DVD Review: South Park Complete Twelfth Season
Paramount Home Video, Comedy Central Trey Parker Matt Stone
Mar 6, 2009
Twelve seasons without jumping the shark? How the frak do South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone do it?
It's not enough to be outrageous, although South Park still manages to pull that feat off. The simple fact is that the show is still relevant (its crude CGI style means Parker and Stone can react quickly to what's going on in the news and around the world) and, most importantly, it's still funny.
Trey Parker and Matt Stone: South Park Creators
Season 12 got off to a rocky start, although "Major Boobage" was a welcome return to form. However, things really only kicked into gear for this season with "Super Fun Time," which both put the boys in a living museum, and in the middle of a Die Hard-style hostage situation. "The China Probrem" (which features Steven Spielberg and George Lucas molesting Indiana Jones) and "Breast Cancer Show Ever" (where Wendy decides that Cartman needs a beating) are also worthy additions to the South Park canon.
(As an aside, completists should know that "Super Fun Time," along with "Eek, a Penis!" and "Tonsil Trouble" also appeared on the recent Cult of Cartman: Revelations DVD set.)
The best laughs are on Disc Three, with the Ocean's Eleven-meets-the -US Election spoof of "About Last Night . . .), "Elementary School Musical" (no prize for guessing what that mocks) and the Twilight satire "The Ungroundable," where Butters decides he wants to become a vampire.
If there is a weakness, it's that sometimes Parker and Stone let a scene – or a gag – go a hair too long. Yeah, the images of gigantic guinea pigs running ravaging the world in "Pandemic 2: The Startling" were funny at first (and outfitting them in different costumes extends the joke nicely) but it begins to get boring after a while.
DVD Reviews
It's a real shame that Parker and Stone don't take more time with their commentaries, since they're past masters at entertaining and informative audio. Unfortunately, "mini" is the operative word since the show creators usually cut off somewhere between the 5 and 10 minute mark.
However, the rest of the animators take the viewer behind the scenes. The "Six Days to South Park" featurette shows how the episode "Super Fun Time" went from storyboards to the completed product. It's interesting and informative but, considering the animators essentially go through the episode 6 times, it gets wearing after a while.
More successful is "Making Boobage," which breaks down key sequences in the episode "Major Boobage." Parker and Stone make it extremely clear (in case you hadn't figured it out already) that they spoofed the crap out of the film Heavy Metal. In this case, the animators went as far as imitating the visual techniques used in the 1981 cult classic. They also licensed Don Felder's "Heavy Metal (Taking a Ride)" and Sammy Hagar's "Heavy Metal," both of which were on the Heavy Metal soundtrack.
There's also a behind-the-scenes look at "About Last Night . . ." which the South Park gang rushed into production to coincide with the 2008 US election.
Final Analysis
After 12 seasons on the air, South Park shows little sign of slowing down. By taking shots at targets both high and low, and creating characters the audience actually cares about, creators Parker and Stone have managed to keep this show both relevant and funny.
South Park: The Complete Twelfth Season DVD gets an 7/10.
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