Thunderbirds is based on the classic British kid's show of the same name that ran for 32 episodes from 1964-1966 and has recently aired in the U.S. on the Tech TV cable channel. While the series was distinctively British, the characters were in fact Americans. The show used a cost-saving process called "supermarionation" that married marionettes, puppets, models and special effects to create the illusion of live-action actors. The TV show has already been adapted to the feature film format by its creators in Thunderbirds are Go! in 1966 and Thunderbird 6 in 1968, but those films used supermarionation, rather than being live-action like this picture. The creative genius behind these efforts was Gerry Anderson, a British producer who greatly advanced traditional marionation techniques after he found it difficult to market live-action films and shows in the UK. Besides Thunderbirds, Anderson also had a hand in Supercar, Doppelganger, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, and Space: 1999.

In the spirit of Spy Kids, the ages of the five Tracy sons have been reduced to make the film seem more suitable for family fare. On the TV series, each of the five Tracy sons had their own Thunderbird: Thunderbird 1, silver rocket ship that zipped along at 15,000 miles an hour used by Scott Tracy; Thunderbird 2, a giant 250-foot-long green rocket ship for carrying rescue equipment handled by Virgil Tracy; Thunderbird 3, an orange rocket ship designed for outerspace rescues used by Alan Tracy; Thunderbird 4, a yellow submarine used by Gordon Tracy; and Thunderbird 5, a satellite station used for monitoring distress around the world operated by John Tracy. Besides the main five, there was also the Mole for boring through rock and earth and the Firefly for dousing fires. Then there was also the FAB 1, a souped-up pink Rolls Royce equipped with machine guns, cannons, smoke screens that Lady Penelope was chauffeured about in, and her yacht, FAB 2.