Mars Attacks! | Canadian First Time Watching | Movie Reaction | Movie Review | Movie Commentary

[@merchillio]

The studio told Tim Burton he couldn’t kill Jack Nicholson, so he killed him twice

[@LordVolkov]

In Burton's defense, he 😵 at least 75% of the cast on screen 🤣🤣🤣

[@only257]

@@LordVolkov agreed

[@Raven5150]

This wasn't the first time time burton offed jack Nicholson

[@youdosuck]

Which is weird because he killed him in Batman

[@juliodavila424]

And you can tell Nicholson is loving it.

[@monacaravetta]

The actress who plays Grandma is the great Sylvia Sydney. She played the Caseworker Juno in Beetlejuice. A wonderful actress with a great career.

[@Cadinho93]

Fun Fact: The executive producers gave Tim Burton orders not to kill off Jack Nicholson's character, so Tim Burton made a second character for Jack Nicholson just so he could kill him twice. Also, that one line of Jack Nicholson's gets me every time. "Tell the people they've still got two outta three branches of the government working for them, and that ain't bad!"

[@LordVolkov]

Jack's doing some sort of Reagan/Bush combo and it's hilarious. Even when he isn't speaking President Jack makes some great faces too.

[@odysseus655]

Plus the references to the Roosevelt fireside chats

[@crwydryny]

Not quite. Nicholson was cast as the president after warrent Beatty and Paul Newman both dropped out. Keaton was going to play the part of art lan but Nicholson insisted on playing the part despite already being cast as the president

[@davep6403]

Nuclear bong, fkn amazing!!! Hah hah hah

[@darrenhoskins8382]

Not many films get better every time I watch them… this and Death Becomes Her and that’s about it- enjoyed them at the cinema, really like them now

[@victorsixtythree]

"Mars Attacks!" was originally a series of trading cards in the early 1960's. Each card had artwork on the front and told a piece of the story on the back. if you collected all the cards you would have the whole story.

[@xen0bia]

Yeah, it blows my mind that something so obscur would get a movie decades later.

[@victorsixtythree]

@@busimagen Luckily just a few inches of wet snow to deal with.

[@dr.burtgummerfan439]

A lot of the movie's scenes were taken directly from the cards too. I never really collected the cards, but I was familiar enough with them to get deja vu.😂

[@Laceykat66]

Something the hosts should have checked on before watching the movie. They would have "gotten more of the jokes."

[@beezoofer]

@@xen0bia, it is Tim Burton after all. Kids grew up with what would be later seen as "obscure."

[@IggyStardust1967]

"Don't run..... we are your friends!"

[@DowJonesDave]

my favorite line.

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

TAK, A TAK!

[@WUStLBear82]

Grandma was played by Classic Hollywood actress Sylvia Sidney, who was also in Burton's _Beetlejuice_ . This was the last feature film of her 73-yr career. She died three years later at 88, with her last credit as a series regular in the late-90s reboot of _Fantasy Island_ .

[@toxuthat6988]

I bought this movie on DVD at Walmart in Germany (in the brief period of time Walmart existed here), and the cover art just featured the image of Sarah Jessica Parker's head on the dogs body. The cashier just looked at me with an expression of sheer disgust, and asked if I was already 18 yet. I was, but there was also a prominent FSK 12 (ages 12 and up) sticker on the cover. To this day I still remember this as one of the dumbest interactions ever at the register.

[@bujin1977]

I love that in most alien invasion movies the aliens have a reason for invading the planet, usually in order to strip it of resources (such as Independence Day and War of the Worlds). In this films, the aliens are invading simply because they're being dicks.

[@njw5869]

So , more human than other aliens ?

[@bujin1977]

@@njw5869 Yep!

[@lapislazuli5035]

"We did for the lulz".

[@ericlayton8888]

I’m pretty sure they’re playing a form of Laser Quest. Some of them shoot red lasers that leave red skeletons and the others shoot green lasers which leave green skeletons It’s only after the weird sexy Martian gets killed that they start killing people without their guns, as if they’re retaliating against a breach of the rules

[@ericmm6822]

@@lapislazuli5035Stop running! We come in peace !!

[@cbobwhite5768]

The Carlton dance was first done on Dec. 10, 1990. The first time he danced to Tom Jones' "It's Not Unusual", was Nov. 16, 1992. "Mars Attacks", came out in 1996.

[@roboticd]

You know the "Carlton" was the dance Tom Jones did back in the day. The whole joke is that Carlton danced like an old white guy...

[@heytoast7129]

@@roboticd It might've been Tom's at one point. But since 1992, Carlton owns that shit.

[@paulcochran1721]

And now we know. And knowing is half the battle! 😄

[@dr.burtgummerfan439]

​@@paulcochran1721Thanks, Joe!😁

[@hyzenthlay7151]

"So who's in this movie?" "Yes"

[@NativeNewMexican]

"Nuclear Bong" OMG, that hit so hard!

[@NativeNewMexican]

@@user-hc2tu7ul7j you know it.

[@christhompson2006]

The movie is based on the Mars Attacks trading cards made by Topps in the early '60s.

[@marquisdesade3025]

Coolest artwork. That and “Dinosaurs Attack!”

[@wolfpredator1000]

those cards were so violent a proper movie based on them would be a horror movie

[@Baiko]

It's funny how a bunch of the scenes have like 1:1 the same shot as in the trading cards.

[@RoninUK-e3u]

The Civil War set was brutal too.@@wolfpredator1000

[@3DJapan]

​@@Baiko Yeah like the burning cows.

[@fallenhero3130]

This movie is basically Tim Burton trolling the audience. He fills the movie with an all-star cast only to then kill most of them off in anti-climatic and dopey ways. The fact Danny DeVito gets such prominent above-the-title billing yet is in only two scenes and doesn't even have a name aside from "Rude Gambler" is definitely part of this joke.

[@namelessjedi2242]

It’s intentionally based on the style of 1970’s disaster movies.

[@billythealiensmiller]

@@namelessjedi2242 No, it was based on 1962 trading cards.

[@billythealiensmiller]

@@busimagen They were not colonizing the Earth. They were selling gory trading cards. It was that simple.

[@mediumvillain]

​@@busimagenThey were talking about the format of the movie being like a 70s disaster flick, which is very much is. I would be interested to see a more modern take on the little serial story depicted in those cards though since so much of this was CGI anyway.

[@billythealiensmiller]

My mistake. I admit I didn't read the entire story. Now, I am even more impressed with the film. Q: Was the thing about Slim Whitman in the story on the cards ? I had not read that either. I am under the impression that Slim Whitman and Tom Jones were not on the cards, but clever additions. @@busimagen

[@CalciumChief]

This film is Burton's love letter to the stuff he grew up with - 50's monster/alien movies.

[@roadrunner3100]

The music that kills the aliens is Slim Whitman. He was a very successful and prolific country singer songwriter whose career spanned decades but peaked in the 50s. He sold over 70 million albums and was the opening act for Elvis when Elvis started touring in the 50s.

[@peridot1706]

The iconic film flying saucer is from Ray Harryhausen's "Earth vs The Flying Saucers" (1956) which influenced this film and Burton initially wanted to use stop motion as well. There is an earlier film from 1950 with a saucer but the iconic disc with prominent center dome is Harryhausen. The president's fireside chat was a call back to Franklin D. Roosevelt who was POTUS during the Great Depression and WW2. To reassure Americans he'd address the country weekly, opting to sit by a fireplace rather than a formal oration at a podium.

[@target844]

The idea of a flying saucer is likely because of Fata Morgana (mirages). It is certain that what you see is mirrored around a line. Anything that is just above the mirror line and is taller in the middle will have a source-like profile. There are images of alleged flying saucers from earlier in the 1950s. They are likely hubcaps or something similar thrown in the air. If you look at a hubcap from the period before you can see that many have a profile with a taller dome in the middle. The wiki page on flying sources show some of them, "Earth vs The Flying Saucers" (1956) did not invent the idea but would have copied something that already exists in the public sphere.

[@peridot1706]

I didn't say Harryhausen invented flying saucers. I said the iconic film depiction is. Th yhere are other flying saucer depictions, they differ.

[@ennesshay5040]

wiki: 'Flying saucer.' Mainly popularised by Kenneth Arnold's sighting in 1947. 'He said they resembled a 'saucer' 'disc' or 'pie-plate.' He added 'they flew like saucers skipping across water.'

[@linkloudenback8359]

The bit with the song that kills the Martins is a call back to the movie “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes”.

[@dr.burtgummerfan439]

🎵Puberty Love🎶

[@deementia6796]

I was coming to the comments to mention that too. Puberty Blues was the song in Killer Tomatoes.

[@namelessjedi2242]

Note to George: Mars Attacks was ready to start filming before Brosnan’s first Bond film, Goldeneye, was released. Due to delays Mars Attacks started filming after Goldeneye came out, but Brosnan would have signed on before, and the public would not be used to him as Bond yet. He was not some big-shot actor that was above starring as a disembodied head. Also, the ‘living head in a jar” concept seems to have first appeared in a story from the 1920’s. It’s old.

[@daved2352]

I like to think that he would have done it for the Craic anyway. He seems like a good bloke who's up for a laugh.

[@Deathbird_Mitch]

He was already Remington Steele and well known.

[@pappajudas9267]

How dare you undermine the cultural significance of Remington Steele.

[@BarryHart-xo1oy]

Very true.

[@alucard624]

Brosnan has always had a good sense of humor about himself so Mars Attacks! was right up his alley.

[@angelagraves865]

(8:04) I have letters from a relative from about 1900 and she was writing about riding the train for the first time with her aunt and they were marvelling at the breakneck speed that was 15 mph. They'd never travelled so fast and the excitement and fear of it really impressed them. 😆

[@3DJapan]

And now a few years ago I was on a shinkansen train in Japan going 200mph.

[@angelagraves865]

@@3DJapan That's amazing!

[@dr.burtgummerfan439]

I read somewhere that in the early days of automobiles, people thought of 60mph ("A MILE a minute!") like we think of light speed, something that would never be achieved, let alone exceeded.

[@joelwillems4081]

@@dr.burtgummerfan439 More than that. Many scientists thought traveling at that speed would kill you by scrambling your internal organs. Something to remember. All science is wrong until some of it is eventually proven correct. That is just how science works. You should never, ever trust a scientist.

[@chapo0815]

"Glen,.... They're Close!" 😅

[@QuayNemSorr]

The cast of this movie is absolutely crazy. The movie itself is inspired by old chewing gum collectors cards.

[@samanthanickson6478]

@michaelrogers2080which, i believe, when removed from the packaging, one is to chew it. 🤓

[@MrTBoneSF]

I think Nicholson playing multiple characters was also a homage to another end-of-the-world spoof movie, Dr. Strangelove, where Peter Sellers played multiple characters including the President.

[@jesusramirezromo2037]

Head in Jars, and head transplants was a huge trope in 50's B movies

[@jlerrickson]

Pierce Brosnan actually has a fantastic sense of humor regarding some of the roles he takes, especially later in his career when he seems to have said "fuck it, I want to have fun". The Matador and The Out-Laws are both great examples of this.

[@lisaspikes4291]

And don’t forget Mrs. Doubtfire!

[@Caffin8tor]

The movie's basic premise boils down to "What if alien invaders had the mentality of internet trolls?"

[@nooneofimportance2110]

Well, they're cartoon characters, no different from Marvin, Bugs, Elmer, and Foghorn. That's why all their gadgets are so goofy looking as well as that 50's aesthetic.

[@1dkappe]

Slim Whitman’s yodeling music was being flogged on cable around that time. Honestly, his musical stylings would explode anyone’s brain. The great Jim Brown and Pam Greer were staples of 70’s exploitation movies.

[@joelwillems4081]

Jim Brown was one of the best, if not the best, NFL running backs of all time. Yes, people loved him and would watch him in almost anything, especially if he ran or fought. But less than 1/2 a dozen of those were exploitation films. We lost Mr. Brown in 2023. (Initially, OJ Simpson based his NFL and post-NFL career entirely off of Jim Brown. Until drugs and rage consumed him.)

[@JohnGraves1985]

Fun fact: The idea of that song killing aliens, was stolen from a bit Howard Stern did years before the movie came out.

[@Desibeatnik]

The reason for the location was that at the time Pahrump was the home of Art Bell, who was the host of the largest radio program in the US and whose topics often covered ufos, cryptids, and time travel.

[@dr.burtgummerfan439]

From the Kingdom of Nye... I really miss Art

[@Danimals_as_liters]

Danny DeVito is so damn funny. Seriously love that dude. Also the aliens wheeling the giant laser to gank grandma is truly hilarious.

[@straak]

@02:30 These flying saucers are based on designs created by Ray Harryhausen. @28:20 Jack just wanted to play, so Tim gave him both rolls.

[@falloutfan2502]

Is that the same guy that did the skellingtons in Clash of the Titans? BTW, they should do that one.

[@jacksonbelow6882]

It's a shame more people don't recognize or at least mention Rod Steiger, Paul Winfield, Jim Brown, and Joe Don Baker alongside Jack Nicholson, Danny Devito, etc. A lot of real giants in this film.

[@TenTonNuke]

Don't forget the massively underrated Martin Short.

[@exile220ify]

When I saw the Martians off Captain Terrell from Star Trek, I was sad :)

[@ShaneSpear02]

Jim Brown was a Brown not a Giant 😉

[@exile220ify]

@@ShaneSpear02 Oooh you so funny. Me love you long time...

[@van8ryan]

This literally came out about five months after the release of INDEPENDENCE DAY. Burton apparently wasn't aware of the movie until it came out, and thought it was hysterical he had made basically a "MAD MAGAZINE" kind of INDEPENDENCE DAY.

