SOUTH PARK: BIGGER, LONGER, and UNCUT

Paramount Home Entertainment is excited to launch the 4K premieres of two classics from Trey Parker and Matt Stone. They are the clever minds who introduced the world to four foul-mouthed young boys: Kyle, Stan, Cartman, and Kenny with their hit television series South Park. The series premiered in 1997 and spawned an Oscar-nominated film, South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut in 1999. Yes, you read that correctly. The film received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song for “Blame Canada” with music and lyrics by Trey Parker and Marc Shaiman.

The movie is now being released for the first time on 4K to celebrate its 25th anniversary. It opens with a big musical opening number that invites us back in the “quiet redneck mountain town” as Stan gathers his best friends, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny to go see the new Terrance and Philip movie, Asses of Fire. They sneak into the R-rated film with the help of a homeless man. The movie has a strong impact on them as their potty mouths and outbursts lead to a cultural shift in their community. Per usual, Kenny is killed and sent to hell where he faces Satan and Saddam Hussein. Kyle’s mom, Sheila, wages an all-out war against this film. This all snowballs to a war between the U.S. and Canada.

I hadn’t seen South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut in over fifteen years, and it was an absolute trip rediscovering these characters and the stupidly funny premise of this film. Trey Parker and Matt Stone have always pushed the boundaries, and this film certainly does that. It’s insanely vulgar and hearing such shocking language from children characters is funny if you’re in the mood for an easy laugh. There’s a playful mockery and homage to other animated films like Beauty and the Beast, A Charlie Brown Christmas, and more.

SPECIAL FEATURES
-Sing-A-Long Version
-Commentary by Matt Stone and Trey Parker
-“What Would Brian Boitano Do?” Music Video
-Theatrical Trailers

RELEASE DATE: June 25, 2024

TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE

It’s been twenty years since Trey Parker and Matt Stone unleashed marionettes on their audience with Team America: World Police. It opens with a terrorist attack in Paris involving weapons of mass destruction. Members of the Team America task force swoop in hoping to stop them only to destroy the Eiffel Tower and blow up the Louvre in the process. The story then cuts to a production of “Lease”, a musical clearly spoofing Rent as cast members sing about having AIDS. Gary Johnston (voiced by Trey Parker) is part of the cast and is revered as an “All-American actor.” He’s courted by Team America to join the squad to use his acting skills to pose as a terrorist and infiltrate the organization that attacked Paris. Gary reluctantly agrees even though he reiterates that he’s not a spy. Things don’t quite go to plan leaving Gary and the rest of Team America with more a attention than they’d like.

Much like their style with South Park, the animation here is purposefully meant to look amateur as there is no hiding the fact that they are using marionettes for characters. Even the strings show as the puppets haphazardly move around the set models. There’s some charm to this as it doesn’t look sophisticated like a Pixar film or the stop motion animation we see in movies like The Nightmare Before Christmas or Coraline. The Parker/Stone writing is just as politically incorrect and jarring as you’d expect, and they rip on everyone from making Kim Jung Il a character to referencing Alec Baldwin, George Clooney and other actors. It’s not as consistenly funny as South Park or their musical, The Book of Mormon, but you can expect some outrageous moments like a graphic sex scene that would never have been approved if it had not been marionettes to a scene with Gary Johnston drunken projectile vomiting in an alley. It’s wild and absurd for anyone who likes “stupid funny” humor.

SPECIAL FEATURES
-Uncut Version
–Team America: An Introduction
-Building the World
-Creafting The Puppets
-Pulling the Strings
-Capturing the action
-Miniature Pyrotechnics
-Up Close with Kim Jong-Il
-Dressing Room TEst
-Puppet Test
-Deleted/Extended Scenes and Outtakes
-Animated Storyboards

RELEASE DATE: June 25, 2024

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♬ original sound – Paul McGuire Grimes