The DVD Dissection: South Park – Imaginationland

Posted by Chad Webb on 03.13.2008

The trilogy of episodes is connected for a full length movie! How does it stack up?

Featuring the Voices of:
Trey Parker: Stan Marsh, Eric Cartman, and others
Matt Stone: Kyle Broflovski, Butters, and others
Directed By: Trey Parker
Written By: Trey Parker and Matt Stone
Episode Air Dates: October 17, 2007 – October 31, 2007
DVD Release Date: March 11, 2008
Running Time: 65 minutes







Not Rated

The Film

Some animated shows, like The Simpsons for instance, decline with age, but South Park is certainly the exception. Looking back at the beginning seasons, they are filled with humorous episodes, but compared to the intelligent and raunchy storylines creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone come up with these days, Cartman’s Anal Probe seems mediocre. This dynamic duo has managed to keep the substance fresh, brave, and most importantly: controversial. No celebrity, politician, or public figure is invincible for them to mock, embarrass, or degrade. Parker and Stone have sharpened their skills to the point where all other animated series just cannot top any of their gags or plots.

In the show's 11th season, they aired three episodes entitled Imaginationland. This was an idea they had been contemplating for years, but never pushed forward because it would mean a great deal more work then they were accustomed to. They had also tossed around the possibility of making it a new South Park film using this premise. In the end, the best course of action was an episode trilogy. That has been merged and compacted for fans in one special DVD set called Imaginationland. It is one of the most uproarious and memorable arcs in South Park since it began in 1996.

Before I divulge the plot of Imaginationland, a quick recap of the general premise of the series and the main characters is in order. South Park follows the adventures of four grade-schoolers from South Park, Colorado. The town is small and quaint on the surface, but extremely messed up when explored. First is Eric Cartman, the overweight and brazen kid who gets more offensive with each passing second. Next is Kyle Broflovski, a normal boy that is very kind and likable. He is also Jewish, and Cartman reminds him of this every chance he gets. Stan Marsh is probably the leader of the foursome. He and Kyle are best friends, and they commonly try to make sense of the situations. Next is Kenny, the mumbling kid who is known mostly for the fact that he used to die in every episode. Kenny is present here, but lately he has been eclipsed by Butters since season six, the youthful easygoing kid with the innocent voice that is constantly taken advantage of.

Imaginationland begins with Cartman dragging his buddies and most of the school kids into the forest to search for a leprechaun. Cartman says he has seen one, and has a trap designed to apprehend him. A bet was also placed between he and Kyle on whether or not the leprechaun actually exists. If Kyle wins, he gets $10, but if Cartman wins, Kyle must suck his balls. Yes, you read that right. For those uninitiated, welcome to South Park. Soon enough, the leprechaun is discovered and caught. Cartman wants his pot of gold, but the leprechaun has an important message about an incoming terrorist attack. With one swipe of magic, the leprechaun vanishes. All of a sudden, a man dressed in a circus costume appears and inquires to the boys if they have seen a leprechaun. After a short debate on whether or not leprechauns are real or imaginary, the man takes the boys up in a hot air balloon. The passengers in the balloon consist of Stan, Kyle, Kenny, Butters and Jimmy the crippled boy. The man turns out to be the mayor of Imaginationland, and that is where he takes the group. The place is filled with every imaginary character one can think of. They are greeted with applause, but the celebration quickly ceases when the terrorist attack occurs, and all hell breaks loose. Some of the boys escape, but Butters is left behind and must somehow save the day and find his way back home.

As a huge fan of Futurama, I have to say that South Park is the very best satirical and pop-culture animated series on television. One of my favorite aspects of Imaginationland is the game where you locate and laugh at all the classic characters you grew up with such as Snarf from Thundercats, Captain Planet, Wario, and the list goes on. I could ramble on like a giddy teenager about how terrific it was watching the film for just this reason alone. In an odd sort of way, this makes the episodes/film worth multiple repeated viewings because I promise you will not observe all of them in one shot. Look again and you’ll see Starfox the video game character and loads of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe villains. On a side note, my plot description leaves out a lot, but that is intentional. If you have not seen it, I wouldn’t want to spoil anymore.

Production for Imaginationland commenced approximately three months before it aired. Anyone who has listened to the commentaries knows how strange that is since most episodes are completed in about a week. It drew 3.4 million viewers, and was the most watched program on that Wednesday night with males between the ages of 18-24. As a totally random bit of trivia, Imaginationland can be compared to the term “pantheistic solipsism” which basically means that a writer can create a parallel universe of fictional characters by writing about it. The themes Parker and Stone integrate into this story arc are of course distorted and conveyed in the weirdest manner possible. They take aim on Family Guy’s Blue Harvest, children failing to use their imaginations due to cell phones and video games, and terrorism. I might have missed one, but the scope of Imaginationland is astonishingly vast even though it aired first in TV.

