Aliens Love Underpants. We all know that. Well, those of us with toddlers do anyway. But why? What is it about undercrackers that make them irresistible? And which are the best bottom-coverers?
With long john-loving extraterrestrials entertaining family audiences at the Leicester Square Theatre with Adam Bampton-Smith’s adaptation of the pant-wettingly popular picture book, what better time would there be to ask these questions, and who better to answer them?
So that’s exactly what we’ve done. We quizzed ordinary schoolboy Timmy, who is swept up by aliens in search of shiny y-fronts and taken on an intergalactic adventure, about brilliant boxer shorts, the show and other alien worlds. While we were at it, we asked his Mum and a couple of the underwear thieves too!
Describe the show in six words:
Timmy: Out of this world pantastic fun!
Timmy’s Mum: Funny, energetic, exciting, animated, quirky and charming.
Dex: Colourful, wacky, cheeky, bouncy, silly and pantastic!
Coops: Pantastic, silly, alien fun with songs.
What is your favourite part of the show?
Timmy: My favourite part is where I get to ride in the spaceship. I get to zoom around space which is cool. When I grow up I want to be a spaceman so I need all the practice I can get!
Timmy’s Mum: My favourite part of the show is the first time we meet the aliens in Timmy’s bedroom. By this point in the show the anticipation has built up so much that audience’s reaction to their appearance is always a treat!
Dex: When we zoom onto stage in our spaceship because with the stars behind us, the flashing lights and all the smoke it feels really magical.
Coops: My favourite part is when our spaceship is revealed because it’s exactly the same as in the book.
What do you think it is about underpants that makes them so appealing to aliens?
Timmy: Well they told me they don’t have any pants on Planet Janet so I guess they need something to wear and play with!
Timmy’s Mum: I’m sure every alien on Planet Janet has their own reason for loving underpants but I believe they are particularly fond of their pingy elasticity which makes for great alien-sized trampolines!
Dex: They are so much fun! You can play with them, ping them, zing them, zoom in them, hide them and hide IN them!
Coops: Their pingy pants elastic makes pants extra appealing to aliens.
What are your favourite type of pants?
Timmy: I love my planet pants that my mum got for me. They have the whole solar system on!
Timmy’s Mum: My favourite pants are ‘days of the week’ pants because they help to keep me organised.
Dex: Definitely superhero pants because you can wear them on the outside of your trousers!
Coops: My favourite pants are rainbow pants due to all the colours.
If you could create another world to live on, what would it be called and what would it be like?
Timmy: I would name it after me. Planet Timmy. I would want it to be all multi-coloured and everyone who lives there are robots and aliens.
Timmy’s Mum: If I were to create another planet to live on it would be called Teleport Nation. There would be no need for cars or other types of transport as everyone would have their own teleportation pods. No one would ever be late to work or school again!
Dex: I think I’d like my own planet called Planet Dex where I could be king. There would be pants three times a day and lots of bouncing around!
Coops: My world would be called Wobble World. All the buildings would be made of jelly so when there was an earthquake they wouldn’t fall down. You could bounce along the street rather than walking and instead of escalators or lifts you would get on an extra-springy bit and jump up. Instead of stairs, slides would take you down. Weekends would be three days long and rivers would be made of chocolate milk. Animals would be able to talk and have jobs if they wanted.
If you could choose another children’s story to work on for a stage adaptation, what story would you choose?
Timmy: Well I like lots of pantastic fun so I would like to see the new book Monsters Love Underpants on stage. It would be really cool to meet Monsters as well as Aliens.
Dex: I’ve heard that pirates also love underpants so it would be fantastic to build a pants pirate ship and put it on the stage!