Video Game / Freaky Flyers

"What are you waiting for? Jump in your plane and get freaky!"

— The Narrator

A 2003 plane based combat/racer game released by Midway Games for the Xbox, PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube. Adventure mode sets you in a wacky cartoonish world where 14 colorful characters (Most of which are National Stereotypes) compete in races across wild and exotic locations.

Each character has his/her own story that progresses throughout the competition, told with a combination of pre-rendered cutscenes and still images with narration.

• Johnny Turbine (USA): A Johnny Bravo expy. He wants to be a Hollywood action star, and enters the race in order to gain publicity. Along the way, he gets the hots for Traci Torpedoes.
• Traci Torpedoes (Germany): A large-breasted German woman who wants to prove the strength of the German air force. She turns out to be a part of a genetic experiment by the German air force, called "Operation Bombshell".
• Myrna Bookbottom/Margaret Basher (England): Myrna is polite young librarian with a Split Personality. Whenever she gets angry, she transforms into Margaret Basher, a loud, violent punk-rocker type.
• Mick Bungadoo (Australia): An Awesome Aussie who owns a restaurant chain that serves roadkill. He enters the race in order to promote his business, and possibly run down some new dishes.
• Pauli Atchi (USA): A short Italian-American crime boss who insists he's just in the sanitation business. He enters the race in order to impress his mother, who is an even more ruthless crime boss than him.
• Andre LaToilette (Canada): A smelly French-Canadian lumberjack, who is also Johnny Turbine's long lost twin brother. He hopes to reunite with his brother by entering the race. He has a load of woodland critters as his servants, and he also uses them as ammunition.
• Sheik Abdul (Saudi Arabia): A rich oil magnate, whose company His & Harem Inc. is secretly run by his domineering harem.
• Professor Guutentag (Switzerland): A Mad Scientist who runs a cuckoo clock company. He's secretly conspiring with the game's villain, Pilot X, in order to win the race. He is accompanied by his Robot Buddy, Sven 209, who is also his vehicle.
• Cactus Rose (Mexico): A Badass Biker bandita. She spends most of the race stealing money from the other contestants in order to give to the poor (or rather, her gang).
• Sammy Wasabi (Japan): A tiny Japanese genius aeronautics engineer. When not racing, he tends to pull pranks on the other contestants.
• Baron Von Slaughter (Romania): A poorly stitched together Frankenstein's Monster who is also The Ahnold. He is entered in the race in the hopes that he'll reinvigorate Romania's tourism industry. If he wins the race, the people of his village have agreed to build him a wife.
• Island Jack (Danger Island): A supremely laid-back Dreadlock Rasta who is forcibly entered into the race by the island chief. All he wants is to find his way back home.
• The Marcels Morseau Brothers (France): A pair of mimes who are also Conjoined Twins, who were abandoned at birth for being too annoying. They enter the race in hopes of finding their long lost mother. They end up falling for Myrna and Margaret.
• Pilot X (Outer Space): The Big Bad. An alien being with No Indoor Voice who claims to be the greatest aviator in the galaxy. He shows up at the end of each character's story to challenge them to a battle in outer space.

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Freaky Flyers contains examples of the following:

• All Germans Are Nazis: The reporter for Traci Torpedoes' story during her Spinning Paper style cutscenes has a tendency to drift into Nazi-like shouting about the superiority of the German air force. Traci also has this tendency, though it's heavily downplayed with her.
• And There Was Much Rejoicing: Andre LaToilette's squirrel slaves have this reaction when Andre leaves for Hollywood with no intention of coming back to Canada.
• Art Shift: Sometimes cutscenes are presented as still drawings, almost slideshow style (Marcel Moreso's pre-Bandito Attack cutscene).
• Beware the Nice Ones: Island Jack is normally chill, but he does not let his chieftain forget he still doesn't appreciate being forced into racing.
  Island Jack: I also know how to shoot guided missiles now...
  Chieftan: Guided missiles? YOU shoot guided missiles? I don't believe it!
  (Cue explosion that levels the chief's hut)
  Chieftan: *Cough cough* Ok... I believe it.
• Big Bad Wannabe: Professor Gutentag. Despite all his scheming and mad science, he's outclassed by Pilot X in every Story Mode playthrough except his own, where he's instead outclassed by Sven 209.
• Black-and-Gray Morality: While Pilot X is the main villain, almost all of the contestants are crooked, overly aggressive, or extremely self-serving, with the exception of Island Jack. And in Gutentäag, Paulie Atchi, and Cactus Rose's stories, the plot becomes comedically Evil Versus Evil.
• Casanova Wannabe: Johnny is still convinced he has a chance with Traci, despite her making it very clear it's not mutual.
• Catchphrase: Every adventure mode features some variation on this phrase before the Final Boss courtesy of the boss himself, with almost this exact cadence:
  Pilot X: "I'M PIIIIILOT X! And I challenge you to a BATTLE, IN OUTER SPAAAACE!"
• Chasing Your Tail: The final boss floats backwards around a ringed planet throwing obstacles at you. Not suprising considering the game mechanics.
• Cute Bruiser: Cactus Rose used to be a wrestler, and takes down Baron Von Slaughter in a Curb-Stomp Battle.
  Baron: Oh... Cripes, I was trying to borrow some motor oil!
• Double In-Law Marriage: Myrna, Margaret, and the twins, if you consider Myrna and Margaret "sisters".
• Dramatic Unmask: Pilot X does this whenever he challenges someone to a battle in outer space... even when he approaches them as himself.
• Dude Magnet: Traci has Johnny and Sheik Abdul coming after her.
• Final Boss: Pilot X and his robot serve as this at the end of adventure mode.
• Full-Name Ultimatum: Sven "Mitchel" 209.
• Germanic Efficiency / All Germans Are Nazis: Traci and her german narrator go into fits of shouting whenever they talk about the GLORY OF THE FATHERLAND!
  • Also Traci was created by Operation Female Bombshell.
• Got Volunteered: Island Jack didn't willingly enter the race. The chief of his village had him stuffed into a plane set on auto-pilot.
• Gross-Up Close-Up: Andre LaToilette, much to Johnny's horror.
• Henpecked Husband: Sheik Abdul's His & Harem Corp is run by his harem, for starters. When given the choice between facing Pilot X or his harem, the Sheik goes for the space-battle. In the end, the harem cut him out of His & Harem Corp entirely.
• Hot Librarian: Myrna Bookbottom.
• Humongous Mecha: Robo X, Pilot X's giant robot capable of summoning Attack Drones and laser grids.
• I Have Your Mama: Pilot X tries to rope Paulie Atchi into their race this way. Thing is...
  Paulie: You have Mama? You can keep her!
  Pliot X: WHAT?!
  Pauli: You just took my only competition for control of the syndicate. Grazi!
• Insult Backfire
  Narrator: [She's a] GENETIC MUTANT FREAK!
  Johnny: Really?... I think that's kind of HOT!
• Irony: Paulie Atchi's story concludes with his mother being arrested and thus denying his credibility as a mob boss, despite his frantic confessions. He's eventually arrested, but on the charge of "impersonating a crime boss", so he's ultimately still denied recognition.
• Laser-Guided Karma:
  • Cactus Rose robs the other racers, but has the misfortune of nabbing Johnny Turbine's gunpowder-stuffed wallet.
  • Sammy Wasabi is shown regularly messing with and testing his inventions on the other racers. In the end, several of them shove his own virtual reality helmet on him. He's still recovering from the mental trauma.
  • Gutentäag’s constant belittling and abuse of SVEN-209 does not go unpunished. After beating Pilot X, Gutentäag accidentally shrinks himself and SVEN swallows him whole.
