The family-oriented comedy Thunderpants, directed by Peter Hewitt, concerns an unfortunate ten-year-old who suffers from nearly incessant intestinal gas issues. Patrick Smash (Bruce Cook) is shunned by much of his family and his classmates because of the unpleasant odors that are forever emanating from him. Only his nerdy friend Alan A. Allen (Rupert Grint), who has no sense of smell, will help Patrick in his goal to become an astronaut. Eventually, Patrick becomes involved with representatives of the United States space program, as well as an opera singer (Simon Callow) who needs Patrick to "play" an exact note at a perfect moment. Ned Beatty and Stephen Fry round out the cast of this quirky comedy. Thunderpants was screened at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival.