South Park: “Imaginationland Part III”
I’m kind of killing my good will from earlier today with the earlier post with this one so inexplicably late. Today was unforgiving, so I had to write this in sessions and finish it when I got home. But enough excuses, this was a great episode last night, so the post will be relatively short.
Last night was a satisfying conclusion to the saga. We got the inevitable Braveheart-esque battle scene, where apparently no one has ever imagined any sort of lethal firearm until Butters; the return of an Al Gore likeness, a definitive conclusion to the B-story which I’m sure will be referenced in future episodes; real world reports of the ongoings in Imaginationland and a comparative debate on fantasy vs. reality.
The ending was an easy fix, though. Since Imagination land was a collective interpretation of American creativity, all anyone had to do was “imagine” everything back into existence. My initial prediction that Cartman would conjure up something as noble as the woodland critters are evil wasn’t misguided, but wasn’t necessarily accurate either. Instead it ended up being Butters, who is set to be rife with parental issues when he reaches adulthood, if his imagination is any indication.
The press core white house meeting was interesting, but a highlight of the episode was the explanation of what happened to Kurt Russell at the hands of the woodland critters, and the following speechless reaction from the press. This, along with the brutal killing of Morpheus by Freddy Kruger and a Tron character meeting his demise also at the gleeful hands of the woodland critters, Beary the bear: “(Innocently) Hey, buddy. (Zaps head off with Cyclops like laser beams)”, All the critters: “Yaaayyyy”.
They seek and destroy
I knew, though never mentioned it so I can’t take credit, that Jesus was going to pop up in Imaginationland at some point, just to maximize the percentage of America that would be properly offended. I thought the imagined reincarnation of Santa would be akin to what we saw in the “Red Sleigh Down” episode, with two automatic rifles under his arms and a penchant for blood lust. Instead we get him all roman like with a golden battle axe, which is fine. Al Gore’s mocking is probably just as controversial nowadays. Putting a recent Nobel Peace Prize winner in a cape is always going to be divisive.
These three episodes were definitely outside their comfort zone, but they worked well. And, after over 150 episodes, its good to see their still attempting to broaden their horizons. I could have watched an entire season with this plot, much less only a trilogy. Just goes to show that continuity can pay dividends in comedy.
November 6th, 2007 at 3:03 pm
[...] That it pushes against boundaries is indisputable. What other show, animated or not, would attempt a musical number with a song titled “You have AIDS,” or feature its main character recounting, in detail, his wife’s failed attempt to get an abortion? First of all, Dehnart has missed something that actually destroys his argument. There is one animated show that not only would do a musical number about AIDS, but it also featured a talking turd, Satanic animals, and a hate filled fat kid. I’m talking, of course, about South Park. [...]
December 10th, 2007 at 6:59 am
[...] of enjoying movies, books and music in the mainstream. I am no conservative but I seem to remember Al and Tipper Gore among other Democrats at the forefront of the censorship issue in the 1980s. The question is [...]
October 9th, 2008 at 9:31 am
[...] power is blindly loyal to one side of the other, it is good to see that South Park will still mock Al Gore’s causes just like they will republican led foreign policy. This seemed [...]