[@natetr1p]

Flying saucers came from one of the first descriptions of unidentified aerial phenomenon. A pilot in Washington state saw a formation of what he described as saucers skipping on water. From that point on all the comics and movies use the saucers you see today.

[@FlyingTigress]

1947, while flying his private plane near Mt. Rainier. Kenneth Arnold, IIRC

[@Jymm]

And earlier too. Disc-shaped flying objects have been interpreted as being sporadically recorded since the Middle Ages (such as the 1561 celestial phenomenon over Nuremberg, which contained various other shapes as well) On January 25, 1878, the Denison Daily News printed an article in which John Martin, a local farmer, had reported seeing a large, dark, circular object resembling a balloon flying "at wonderful speed". Martin, according to the newspaper account, said it appeared to be about the size of a saucer from his perspective, one of the first uses of the word "saucer" in association with a UFO. ---From Wikipedia

[@chameleonvr4]

@natetr1p It was probably a rock someone was skipping.... Kekek

[@RoaldRoberts]

Whoa man, that's pretty cool @@Jymm

[@dr.burtgummerfan439]

What's funny is that the pilot (Kenneth Arnold) was describing how the objects moved and flew, like a "saucer skipping on the water". The actual objects he described were more of a bat-wing or delta shape. But the media and public latched onto the "flying saucer" imagery.

[@smittybenzo4693]

25:29 The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air Ended in May, 1996 before Mars Attacks was released that December but Carlton was dancing to Tom Jones seasons before that.

[@Lynxdoc]

It's amazing how many famous actors are in this - I keep forgetting Micheal J. Fox and Natelie Portman are in it.

[@jdnaz1288]

Fun Fact: The grandma was played by Sylvia Sidney, who played the caseworker, Juno, in another movie you guys have reacted to, Beetlejuice. This was her final film role.

[@sleeper-cassie]

I’ve seen this movie two or three times before, but it was only during your reaction just now that I “got” one of the jokes: the nuclear bomb’s explosion being huffed by the lead alien. Fusion bombs work by forcing together hydrogen atoms, which then convert into helium. Now, it generally only produces a tiny amount of helium, but for the sake of a joke, it works.

[@inakamoto]

Yeah, science!

[@balansboy]

This whole movie is a WTF moment in a good way

[@thisithis]

Some people tell me that the crazy war general was inspired by films with crazy war generals in 40s films and Matthew Marcus from 1993 Exosquad.

[@Harv72b]

13:21 "Are you supposed to shoot over peoples' heads during 21 gun salutes?" Obviously Burton is playing this scene for a laugh as well, but in reality yes (I was in the US Army, spent some time on funeral details). Generally speaking you are lined up well away from the mourners but still visible to them, and you're obviously firing blanks, but even still you would often get a few people reacting to the shots. You always aim above the horizon both because of the symbolism (you're saluting the fallen's service and sacrifices, not shooting to kill) and because even blanks can hurt or kill a person if they are too close to the barrel and/or a random small object was jammed inside before you fired.

[@namelessjedi2242]

I don’t recall whether or not you’ve seen Tim Burton’s movie “Ed Wood”, but you should. This movie is partially an homage to that real life director.

[@ethanholgate2512]

He described it as it's like a big budget Ed Wood movie lol I can see that I think they said they are going to watch Ed Wood movie at some point god it's so good why it's so underrated I'll never understand

[@billythealiensmiller]

Burton is an Ed Wood fan but "Mars Attacks" is based solely on the 1962 trading cards though he described it as a big budget Ed Wood film in an interview. That is a good description since most people do not know about Topps trading cards.

[@randybass8842]

Plan 9 From Outer Space is the best of Ed Wood movies. You should at least watch that first before Tim Burton's movie.

[@BoomGiggity]

19:09 - The falling tower was actually the Landmark Casino in Vegas. They used the implosion footage in the movie.

[@MisterT50000]

The scene where the president addresses the nation is framed in the same way as the scene in Batman when Joker addresses Gotham.

[@clh35]

Well they're both a reference to FDR's fireside chats.

[@kebernet]

The context of this movie is that "Mars Attacks" was a set of mildly offensive trading cards for late boomers akin to what Garbage Pail Kids was for Gen X (and I assume there is something similar for the yoots). It was originally just a collection of weird scenes, and the movie is really just about capturing the feel of it. Also, the discussion about the Roosevelt Room was set up. FDR was famous for his "Fireside Chats", or informal radio addresses. Up until Trump, they continued in the form of the president's Saturday radio address, but they became more formal over the years. See also: the Kennedy room.

