South Park

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It used to be that the word "cartoon" immediately brought forth images of ninja turtles and multi-colored bears designed for children to watch while enjoying juice boxes before naptime or on Saturday mornings. But a lot has changed in the world of television, or perhaps adults just don't want to grow up in the same ways lately. Whatever the case, it seems that cartoons, or full-length animated series, are a hugely popular part of the landscape of satellite tv that definitely don't appear to be going anywhere soon. Whether it was the vulgar teenagers of "Beavis and Butt-head" or the foul-mouthed elementary school students on "South Park," animation seems to be the latest sensation for those who are definitely old enough to be enjoying live-action acting instead.

In a world where you can see almost anything with incredible special effects, where a film cannot even get made unless it has staggering explosions designed to really pop in HDTV, and where 3-D is now a viable marketing strategy again, it's somewhat refreshing to find that people will sit down and watch something so decidedly low-fi. After all, the world of "Dr. Katz" and "Beavis and Butt-head" was one where you were expecting to see a more low-key type of animation. Even those first "Simpsons" seasons were not shoddily drawn, but were using more traditional or antiquated techniques for animation. The point, it seemed, wasn't whether or not the drawings looked contemporary, but the fact that you were able to say some things with yellow cartoon people that would never fly if you had the same words coming out of the mouths of actual actors.

Of course, it's no surprise that shows like "Family Guy" manage to dominate satellite tv these days, because those firsts, like "Simpsons" and "South Park," laid the groundwork. But where you might think that Matt and Trey, the duo behind the hugely successful "South Park" franchise, would be slightly less controversial for what Cartman and the gang say today, you would be mistaken. It seems as though cartoons for adults are as edgy as ever.

And now, if you are the sort of person who thought you would never be opting to watch something animated on satellite tv, there are shows practically designed to change your mind. HBO has accomplished the truly incredible: they have made an animated show that is not in any way pandering to the existing audiences who enjoy animated shows. Called "The Life & Times of Tim," the drawing style looks more "Dr. Katz," but the dialogue is straight "Curb Your Enthusiasm" for "The Office" crowd. It's worthwhile to check out, even if you swore up and down that you'd never watch anything animated--aside from "The Simpsons."

So before you resign yourself to the fact that anything animated on satellite tv is designed for children, you might want to pay more attention to the latest crop of shows who use low-fi 2-D imagery to say and do things that might not be plausible with live-action actors. And if the latest breakthroughs in the world of cartoons for adults are any indication, it seems as though the genre is moving past simple bodily execration jokes and occasional social commentary to touch on a more broad range of enjoyable topics that anyone might find themselves drawn to.

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South Park (Season 4) DVD Review

Launching its premiere broadcast in late summer 1997, South Park instantly ascended to the status of pop culture icon with its rapier-like wit and unique brand of sarcasm. Following the exploits of four elementary school kids - Kyle, Cartman, Stan, and Kenny - the series utilizes amateurish drawing skills, but grade-A humor. The creation of two friends, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, South Park remains one of Comedy Central's most popular cable programs to this day...

The South Park (Season 4) DVD features a number of hilarious episodes including the season premiere "The Tooth Fairy's TATS 2000" in which Cartman's two-dollar bounty from the tooth fairy sparks an idea in the boys' heads to scam the tooth fairy. When they learn the truth about the tooth fairy, they establish a new plan to rob rich kids of their tooth fairy money, but they soon learn that a notorious mobster already has the tooth fairy market cornered... Other notable episodes from Season 4 include "Do the Handicapped Go to Hell?" in which a fundamentalist preacher convinces the boys that they are all going to hell unless they confess their sins (except for Kyle because he's Jewish, and thus, hell-bound already), and "Fat Camp" in which the boys dissect several endangered manatees in science class following a delivery mix-up with the Denver Zoo...

Below is a list of episodes included on the South Park (Season 4) DVD:

Episode 49 (The Tooth Fairy's TATS 2000) Air Date: 04-05-2000

Episode 50 (Cartman's Silly Hate Crime 2000) Air Date: 04-12-2000

Episode 51 (Timmy! 2000) Air Date: 04-19-2000

Episode 52 (Quintuplets 2000) Air Date: 04-26-2000

Episode 53 (Cartman Joins NAMBLA) Air Date: 06-21-2000

Episode 54 (Cherokee Hair Tampons) Air Date: 06-28-2000

Episode 55 (Chef Goes Nanners) Air Date: 07-05-2000

Episode 56 (Something You Can Do With Your Finger) Air Date: 07-12-2000

Episode 57 (Do the Handicapped Go to Hell?) Air Date: 07-19-2000

Episode 58 (Probably) Air Date: 07-26-2000

Episode 59 (4th Grade) Air Date: 11-08-2000

Episode 60 (Trapper Keeper) Air Date: 11-15-2000

Episode 61 (Helen Keller! The Musical) Air Date: 11-22-2000

Episode 62 (Great Expectations) Air Date: 11-29-2000

Episode 63 (Fat Camp) Air Date: 12-06-2000

Episode 64 (The Wacky Molestation Adventure) Air Date: 12-13-2000

Episode 65 (A Very Crappy Christmas) Air Date: 12-20-2000

About the Author

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a blog where you can find more reviews like this one of the South Park (Season 4) DVD.

What advantage does a 3D animating program give for doing South Park over a 2D animation program?

South Park uses Autodesk Maya to do what is essentially 2D animation. After all this time and success, what is the advantage to using a 3D program in doing 2D animation? If you say "because it is what they are used to," don't bother answering.

I don't see how the dynamics would be easier to manipulate both characters and scenery, since a 2D program would also be digital and allow for the same kind of smooth spline motion paths. a 2D program would actually be easier since it eliminates an entire axis.

South park does use Maya's particle effect for special effects like smoke, and it must be nice to be able to build and preview everything in one program. But since they try to make other effects like fire look like construction paper cut-outs, I really have no idea why they have to use the most powerful 3D tool out there. My guess is because Matt Stone and Trey Parker aren't animators, they weren't even aware that 2D digital animation software exists.

'Tiger Woods' Makes 'South Park' Appearance
'South Park' creators have written Tiger Woods into the opening of the show's 14th season.

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