb movies and this is probably the best (Maybe not as good as Part 6, Thumbtanic) and is an all round good way to spend 21 minutes. It is worth a watch for fans of the art of spoof.

Overall, give it a try, and if you cant find it on DVD, it is on Youtube.

I rate this 69%.

Easily the best Star Wars parody yet

[rainewalker- · 10/10 · 13 November 1999]

Thumb wars is an excellent adaptation of the Star Wars trilogy, brought down to a little under 30 minutes and made funnier than seems possible. Thumb wars is laugh out loud hilarious and worth seeing more than once. An avid fan or a relative Star Wars new comer will both find it hysterical.

Good, but not great sendup

[medrjel · 6/10 · 18 July 2002]

The problem with parodies is timing. Steve Odenkirk did a decent job of spoofing Star Wars, but it lacked 2 things. First, other than the use of thumbs, it lacked humor. It was more a retelling than a spoof. Second, it lacked timing. It came out 22 years AFTER the fact. Many great spoofs and sendups have come and gone, and this just doesn't hit home for me.

I Love Thumb Wars!

[accountuseonly · 10/10 · 20 July 2005]

If there were thumbs in space and they got mad at each other, there would be...Thumb Wars!

Wow..this was possibly one of the funniest movie I have ever seen. The thumbs have have huge eyes, funny eyebrows, small mouths with crooked teeth...what's funnier than that? I found this movie at the video store and decided it looked really dumb, so I rented it. It turned out it was way funny and way better than Justin to Kelly (which I had watched earlier that same day).

My favorite character would have to have been Princess Bunhead...because she had buns glued to her head or something; and she also managed to escape somehow on countless occasions. I also thought Yoda was cool, even though he resembled a rotten pear; but it was pretty funny when the light saber magically came out of his head.

After the movie was over there were previews for future thumb-related videos including "ThumbTanic". I almost died when that thumb came on the screen and starting singing "My Heart is a Thumb" to the tune of "My Heart Will Go On". I'm making a point to go and find all six movies in the Thumb Series, because they are just so cool.

If you haven't already seen this movie then I don't know what you are waiting for. Go see it right now. Go. Leave. Don't read anymore, you're wasting precious thumb-watching time. No seriously...go see it, you don't know what you are missing.

oh yea and PS the guy who wrote thumb wars also made jimmy neutron...but we all know thumb wars is way better =]

A REALLY good parody

[lorenzoshelby · 7/10 · 29 October 2018]

This is the best Star Wars parody ever 2nd to Spaceballs. The jokes,story,characters everything was amazing here sure it's not laugh out loud funny but still funny. Saw this on YouTube yesterday and it's really good I can't really explain it just watch it yourself and see how you feel

much better than the real thing

[Genius_15 · 3/10 · 2 October 2002]

this movie kicks. it has got to be one of the funniest movies i have ever seen. another great one is the blair thumb. one of the funniest ideas in this movie is that they make fun of the whiny way luke acted. star wars is pretty good except for luke. he talks to fast and he wines through the whole thing. do not watch this if you boring and you can't take a joke. right. 10/10

Touch your tongue to mine

[Laura_VanDerbooben · 10/10 · 7 March 2002]

this movie is HILARIOUS! if you like star wars,(or even better star wars spoofs) you will love this movie...Steve O. has thought of almost everything from where they live to the name of the characters (Loke Groundrunner=Luke Skywalker, Han Solo=Hand Duet, Princess Leia=Priness BunHead.) The funniest thing was the name they thought of for Obi Wan "Ben" Kenobi. Oobie Doob Scoobie Doobie Benubi. SEE THIS MOVIE...or better yet purchase it!!!

don't see this movie!

[sinead_Quinn03 · 1/10 · 24 October 2005]

i first seen this movie in hem, it was cheap so i thought i would buy it for the laugh. i thought aw its going to be a comedy thats so crap that its funny but ITs NOT! it was rotten seeing thumbs walking around, it was like spitting image, vulgar and unwatchable. i was looking at my watch every couple of minutes waiting for it to end!. it was the worst movie I've ever seen in my whole life. i ended up throwing the DVD away the next day, thumb wars and thumbtacking was the worst movies ever.don't see it, burn it!don't see it, burn it!don't see it, burn it!don't see it, burn it!don't see it, burn it!don't see it, burn it!don't see it, burn it!don't see it, burn it!don't see it, burn it!don't see it, burn it!don't see it, burn it!

better than Star Wars!

