History Film / TheGodsMustBeCrazy

The film was an instant hit (despite being low budget) and was a StarMakingRole for N!xau (who played Xi, himself being a real bushmen) the second film, simply titled ''The Gods must be crazy 2'' was more or less as good as the first, if a bit [[StrictlyFormula too similar]].

N!xau's popularity had him being cast in a series of comedies made by a Hong Kong company. Although never intended to be sequels to the original film (as the titles and plots of the films were intirely different), they were eventually released under "The gods must be crazy", added with a sequel number. The original Chinese title of the fifth film even translates to "The Gods must be funny in China" as nod to the original film. [[DenserAndWackier Let's just say that these films were quite different from the original ones]]:

''The Gods must be funny in China (The Gods must be crazy V)''

''Crazy Safari (The Gods must be crazy III)'' featured Xi helping some Chinese people who were transporting a Chinese zombie when their plane crashed. It ends with the Chinese Zombie fighting an African voodoo zombie.

''Crazy Hong Kong (The Gods must be crazy IV aka The Gods must be crazy in Hong Kong)'' takes the FishOutOfWater concept UpToEleven by having Xi being stranded in modern urban Hong Kong and gets into various situations like foiling a jewel robbery.

''The Gods must be funny in China (The Gods must be crazy V)'' has Xi team up with a Panda. Nuff Said.

* OneDimensionalThinking: When Ann is being chased by the rhino, she runs in a straight line until she hits a tree and climb it.

* ProductPlacement: One has to wonder whether Coca-Cola received any money to have their product so prominently displayed, yet as a representation of Western culture's negative impact on indigenous people.

* HighAltitudeInterrogation: The fake helicopter drop variation is seen, leaving the prisoner thrashing on the ground, screaming his head off.

* {{MeaningfulName}}: Jack ''Hind'', Steyn's "jackass" friend, who constantly mocks Steyn at the presence of a third person, thinks of nothing but saving his own hide at the first sign of danger, and takes credit for Steyn's brave actions at the end.

* SociallyAwkwardHero: Andrew Steyn is the ultimate embodiment of the trope. 80% of the comedy when he is on scene is due to his literally diminished cognitive abilities while in Kate's presence.

** Ai yai yai...

* AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: The filmmakers didn't care what Nǃxau actually said during his scenes, since most of the audience wouldn't understand him anyway. The narrator always explains what Xi is supposed to be saying. Nǃxau said whatever he wanted, which often wasn't in character.

* PetTheDog: The head guerrilla eventually admitted that he made a mistake in expecting the children he took for hostages to go without enough rest or food. He told a kid to tell the military to drop food more often and to make sure they knew that he had made a mistake.

* MacGuffin: The Coke bottle. The trope is inverted, because Xi receives the MacGuffin at the beginning and must go on a quest to get rid of it. Kind of like the [[TheLordOfTheRings One Ring]].

* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadAss: Steyn, who cannot talk to a woman even if his life depended on it. But during the climax he takes care of two guerilla soldiers by 1) shooting at a branch holding a snake and dropping it on one and 2) shooting a plant with a sap that irritates the skin onto another.

* LetsGetDangerous: [[spoiler:Andrew Steyn becomes quite a Badass as he helps save Kate and the village children]].

* SociallyAwkwardHero: Andrew Steyn is the ultimate embodiment of the trope. 80% of the comedy when he is on scene is due to his literally diminished cognitive abilities while in Kate's presence.
* ThankYourPrey
* TheQuest: Find the end of the world, throw the bottle off of it. [[spoiler:Ultimately, Xi finds himself on a cliff far higher than he's probably ever stood in his life, above the clouds. Understandably, he decides he's there, chucks the bottle off and goes home.]]

* RhinoRampage: Although he's just doing his civic duty.

* LoveMakesYouDumb: Andrew Steyn is the ultimate embodiment of the trope. 80% of the comedy when he is on scene is due to his literally diminished cognitive abilities while in Kate's presence.

* AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: The filmmakers [[TheyJustDidntCare didn't seem to care]] what Nǃxau actually said during his scenes, since the audience wouldn't understand him anyway. The narrator always explains what Xi is supposed to be saying. Nǃxau said whatever he wanted, which often wasn't in character.

** ''I-yi-yi...''
** ''I noticed.''
** ''I don't want to talk about it.''
** ''Yes, boss?''

* ValuesDissonance: Invoked. The heroine, attractive by Western standards, is considered the "ugliest woman [Xi] has ever seen."

--> '''Radio''': The president, who miraculously survived the hail of bullets with ''only a flesh wound, will be addressing the nation in a few moments.

''The Gods must be funny in China (The Gods must be crazy V)

[[caption-width-right:300:What the...?]]

A classic low budget film from South Africa from the 1980s.

The Coca-Cola bottle is very useful. However, there is only one, which inevitably leads to conflict; and since it is harder than anything that can naturally be found in the Kalahari Desert, someone gets hurt. For the sake of the harmony of the tribe, one of their number, Xi, is tasked with dropping it off the edge of the earth.

There were three sequels, the second film was more or less as good as the first, if a bit [[StrictlyFormula too similar]].

A spin off made in Hong Kong featured Xi helping some Chinese people who were transporting a Chinese zombie when their plane crashed. It ends with the Chinese Zombie fighting an African voodoo zombie. [[DenserAndWackier Let's just say that these films were quite different from the original ones]].

* TheAllegedCar: The Land Rover in the first film, which is such a troublesome vehicle that the characters actually nickname it "TheAntichrist". The plane in the second film becomes its spiritual successor.

* MadGod: The view that the Bushmen take after the Coke bottle from the sky causes so much trouble.

* MacGuffin: The Coke bottle. The trope is inverted, because Xi receives the MacGuffin at the beginning and must go on a quest to get rid of it.
** So it's like the [[TheLordOfTheRings One Ring]]?

A spin off made in Hong Kong featured the Xi helping some Chinese people who were transporting a Chinese zombie when their plane crashed. It ends with the Chinese Zombie fighting an African voodoo zombie. Let's just say that these films were quite different from the original ones.