I would just like to say now that South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut is my favourite film of all time. Okay, it may not be the best made or whatever but it is so damn entertaining and is one of the only films I could watch over and over again. It is the best animated film ever, the best musical ever and the best TV show to film transfer ever. It has to be seen to be believed.
The film focuses on the four main stars of the show: Eric Cartman, Stan Marsh, Kyle Broslofski and Kenny McCormick who get into an R-rated film with their fave TV characters, Terrance & Phillip, in their debut feature film (sound familiar?). However, as soon as the film starts rolling, the swearing begins as well. Affected by the crude and inventive swearing from the Canadian duo, the young foursome begin to show off their new phrases but their mothers try to put a stop to it by focusing on the main source of the problem, Canada. Soon, war is waged on the Canadians and all hell is broken loose with the arrival of Satan and Saddam Hussein, who are partners in evil and love. Yes its crazy, yes its stupid but yes its also intelligent, satirical and damn funny.
The quality of the animation has improved due to the bigger budget. The characters appear more 3D than ever before and Kenny's descent into hell is so superbly dizzying and memorable due to the amazing computer generated fire and devil effects. At first, you may feel turned away by the inclusion of songs but each one is so catchy and brilliant. They really teach Uncle Walt what songs should be like in animated films. The lyrics are hilarious (you only have to listen to Terrance and Phillip's song and you will know that this is NOT a Disney film). The song 'Up There' could be used in your average kids film if it weren't for the fact that it is sung by Satan. The songs and music fill you with so much emotion, more than your usual Disney pap and are all perfectly taking the mickey (or should that be Mickey Mouse) out of it. 'Blame Canada' should have won Best Original Song Oscar and not Phil Collins and whatever rubbish he did in Tarzan.
Not all of the characters from the TV show make much of an appearance. You would think that Jesus and Damien would have more of a role in the Satan-Saddam relationship and the Mayor and Barbrady have nothing to say about what's happening to South Park, along with Pip but they only manage cameo roles. However, the new characters more than make up for it. Gregory really puts a spin on things for Stan, and Christof aka The Mole is one of the coolest characters in cinematic history ("Was my mother careful when she stabbed me in the heart with a clothes hanger when I was still in ze womb?") and should make a reappearance on the TV show. It is also good to see that all characters get equal amounts of runtime due to their separate plot lines which create some great scenes. Stan has to cope with Wendy going out with Gregory, Kyle has to stand up to his crazed mother, Cartman's V-Chip electrocutes him whenever he utters an obscenity and Kenny (who gets loads more runtime as he is almost the main character) needs to alert his friends that Satan and Saddam are coming to take over the world. The celebrity guest voices are great too, especially the E.R. rip-off with George Clooney. And don't forget to catch Kenny's Goodbye at the end. By the final 'Mountain Town' reprisal you will be wanting more, though you know that watching it all again instantly will be too much but the film is so addictive and the scenes and songs so catchy and memorable you just have to watch it again and again. Even now I feel like sticking it into the video machine and watch it again but I know I shouldn't. Oh, and check out the most bizarre post-credits sequence in movie history featuring Ike.
Overall this is a truly brilliant film which deserves more attention. It is a fun film to watch and its humour may be not to everyone's taste but I think everyone should see it regardless of anything (actually, maybe that's not such a good idea).
The film focuses on the four main stars of the show: Eric Cartman, Stan Marsh, Kyle Broslofski and Kenny McCormick who get into an R-rated film with their fave TV characters, Terrance & Phillip, in their debut feature film (sound familiar?). However, as soon as the film starts rolling, the swearing begins as well. Affected by the crude and inventive swearing from the Canadian duo, the young foursome begin to show off their new phrases but their mothers try to put a stop to it by focusing on the main source of the problem, Canada. Soon, war is waged on the Canadians and all hell is broken loose with the arrival of Satan and Saddam Hussein, who are partners in evil and love. Yes its crazy, yes its stupid but yes its also intelligent, satirical and damn funny.
The quality of the animation has improved due to the bigger budget. The characters appear more 3D than ever before and Kenny's descent into hell is so superbly dizzying and memorable due to the amazing computer generated fire and devil effects. At first, you may feel turned away by the inclusion of songs but each one is so catchy and brilliant. They really teach Uncle Walt what songs should be like in animated films. The lyrics are hilarious (you only have to listen to Terrance and Phillip's song and you will know that this is NOT a Disney film). The song 'Up There' could be used in your average kids film if it weren't for the fact that it is sung by Satan. The songs and music fill you with so much emotion, more than your usual Disney pap and are all perfectly taking the mickey (or should that be Mickey Mouse) out of it. 'Blame Canada' should have won Best Original Song Oscar and not Phil Collins and whatever rubbish he did in Tarzan.
Not all of the characters from the TV show make much of an appearance. You would think that Jesus and Damien would have more of a role in the Satan-Saddam relationship and the Mayor and Barbrady have nothing to say about what's happening to South Park, along with Pip but they only manage cameo roles. However, the new characters more than make up for it. Gregory really puts a spin on things for Stan, and Christof aka The Mole is one of the coolest characters in cinematic history ("Was my mother careful when she stabbed me in the heart with a clothes hanger when I was still in ze womb?") and should make a reappearance on the TV show. It is also good to see that all characters get equal amounts of runtime due to their separate plot lines which create some great scenes. Stan has to cope with Wendy going out with Gregory, Kyle has to stand up to his crazed mother, Cartman's V-Chip electrocutes him whenever he utters an obscenity and Kenny (who gets loads more runtime as he is almost the main character) needs to alert his friends that Satan and Saddam are coming to take over the world. The celebrity guest voices are great too, especially the E.R. rip-off with George Clooney. And don't forget to catch Kenny's Goodbye at the end. By the final 'Mountain Town' reprisal you will be wanting more, though you know that watching it all again instantly will be too much but the film is so addictive and the scenes and songs so catchy and memorable you just have to watch it again and again. Even now I feel like sticking it into the video machine and watch it again but I know I shouldn't. Oh, and check out the most bizarre post-credits sequence in movie history featuring Ike.
Overall this is a truly brilliant film which deserves more attention. It is a fun film to watch and its humour may be not to everyone's taste but I think everyone should see it regardless of anything (actually, maybe that's not such a good idea).