South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut is a 1999 American adult animated musical black comedy film directed by Trey Parker, who co-wrote with Matt Stone and Pam Brady. The film is based on Parker and Stone's animated sitcom South Park, and stars Parker, Stone, Mary Kay Bergman, and Isaac Hayes, all of whom reprise their roles from the series, with George Clooney, Eric Idle, and Mike Judge in supporting roles. The plot follows Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormick, whose frequent swearing leads to a moral panic in South Park that culminates in the United States declaring war on Canada.
Primarily centered on themes of censorship and scapegoating, the film also parodies and satirizes the animated films of the Disney Renaissance, musicals such as Les Misérables, and controversies surrounding the series itself. The film also heavily satirizes the Motion Picture Association of America; during production, Parker and Stone disputed with the MPAA, which returned the film multiple times with an NC-17 rating due to its frequent use of profanity. The film's songs were written by Parker and Marc Shaiman, the latter of whom composed the score.
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut premiered at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on June 23, 1999, and was released in the United States on June 30, by Paramount Pictures, with Warner Bros. releasing in other territories. It received critical acclaim, with praise towards its writing, humor, music, and themes. Produced on a $21 million budget, it grossed $83 million, becoming the highest-grossing R-rated animated film at the time. At the 72nd Academy Awards, the song "Blame Canada" was nominated for Best Original Song. Since its release, it has been widely regarded as one of the greatest animated films of all time.
Plot In South Park, Colorado, Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski and his adopted brother Ike, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormick visit the movie theater to see Terrance and Phillip's R-rated film, Asses of Fire, bribing a homeless man to help sneak them in. Due to the rampant profanity in the film, the boys begin swearing constantly. Their classmates also see the film, but Wendy Testaburger prefers to spend time with transfer student Gregory, to Stan's jealousy. The boys are sent to Mr. Mackey's office for swearing and are forbidden from seeing the film again by their parents, but still do so again later. Kenny attempts to imitate one of the scenes from the film by lighting his fart on fire, but accidentally immolates himself. He is rushed to the hospital and dies from a botched heart transplant, and the other boys are consequently grounded.
Kenny descends into Hell and encounters Satan and his abusive partner Saddam Hussein. With Asses of Fire becoming popular with children nationwide, the parents of South Park blame Terrance and Phillip's native Canada for corrupting them. Kyle's mother, Sheila, forms the Mothers Against Canada (M.A.C.) movement with other parents and later has a V-chip implanted in Cartman, causing him electric shocks whenever he attempts to swear. When M.A.C. arrests Terrance and Phillip, Canada bombs the Baldwin family in retaliation. The United States declares war on Canada and arranges to have Terrance and Phillip executed during a USO show within two days. In Hell, Kenny overhears Satan tell Saddam that Terrance and Phillip's deaths are the last sign of a prophecy of his invasion of Earth. After failing to persuade Satan to abandon Saddam, Kenny's ghost visits Cartman to warn him. Unable to reason with their mothers, Stan, Kyle, and Cartman form a resistance movement with their classmates to rescue Terrance and Phillip, recruiting the French-accented, misotheistic Cristophe, nicknamed "the Mole".
The boys infiltrate the USO show, where Stan and Kyle attempt to stall the execution and Cartman attempts to deactivate the alarm while the Mole prepares to free Terrance and Phillip. However, Kenny's ghost reappears before Cartman, who runs away in fear before shutting down the alarm, and the Mole is fatally mauled by guard dogs. The remaining boys try to warn their mothers about Satan's prophecy but are ignored, and Sheila orders the execution. The Canadian Army suddenly launches a surprise attack, resulting in a massive battle between the two armies. Cartman deactivates the electrical switch, allowing Terrance and Phillip to escape; the shock from the switch causes his V-chip to malfunction. Horrified at what they have incited, all the M.A.C. members except for Sheila decide to abandon their cause and search for their children. The children form a human shield to protect Terrance and Phillip from the United States Army as Kyle tries to reason with Sheila. While the army troops begin to back down, Sheila refuses and shoots Terrance and Phillip dead.
Satan's prophecy is fulfilled, and he and Saddam rise to Earth, but Saddam orders the soldiers of both armies to bow to him and browbeats Satan into letting him have power. After Cartman swears at Saddam, his malfunctioning V-chip produces an errant electric shock that strikes one of Satan's minions, and the boys urge Cartman to use it against Saddam. Saddam demands Satan assist him while insulting him, eventually causing Satan to snap and throw Saddam back into Hell, where he is impaled on a stalagmite. Grateful for Kenny's support, Satan grants him one wish, and Kenny wishes for everything to return to a pre-war state, though doing so means that he will remain in Hell. Kenny bids farewell to his friends and all of those killed in the battle are resurrected, including Terrance and Phillip. As the Americans and Canadians make peace, Sheila reconciles with Kyle, as does Wendy with Stan. For his sacrifice, Kenny is allowed to enter Heaven.
