Team America: World Police is a 2004 comedy and puppetry film directed by Trey Parker and written by Parker, Matt Stone and Pam Brady. It stars Parker, Stone, Kristen Miller, Masasa Moyo, Daran Norris, Phil Hendrie, Maurice LaMarche, Tara Strong, Jeremy Shada and Fred Tatasciore. The film is a satire of big-budget action films, US militarism, and the global implications of the politics of the United States. Team America follows the titular paramilitary police force, who recruit a Broadway actor to assist in saving the world from North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il, who is leading a conspiracy of Islamic terrorists and liberal Hollywood actors.
Instead of live actors, the film uses a combination of puppetry and miniature effects based on Supermarionation, known for its use in the British TV series Thunderbirds. The duo worked on the script with former South Park writer Brady for nearly two years. The film had a troubled production, with assorted technical problems regarding the puppets, as well as the scheduling extremes of finishing on time. The filmmakers fought with the Motion Picture Association of America, who returned over nine times with an NC-17 rating due to an explicit sex scene.