[planktonrules · 10/10 · 20 August 2005]

Okay, I'll admit it isn't better than STAR WARS--I was doing that to make all the rabid Star Wars fans nuts!

I am a strange man. After all, I no longer have much interest in Star Wars and don't think much about all the hype--after all the movies, I'm tired. Maybe it's that they are too predictable or maybe I've just become an old fart, but I just don't feel nearly as excited about the movies as when I saw the first one back in 1977. Fortunately, my boredom was recently shattered when I stumbled upon this 30 minute gem from Steve Oedekerk. Unlike Space Balls, this is a GOOD spoof of the genre and I have NEVER met anyone who actually sat through this film who didn't like it. Sure, there will be some who say this is a VERY DUMB movie (after all, it stars thumbs with faces)--but that is probably because they just assumed it was bad and never gave it a chance! Rebell against your instinct to avoid watching this film. TRUST ME--I have your best interests at heart! Watch it and enjoy the silliness--because sometimes you just need a good stupid laugh! PS--if you like this one, there are other THUMB movies (though I think this one is best). For a NEARLY as funny film, watch THUMBTANIC!

Thumbtastic !! I give this movie two Thumbs up !

[jimmy_costa72 · 9/10 · 18 January 2006]

This movie is hilarious ! I quote lines from this movie more than the original Star Wars ! I would recommend this and all the thumb movies to anybody, especially Thumb Wars if you are a Star Wars fan.

The names of the characters, the references to the movie (and other things), and the unexpected plot twist ! Three Star Wars movies condensed into one short 1/2 hour hilarious comedy.

HANS DUET: All right, you thumbs, listen up. A one-armed man killed my wife Sabrina, a working girl. And now I'm a fugitive and in clear and present danger. I should be presumed innocent, but they're playing patriot games with me; Raiders, regarding Henry, Blade Runner and Air Force One.

Sometimes funny, sometimes not.

[Jack the Ripper1888 · 22 December 2002]

From KUNG POW!: ENTER THE FIST director, Steve Oedekerk, comes yet another spoof of the Star Wars movies. Only with thumbs as the actors. There is not much to be said about this short film except that this is one of Oedekerk's 'Thumb' movies to be forgotten. It is not as funny as his later works, but it is still good for a laugh. It is a definite must-see if you are a fan of the Star Wars movies. I am not, but I still found it amusing.

THUMB WARS: 3/5.

I would've given it a 1/10 but...

[jesusofchicago · 3/10 · 14 August 2003]

I gave it a 3/10. The whole movie was tacky and cliche. I saw Hardware Wars when I was exremely young and this seems to be either taking jokes from that, or from Spaceballs. The 'Dark Helmet' joke was just carbon copied. Why were they thumbs? I think it's humor like this that really has become prevelant...and I can't stand it. Instead of finding unique insight (hint, pick something that has yet to be parodied) just turn everyone into thumbs. I've said it before and I'll say it again, parody is dead.

Now, why did I give it a 3? Because one scene had me in tears. One of the commanders of the Death Star was giving Darth Vader some lip...and it was hilarious. "I'm a scary warlock and I'm going to get you with my mystic potions!" Something about that scene just got me laughing, so, I give it a 3. If I had found the whole movie that funny it would have been around 8 or 9, but, the rest was just cliched jokes. Oh well...parody is extinct.

Incredibly funny!

[quincunx-2 · 10/10 · 30 September 1999]

I will have to agree and say that this is the best Star Wars spoof I have ever seen. I didn't catch the whole thing when it was shown on TV, and I was glad to be able to buy it on video. The same folks are working on Titanic as well as other parodies. If they are anything like Thumb Wars, they should be hilarious.

Star Wars with thumbs

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 10 September 2015]

This half hour is a short film that writer and director and voice actor Steve Oedekerk made over 15 years ago. It features the story of "Star Wars", only that the central characters are all played by thumbs. Oedekerk did the same with some other films like "The Godfather" and "Blair Witch Project". Two years after this parody here, he scored an Oscar nomination in the animated feature category for his work on "Jimmy Neutron". Since then, he has worked on many films and television series. I myself am not the greatest "Star Wars" fan and this is maybe also why I did not appreciate this one here really that much. It's not a terrible watch by any means, but something was missing for me to really let me recommend it. I hoped it would be funnier. Thumbs down, could have been better at 20 minutes max.

