America: The Motion Picture may look and feel awfully familiar to Team America: World Police since both films feature lots of guns, expletives, and stereotypical tyrants. Most of all, the bulk of the humor in both of these movies comes from their satirical takes on American patriotism. Still, though, these two comedies differ in crucial aspects directly related to their tone, political contexts, and the exact butts of their jokes.

Netflix's new adult animated film is the directorial debut of Matt Thompson, an executive producer for FX's Archer, and is a wildly exaggerated, nay, explosively fictitious retelling of the American Revolution. The story, which follows a script written by David Callaham (The ExpendablesMortal Kombat), is a melting pot of action movie parodies. So is Team America: World Police, the cult classic from South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker, but all the tropes are played dead serious by the characters in the film. America: The Motion Picture takes a more self-referential approach, its characters pointing out the cliches as if even they know how ridiculous their movie is.

Related: Every Song In America: The Motion Picture

That's just the beginning of the differences between the two comedies. Team America, in a way that has become a trademark for Stone and Parker, makes sure to lampoon as many political voices as possible. Sure, Team America themselves are the sort of reckless idiots that typify a conservative caricature, but the members of the Film Actors' Guild are clearly skewering the liberal side of the fence, too. Pompous, privileged, and easily manipulated by Kim Jong-Il, the guild (an acronym joke that has aged poorly) seem to be just as, if not even more, incompetent than their jingoistic rivals.

AMERICA: THE MOTION PICTURE

America: The Motion Picture, on the other hand, is more focused on pointing out that the United States was founded by a bunch of racist, sexist white dudes and makes that group the target of the bulk of its jokes. For the most part, the women and characters of color are portrayed as far more competent than the frat bro idiots that are George Washington and Sam Adams, and they're quick to point out how intolerant the American colonists are. Within that element lies the single most important aspect that distinguishes the two comedies: context.

The humor and commentary of Team America were born out of the George W. Bush administration and post-9/11 politics. The film was released in 2004 at the height of the presidency and, though drafts of the script were already underway before the Iraq War started, the escalating politics influenced jokes like the celebrity bashing. Stone and Parker were making fun of the idea that the great conservative fear at the time was terrorism, and that the American military were brutish idiots who destroyed everything in their way. However, the film's climactic speech also tries to explain just why hawkish American patriotism even exists (and, to some critics, even makes a case for why it's justified).

America: The Motion Picture is more indicative of the post-Trump era, dealing with issues related to the current "culture wars" and criticizing the way the white guys who ran (and continue to run) the country are not as capable and savvy as they think they are. Washington and Adams, despite being boyish morons, are frequently blinded by their privilege and condescendingly talk down to their more diverse teammates. Whereas Team America: World Police was riffing on the absurdity of the war on terror, America: The Motion Picture makes fun of how ridiculous it is that patriotism seems to be confined to one group of nitwits.

Next: What To Expect from America: The Motion Picture 2