Cast
Trey Parker as Stan Marsh / Eric Cartman / Gregory / Satan / Mr. Garrison / Mr. Hat / Phillip Niles Argyle / Randy Marsh / Clyde Donovan / Tom – News Reporter / Midget in a Bikini / Bill Clinton / Canadian Ambassador / Bombardiers / Mr. Mackey / Army General / Ned Gerblansky / Bill Allen / Fosse McDonald / Christophe – Ze Mole (or The Mole) / Big Gay Al (singing voice) / Adolf Hitler / additional voices Matt Stone as Kyle Broflovski / Kenny McCormick (Muffled) / Saddam Hussein (credited to "Himself") / Terrance Henry Stoot / Big Gay Al (speaking voice) / Ticket Taker / Stuart McCormick / Jimbo Kearn / Gerald Broflovski / Butters Stotch / American Ambassador / additional voices Mary Kay Bergman as Sheila Broflovski / Liane Cartman / Sharon Marsh / Carol McCormick / Wendy Testaburger / Clitoris / additional voices Isaac Hayes as Chef Jerome McElroy Jesse Howell, Anthony Cross-Thomas and Franchesca Clifford as Ike Broflovski (Franchesca Clifford was credited as "Francesca Clifford") Bruce Howell as Man in Theatre Deb Adair as Woman in Theatre Jennifer Howell as Bebe Stevens George Clooney as Dr. Gouache ("Dr. Doctor" on screen) Brent Spiner as Conan O'Brien Minnie Driver as Brooke Shields Dave Foley as the Baldwin brothers Eric Idle as Dr. Vosknocker Nick Rhodes as Canadian Fighter Pilot Toddy E. Walters as Winona Ryder Stewart Copeland as American Soldier #1 Stanley G. Sawicki as American Soldier #2 Mike Judge as Kenny McCormick (Unmuffled)
Production Development
Development for the film began during production of South Parks first season in January 1998. Co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone signed a deal with Comedy Central that April which contracted the duo to produce episodes until 1999, as well as an unspecified amount to produce a film based on the series. Part of Parker and Stone's conditions were that the film must at least receive an R rating, keeping it in line with the series' humor and its predecessor short films both titled The Spirit of Christmas. Parker stated that their desire was to approach the film from a more creative perspective and do more than a simple feature length episode. Despite alleged pressure from studio executives to tone down the film, Parker and Stone's conditions were ultimately honored by Paramount Pictures.
"They really wanted to be able to go beyond the South Park television show", Comedy Central spokesman Tony Fox reported to TV Guide. "They really fought hard for and won the right to make an R-rated movie". Paramount executives went as far as preparing graphs displaying how much more revenue a PG-13-rated South Park film would potentially generate. The William Morris Agency, which represented Parker and Stone, pushed for the film's production to begin as soon as possible, while public interest was still high, instead of several years into its run, as was the case with Beavis and Butt-Head Do America (1996).
Casting As in the television series, most of the characters are voiced by Parker, Stone, and Mary Kay Bergman. Isaac Hayes reprised his role as Chef, and audio samples of staff children Jesse Howell, Anthony Cross-Thomas and Franchesca Clifford were used for the voice of Ike Broflovski. Guest voices for the film include George Clooney as Dr. Gouache, Brent Spiner as Conan O'Brien, Minnie Driver as Brooke Shields, Eric Idle as Dr. Vosnocker, and Dave Foley as brothers Alec, Billy, Daniel and Stephen Baldwin.
Michael McDonald, who performs the closing track "Eyes of a Child", performs Satan's high notes in "Up There", and Howard McGillin provides Gregory's singing voice in "La Résistance (Medley)". Former The Police drummer Stewart Copeland voices a United States Army soldier. Mike Judge, creator of Beavis and Butt-Head and King of the Hill, provides Kenny's voice in his sole speaking appearance at the end of the film. Although initially denied by Paramount, Metallica vocalist James Hetfield performs the track "Hell Isn't Good", which was confirmed by Parker in the 2009 Blu-ray commentary.
Writing The first season episode "Death" heavily influenced the film's screenplay; both plots center on the parents of South Park protesting Terrance and Phillip due to the perceived negative influence it has over their children. Parker stated, "After about the first year of South Park, Paramount already wanted to make a South Park movie, and we sort of thought this episode would make the best model just because we liked the sort of pointing at ourselves kind of thing." During this time, the team was also busy with the second and third seasons of the series, the former of which Parker and Stone later described as "disastrous". As such, perceiving that the initial fervor would wane, they decided to write the film as a personal, fully committed musical.
Animation