Shooting Star/Lady Penelope/Thunderbirds Theme/Zero X Theme
Thunderbirds Are Go is a 1966 British science-fiction puppet film based on Thunderbirds, a Supermarionation television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and produced by their company AP Films (APF; renamed "Century 21 Productions" prior to the film's release). Written by the Andersons and directed by David Lane, Thunderbirds Are Go concerns spacecraft Zero-X and its manned mission to Mars. When Zero-X suffers a malfunction during re-entry, it is up to life-saving organisation International Rescue, supported by its technologically-advanced Thunderbird machines, to activate the trapped crew's escape pod before the spacecraft hits the ground.
Filmed between March and June 1966 at APF's studios on the Slough Trading Estate and on location in Portugal, Thunderbirds Are Go features guest appearances by puppet versions of Cliff Richard and The Shadows, who also contributed to the film's score. It was the first film to be shot using an early form of video assist called "Add-a-Vision". The film's special effects sequences, directed by Derek Meddings, took six months to complete.
