While the most favoured episode of season five (and arguably the show as a whole) is "Scott Tenorman Must Die", it is "Cartmanland" that I most adore. It has surpassed the movie, "Bigger, Longer & Uncut" as the single most enjoyable piece of SOUTH PARK for me yet.
The story revolves around Cartman, who inherits a fortune of $1 million when his grandmother passes away (who we saw back in the season 2 Charles Manson episode) and he uses this money to realize his oldest and wildest dream: to open a theme park. Sounds wonderful, great opportunity to make a fortune off a fortune wouldn't you say? Well...no. Cartman doesn't want to run the theme park as a tourist site but rather a place all for himself. He's sick of queues as evidenced by his rant on waiting in lines. It's a fantastic moment in an episode filled to the brim with fantastic moments.
On the other hand, there's poor Kyle who gets hemorrhoids and begins to lose fate in God and life when he learns of Cartman's fortuitous acquisition and the end result is something that is as hilarious (through excellent meta humour) as it is genuinely heartbreaking. "Kenny Dies" from later in this season will do the same thing to at least equal effect, if not better.
The two stories play off each other beautifully. There's a moment that I adore, that's nothing more than a subtle and clever piece of humour achieved purely through editing and storytelling. In one scene, Kyle begins to tear up in front of Stan, angry and heartbroken over God's abandonment and in the next scene, Cartman begins to cry...only he's crying as he rides the various rides out of the joy of owning a theme park all to himself. It embodies a lot of what I love about this episode, it's ability to balance two very differently toned story lines and merge them to an almost unique effect.
Watching Cartman's ideal of happiness slowly being shred away by the need to allow more tourists to enter his amusement park in order to pay for the necessary employees is hilarious. There's barely a false note in this episode for me and Kenny's death is one of the most random and hilarious yet, barely calling attention to itself.
"Cartmanland" is my favourite episode up to the end of the fifth season. It is such an outrageously hilarious but also sincerely moving episode that is the first real of instance (second maybe, after "Cartman's Mum is a Dirty Slut" from season one) of the show tackling drama in an almost undiluted and sincere manner.
The story revolves around Cartman, who inherits a fortune of $1 million when his grandmother passes away (who we saw back in the season 2 Charles Manson episode) and he uses this money to realize his oldest and wildest dream: to open a theme park. Sounds wonderful, great opportunity to make a fortune off a fortune wouldn't you say? Well...no. Cartman doesn't want to run the theme park as a tourist site but rather a place all for himself. He's sick of queues as evidenced by his rant on waiting in lines. It's a fantastic moment in an episode filled to the brim with fantastic moments.
On the other hand, there's poor Kyle who gets hemorrhoids and begins to lose fate in God and life when he learns of Cartman's fortuitous acquisition and the end result is something that is as hilarious (through excellent meta humour) as it is genuinely heartbreaking. "Kenny Dies" from later in this season will do the same thing to at least equal effect, if not better.
The two stories play off each other beautifully. There's a moment that I adore, that's nothing more than a subtle and clever piece of humour achieved purely through editing and storytelling. In one scene, Kyle begins to tear up in front of Stan, angry and heartbroken over God's abandonment and in the next scene, Cartman begins to cry...only he's crying as he rides the various rides out of the joy of owning a theme park all to himself. It embodies a lot of what I love about this episode, it's ability to balance two very differently toned story lines and merge them to an almost unique effect.
Watching Cartman's ideal of happiness slowly being shred away by the need to allow more tourists to enter his amusement park in order to pay for the necessary employees is hilarious. There's barely a false note in this episode for me and Kenny's death is one of the most random and hilarious yet, barely calling attention to itself.
"Cartmanland" is my favourite episode up to the end of the fifth season. It is such an outrageously hilarious but also sincerely moving episode that is the first real of instance (second maybe, after "Cartman's Mum is a Dirty Slut" from season one) of the show tackling drama in an almost undiluted and sincere manner.