Review by Jenny Priestley
Stars the voices of Ewan McGregor, Rosamund Pike, Richard E Grant, Timothy Spall, Tom Wilkinson,
Alan Cumming, Dominic West, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Richard Griffiths | Written by Edward McHenry & Rory McHenry
UK certification 15 | UK RRP £15.99 | Runtime 95 minutes | Directed by Edward McHenry & Rory McHenry
Jackboots on Whitehall is a British animation, but don’t expect a cuddly Aardman movie. This is a strange but enjoyable film.
Made by first-time directors Edward McHenry and Rory McHenry, it definitely tips its hat at Team America: World Police – all the puppets are inspired by Action Man and Barbie. The film imagines what might have happened if the British army hadn’t made it out of Dunkirk and the Germans had managed to drill their way under the channel and into Trafalgar Square.
The film’s hero is Chris, voiced by McGregor, an orphaned farm labourer with particularly large hands (which are referred to throughout the film). Chris decides to rally the men and women of his village and stop the Germans taking Winston Churchill prisoner. After a battle in Downing Street the ragged band of fighters decide to head to the "frozen north" (aka Scotland) to attempt one last stand.
There’s an array of British voice talent on show here including Pike, Spall, Cumming and West (who voices an American pilot). It’s incredibly dark in places, particularly the battle scenes, but it is enjoyable and I doubt you’ll see another film quite like it this year. Oh, and watch out for the Lord Of The Rings homage/rip-off!
EXTRAS ★★★ A behind-the-scenes featurette; iinterviews with the crew; The Swastikas featurette; A Bad Day to be a Nazi featurette; Hitler's Rat Pack featurette; The Nazi Hotties featurette; Explosions featurette; and a Voiceovers featurette.