[@edgarsandoval6990]

Something curious is that the original plan was to adapt another card game called Dinosaurs Attack!, which was created as a continuation of the Mars Attacks! cards. but they thought it would end up associated with Jurassic Park. But in the end, the movie came out the same year as Independence Day. Oops!

[@faesolada445]

My brother, his friends and I used to collect Dinosaurs Attack! and Garbage Pail Kids growing up. Our fourth grade teacher took several of them and ripped them up, saying they were “disgusting and immature”.

[@punkinhicktown]

I had a strange obsession with these when I was growing up. They seemed like relics of a forgotten world. but they told a story, If you got them all. Aliens invade, they make insects really big and run amok across earth, then Humans start fighting back and winning, and we invade mars. They were gory and dark, some of them pretty unsettling even today.

[@edwardcorrigan4775]

The heavy weight boxer working at a casino in the film is a direct reference to Joe Louis, anyone familiar with the boxers final days will see this and understand. He made millions back in the day but the IRS came after him later in life and never allowed him to have anything stripping the man of anything. The movie is insanely funny and I love the way Tim Burton did this movie justice using all the stars that came into the movie. Thanks to the stars that played in movie, great job guys.

[@DMichaelAtLarge]

My favorite Jack Nicholson line in the movie (that you didn't include in the edit, grrr!) is, "I want the people to know that they still have two out of three branches of the government working for them, and that ain't bad." I feel like Nicholson is the only actor on Earth who could deliver such a ridiculous line and make it work.

[@odgjr]

No doubt, inspired by the song by Meat Loaf "Two out of Three Ain't Bad"

[@maximillianosaben]

My favorite Tim Burton movie next to Beetlejuice! Perfectly captured the feel of those old-fashioned b-movies of the 50's that had the big name stars in them. P.S. The Slim Whitman song has long been one of my ringtones/alarms because of this movie.

[@iKvetch558]

Oh gosh...this one is gonna make their faces and lungs hurt from laughing so hard...the humor is so on point. This one will be a direct hit to their funny bones! 😂

[@jp3813]

Many actually didn't like this film's comedy. It has pretty low audience ratings on various film sites.

[@iKvetch558]

@@jp3813 I did not know that, but I guess it makes sense to me...I myself like some of Tim Burton's stuff and dislike others, so I can see other people feeling the same. I guess Simone and George did not love it as much as I thought they would, but they seemed to like it a lot.

[@Cheryworld]

Jack's biggist movie: One Flew Over the Cuckoo"s nest

[@darrendprahm]

I wasn't disappointed. Brilliant!

[@MrDman21]

Fun fact: the hotel with the flying saucer on top was called the Landmark Hotel. The scene where the Martians destroy it was taken from real footage of them imploding it in Las Vegas. Tim Burton used that footage in the film.

[@DeadpoolTesla]

The Cast was pure Gold - Burton Deluxe!

[@echoes1451]

Supposedly, when Jack Nicholson read the script, he said to Burton that he wanted to play all the roles. 😂

[@stevedavis5704]

Can you imagine how much fun this was to make?

[@madmatt4242]

How quickly did it go from "There are way too many characters in this movie" to "Oh no! They are killing off all the characters in this movie"

[@jameswarkentin2798]

I understand the origin of this movie was a series of trading cards with vignettes depicting Martians coming to earth. That is why the storyline is all over the place and a perfect vehicle for an ensemble cast. And a great cast it is!

[@Jay-ate-a-bug]

The Term "Flying Saucer" was coined by a man named Kenneth Arnold in 1947 when he was interviewed about a flight of UFOs he spotted whose movement he described as saucers skipping on the water, Arnold was a Pilot flying near Mount Rainier Washington when he saw a number of these craft flying over the mountain range.

[@perrinklumpp4664]

After a friend and I saw this movie (at a one screen theater), we were walking through the parking lot we saw a couple of girls running to their car. I yelled "Do not run, we are your friends!" and they were laughing so hard they ran into a parked car. One of my favorite movie memories.

[@UnlicensedOkie]

Y’all saw Ed Wood didn’t you? This is basically Tim Burton doing a tribute to Ed Wood movies

[@billythealiensmiller]

No, it isn't. It is a film recreation of Topps "Mars Attacks" trading cards, though Burton admires Ed Wood.

[@UnlicensedOkie]

@@billythealiensmiller yes But he also thought that it would be a perfect opportunity to pay homage to Ed Wood’s films too You can have more than one reason to do something

[@jeremyphillips7827]

16:40 No platform or other trickery was involved. All the credit for Martian Girl's creepy walk goes to the actress, Lisa Marie Smith, and her movement coach, Dan Kamin, who choreographed everything. To make things even more challenging, she had to be literally sewn into that dress by the costumers.

