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.

Although early reviews praised the film as a successful cinematic transfer of the TV series, Thunderbirds Are Go drew a lukewarm public response and proved to be a box office failure.

Later reviews criticised the film for its minimal characterisation, lengthy effects shots, and inclusion of a fantasy dream sequence centring on Richard and The Shadows.

Posing as a reporter at the pre-launch press conference, Lady Penelope arranges for each member of the crew to wear a St Christopher brooch with a concealed homing device.

After a six-week flight, Zero-X reaches Mars on 22 July and all of the astronauts except Space Navigator Newman touch down on the planet in their lander, the Martian Excursion Vehicle (MEV).

[4][9] With United Artists contracted to distribute, a budget of £250,000 (about £6.11 million in 2023) was set and Anderson and his wife, Sylvia, began work on the script at their second home in Portugal.

[12] Like Thunderbirds Are Go, Captain Scarlet depicts hostile life on Mars, though the Mysterons of the TV series pose a greater threat than the "Rock Snakes" of the film in that they strike at Earth itself.

[10] Frustrated with the limitations of the puppets and concerned that the TV series would not transfer well to the big screen, Alan Pattillo declined to direct the film.

[13] The dream sequence set at The Swinging Star was spearheaded by Sylvia, who expanded it by scripting a musical interlude performed by puppet versions of Cliff Richard and The Shadows.

[9][18] Richard and Shadows band member Bruce Welch both owned homes in Portugal near the Andersons, and it was there that the two agreed to "appear" in the film as Supermarionation puppets.

[9][13][15][31] Based on German video assist technology, Add-A-Vision was developed by Thunderbirds director of photography John Read in collaboration with Prowest Electronics.

[14][36] The background shots for Alan's rescue of the Zero-X crew were originally filmed on location in Portugal but were judged unsatisfactory and replaced with a painted backdrop created by associate producer Reg Hill.

[20][21][31][8] The location shoot also included filming a point-of-view "spiral shot" for the end of Alan's dream in which the character plunges back to Earth.

[31][37] Promising Television Mail that Thunderbirds Are Go would be "bigger and better than anything we have ever done before", Gerry Anderson realised that any design flaws that showed up on the big screen would not be forgiven as quickly as those on TV.

[45] For its next TV series, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, APF would introduce a brand-new puppet design that used natural proportions, made possible by moving the internal lip-sync mechanism from the head to the chest.

Sets that Bell made for the film included the Glenn Field Control Tower and news conference room, the Swinging Star interiors, and re-designed versions of various locations on Tracy Island.

[27] The set design for the Space Exploration Center conference room was heavily influenced by producer Sylvia Anderson, who insisted on a tangerine and black colour scheme in vivid contrast with the blue of the SEC officials' uniforms.

[36] Anderson compared these scenes to a "Busby Berkeley sequence" due to their surrealism, aspects of which include a giant guitar and pink "space clouds" composed of dry ice.

[1][55] The workprint exceeded United Artists' maximum permitted running time by roughly 15 minutes, forcing Walter to cut a number of scenes that were inessential to the plot.

Other scenes saw Lady Penelope and Parker flying to Glenn Field aboard the hypersonic airliner Fireflash and Jeff Tracy making a speech to the world through the Trans American TV Network.

One of the photographs, showing Brains and Alan standing behind a TV camera as Jeff prepares to make his speech, appeared as the cover of issue 35 of FAB magazine.

[58] With Walter's editing complete, composer Barry Gray recorded the score in six sessions between 9 and 11 October at Anvil Studios near Denham, Buckinghamshire.

[1][2][3][16] The premiere was held in aid of children's charity Barnardo's with the Royal Marines Band Service performing the "Thunderbirds March" both before and after the screening.

[65] An early review of the film in Kine Weekly described it as a "colourful extension" of the TV series, while the News of the World praised it for providing "breathtaking entertainment".

[66][67] The Sunday Express was also positive, calling the concept of a Mars mission "awesome" and commending the film's visuals: "Of course, the cast are all puppets, the sets, models, and the story unabashed nonsense.

[66] Alan's subplot lends the film psychedelic colour and a welcome dose of human drama, but mostly, Thunderbirds Are Go is about the hardware [...] Anderson and SFX designer Derek Meddings make the most of this cinema version's extra scope, filling the screen with bigger, shinier craft, while director Lane has more time to linger on the intricate detailing of the phallic models before they're blown to smithereens in the film's explosive action sequences.

[71][72] He considers it superior to its sequel, Thunderbird 6, but suggests that the plot is partly recycled from the TV episodes and describes the dream sequence as "painfully silly".

[66][71] La Rivière also suggests that the lengthy model shots and reduced role of the Tracy family may have disappointed the film's young target audience.

[75] Dismissing the film's critical and commercial failure as a stroke of bad luck, United Artists told Anderson to make a sequel: Thunderbird 6.

[88][89] In 2014, Twilight Time (through its sub-licensing deal with MGM) released both films as a double feature Blu-ray set, limited to 3,000 copies and available only from the Screen Archives Entertainment website.