Last week we featured a shot-by-shot re-creation of the Iron Man 3 trailer on our social channels. We liked it so much, we decided to take a closer look at the art of the disarmingly charming homemade tributes to films known as “swedes.” The term comes from the Michel Gondry movie Be Kind Rewind and refers to Sweden, where the characters claim their remade movies were made (see the full explanation here). Imitation is the best form of flattery, and swedes, with their low-budget aesthetic and untrained actors, are the ultimate in film fandom. They even have their own festival.

Watching the ones below reminds us of the unbridled creativity of childhood (and of this). Enjoy!

Up in 60 Seconds

A Pixar favorite, Up’s plotline is surprisingly tenderhearted. The sweded version takes out the gooey long stares between man, dog and klutzy boy, and pares the movie down to comic one-liners — SQUIRREL! — and funny images of doll houses being carried away by balloons. A pretty accurate swede, we’d say.

Pacific Rim Trailer

If the original trailer is too scary for younger viewing audiences, we recommend showing your tots this version. Sea monsters made of painted green cardboard and googly eyes might take away some of the thrills, but it replaces them with ingenius hilarity. We were just left with one question: how many bags of packing peanuts did they have to buy to produce that mini ocean?

Jurassic Park Sweded

We know what you’re thinking: these guys beat you to it in remaking one of the most legendary blockbuster hits of all time. They do it quite well too, capturing memorable scenes such as Attorney Gennaro’s death by T-rex, and the groundbreaking moment when we discover that yes, raptors can, in fact, open doors.

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate…Bathtub?

Staging the chocolate river scene in a bathtub filled with murky brown liquid is a little questionable, but the theatrical presentation of this nearly one-man show (doesn’t he look like Andy Sandberg?) won us over.

Feature Swedes

If the dedication of re-creating a trailer shot-by-shot doesn’t impress you, there have been two notable instances of movies sweded in. their. entirety. First, the original swede, the 2003 remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark. The teenage crew worked on this lovingly for seven years.

Then there was Toy Story remade with actual toys, which is really cool and impressive at first, but then gets a little creepy.

Tell us, what sweded films are your favorites?

Tags: diy, films, pixar, socialmedia, swede, video, youtube