South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut (1999): smart, political satire

In the twenty-first century, it appears the world has become more and more cowardly and thus entertainment has attempted to be more about being "politically incorrect" than providing worthwhile, honest entertainment. The biggest insult as of date has been the editing of the cartoons of yester-year, due to the smoking and racial depictions that were seen in those masterpieces. Animated series today lack the daring of those programmes and thus children are introduced to juvenile feel-goodery rather than the comic violence provided by the Looney Tunes. Even Sesame Street's Cookie Monster has been put on a diet, due to angry letters from parent's groups. The only cartoon out there that is not afraid to be blunt, satirical and downright naughty is South Park, the crudely animated adventures of four boys in a Colorado mountain town. Each week, creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone bring forth what can be referred to as a warped, politically-charged and happily vulgar version of Peanuts. Yet, looking beyond the construction paper animation and constant swearing, South Park proves to be a witty and funny blend of intelligent, take-no-prisoners humour and even some heart and sweetness thrown in as well. The feature film version of the animated series, appropriately and comically titled Bigger, Longer & Uncut, has a message which Parker and Stone manage to successfully swing it in along with a bunch of side-splitting funny sight gags, musical numbers and flatulence humour.

Kyle, Stan, Cartman and Kenny are excited about seeing their favourite Canadian actors Terrnace and Philip in their first big-screen film. When they are not allowed admittance into the R-rated "cartoon", they sneak in and thus are their vocabulary is afforded some colourful new words. Their potty mouths angers the parents of South Park and so they decide to wage war with Canada, blaming them for all of society's wrongs and soon Terrance and Philip themselves are arrested and put on death row for "corrupting American's youth." To save their heroes, the children of South Park start their own group. As in the series, Kenny dies and is sent to Hell, where he meets Satan and Saddam Hussein, who see the ongoing war as their chance to finally take over the world.

Free from the restraints of television, Parker and Stone are free to enter possibilities that have not been explored before in the series. Yet, they oddly decide to keep it low-key by centering on the four main boys. Kyle and Stan are the straight men and the eight-year-old altar egos of Matt and Trey. Simply put, they may be vulgar and the comments spewing out of their mouths may not be the most friendly, but they're likable and the characters the audience is most able to relate. Even the bigoted slimeball that is Cartman has a sweet side to him, as he is all for the fight against censorship. In a situation almost akin to A Clockwork Orange, once he has been forced to no longer swear, the audience is waiting for him to get his beloved powers back. And finally, there's Kenny the un-sung hero of the story. While his death is used by the parents as a way to exploit their cause, Kenny attempts to stop the war once he learns of Hussein's intentions. The South Park gang have been around for a decade now and yet it's this film that's them at their all-time best.

Plenty of what makes the film more than just a longer episode of the series is the way in which Trey Parker and Broadway composer Marc Shaiman turn Bigger, Longer & Uncut into a Disney-style musical. The songs are clever and creative and best of all, they help move the plot along and do not feel like they're just adding to the running time. The opening number "Mountain Town", a parody of Beauty and the Beast's beginning, fools the audience into believing that they're about to watch a feel-good family comedy by giving it a tone different from what appears after those first four minutes. After that, the music goes in all sorts of directions. The audience is treated to a profane and flatulence filled homage to Oklahoma!, a march declaring the evils of America's neighbour to the north, a song of admiration towards a figure skater and finally, a combination of the film's best tunes done in the style of Les Miserables. There is even a love ballad played during the end credits, spoofing the typical melodramatic songs that Oscar usually awards (and South Park would, not surprisingly, lose to). Parker understands the musical genre perfectly, as previously evidenced in his student film Cannibal! The Musical and Bigger, Longer & Uncut stands as one of the best the art of cinema has offered.

One of the most notable aspects of South Park, along with the humour, is the political satire. In Bigger, Longer & Uncut, Parker and Stone go up against their biggest enemy since going on the air: humourless parent's groups. Along with Stan and Kyle, the two foul-mouthed Colorodians are also represented by the two foul-mouthed Canadians Terrance and Philip. The two characters are not necessarily a parody of South Park, but more-so how easily offended parents view South Park: a badly animated cartoon filled with low brow toilet humour consisting of flatulence jokes and swear words. It may have all of those things, but if people judge it without actually watching it, it's hard to get behind them. If they actually view it, they will find that South Park is satirical and not after all targets, but only those who deserve it. If they actually become offended by what they see, at least they are shown as less intolerant due to actually giving it a chance. Another aspect of parent's groups that Bigger, Longer & Uncut so wonderfully shows is its ability to blame others for their own mistakes. South Park is not intended for children, yet they still manage to find a way to watch it. Instead of blaming Parker and Stone, they should sit down, switch off the television and talk to their children. Sending angry letters to networks and studios that don't read them or waging war with a country which is just providing innocent entertainment isn't going to do any good. Instead, these people are actually giving Parker and Stone more publicity and more targets to make fun of.

Then again, if it weren't for the parent's groups, there wouldn't be this marvelous film. Trey Parker and Matt Stone are the two most brave comedians in the television and film business and their magnum opus is the delightful, but meaningful Bigger, Longer & Uncut. This is not just an animated comedy. It's a musical, a message film and an attack on judgmental adults everywhere.

The opening musical number "Mountain Town"...

