Jackboots on Whitehall

In this alternate history of World War II England, plastic action figures suit up to take on Hitler and his minions after members of the Third Reich tunnel under the English Channel and capture London. Jackboots on Whitehall serves up the twisted flip side of Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds by way of Team America, with a distinctly British sense of absurdity and a toy box full of nutty heroes and villains. A little CGI assist animates the dolls' eyes and mouths while a great cast (including Ewan McGregor, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, Timothy Spall, Tom Wilkinson, Alan Cumming, and Dominic West) provides the voices. Less satire than inspired whimsy, the film romps through war movie clichés and the kinds of cultural stereotypes that Monty Python loved to spoof (such as the hordes of barbarian Scots who haven't evolved from their Braveheart days). Consistently funny and creatively madcap, this is recommended. [Note: DVD extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette (30 min.), “Interviews with the Crew” (28 min.), production featurettes on “Explosions” (7 min.), “Bad Day to be a Nazi” (2 min.), “The Swastikas” (2 min.), and “Hitler's Rat Pack” (2 min.), and brief segments on “The Nazi Hotties” characters and “Voiceovers.” Bottom line: a fine extras package for a winning satire.] (S. Axmaker)