[@themoviedealers]

She was Burton's girlfriend at the time and also played Vampira in Ed Wood.

[@carladams5891]

I didn't see it mentioned anywhere but to answer your question at 13:24 about shooting over people's heads during a 21-gun salute, they fire blanks. It is just gun powder no projectile.

[@RozenockDoll]

I remember seeing this at 6 years old in 96. My grandpa took me and my aunt, one month older than me. We were dying the whole time. But one part we always remember, and joked about, that left us dying in laughter, "Do not run, we are your friends!" *kills everyone*

[@jackspringheel9963]

I watched it with my daughter when she was about 5 (didn't realize it was maybe not aimed at her age group) and hoped she wasn't traumatized by it. Couple years later she saw some noisy seagulls and just cracked up, saying, "We come in peace! We are your friends!" So I guess she was okay.

[@monacaravetta]

This was my mother-in-law Maggie's favorite movie. I took her to the Museum of Pop Culture to see a cool little exhibit featuring props from the film. We had an awesome time together. I miss you , sweetie. ❤

[@karlmortoniv2951]

The crowd of characters with limited screen time was a throwback to the Irwin Allen disaster movies of the ‘70s which were making a bit of a comeback around this time. Allen put recognizable stars in all the parts to help the audience not get lost as to who was who as the mayhem unfolded. The actors concerned got a healthy paycheck for not too much work, the films were usually shot mostly on LA soundstages so they could go home every night, and if the movie did well they had a high grossing movie under their belt, which didn’t hurt. I am glad they dug it. Back when this was new I went with a group of friends and one guy brought a girl who we didn’t know and she was not amused. The Westwood audience was howling around her but she (and her date, obviously, once he twigged) sat there with her arms folded. “It just wasn’t very probable, and mostly just silly,” was her reaction. I mean, yeah. I assume the film didn’t do too well because there are more people like that than I was aware. Someone told me Alex Cox 😳 originally came up with the idea of a film based on the Mars Attacks trading cards and worked on it for a while. That didn’t go anywhere and Cox was replaced by Martin Amis 😱, then Jonathan Gems had a go and his was what got the movie going. Assuming Cox and Amis are the filmmaker and novelist rather than other people with the same names, that’s a frickin’ weird pedigree.

[@HaganeNoGijutsushi]

Yeah, the 1990s were generally big on blockbuster disaster movies. We got twisters, volcanoes, aliens and TWO different asteroid movies.

[@karlmortoniv2951]

@@HaganeNoGijutsushi And two different volcano movies! 😎

[@HaganeNoGijutsushi]

@@karlmortoniv2951 wait, I remember Dante's Peak, what's the other?

[@karlmortoniv2951]

@HaganeNoGijutsushi "Volcano" where the La Brea tar pits erupt. With Tommy Lee Jones among others.

[@richardb6260]

Based on a notorious series of painted trading cards from the 60s that got complaints from parents for their depictions of violence. One card captioned "Destroying a Dog" was singled out. So it was probably a must that it was included in the movie. The flying saucers are identical to those in the 50s film "Earth vs the Flying Saucers" (with great FX by Ray Harryhausen) Their destruction of Washington DC is clearly an homage to that film.

[@cameirusisu1024]

Flying saucers came from a pilot describing the motion (NOT APPEARANCE) of an unknown object as like a saucer flying through the air.

[@RexFuturi]

And, most UFOs are described as cigar-shaped or delta-shaped. I've seen a cigar-shape, myself.

[@dr.burtgummerfan439]

The objects Arnold described were more of a batwing or delta shape, but the "flying saucer" image just took hold.

[@brianwashines2645]

I remember seeing these cards around but the ones that come to mind were drafts for cards they didn't do, like the Martians tying humans to the ends of large mortar cannons and firing them. I always wondered what Tim Burton and company chose to include from this series. Also: the main reason I couldn't accept the direction the latest "Jurassic World" series went was because when I was a kid we had the Topps card series "Dinosaurs Attack!" which was the same concept but a violent depiction of what might happen if dinosaurs suddenly existed in modern times. A brutal near-eradication of the human race due to these new apex killers let loose on the planet. I was waiting to see if they do that one but...I guess not.

[@XeonAlpha]

10:15 after Simone said how cute the dog was, I was just _waiting_ to see how long it took for you to put that together 😂😂😂

[@falloutfan2502]

Too bad the movie poster gave so much away, hmm?

[@cneejr]

My favourite Tim Burton film! An homage to 50s sci-fi B movies. I loved those movies.