Walt Disney's Pinocchio (1940)

For seventy years, people of all demographics have been entertained and enchanted by the animated features brought out by the Disney studios. In an era when most animated films lack imagination and spirit, it's always nice to watch an earlier Disney film, whether it be one of their old classics or the works released during the early 90's renaissance. Most film historians claim that Snow White and Fantasia are the best films to come out of the beginning years and while I agree they are certainly historically important, they don't quite give me the joy provided by 1940's Pinocchio. Adapted from the Italian story, Disney may have changed things plenty during the writing progress, but the result is a magical and unforgettable experience that proves to not only be a fun romp, but also one of the best cautionary tales brought to the screen.

The story is, of course, familiar to everyone. A kindly, old woodcarver named Gepetto builds his own "little wooden boy" and soon enough the puppet is brought to life. However, before he can become a real boy, Pinocchio must prove himself worthy and with Jiminy Cricket as his conscious, he goes out into the real world, full of crooks and criminals. Naturally, Pinocchio the ever youthful puppet, lands into plenty of trouble, first becoming an actor for a scary marionette master and then being turned into a donkey. The audience, especially the young children watching, are absolutely enthralled by the whole production, but also scared by what is shown on screen. Unlike today's cartoons, that try to be as "friendly" as possible, Walt Disney wanted his films to leave an impact and Pinocchio certainly fits into that category. While the film enchants, it also provide plenty of frightening moments as well.

Quite possibly the scariest scene in the film is when on Pleasure Island, troublesome boys are transformed into donkeys and sent to the salt-mines. Pinocchio can quite possibly be called the greatest anti-cigar film ever made, just for the fact that it doesn't say that smoking is bad, it shows it (although, ironically, Disney himself was a massive smoker)! Another scene that really gets to young audiences is the part in which Pinocchio begins to lie up a storm and his nose grows, even producing a nest with birds at the end. It's enough to make children squirm in their seats and have them afraid to tell a lie again. One of the reasons these scenes are so successful in leading people to the right decision is the fact that Pinocchio is not just a little wooden boy, he represents the child in every one of us: naive and ready to set out into the world, but not fully aware of the dangers awaiting us.

Along with the donkey-transformation and nose-growing scenes, the most memorable aspect of Pinocchio is the music. "When You Wish Upon a Star" is Disney's anthem for a reason. It's not only beautiful, but also brings about what we all want: to wish for a better world, one without evil puppet masters, children taking bad habits and devilish foxes bringing people to the dark side. Finally, the most touching scene comes in the end, when Pinocchio seems like he might die, but his bravery to save Gepetto finally allows him to become a real boy. Even remembering that scene leads one to smile as it's not only Gepetto and Pinocchio's wish that is fulfilled, but ours as well. Everybody loves a happy ending and Pinocchio features the best of them all. Not only is it the best film made by Disney, but it's also their most optimistic. And that's why Pinocchio is such a classic.

The latest animated charmer from DreamWorks Animation is...

There's something about animated insects that seems to attract popular big-city comedians for some reason. New York's Woody Allen lent his familiar voice to Antz with slightly embarrassing results. A couple of months later, Mark Foley, from Toronto's "Kids in the Hall" troupe, played the lead in Pixar's A Bug's Life, succeeding rather well. However, unlike Allen and Foley, both of whom were hired after story completion, DreamWorks' Bee Movie was sitcom star Jerry Seinfeld's project from the very beginning. The film features his usual charm and wit and as is able to succeed without going through the "off-colour adult humour" route that seem to be plague modern animated productions.

Like other animated films about talking bugs, Bee Movie portrays its title heroes as human-like, showing a close-up at the hive and comparing the two different species rather comically. Bees are shown as using honey for hygiene, flying as the equivalent of running and graduating university in a grand total of three days. Barry B. Benson (Jerry Seinfeld), however, is less than enthralled about having the same job for the rest of his life, despite the excitement of his best friend Adam (Matthew Broderick). Barry decides to fly out of the hive and explore the outside world. After being saved by a human florist (Renee Zellweger), he befriends her and soon finds out that humans have been eating honey for decades. In response, Barry sues the human race and the honey factories are shut down. Unfortunately, things don't become as cheery as Barry had planned.

To put it simply, Barry is essentially Jerry Seinfeld in bee form. He constantly tells jokes wondering the reason for certain things and he plays off other characters very well. Zellweger gives an almost Elaine Benes vibe in her performance as the florist and this leads to some humourous moments between her and Barry, creating a relationship almost akin to that of Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy. The other actors do rather well, too. Matthew Broderick once again plays the straight man and voice-of-reason with a calm feel, while John Goodman puts on a humourous Sourthern accent for his role as an insect-hating lawyer. Seinfeld also rounds up celebrity cameos from Ray Liotta (who is able to lampoon himself with a little help from the animators), Larry King and Sting. Chris Rock also provides the film's funniest line as a blood-starved mosquito.

Bee Movie also proves to be a rather winning social commentary on the legal system and how suing shouldn't necessarily be the answer to everything. There are also some funny jokes on inter-racial marriage and airport regulations. That's for the adults. For the younglings, this film is funny for them as well, mixing colourful animation with some physical comedy and roller-coaster-ride sequences. Harry Gregson-Williams' bouncy score also adds to the charisma and fun of the production. Insect biologists will probably cry fowl regarding the film's inaccuracies, like how it shows both male and female bees making honey (although, like the human world, both genders are probably equal in the workplace) as well as forgetting the fact that only female mosquitoes suck blood. However, the film is so entertaining and so funny, that these can be overlooked. Overall, Seinfeld has made Bee Movie just as intelligent and funny as even Pixar's productions.

An early look at what Bee Movie could have been...