I have always found South Park to be an accessible series in that I can pick up and watch it no matter what season it is. Truth be told, I stopped watching during the middle of its run, and then returned and wonder why Mr. Garrison had breasts, but the small in-jokes are forgivable since the main characters remains simple and rarely change, except for maybe Kenny. There are times I admit when Trey Parker and Matt Stone go too far with the humor, but on many occasions I find myself cracking up at the most irreverent and vile gags. What can I say? I enjoy comedy with backbone that pushes the envelope. You can definitely count on Parker and Stone for that.

The Video

On many commentaries and interviews with Parker and Stone, they never hesitate to say how bad their animation is compared to other shows. While it is true that this is not nearly as visually exquisite as Futurama, the animation is certainly unique, and in the case of Imaginationland, it is vibrant, and the land itself is a feast for the eyes with the variety of colors. This DVD looks great on my television. The transfer is clear and spotless with no visible grain, jumping, blurs, or color bleeding. This is presented in full screen with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.

The Audio

The sound is solid and strong throughout the film. You will notice a few explosions, and the terrorist attack itself is saturated with gun shots and all sorts of noisy violence which reverberates superbly from the speakers. All the characters were reliably understandable, lucid, and clear. I heard no distortion, and my volume knob rested at a comfortable level. This DVD contains a Dolby Digital 5.1 track in English and a mono track. Strangely enough no subtitles are given.

The Packaging

South Park: Imaginationland is distributed in a standard keep case, but it is white in color. It also has a cardboard slip sleeve cover on top of the case that is cut out in the form of a frame to display the artwork of the actual “Imaginationland.” The cover is very colorful and eye-catching. Inside is a booklet packed with Comedy Central advertisements. The menus for South Park are always funny, and this one starts with Butters walking over a blank screen. I’ll say no more.

The Extras

Audio Commentary - Obviously this is with Trey Parker and Matt Stone. From the beginning they say they will try to make this commentary longer than the ones on the TV box sets. If you thought the film was funny, listen to this for added laughs. They inform us that music will play whenever they start talking about something that could result in getting sued. They also discuss the inspirations for Imaginationland such as Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, and Saving Private Ryan among others. This is a great track. Don’t expect insightful conversation between the two of them, but that is half the fun.

BONUS EPISODES
Woodland Critters Christmas (22:04) – This might be one of the more disturbing episodes. I guess most of the episodes are disturbing, but this one involves a pregnant porcupine, the killing of cute animals, and the spawn of Satan. The twist at the end, combined with Stan constantly getting annoyed at the narrator, was just hysterical. By the way, the story revolves around Stan who wanders into the woods, and stumbles upon some woodland critters who ask him for favors. 8.5/10.0

ManBearPig (22:04) – Al Gore is made fun of in this episode as he visits South Park Elementary to warn everyone about the vicious “manbearpig” he conjured up. Cartman swallowing the treasure is brilliant. The Gore voice kind of got on my nerves, but other than that, this was genuinely funny. Both will help you watch Imaginationland better as characters from both of these extras appear in the feature. 7.5/10.0

STORYBOARDS
Fuck Me, It’s a Leprechaun (2:15) – This is self-explanatory. It basically rough sketches of certain scenes with the voices intact.

What is This Place? (1:41) – Another sequence from the film where the mayor takes the children on a balloon ride. These are both short, but are welcomed bonuses I suppose. It is always interesting to watch these.

Trailers - When you pop the DVD in your player, previews for Lil’ Bush – Season One, South Park, and Drawn Together are shown.

The Film: 9.0/10.0
The Video: 9.0/10.0
The Audio: 8.0/10.0
The Packaging: 8.0/10.0
The Extras: 6.0/10.0

The 411: Imaginationland is a triumph for Trey Parker and Matt Stone. The three episode story arc works as a mini-movie, and the storyline is magnificent. Spotting so many classic characters from the 80’s and 90’s is loads of fun. The problem is I’m not sure this DVD is good enough to recommend buying it alone. It has a few nice extras such as the commentary and bonus episodes, but unless the price is kept to around $10, I can’t see why this is a better purchase than the seasons. Because the packaging was so attractive, and because the technical specifications were top notch, I can give this a pass. This series only gets better as it gets older and as Stone and Parker gets crazier. Imaginationland will probably be remembered among the show's best episodes.

Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]