Hysterical

[ga-bsi · 10/10 · 12 January 2009]

When I watched this short film I couldn't help laughing because it was such a seamless and brilliant rip off of Star Wars, which is definitely a Film that is not easy to make a spoof of.

Steve Oedekerk really delivers in this because he takes a very serious story, as sci-fi films go; and turns it into something that will make you fall off your chair with laughter.

Everything about his script is great, right from the moment where you first see a hand being used as the main spacecraft of the Thumbellion to the moment where all of the people are honoured for their part in the destruction of the death star; with even Oobedoob Scooby-Doo Benubi showing up in spirit with big grin and all.

The names that are chosen for each character are great, my favourites are Princess Bunhead, Hand Duet, Cruchie and Oobedoob Benubi.

If you haven't watched this film, give it a whirl; because you will not be disappointed. And even if you're a die hard fan of the Star Wars movies, you should definitely consider watching this film.

a great way to start the legacy

[shawshank86 · 9/10 · 21 February 2007]

this is the first of the thumb movies i saw, and i must admit, i was quite skeptical when was first told about it. i only gave it a chance because i love the mel brooks' classic "spaceballs". this plays off weak points in the star wars trilogy, and also manages to lend some amount of creativity, for example, when loke groundrunner is being trained in the power of the thumb, the ball shooting lasers is being used as a torture device while the ship's crew laughs at him. the classic line from this movie, i think, is when loke tries to use the power of the thumb to guide the shot that will blow up the big weapon thing, and the late mentor oobi-doob scooby-dooby bonubi says to him "use the instrument panel, that's what it's there for".

A good-Bad movie

[andrewlb_2000 · 1/10 · 9 January 2003]

Well after seeing this it is no Gone with the wind. I in fact hated it but some parts were funny, they really did not make very much sense but the sense they made was very funny I give it a 2 out of 10. the 2 is because it wasn't very funny and and the stuff they had was Sex jokes and I do not like sex jokes.

Thumb Wars

[could_chat_4eva · 10/10 · 3 May 2005]

I watched this before I was such a big Star Wars fan, but I still found it hilarious! I'm sure I'll find it funnier when I watch it again, but I thoroughly enjoyed it the first time and would recommend it to anyone and everyone! The extremely funny names for all of the characters are excellent, and the characters look fantastic (if not a little weird). The voices only add to the humour, and the thumb/finger-related phrases are very funny. A true piece of comedy, even if it is rather short, and it's worth every penny! Thumbtanic is also a treat, although it doesn't stick in my mind quite as well as this masterpiece. It suited my sense of humour perfectly, and will be enjoyable for people of all ages, even if they have never been really "into" the Star Wars films. Star Wars fanatics will find it hilarious, and I strongly recommend it. Absolutely brilliant!

comedic genius

[bmatsuda-01398 · 10/10 · 31 March 2023]

Thumbwars is a parody film that pokes fun at the Star Wars franchise. Released in 1999, it features a cast of thumb puppets in a galactic battle for supremacy. The film is directed by Steve Oedekerk and is part of the "Thumb" series of films, including Thumbtanic and Batthumb.

The film's humor is irreverent and tongue-in-cheek, with clever puns and witty one-liners delivered by the thumb puppets. The parody is not limited to Star Wars, as it also references other sci-fi franchises like Star Trek and The Terminator.

One of the film's standout features is its impressive use of thumb puppets to recreate iconic scenes from the Star Wars movies. The filmmakers have paid attention to detail in creating miniature sets, props, and costumes, making the thumb puppets appear as real characters.

The film's soundtrack is also worth mentioning, with a mix of original compositions and classic movie themes reimagined with a comedic twist.

Overall, Thumbwars is a fun and entertaining film that is sure to delight fans of parody and comedy. Its creative use of thumb puppets, clever writing, and irreverent humor make it a standout in the genre. Whether you are a fan of Star Wars or not, Thumbwars is definitely worth a watch.

Best movie I have seen

[franusiak · 10/10 · 31 December 2021]

I watched the movie as a kid but never seen it again till now and it's like God has given me a gift is how much I loved this movie an the other thumb movies made.