South Park: Bigger, Longer, And Uncut
The history of animated movies is a rather sentimental one, ranging from The Disney Classics to Pixar and several lower-level fare, meant to be an event for kids to spend time with their parents. However, when it comes to more mature, adult animated features, the limited spectrum is speckled with mostly cult appeal movies ranging from Fritz The Cat to Heavy Metal. But when South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone were offered a chance to make a movie based off their legendary animated show, they smartly insisted on doing so on the condition that it be a no holds barred R-rated movie, and given that freedom, created a film that broke free from the boundaries of its television origins and gave people something that had truly never been seen before (or since), a film piled on with such rampant profanity and outrageous situations that STILL managed to carry an important political message while maintaining a lack of irony in the concept that our children are the last vestige of hope and innocence. The film follows the four main stars of the show at the time, Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny (Butters had not really come to the forefront yet, and is used as a glorified extra here), as it shows them attending the premiere of the new (R-rated) Terrence and Phillip movie, loaded with profanity from the get-go, and walk out with newly minted foul mouths, which get them in trouble with both their teachers and parents, but the real trouble starts (and the movie rises to the level of greatness) when Kenny copies an act from the movie and dies as a result (âOh my God! They killed Kenny!â âYou bastards!â). From there the outraged parents get the government to arrest Terrence and Phillip and plan to execute them, while their home country of Canada becomes outraged which soon leads to all out war that threatens to bring about The Apocalypse. Meanwhile, Kenny goes down to Hell, where he encounters Satan, The Dark Prince (a large, imposing figure who is in actuality hopelessly gay) along with the newly arrived Saddam Hussein (apparently the only human soul evil enough to make Satan himself heel), as they plot to rise up and take over Earth once the war has reached a certain point. Obviously, there is a lot on the table here in terms of modern satire, and Parker and Stone make it all work beautifully, from the idea that parents would rather blame the makers of mature content for corrupting their kids instead of blaming themselves for not spending enough time raising them, to the pretense that many times patriotism is so blind that people would be willing to kill and maim others just because their government says itâs alright, and of course the shallow and contemptible nature of our celebrity culture itself. All that and more is covered, with the help of creative animation, excellent voicework from Parker, Stone, Isaac Hayes as Chef, and Mary Kay Bergman (who mysteriously committed suicide within mere months of the movieâs release) as all the major female characters, and an absolutely amazing score of songs throughout the movie, which in turn makes the film a sendup of Broadway-style musicals as well. One of the songs (âBlame Canadaâ) actually managed to score an Oscar Nomination, even though it is one of the lesser songs in the film, while others including the opening tune, Terrence and Phillipâs uproarious Uncle Fucker, a reprise of Cartmanâs legendary Kyleâs Mom Is A Bitch, Satanâs ballad Up There, and the La Resistance song were all worthy of being nominated also. In the end, the movie would be just a tidal wave of profanity and little more if it hadnât found its stamp of greatness and immortality with the character of Kenny, with his mostly indecipherable dialogue due to his hoodie, but whom nonetheless by the end of the film makes a sacrifice that is so profound, so selfless, that the filmâs final minutes manage the impossible and bring tears to this viewerâs eyes, proving forever that Parker and Stone took the cinematic adaptation of their show and pulled off the most hilarious, the most ballsy, and arguably the BEST animated film ever made, a must see for all young people looking to develop a political and social consciousness, provided that they are at least 17 or accompanied by an adultâŚ
10/10