DVD Review: The Cult of Cartman - Revelations
Trey Parker, Matt Stone DVD Features Selected Episodes of South Park
Oct 27, 2008
In what seems like an attempt at double-dippery, Comedy Central and Paramount Home Video have compiled 12 South Park episodes featuring Eric Cartman onto a 2-disc box set. The result is The Cult of Cartman - Revelations, which depicts the show's resident enfant térrible in some of his biggest appearances in recent seasons.
By the way, this set is uncensored, so expect plenty of swearing.
What South Park Episodes Are In Here?
Some of the show's most controversial episodes (are there any other kind?) appear in this 2-disc set, including "Le Petit Tourette" (where Cartman faked Tourette's Syndrome) and the two-parter "Cartoon Wars," which not only ripped on the controversy surrounding Mohammed's appearance in several Danish cartoons, but also tore into Family Guy, The Simpsons and South Park itself.
Still not offended? There's also cannibalism and bestiality ("Scott Tenorman Must Die"), AIDS and Jimmy Buffet ("Tonsil Trouble") plus steroid use among athletes and the mentally handicapped ("Up the Down Steroid").
However, one can ignore the extreme political incorrectness because - quite simply - it's funny. There's something irresistible about watching Islamist extremists like Osama Bin Laden offer detailed critiques of Family Guy's over-reliance on jokes that have no relevance to the plot. And who can be immune to watching Cartman and Bart Simpson compare notes on who's the biggest badass?
DVD Extras
Extra shorts? No. Audio commentary? Zilch. Making-of featurettes? Nada. Interviews featuring much heinie-kissing between cast and crew? Zero. Previews of upcoming Paramount releases? Bupkiss (although some would argue that the latter is a good thing).
So what the %#$@ have Parker, Stone and Paramount given as extras? There are the nifty intros for each episode, where Eric Cartman dispenses his own special brand of wisdom. You also get a membership card for the Cult of Cartman – which gives you the chance to go online and get "cool crap" and the chance to win $10,000 cash – plus an exclusive sticker. That enough for ya?
Final Analysis
It's hard to wholeheartedly recommend The Cult of Cartman mainly because it really feels like an unnecessary double-dip. Only ”Tonsil Trouble”, “Eek, A P****!”, and “Super Fun Time” haven't appeared on previous DVD sets, so if you've already obtained most of the others, then there's not much point in buying this thing. It's likely that those three aforementioned episodes will appear in future collections, so you're really not missing much.
However, if you're new to South Park, or you're a completist, then The Cult of Cartman - Revelations is for you. It gets a 7/10.
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