Episode 107: Team America World Police, Interview with Kevin Carlson

This week, your favorite fake puppeteers sit down with real puppeteer Kevin Carlson to pull back the strings on one of the most ambitious—and gloriously outrageous—marionette productions ever put on film: Team America: World Police.

From precision facial manipulation and explosive action sequences to the unique challenge of making silicone actors deliver Oscar-worthy melodrama (or at least convincingly vomit in an alley), Kevin shares what it was really like behind the scenes of the cult classic from the creators of South Park. With the face of all American actor Gary Johnston himself, we talk about the painstaking craftsmanship, the technical headaches, and the moments that had an entire crew wondering what on earth they'd signed up to do.

Along the way, we explore the artistry of marionette performance, the incredible engineering required to make those pint-sized action heroes run, fight, fly, and occasionally explode, and why practical puppetry can still steal the show in an age of CGI.

It’s strings, satire, and stories you won't hear anywhere else—straight from a puppeteer who had a front-row seat to one of cinema's most technically audacious puppet productions.

Because when the world's fate hangs by a thread... it helps to have a really good puppeteer pulling it.

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Original Music Composed by Taetro. @Taetro  https://www.taetro.com/