Frankenthumb

Plot Overview

The scene opens in the funeral where a burial is taking place. The dead man's brother tells of his sibling's unfortunate life before confiding tearfully to the preacher that "He owed me money!" The session ends when a rat scares the mourners away. Dr. Frankenthumb(Dr. Frankenstein) and his hunchbacked assistant Humpy (a parody of the 'Igor' character) dig up the grave and, prying open the coffin, the doctor gleefully proclaims "We'll use his bun cheeks!" Back at his secret lab, Dr. Frankenthumb combines the parts of several people (including, of course, the "Bun cheeks of that guy from the opening scene"). Although their first attempt results in the creature's body being seared to the bone by lightning, the second attempt is a success; the creature awakens and attacks Humpy. The Doctor happily declares, "We shall call him Pepper...because he really spiced up our lives!" Frankenthumb and Humpy attempt to make Pepper docile by presenting him with several animals (two birds, a puppy, a turtle, and a bunny among others), but ultimately he ends up smashing them in his hands. Tearfully, Dr. Frankenthumb has Humpy imprison the "Monster" in the dungeon. Eventually, Pepper's cries of anguish (and Humpy's persistence) drive the Doctor to conclude that the Monster must be destroyed. However, Humpy's taunting drives Pepper to break out of his bonds and escape. Soon, the villagers get suspicious of Pepper's doings and create an angry mob and chase after him. Frankenthumb tells the mob that he is the one who created the Creature, and that it is his responsibility to lead the mob to it so that it can be destroyed. They chase Pepper down to an old windmill and begin to burn it down. But Dr. Frankenthumb is upset by the mob "scaring him". When he realizes that he cannot stop the mob he returns to the castle to awaken another creature, "Franken-Bat-Thumb" (based on the character from the eponymous short film "Bat Thumb") in order to rescue Pepper. Franken-Bat-Thumb extinguishes the fire and the three (Dr. Frankenthumb, Pepper, and Franken-Bat-Thumb) decide to band together to create a new global empire, warning the villagers that "Anyone who attempts to get in our way shall be promptly told not to". One of the villagers decide to join them.

Cast

Running gags

A running gag in all the Thumbs! filmettes is the appearance of a one-eyed thumb. In this filmette, he appears as one of the villagers in the angry mob.

Sequel

In 2010, Steve Oedekerk admitted he was rebooting the Thumbs! franchise. He announced he would release

Frankenthumbs return sees Frankenthumb return, being possed by the Blair Thumb and attempting to kill the One Eyed Thumb, who mistook his brain for a steak and eating it, enraging the Frankenthumb/Blair Thumb, who needs the brain to come back alive