Vids › The Weirdness, Part 1

Tenacious D – Wonderboy

2001 · Directed by Spike Jonze (as Marcus Von Bueler)

128K Likes

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Best comments

1.“I'm going to tell my kids this was Game of Thrones.”

More comments

2.“Jon Snow is a total rip-off of Wonderboy.”
3.“How do I get this character in Skyrim?”

The story

Spike Jonze – yes, the Being John Malkovich guy – directed this under a fake name, Marcus Von Bueler, and played it completely straight. Which is exactly why it's hilarious. Jack Black and Kyle Gass become Wonderboy and Young Nasty Man, two heroes out of some forgotten fantasy saga, hauling themselves up a snowy mountain in full epic-movie mode to face a monster you never actually see. You just see its fire.

It does not end well for Wonderboy. Without spoiling everything, his own sword is involved. Young Nasty Man's fate stays a mystery, and so does the monster's. Somewhere a high school drama teacher is weeping with pride.

The song came out in September 2001 alongside the duo's first album, and the video first aired that fall. Jonze won a 2002 MVPA award for Best Direction of a New Artist for it, UFC fighter Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson walks out to the song, and guitar oddball Buckethead used to cover it live. Mountain-sized rock with a dead-serious face. Peak Tenacious D.

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