If I were to ask the question, "Who are the two most obnoxious, crass, offensive, politically incorrect people in television?", the obvious answer would be Trey Parker and Matt Stone. "Who?", you ask. Parker and Stone are the creators of South Park, an animated sitcom that has had 26 seasons to date and still counting. In addition to the television series, South Park has also had several television specials and one theatrical release, a musical feature film called South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. Originally released in 1999, the film is now being given the 4K treatment in a new combo pack available for purchase in stores today, June 25, 2024.
Like any good musical, the film starts with an opening number about the sleepy, little, podunk town they live in. We then watch as Kyle, Stan, Cartman, and Kenny sit through the new Terrance and Phillip film, Asses of Fire. When the boys return to school again they, and most of the other students, are cursing like drunk sailors after having watched the R-rated feature.
Appalled and offended, the boys' moms blame their children's bad behavior on Terrance and Phillip, and all of Canada. As the anger and hatred escalate, The United States declares war on Canada and plans to execute Terrance and Phillip. Having had enough, the children of South Park plan to save their heroes. Oh and, for good measure, Satan and Saddam Hussein are waiting for Terrance and Phillip to be executed so they can come up from Hell to rule Earth.
As an animated feature, the color palette tends to lean towards the bright and vibrant, even in those scenes that are set in Hell. The Dolby Vision brings the colors out beautifully but perhaps may be oversaturated at times. The details are sharp and clean and some fine grain gives the movie the look and feel of a true feature film.
Unfortunately, the audio is only Dolby TrueHD 5.1 as opposed to Atmos, making one wonder why they didn't use the most advanced audio possible. The Dolby TrueHD isn't bad but there are moments when the musical numbers aren't as crisp as they could be. The lower tones suffer the most, especially in the musical sequences.
The combo pack comes with a 4K disc, a Blu-ray disc, and a digital download. The extras are all ported over from previous releases except the sing along version and all are housed on the Blu-ray Disc. They include: Sing-A-Long Edition, Audio Commentary featuring Matt Stone and Trey Parker, "What Would Brian Boitano Do" Music Video, Teaser Trailer, Theatrical Trailer, and Theatrical Trailer 2. The sing-along version doesn't allow for the words at the bottom of the screen to be turned off which could be disappointing if you happen to have memorized them all by heart.
Parker and Stone have made a career out of being decent animators, decent writers, and equal-opportunity offenders. They make fun of anyone and everyone without apology or remorse and, honestly, don't seem to give one crap about it. Fans have seen it time and again for over twenty-five years and the two show no signs of stopping. A critical and box office hit, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut permitted people to laugh at the sublimely ridiculous and incredibly offensive content.
Twenty-five years later the film still holds up for the most part and many of the jokes are definitely relatable. If you like the offensive language, crude humor, and ridiculous situations, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, is definitely for you.
I guarantee you will laugh out loud and want to own this movie yourself.
Grade: B+
