Synopsis

In a drought-ravaged future, Tank Girl survives in the Australian desert after a devastating impact transforms Earth into a wasteland. When the Water & Power corporation seizes control of the remaining water supply, she joins forces with Jet Girl and the mutant Rippers. Together, they launch a chaotic rebellion against the corporation's ruthless regime and its authoritarian leader.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film adapts the British comic strip created by Jamie Hewlett and Alan Martin, which first appeared in the magazine Deadline in 1988.

• Its visual style deliberately mixes live action with comic-book animation, still-image montages, title cards, matte artwork, miniatures, holographic effects, and exaggerated production design.

• Production designer Catherine Hardwicke helped create the film's highly stylized world. Much of the desert imagery was filmed around White Sands, New Mexico, and Tucson, Arizona.

• Stan Winston's effects studio handled the Rippers' makeup and prosthetics. The studio reportedly reduced its usual prices to help the production stay within budget.

• Courtney Love assembled the soundtrack, which became one of the film's most praised elements. It includes music by Bjork, Hole, Portishead, Devo, Joan Jett, and other alternative and punk artists.

• The movie includes a lavish musical sequence based on Cole Porter's "Let's Do It," an intentionally jarring departure from conventional post-apocalyptic action filmmaking.

• Several scenes were animated because important comic-inspired material was difficult to stage or was not filmed during production.

• MGM removed a planned scene involving Tank Girl and Booga after the production had already spent about $5,000 on a specialized prosthetic prop for it.

• The film was released in the United States on March 31, 1995. It underperformed commercially, but its punk aesthetic, unusual soundtrack, and unapologetically eccentric presentation later helped it develop a cult following.

• A film tie-in comic adaptation appeared in 1995, followed by a novelization published in 1996.