[@d4mdcykey]

This film is so unique and bizarre I fell in love with it immediately when it came out. The performances are the kind that only Burton can get from his actors, and for me personally literally anything with Jack Nicholson is, by default, going to be a favorite because that man is the quintessential actors actor, he just has the "it" factor that is not easy to define but you know when you see it. True LEGEND.

[@RobClark_theelusivefish]

The film is based on a set of Topps bubble gum cards from the 60s where it was a set of paintings depicting the invasion from Mars and the downfall of mankind. The cards were full of gross imagery which caused a lot of moral panic both at the time of their initial release and the reprinting of them in the early 90s. While it's a bit muddled with mixed pacing Mars Attacks is an overall fun romp for when you just want to see thing get shot and blown up. It's got the schlock of 50s sci-fi films while playing on many of the tropes of the 70s disaster films. Fun fact ... Jack Nicholson's casino being destroyed is the actual demolition of real-life casino The Landmark.

[@vladyvhv9579]

The first "flying saucer" idea came from a pilot describing a blob of light that was reflecting in his cockpit and how it moved "like a saucer skimming over water".

[@Somehiguy]

I'm probably the only 62 year old male who understood, the "why did you drop out of Yale" reference. poor Rory.

[@danielberg7644]

The building being destroyed was a real building implosion.

[@mikegilgenbach4840]

The yodeling was in a higher frequency which is why they hated birds so much.

[@TheeGoatPig]

I was so excited to see this when it came out, but when I finally got around to renting it the next year I was so puzzled by what I had just seen. I watched it again when it came to cable and was still unsure of what I thought about it. It took me a third watch before I could even begin to admit that I just might love this movie. And I do. I absolutely have grown to love Mars Attacks!

[@MikeyVenture]

18:33 Spirit Halloween was selling a life size animatronic of the aliens from the movie!

[@3DJapan]

Some movies are based on a book or comic, this is based on trading cards.

[@Roger88faction]

First of All that Gilmore Girls line in the intro was dope lol this was one of my favorite movies.

[@slightlyaboveaveragegaming4973]

The Frys Electronics in North Hollywood is full of Mars Attacks movie props. The front of the building has a saucer crashed into it. Inside has jeeps cut in half by laser beams.

[@DrD0000M]

10:00 Pahrump, Nevada is a small town no doubt chosen as the alien landing site because IRL it was the home of Art Bell who hosted Coast to Coast AM, a late night radio call in show where people talked about conspiracy theories, Area 51, bigfoot, ghosts and UFOs. It was the most popular late night radio show in the 90s when this film was made.

[@johnfrilando5008]

Mars Attacks was a trading card collection that was very violent and graphic in the 1960s. I had them and loved them.

[@wakkadakka9192]

2:20 There was a newspaper editor in 1947 who misunderstood the story told by Kenneth A. Arnold. Kenneth A. Arnold , while flying his private plane, saw a crescent-shaped object (most likely a military bomber prototype, one of the predecessors of modern B-2) that was >moving< like a saucer oscillating up and down. The editor of the newspaper confused the description of the movement of the object with a description of the object itself, or did it intentionally to make the story sound more impressive - and wrote an article about the "alien flying saucer". Within a couple of months articles about “flying saucers” were in hundreds of newspapers all across the USA. And of course, immediately hundreds of trustful definitely not-lying witnesses appeared who saw these “flying saucers”. Despite the fact that Kenneth A. Arnold insisted until the end of his life that he had never seen a “flying saucer” - no one listened to him anymore. The image of “flying saucers” was firmly entrenched in the minds of science fiction writers and all kind of idiots around the world.

[@morphman86]

Burton has a great passion for old films. This was a homage to the 1950s low budget sci fi boom. He also did Ed Wood, going over the infamous director and all the old horror stars he worked with. And Edward Scissorhands, which is basically a love letter to gothicism, even down to the princess locked in the tower (except it was the prince in the attic).

[@itgaeta1]

The senior citizen hero lady was Sylvia Sidney, one of the greats whose first credit is listed as 1927. Rod Steiger plays the general and was Napoleon before Napoleon.

[@TheDaringPastry1313]

I haven't seen this in forever! I never realized that the mom at 5:35 is Pam Grier from the QT film Jackie Brown, which you both have seen.

[@EvelyntMild]

The kid's comment to grandma about the invention of trains actually reminds me of my grandma. She was a little girl the first time a movie with sound came to her town. There was a scene where the camera sat on train tracks as a train approached and the growing roar actually scared her and she ran out of the theater!

