By now I would hope most of you have seen the latest episode of South Park, entitled “Dances With Smurfs” (if not, you need to go HERE right away and do so!). The episode follows in the show’s great tradition of intelligent inappropriateness, this time lampooning such things as school shootings (really pushing it there), the current political landscape (hilarious) and, in a twist-turn in the final 1/3, James Cameron’s upcoming sci-fi epic, Avatar.
So what do all those random things have in common? Only the minds behind South Park know for sure…
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[SPOILER ALERT!!! WATCH THE EPISODE BEFORE YOU READ THIS!!!]
What basically happens is this: Cartman uses his manipulative talents to take over the school announcements job and quickly becomes a Glenn Beck clone, tearing into class president Wendy for being a “Smurf hater” who is trying to turn the school into a “socialist regime” (Beck himself thought the lampooning was pretty funny, BTW). Of course Cartman has no real political agenda – he’s simply trying to use controversy as a form of self-promotion. When President Wendy gets savvy to Cartman’s game, she turns the tables, selling off film rights to a story about Smurf oppression before Cartman can cash-in on it first. The name of Wendy’s movie? AVATAR.
“What?” says an angry Cartman, staring up a theater marquee (see above), “It’s just Dances With Wolves…with Smurfs!”
[END SPOILERS]
Cue me laughing ’til tears are coming out of my eyes.
Poor James Cameron – he’s been touting Avatar as an “original work of his own creation,” but ever since the full trailer came out, and people have gotten a better look at the film’s plot and story, criticisms have been tossed at Cameron left and right, ranging from “Dude, you’re totally re-hashing ideas from like 5 other movies,” to “Dude, you straight-up stole this idea.”
Whatever peoples’ gripes about the story, James Cameron has been working on Avatar for a decade and a half, pretty much just trying to bring us something new and fresh – or at the very least, rekindle that spirit of excitement and awe we remember from the first three Indiana Jones flicks, the first two Terminators or the Star Wars trilogy. And, at the very least, the acclaimed director has (once again) created some revolutionary filmmaking technology likely to bring CGI F/X one step closer to reality. I almost feel bad to see him getting so much flak for his efforts: innovation sure ain’t easy…
Then again, what’s the point of crying about it? I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: None of us is safe from mockery so long as South Park exists to slap us down a peg. And, given the show’s history for going to the EXTREME, I say Avatar got off easy.
Avatar will be in theaters on December 18, 2009. South Park airs new episodes on Comedy Central Wednesdays @ 10 p.m. Check out “Dances With Smurfs” and then let us know what you think. Here’s a clip to get you started:
Source: South Park Studios
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15 Comments
I about cried from laughing when I saw that. That episode was brilliant. The last few were not as good, but as usual with south park when they hit a lull in episodes then come back and hit harder then ever and make a classic.
Sounds dumb, but so is everything on South Park. Seriously, I stopped laughing at the show when I got to high school and grew up.
Cameron has only said Avatar is original in the sense that it’s not (yet another) remake/sequel/adaptation. He hasn’t been shy about citing his influences, saying his inspiration for Avatar was “every single science fiction book I read as a kid.” –www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20007998,00.html He often gives credit to Edgar Rice Burroughs and Rudyard Kipling, and in this LA Times interview also mentions The Emerald Forest, Dances with Wolves and At Play in the Fields of the Lord: tinyurl.com/nydda7
But as the Ebert quote goes, “A movie is not about what it is about. It is about how it is about it.” I think this has been especially true of Cameron’s movies.
i love this show
and its had its share of laugh till you cry moments. lol gigan 300 your name reminds me of the 300 parody between mrs garrison and the persians.
“THIS IS LES-BOS”
AHAHAHA,
and the mexicans how they get paid to disguise themselves as persians, in another ep the get paid to write essays for the children,– so they all write to their “essays” lmao
i dont care who you are thats funny right der.
i LOOOOOOVVVEEEE South Park, i love hearing it when people say they also love south park. For your South Park support, I am willing to donate a kidney to any SR editor that needs it.
I liked the Harley bikes episode
“Im asking questionsDAH!”
@rich
Thanks for giving me another reason as to why that show is rediculous, and how immature the audience is.
South Park isn’t really funny anymore. It’s too far-fetched, like Dances With Smurfs was. The whole story just didn’t make any sense and seemed to have one purpose and one purpose only: the comment on Avatar.
On a sidenote: the breaks South Park takes within a season are longer than the breaks between seasons… What’s up with that?
awww dont be sour lol… in fact, thats down right immature.
The Japanese “Fruck you darphins” episode was brilliant until the end. I like the ones when they don’t hit you over the head with obvious pop culture references
he worked on this for a decade and a half? that lines up pretty well with Dances with Wolves I guess.
Is it bad that the first movie I think of is Star Trek Insurrection instead of Dances with Wolves?
Yes Panda because Star Trek Insurrection is perhaps the most terrible film ever made (ied with Nemisis) along with any other Next Gen “Non”-Trek crap
So from the header picture I can deduce “South Park” is saying “Avatar” is only 150 minutes? Hmm I thought it was longer…
I caught that episode and thought it was hilarious. I loved them ripping into Avatar. Don’t get me wrong. I love how Avatar is looking and what not. The only thing I don’t like is this overly glorifying the movie and labeling it as the 2nd coming.
The movie looks to entertaining and may I say possibly enjoyable? I just think it was stupid in that trailer of Avatar when it goes off naming all the Cameron movies and then ending it with “TITANTIC”. So lame.
ALSO you guys are all WRONG! The best South Park episode is MANBEARPIG!!!!! I’m SUPER cereal guys.
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