  • Given their horrible treatment of animals, André and Mick getting attacked by Gutentaag's killer monkeys could be considered quite karmic.
• Lemony Narrator: do you enjoy long walks on the beach and quiet time with voice-over guys?
  • Every player character also has their own individual one that narrates news about them during their respective Story Modes.
• Mad Libs Dialogue: All of the "Spinning Paper" cutscenes that mention Danger Island have this monotone dub over said island's name, with no other explanation. Mysterious.
  • Sammy Wasabi's cutscene reveals that the race was going to pass through Japan, but there was apparently a last minute change.
• Mad Scientist: Professor Gutentaag, naturally.
• Master of Disguise: Pilot X reveals himself to every character for the final battle, even the one where he starts out as himself.
• Multiple Endings: Hilariously, this is both played straight AND subverted. Each character has their own ending showing what became of them after winning the Freaky Fliers Tournament, but after getting 100% you unlock an ending where all the characters are having a party and reminisce on the tournament... Only to find out they all have their own memory of winning the tournament. When they can't decide who really won, they decide to settle it once and for all with a whole new series of races.
• Multinational Team: Every playable character (with the exception of Johnny and Paulie, who are both American) is from a different country.
• National Stereotypes: Every character plays heavily into these, though in Johnny Turbine and Paulie Atchi's cases, as both are from the US, they're more regional stereotypes.
• Nice Guy: Island Jack. He is a very easygoing guy and is noticeably one of the only characters who helps the cowboys fight off the bandits without any ulterior motives.
  • Myrna Bookbottom meanwhile is a Nice Girl... Though not all the time.
• No Communities Were Harmed: Danger Island is obviously meant to be Jamaica. Strangely, it's the only country in the game to be hit with this trope.
• No Indoor Voice: PILOT X!!!! especially when he challenges you to a BATTLE in OUTER SPAAAAAAAAACE!
• One Bad Mother: Paulie Atchi's Mama is such a ruthless gangster that SHE'S the one who gets arrested by the feds!
• Separated at Birth: Johnny Turbine and Andre LaToilette are revealed to be twins.
• The Speechless / The Voiceless: The Marcel Moreso Bros were born mimes and SVEN-209 is a robot, so it's unknown if they can't or won't talk.
• Split Personality: Myrna Bookbottom is a polite librarian, being ridiculously proper and restrained with no outlet has caused her to develop an alter ego in the persona of Margaret Basher, a rude and outright violent woman.
• Spinning Paper: The intro and some of the level clear cutscenes.
• Stereotype Flip: The Swiss Professor Gutentäag is not only far from neutral (in fact, he's the most villainous playable character), but of the cast he's also the most active in trying to take down his opponents, which multiple levels in each character's story mode revolving around his schemes.
• Thememobile
  • Andre LaToilette carved his plane out of wood.
  • Traci Torpedoes flies a WWI-styled bi tri-plane.
  • Paulie Atchi flies a plane that looks like a luxury mobster car.
  • The biker gang leader rides a bike shaped plane with ape hangers.
  • Sheik Abdul has a flying carpet with an engine on the back (somehow).
  • Professor Gutentäag pilots a giant robot with rocket boosters on its feet.
• Throw the Dog a Bone: After enduring a lot of abuse and being rejected by their own mother, the Marcels Morseau Brothers finally catch a break when they marry Myrna Bookbottom/Margaret Basher.
• "The Villain Sucks" Song: When Robo X is on half health, the boss music switches to this. It's part bragging about Pilot X's accomplishments, and part making excuses for why he's not as impressive as he seems.
• Wacky Racing: In the sky!
• We Will Meet Again: Pilot X promises this whenever he's defeated in adventure mode.
  Pilot X: "If sales are good, I'LL BE BACK! And if they're not, I'LL COME BACK ANYWAY!"
• World of Buxom: Pretty much every woman in the game has a large chest. With Paulie Atchi's mama and Shiek Abdul's wives this is Fan Disservice, but most assuredly Fanservice with Cactus Rose, Myrna/Margaret, and of course Traci Torpedoes who sports the biggest pair of breasts the game. Even the girl robot Sammy makes has an impressive metal rack.

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