[@mdroid7755]

The Galaxy Hotel in the movie was actually the Landmark, a classic hotel and casino in Las Vegas. It was closed down in 1990 along with a lot of the other older establishments around the same time. When it was slated for demolition, Tim Burton wanted to immortalize it because he had stayed there a few times in the past. I think a lot of the Vegas subplots originate from having a reason showcase the implosion footage that was captured during the demolition. The studio also told Burton not to kill of Nicholson's character, so he added a second character played by him and made sure to kill them both.

[@ChristopherMcCullah]

There was a time, especially in the 90s, that studios raced each other to release similarly themed films before the other could. This included Independence Day / Mars Attacks!; Armageddon / Deep Impact; Dante's Peak / Volcano, and earlier in the 80s: Big / Like Father, Like Son / Vice Versa.

[@davidd.3555]

French Prince used the song first, Mars Attacks came out after Independence Day. One was summer the other December

[@otterpoet]

The Topps cards the movie is based on were absolutely nasty, especially for 1962; each also had a gruesome little story on the back. (The burning cows were card #22, for example). I remember being a kid and finding a horror magazine (maybe Fangoria?) with all the cards collected together. It was like, 'What is THIS?!' So for Burton to do a movie? It was pure nostalgia.

[@VolkerGoller]

I can’t remember I have laugt that hard in a cinema before nor after mars attacks. Back in 1996 …

[@carleakins2153]

My sister and I love this movie. The first time she saw it (she was about 8 or 9), she said that that Ritchie reminded her of me because we both had long hair, we wore flannels shirts constantly, and we're both simple but lovable.

[@johnmavroudis2054]

The artwork was totally based on the old Topps cards from the early 60s. They're pretty awesome if you check them out online... This film was a total hoot. LOVE Tim Burton's vision... and the acting is SUPERB. Great cast. Great story. Total Fun Package. ...and the singer is Slim Whitman (the high-pitched yodeler)... and he's kind of a cult figure.

[@_Katzenberg]

2:29 the answer to that is pilot Kenneth Arnold, he was the first one to call them flying saucers during a sighting, the rest is history.

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

No, the pilot never used the term 'flying saucer'. He said the object was moving like how a saucer falls in water. A sensationalist reporter invented the term and, inadvertently, the nonsense we are stuck with since then.

[@michaelbryan1882]

@ 10:09 - Pahrump is in Nevada, near the California border.

[@SilentZombie]

Fun Fact, in case anyone didn't mention it yet, but Mars Attacks! was a Topps trading card set back in the 80's. The cards and the lore behind them, were far more brutal than the movie. Some of the scenes from the movie are taken from those cards. The dog being blasted, the burning cattle, the giant robot thing. As for the lore, well, besides this movie, the Martians had a few reasons for invading. Mars was dying, they needed a new home and chose Earth. The moral and other context was the cards depicted the 1950's and the general public's fear of being invaded by something that almost wiped out the U.S. Because during those times, the United States was considered the world, even with its terrible acts that went on. So, for something to come along and bring its people to their knees with very little effort, freaked people out when the cards were released. Now let's jump forward a bit. This movie ended spawning several books and comics and I think a Re-release of the cards at some point, The lore was added to or changed slightly. I think what was added was, several expeditions were sent to Earth, one of which involved the Prince of the Martians. But with his death at the hands of humans, pretty much became the reason for them attacking. Also, with the add ins and changes, there were Two species of Martians. There was the war loving Martians, they were basically the ones in this movie, but with sharp teeth, and another set of Martians who preferred Diplomacy. But after a few failures and the death of the Prince?, even they reluctantly agreed to war.

[@billythealiensmiller]

The cards were in 1962.

[@SilentZombie]

@@billythealiensmiller Oh! My mistake, I know I had a few of them in the mid 80's at one point. But as a kid during that time, I was interested in the images, just not the stories the cards came with. I only became interested in the lore a few more years later before the movie came out.

[@terrylandess6072]

One of my favorite 'references' is an homage to the old 50's film: War of the Worlds in the 2 types of beam weapons used - the RED heat ray, and the GREEN skeleton beam.

[@Sean-gj7vw]

The term "flying saucers" came from a misunderstanding in the media. A pilot described the delta wing (boomerang shaped) ufo he witnessed as moving like saucers skipping on water. Headlines dubbed them flying saucers and everyone thought he saw flying discs. I forget the name of the pilot, but it's an interesting story many researchers have covered.

[@dr.burtgummerfan439]

Yep. Kenneth Arnold.

[@Sean-gj7vw]

@@dr.burtgummerfan439 That's his name, thank you.

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

The Slim Whitman song was also in _Close Encounters._

[@WolfHreda]

10:09 Pahrump is a town in Nevada, not too far from the California border and about sixty miles west of Vegas.