Puppet movie had to snip sex scene to get an R

LOS ANGELES — "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone toned down the puppet sex scene in their upcoming film "Team America: World Police" and finally got an R rating, according to Paramount Pictures.

"Team America" uses marionettes to satirize the war on terror, Hollywood peaceniks and explosion-filled action-movie clichés.

Although the main characters are 2-foot-tall puppets with visible strings guiding their movements, a jokey — and explicit — sex scene between two of them originally earned the movie an NC-17 rating, which bars anyone under age 17 from seeing the film.

That severely limits the distribution, advertising and audience for any movie, affecting its box-office receipts.

Although various puppets are bloodily gunned down, eaten by sharks or dismembered, the scene of puppet love was a sticking point until Parker and Stone trimmed away some shots.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the offending material included shots of a male puppet simulating oral sex.

Earlier this week, the ratings board gave the OK to the requested R citing "graphic, crude and sexual humor; violent images and strong language, all involving puppets."

The Motion Picture Association of America's initial rating is regarded humorously by many in Hollywood — especially since the puppets have no genitalia, just a network of joints and hinges.

"Team America" opens nationwide Oct. 15.