The Joke Butters makes before they get on the imagination balloon is one of my favorite jokes in the entire series because it's just... the most realistic outcome of a really weird guy asking you to get into his vehicle and Butters is very clearly a smart kid.
Kyle's speech about our Imagination being more real, existing long after we are dead, and having a bigger impact in the world than any real person ever would, always hits me so damn hard. Imaginationland truly is peak South Park
Those are lifted from essays by Tolkien and CS Lewis, who ARE real people, downplaying their impact as the real people that they are. The lampooning on Private Ryan and Michael Bay (Pearl Harbor), suggests to me how "strong of an impact" imaginationland truly has on US policy, again, ran by real people couched in their delusions and propaganda. The larger satire is on the fact, that "imagination" is simply communication BY real people, same as the internet. And then PEOPLE create this impactful narrative about "internet not being real" to downplay how much do people need freedom of communication REALLY? So that Americans can huddle behind their modern Iron Curtain, and touch ALL the grass they want, on that tiny plot of land attributed to them. Because then they are more contained, like earthbound serfs, and not "basement dwellers" like Julian Assange who communicates GLOBALLY.
@@lukasaaron102 it’s not real. I died for 3 minutes and 42 seconds. It was pitch black, no sounds, nothing to see, just all black. The actual abyss. Till I was revived.
What never fails to astound me is that Cartman's creation, the Woodland Critter's, scares the ever loving shit out of the villains. These are hardened killers, demons, monsters of all shapes and sizes and they're all disturbed by a group of fucked up animals. I am both amazed and unsurprised because it's fucking CARTMAN.
Imagination land still remains as my favorite South park trilogy it is so creative hilarious and enjoyable! I even got it on dvd purely because I wanted the uncut version!
A return to imaginationland would be amazing for a game. I couldn’t comprehend how legally they would make it work especially now, but man…that would be an incredible backdrop
I got so lucky to win an official copy of the script for this Imaginationland series signed by the creators themselves. Was so happy because it’s one of my favorites!
Favorite part was when Kyle was pronounced dead and Cartman didn't give up. He may have had a petty ulterior motive but he legit looked heart broken and scared to lose the closest thing to a brother or friend.
Nah bro, we both know that Cartman only looked so heartbroken because he WAS legitimately that heartbroken, but it was because of the thought that Kyle was no longer going to be able to suck his balls. No other reasons than that. If you think it was because of their “friendship” then you have not been watching south park for the past 20 or so years, and you also have a very novice understanding of cartman as a character if you think it was for any other reason than the aforementioned Edit: Only Edited to fix some small typos and spelling mistakes, as well as change some words to make the comment look and sound better. Feel free to point out any other spelling or grammar mistakes to me, as well as any wording changes that will make a sentence sound more coherent and/or flow easier and/or better.
@claytonforeman7923 ok then before the episode he would've let them die in San Francisco. Yet he saved Kyle and his Family. I watch the same episodes and reached a different conclusion.
It's crazy to think this and the early seasons of South Park were developed, written, animated, and acted all within a week's time. Nowadays it takes months for an animated show to get prepared for airing.
@@alexlovelady8249 I could see that. I know they released that documentary “5 Days To Air” or something like that not too awfully long ago. Maybe 5-6 years ago? They’ve always been on that grind though, for sure.
This series particularly was actually written and animated months before it aired as they originally intended this to be its own movie. They made the decision to instead release it in parts after it was nearing completion. They didn't write and animated each part in a week like a standard episode from that time.
Y’all do realize that one episode of any animated show takes 6 months to a year to make, and they work on multiple episodes are worked on the same time? Also 2007 simple South Park is not the same as 2023 South Park animation.
You using clips from a Matt and Trey talking about the episode made me realize how much I enjoy when you or other creators actually use quotes from them instead of just being like “he said something like this”
While this is a great set of episodes, I'm still really confused as to why Kenny got shafted so hard. He was included in the initial trip to Imaginationland, but then he was dropped after that and completely forgotten. He didn't even get anything in the Directors Cut (at least, based off of what I saw in this video). Even when I watched it when it first aired, I always found this exclusion weird. And sad, too, since Kenny's my favorite character. It actually kind of affects my overall score of this trilogy. It's very well made and all, but I much rather prefer the Coon and Friends trilogy over this.
I guess Kenny wanted to stay out of it given that Imaginationland had been attacked by terrorists. He probably thought, "Shit, I'm gonna get myself killed if I stick around." And then he went home and ate pop tarts for dinner.
@Alex Vaughan That wouldn't be too farfetched lol. I just wish we got something to explain his absence. A line of dialogue, maybe even killing him in Imaginationland, anything. I'd have taken that over just randomly dropping him for no reason.
The only thing I find odd is the inclusion of Jimmy only to not include him later, I love it when South Park uses it diverse set of characters in different groups.
Yeah I always thought it was weird they had Jimmy and Kenny also go to Imagination Land only to disappear entirely from the story strange, but I can understand from a writer's perspective. They already had a lot of stuff to cram into just three episodes and had the trilogy been a theatrical film like they supposedly originally planned they probably would've had bigger roles.
@@MariaIsabellaZNNI know we’re not being serious but I feel the need to say that children signing pieces of paper isn’t legally binding in any way, especially if the terms involved are sexual lol
For my money. It’s their goddamn magnum opus. And their unofficial second movie. Literally the best of all the characters (minus kenny unfortunately) writing. Comedy. And scale. The 2000s especially this season was their peak. And they finally give butters the respect he deserves. Especially since Matt and trey regret putting butters in the first movie.
When I was in the psych ward we only had the one screen in the social room and it was just basic cable. There was something about it that was kind of charming because I never watched that anymore and I always just stream things. Appointment tv has a special place in my heart.
I would watch an Easter egg analysis. Especially since I think there could be a lot of obscure stuff in the background I just missed, that would make me appreciate it even more.
Imagination land sounds like a great concept for a South Park game, but I enjoyed South Park snow day. It didn’t live up to my expectations but it’s still fun.
Unpopular opinion? I was never quite fond of imaginationland. I dunno what it is about it, just nothing i was quite interested in. My fav is probably the black friday trilogy, just peak storytelling and humour
I watched this one as it aired as well. It was fascinating, seeing the differences between the original airings and the subsequent reruns. Some of South Park’s best for sure!
What makes the Imaginationland series some of my favorite SP episodes is that it broke free of the typical political and pop culture satire, which let them really flex their creative strength. A classic hero's journey coupled with a totally new setting and imagery, all drenched in South Park's crass humor made for a fantastic combination.
I would LOVE to see all the references and characters pointed out! But I understand that would be a huge endeavor, so don't feel obligated to do it, but I'd watch it at least.
FINALLY!! SOMEBODY SAID IT!!! Watching season 11 first for me was the PERFECT choice because imaginationland finished off the season INSANELY well. I suggest watching season 11 first for anybody just getting into south park!
season 11 is a bit far in the show's history for someone to start watching the show, id recommend season 5 imo since its where the show really starts coming into its own and becoming the great show we know today
@@krismover i guess i did the right thing because im a new sp fan and i recently finished watching whole show starting with the 5th season, because very first seasons felt somewhat less polished for my taste and watching newer seasons would be dumb since i can miss out on a lot of stuff, like new characters
Are we just going to ignore the first 3 ep continuous story? Cat Orgy, Two Naked Guys in A Hot Tub, Jewbilee. Great video! Call backs to old characters and the directors trying to explain how they view movies were my favorite parts, cartman needing his balls sucked was always weird to me.
I recently rewatched the imagination trilogy and I enjoyed it, I wouldn't say that they're my favourite South Park episodes but the endless creativity and how they bring back characters in a natural make it one of the strongest episodes they have made. 8/10 Another good video.
yes some jokes get a bit less funny if you rewatch it... but by far my favourite part of this trilogy is that it is one of the few instances where cartman shows humanity. the scene where he saves kyle's life or rather, reanimates him, is one of the most emotional in south park history imo. I have seen the abyss long before so it was a hilarious parody of a very heavy scene but it adds so much to the character of cartman. you can say he just cared about his bet but look into his eyes and the emotion... he didn't want to lose his friend and nobody can convince me otherwise. later seasons dive deeper into his human side but this was a huge moment in his development imo. that scene is just perfectly crafted because it can make you cry and laugh at the same time. and for that alone, this trilogy deserves all the praise it gets
10:43 Wait. They removed Joseph Smith because he was *possibly* real… but kept Jesus even though the VAST majority of historians agree that he was, in fact, a real person? Tf?
I think the point is that he's such recent history that he hasn't been mythologized like other religious figures. For the most part he was a messenger, not a godly being. He really is just a guy
Trilogy? Oh yea.. I always misremember it as being just a two parter which is meant in the best way possible, it doesn't drag on and overstay its welcome so I always think it's shorter than it is.
This is my favorite piece of South Park media. It portrays all the best things about the show and puts them in an one hour movie. The definition of Peak
Does anyone remember when Imagination Land part two first came out and Cartman's voice sounded deeper when he shouted NOOO? It was when he thought Kyle had died. I remember that and it always made me laugh. XD
The way I justified Jesus being in Imaginationland to my mom is that while Jesus of Nazareth was in all likelihood an 100% extant person (anything beyond that is up to you); white-ass, straight light-brown hair Jesus is fictional, and that's the depiction they use.
I don't think the removal of Joseph Smith was because of his historical existence, as Jesus is similarly accepted by historians as having existed regardless of religion. And in both cases, their imaginationland counterparts (along with the rest of the Super Best Friends) are representations of how their believers perceive them, so it's fine for them to have a "real" counterpart as well. Think of it like American Gods and how there's a scene with 20 different versions of Jesus wandering around a party because different races, denominations, and cultures have different interpretations of him; such as a black Jesus, an American Jesus, a Jesus who only speaks old Hebrew, etc. I would have said it was because of some controversy or lawsuit, but that would have made some news site if it was the case.
I grew up withSouthpark. I live in the same tow matt stone and trey Parker grew up in Colorado. I was only like 5 when I first started watching. My mom just saw cartoons ad never really checked. It definitely shaped my humor and how I can look at two sides of an rgument and better understand the world.
Did you know the concept for Imaginationland was carried over by Vernon Chatman from S2E3 of Wonder Showzen? The end of the episode is the debut of the Imagination song! Uploading it now.
2 Questions. 1 if Matt and Trey considered a return to Imaginationland 2 part Special what would they be up too this time. 2. Are you guys working on Cartoons That Curse behind the scenes or are you guys still on hiatus
Not so fun fact. The Abyss was so traumatic during filming that the two leads don't do interviews about it anymore. Ed Harris was rumored to pull over and cry after shooting some days. Also, James Cameron almost drown during prep for this movie.
What I hate about the "remastered" versions of Seasons 11 and 12A (because only the rest of Season 12 made it to widescreen as originally produced unlike the earlier episodes running from "Tonsil Trouble" to "Super Fun Time") is that they are not remastered the same way Seasons 1-10 were, theoretically meaning that Matt and Trey possibly lost the files for all the 4:3 rendered episodes of Seasons 11 and 12A and had to recreate them and crop them into widescreen instead of recreating them into widescreen from scratch.
If the new south park game isnt based on imagination land i will be so upset. It literally can give them the reason to just do whatever they want without it not making sense
one of my only problems was about how underused Kenny and Jimmy were. They were on the ship too and they were there in imaginationland too. Maybe they could've teamed up with Cartman to get in the base or they could've came in in episode 3 where they help Kyle get to Imaginationland
My top 5 South Park episodes of all time: 5: Y2K episode 4: LotR video rental episode 3: Imagination Land series 2: X-Box wars / GoT series **1: Scott Tenerman Must Die episode.**
9:08 Well, I have the UK and US DVD copies and both aren’t in widescreen at all, imaginationland is presented in a letterbox format meaning black bars on top and bottom of an 4/3 aspect ratio. This sucks. I have to zoom in the image on a 16/9 screen to remove the black bars.
I'd definitely rate "Coon and Friends" above Imaginationland. That's just personal opinion though. As far as 'ambitious' goes, they've far exceeded that with their 2 games, and the stories told therein. I think The Stick of Truth especially is a culmination of all the potential of the South Park world and Matt & Trey's writing. If not released as a game, this could easily have been a trilogy of movies. Quite possibly it is these fanciful experiments like Imaginationland that inspired ever more thirst for experimentation though, even those later expressed through a different medium. The future doesn't happen without the past, and everything has it's place...
I would say that the earliest blueprint for this kind of overarching trilogy was the meteor shower trilogy not this. Although it was a much more rough attempt.
I did an entire video about all of the earlier attempts! But Meteor shower was clearly not a continuous story, more of an experiment, since they’re simultaneous. And I used specific clips of Trey talking about how Imaginationland’s writing was different
@Johnny 2 Cellos Yeah, I suppose that makes sense. It's really interesting seeing how serialized storytelling with South Park has evolved over the years and how it continues to do so! "Well, I guess we'll just have to see what happens..."
12:44 weird that the way the design looks is venom esque but the coloring is more like Carnage who is 100% an evil serial killer unlike venom who's sometimes an anti hero
A two hour imaginationland character breakdown would be amazing! These vids are so cool, thanks for making them. The Abyss shouldnt be as hard to find as it is.
I never loved the South Park movie, but imaginationland I always considered a movie. Especially because this is before they had done specials or “events” and it stood out from normal 2 part or 3 part episodes it felt separate and was so ambitious. I wish they’d revisit the concept but Matt and Trey don’t usually revisit past episodes
They did revisit a couple past concepts like the Coon and Friends, Woodland Christmas Critters, and Manbearpig, plus PiPi from the episode "Pee" came back in the Streaming Wars specials.
And also mabey make more of a real south park finale where we get time travel again but this time the timlines start to mess up and bring back characters and even Darth chef and Scott since they both are still alive and connected to future and have Segal return to get his revenge on the 4 boys of past and future for screwing his plans and yey make it one big finale wrapping up all the cliff angers we never got like segul death cheif and Scott
@@Mr.encore I’ve been saying this a South Park movie in theatres now I think would be insane give Matt and Trey a big budget and just let them cook but their tied up in all these streaming contracts
Hack meby have the main plot be about how the boys from the future 2 versions the one that had the boys break up and the one where the boys got back together start to get telported to the there past percent town and the three main villans would be segual death cheif and Scott and there the ones who's going to mess with all the south park timeline like bringing in stick of truth boys and coon and friend boys and everyone gets telported here until the timelines are starting to fall apart and now everyone from the past persent and future must team up to put a stop to those three villains whose going to distory the south park universe
Fun fact we know Jesus was a real person in history. As the Roman’s have it in their official ancient records. Moses on the other hand there is no proof this character ever existed in real life. Any of my friends who are of the Jewish faith feel free to chime in.
Imaginationland was originally intended to be a film. If they edited the sequences that they added to make the film an episode, it could feel more like a film. That being said, the sequences are themselves a parody of movie trilogies. Imaginationaland is a social commentary about art (most poignantly a commentary on film trilogies), religion, politics and nationalism. I view the transitions created for television literally and figuratively as Trey and Matt’s literal immersion into the project. That is to say, they sold their movie to Comedy Central as episodes. They exploited themselves, sure, but the exploitation element was there. That shit is meta as fuck. Personally, the commentary of the government using fear as a method of control is my favorite part of the story. I have also been a huge fan of Butters since Scrotie McBoogerballs (his character is my favorite kid on Southpark - Randy is my favorite adult character). This surely played a role in my immediate appreciation and admiration of Imaginationland (the dark humor, too). Imaginationland was released my senior year of college. George Bush was still POTUS. Obama was barely a Senator. The story is a love letter to the fans. It is, in my opinion, the best story they have produced - Team America being a close second. It isn’t timeless, but the subtle (and unsubtle) ambiguities and powerful commentary makes it a remarkable experience.
7:25 not an M80, but an M60. M80s usually refer to a type of firework/fire cracker. The M60 is a general purpose machine gun used by the US military in Vietnam. It’s also the gun of John Rambo.
that the Mayor is definitely a reference to the “Dreamfinder” from the original “Journey into Imagination” ride at EPCOT, i knew from the jump these eps were going to be special
Jesus had an M60 not an M80, an M80 I think is some firework. Otherwise spot on. A pretty unique and insanely creative trilogy of episodes, probably to me the height of South Park. Funny, creative, visually interesting, and didn't (that I recall) rely on bleeding edge pop culture, news, or politics. Watching it not too long ago I felt like it still held up, isn't "dated" feeling like some episodes of South Park.
I think of Jesus and the other religious figures getting to go between the real world and Imaginationland because they were mostly real figures but had made-up stuff about them
Only downside is how little of Kenny it had. Anyway, this whole ordeal should be a copyright holder's nightmare haha. Never knew about the changes in the feature length DVD recut too
What's also interesting about this Trilogy is how a lot of the themes line up with those of The Book of Mormon Musical. After seeing it, you can see a lot of overlap in their work on South Park. The baptism song even evoked that time Cartman wrote a bunch of Christian Rock songs with heavy sexual overtones.
I’d say this was peak South Park. In these seasons or specials lately I feel like it’s too much about what’s trending in the news instead of creative ideas
Funny, I remember watching the show as a Christian and also being confused on what Jesus was doing in "imagination Land" as a canonical Character of the series. I honestly assumed it was like a Neil Gaiman "American Gods" situation where there is a real Jesus but there's also the imagined Personal Jesus-es of individual imaginations. Great Review! I seriously forgot the Kyle/Cartman plot was even in this trilogy.
Check out the Youtooz South Park Collection: ytzz.io/south-park
Use code: SPYTZ10 for 10% off!
Do they ship into EU?
I got Randy, that was the first RUclips code I've ever used, thanks
I would watch an Easter egg imaginationland video. & now I need one 😅
I have cheesing Kenny and the good times with weapons stan Kyle and Cartman just waiting on Kenny!
@@Leepookiewookie It looks like only the UK at this time
The Joke Butters makes before they get on the imagination balloon is one of my favorite jokes in the entire series because it's just... the most realistic outcome of a really weird guy asking you to get into his vehicle and Butters is very clearly a smart kid.
“Aw. Are you gonna rape us?”
The Mayor's reaction is what always makes me laugh.
XD
“Watch out fellas I’m pretty sure this guy wants to r*pe us…”
idk if “smart” is his defining feature more then “innoccent” or “pure hearted” or maybe even “frank”.
What is the joke?
Kyle's speech about our Imagination being more real, existing long after we are dead, and having a bigger impact in the world than any real person ever would, always hits me so damn hard. Imaginationland truly is peak South Park
Those are lifted from essays by Tolkien and CS Lewis, who ARE real people, downplaying their impact as the real people that they are. The lampooning on Private Ryan and Michael Bay (Pearl Harbor), suggests to me how "strong of an impact" imaginationland truly has on US policy, again, ran by real people couched in their delusions and propaganda.
The larger satire is on the fact, that "imagination" is simply communication BY real people, same as the internet. And then PEOPLE create this impactful narrative about "internet not being real" to downplay how much do people need freedom of communication REALLY?
So that Americans can huddle behind their modern Iron Curtain, and touch ALL the grass they want, on that tiny plot of land attributed to them. Because then they are more contained, like earthbound serfs, and not "basement dwellers" like Julian Assange who communicates GLOBALLY.
The soul exists after death dont be deceived the afterlife is possible
@@lukasaaron102 it’s not real. I died for 3 minutes and 42 seconds. It was pitch black, no sounds, nothing to see, just all black. The actual abyss. Till I was revived.
@@sboinkthelegday3892 if you want to enter the abyss you will. I doubt youre even human.
@@sboinkthelegday3892 tiny plots do not allow all the grass. Flawed
What never fails to astound me is that Cartman's creation, the Woodland Critter's, scares the ever loving shit out of the villains. These are hardened killers, demons, monsters of all shapes and sizes and they're all disturbed by a group of fucked up animals. I am both amazed and unsurprised because it's fucking CARTMAN.
They’re so wonderfully fucked up. Watching the woodland critter Christmas episode is my Christmas tradition
The critters freak me out so bad that's one of the few episodes I skip on my yearly rewatch.
@@Reality.juiced same, tha blood orgy was too much
I managed to scare the shit out of a Dom with dumb ideas for a story I want to write, I can totally see that.
@@Subject_Keter I'm almost scared to ask but what did you suggest?
Something I always wondered, if Butters imagined everyone back at the end, even the other kids, does that mean they're now all canonically imaginary?
Yes but it doesn't matter anymore because it was decreed that imagination is now real.
@Maria Isabella yes it was the singularity. It's been fun ever since. We got this.
Uh...
not kenny tho because he stayed at home
good for him because hes already got enough existential crises going on
Except kenny
Jesus gets an M60, an m80 is a firecracker.
idk man, youtube never lies
Lol, I was thinking it but I knew someone else would have commented on it
Came to the comments for this.
Imagination land still remains as my favorite South park trilogy it is so creative hilarious and enjoyable! I even got it on dvd purely because I wanted the uncut version!
i feel like if they tackled it again in the 2020s, it wouldn't fail
Is the show going to session 30 still? Or did the law suit stop that?
@@greenfadedigger Still going to season 30!
@@AwesomeLaggy but I thought the deal was broken or changed so how will the 30 seasons happen?
@@greenfadedigger I think lawsuit just affects the money side or where the episode going to air first, doubt they going to stop making show
A return to imaginationland would be amazing for a game. I couldn’t comprehend how legally they would make it work especially now, but man…that would be an incredible backdrop
Why especially now?
why legally ? and yeah why especially now ?
@@j-bob_oreoBecause it uses established characters of franchises.
NOW you have the perfect explanation, why NOW😂😂😂
Maybe a Pokemon like game?
I got so lucky to win an official copy of the script for this Imaginationland series signed by the creators themselves. Was so happy because it’s one of my favorites!
How did you win it?
@@maxleigh781 feet pics
Favorite part was when Kyle was pronounced dead and Cartman didn't give up. He may have had a petty ulterior motive but he legit looked heart broken and scared to lose the closest thing to a brother or friend.
He was losing the ability to have his testicles suckled on.
Nah bro, we both know that Cartman only looked so heartbroken because he WAS legitimately that heartbroken, but it was because of the thought that Kyle was no longer going to be able to suck his balls. No other reasons than that. If you think it was because of their “friendship” then you have not been watching south park for the past 20 or so years, and you also have a very novice understanding of cartman as a character if you think it was for any other reason than the aforementioned
Edit: Only Edited to fix some small typos and spelling mistakes, as well as change some words to make the comment look and sound better. Feel free to point out any other spelling or grammar mistakes to me, as well as any wording changes that will make a sentence sound more coherent and/or flow easier and/or better.
No Kyle no ball sucking
And dry ass balls
@claytonforeman7923 ok then before the episode he would've let them die in San Francisco. Yet he saved Kyle and his Family. I watch the same episodes and reached a different conclusion.
I cannot stop laughing at Wario just standing there during the Strawberry Shortcake scene.
He probably thinks "I like making people uncomfortable but this is too much, WAAAAAH!"
😂😂His grin is way more sinister now
Imaginationland, Mario Kart and sex: Wario is there
the fact that Cartman revived Kyle JUST to humiliate him makes it even funnier
It's crazy to think this and the early seasons of South Park were developed, written, animated, and acted all within a week's time. Nowadays it takes months for an animated show to get prepared for airing.
SP still does the exact same thing to my knowledge. Unless something changed in the past few years.
That’s kind of their whole thing.
@@John-mf1sz I think recently they’ve slowed down, but mostly due to COVID
@@alexlovelady8249 I could see that.
I know they released that documentary “5 Days To Air” or something like that not too awfully long ago. Maybe 5-6 years ago?
They’ve always been on that grind though, for sure.
This series particularly was actually written and animated months before it aired as they originally intended this to be its own movie. They made the decision to instead release it in parts after it was nearing completion. They didn't write and animated each part in a week like a standard episode from that time.
Y’all do realize that one episode of any animated show takes 6 months to a year to make, and they work on multiple episodes are worked on the same time?
Also 2007 simple South Park is not the same as 2023 South Park animation.
You using clips from a Matt and Trey talking about the episode made me realize how much I enjoy when you or other creators actually use quotes from them instead of just being like “he said something like this”
While this is a great set of episodes, I'm still really confused as to why Kenny got shafted so hard.
He was included in the initial trip to Imaginationland, but then he was dropped after that and completely forgotten. He didn't even get anything in the Directors Cut (at least, based off of what I saw in this video).
Even when I watched it when it first aired, I always found this exclusion weird. And sad, too, since Kenny's my favorite character. It actually kind of affects my overall score of this trilogy. It's very well made and all, but I much rather prefer the Coon and Friends trilogy over this.
I guess Kenny wanted to stay out of it given that Imaginationland had been attacked by terrorists. He probably thought, "Shit, I'm gonna get myself killed if I stick around."
And then he went home and ate pop tarts for dinner.
@Alex Vaughan That wouldn't be too farfetched lol. I just wish we got something to explain his absence. A line of dialogue, maybe even killing him in Imaginationland, anything. I'd have taken that over just randomly dropping him for no reason.
The only thing I find odd is the inclusion of Jimmy only to not include him later, I love it when South Park uses it diverse set of characters in different groups.
Yeah I always thought it was weird they had Jimmy and Kenny also go to Imagination Land only to disappear entirely from the story strange, but I can understand from a writer's perspective. They already had a lot of stuff to cram into just three episodes and had the trilogy been a theatrical film like they supposedly originally planned they probably would've had bigger roles.
That scene of Cartman taking Kyle to court is absolutely hilarious.
Signing that contract is definitely the stupidest thing Kyle has ever done.
Haha totally. I might be pretty sure that leprechauns do not exist, but not THAT sure that I would ever sign a contract about it.
@@MariaIsabellaZNNI know we’re not being serious but I feel the need to say that children signing pieces of paper isn’t legally binding in any way, especially if the terms involved are sexual lol
I mean.... humancentipad?
For my money. It’s their goddamn magnum opus. And their unofficial second movie. Literally the best of all the characters (minus kenny unfortunately) writing. Comedy. And scale. The 2000s especially this season was their peak. And they finally give butters the respect he deserves. Especially since Matt and trey regret putting butters in the first movie.
When I was in the psych ward we only had the one screen in the social room and it was just basic cable. There was something about it that was kind of charming because I never watched that anymore and I always just stream things. Appointment tv has a special place in my heart.
I would watch an Easter egg analysis. Especially since I think there could be a lot of obscure stuff in the background I just missed, that would make me appreciate it even more.
I wish they would have made Imaginationland into the newest game. Snow Day makes absolutely no sense. Isn’t EVERY day in South Park a snow day?
Imagination land sounds like a great concept for a South Park game, but I enjoyed South Park snow day. It didn’t live up to my expectations but it’s still fun.
Unpopular opinion? I was never quite fond of imaginationland. I dunno what it is about it, just nothing i was quite interested in. My fav is probably the black friday trilogy, just peak storytelling and humour
Cartman is so petty that not even death can save you from holding up your end of the deal 😂😂😂
I watched this one as it aired as well. It was fascinating, seeing the differences between the original airings and the subsequent reruns. Some of South Park’s best for sure!
What makes the Imaginationland series some of my favorite SP episodes is that it broke free of the typical political and pop culture satire, which let them really flex their creative strength. A classic hero's journey coupled with a totally new setting and imagery, all drenched in South Park's crass humor made for a fantastic combination.
I would LOVE to see all the references and characters pointed out!
But I understand that would be a huge endeavor, so don't feel obligated to do it, but I'd watch it at least.
0:41 is dat Johnny 2 Cellos in da background holdin dat drum.? 😂
FINALLY!! SOMEBODY SAID IT!!! Watching season 11 first for me was the PERFECT choice because imaginationland finished off the season INSANELY well. I suggest watching season 11 first for anybody just getting into south park!
season 11 is a bit far in the show's history for someone to start watching the show, id recommend season 5 imo since its where the show really starts coming into its own and becoming the great show we know today
@@krismover i guess i did the right thing because im a new sp fan and i recently finished watching whole show starting with the 5th season, because very first seasons felt somewhat less polished for my taste and watching newer seasons would be dumb since i can miss out on a lot of stuff, like new characters
I could be wrong but I don't think that's venom I think that's Carnage12:45
His colour is red not blue, so yeah it's carnage.
Imagination land should be a location of a south park game
It just reminds you how long south parks been going it's honestly crazy how consistent and great the shows been in over 20 years
I think it's cause of the way they make them. Having that short ass lead time between episodes keeps Trey and Matt on their feet
Are we just going to ignore the first 3 ep continuous story?
Cat Orgy, Two Naked Guys in A Hot Tub, Jewbilee.
Great video! Call backs to old characters and the directors trying to explain how they view movies were my favorite parts, cartman needing his balls sucked was always weird to me.
That’s not a CONTINUOUS story! All of those take place simultaneously!
@@Johnny2Cellos That's a good point!
I recently rewatched the imagination trilogy and I enjoyed it, I wouldn't say that they're my favourite South Park episodes but the endless creativity and how they bring back characters in a natural make it one of the strongest episodes they have made. 8/10 Another good video.
The gf is graduating from college in a few weeks. Might have to grab the entire “good times with weapons” set for her.
I really hate to compare South Park to Family Guy but Butters and Meg are pretty similar characters
12:44 - This is really petty, but that is carnage not Vemon. It bothered me to much not to say anything.
yes some jokes get a bit less funny if you rewatch it... but by far my favourite part of this trilogy is that it is one of the few instances where cartman shows humanity. the scene where he saves kyle's life or rather, reanimates him, is one of the most emotional in south park history imo. I have seen the abyss long before so it was a hilarious parody of a very heavy scene but it adds so much to the character of cartman. you can say he just cared about his bet but look into his eyes and the emotion... he didn't want to lose his friend and nobody can convince me otherwise. later seasons dive deeper into his human side but this was a huge moment in his development imo. that scene is just perfectly crafted because it can make you cry and laugh at the same time. and for that alone, this trilogy deserves all the praise it gets
12:31 Shame this was only in the DVD release and not in the show. I swore this was a dig at Family Guy's Star Wars parody that aired a month prior.
10:43
Wait. They removed Joseph Smith because he was *possibly* real… but kept Jesus even though the VAST majority of historians agree that he was, in fact, a real person? Tf?
I think the point is that he's such recent history that he hasn't been mythologized like other religious figures. For the most part he was a messenger, not a godly being. He really is just a guy
I always loved that trilogy. I still have the uncut DVD.
Trilogy? Oh yea.. I always misremember it as being just a two parter which is meant in the best way possible, it doesn't drag on and overstay its welcome so I always think it's shorter than it is.
This is my favorite piece of South Park media. It portrays all the best things about the show and puts them in an one hour movie. The definition of Peak
Does anyone remember when Imagination Land part two first came out and Cartman's voice sounded deeper when he shouted NOOO? It was when he thought Kyle had died. I remember that and it always made me laugh. XD
Come on Johnny. You KNOW we would watch a tremendous video about all the Imaginationland characters!!
The way I justified Jesus being in Imaginationland to my mom is that while Jesus of Nazareth was in all likelihood an 100% extant person (anything beyond that is up to you); white-ass, straight light-brown hair Jesus is fictional, and that's the depiction they use.
I don't think the removal of Joseph Smith was because of his historical existence, as Jesus is similarly accepted by historians as having existed regardless of religion.
And in both cases, their imaginationland counterparts (along with the rest of the Super Best Friends) are representations of how their believers perceive them, so it's fine for them to have a "real" counterpart as well. Think of it like American Gods and how there's a scene with 20 different versions of Jesus wandering around a party because different races, denominations, and cultures have different interpretations of him; such as a black Jesus, an American Jesus, a Jesus who only speaks old Hebrew, etc.
I would have said it was because of some controversy or lawsuit, but that would have made some news site if it was the case.
I will never forget the hype each week as it was coming out back in 7th grade. It has the entire lunch room buzzing
Imagination land is literally just crude humor little nemo
I love this
banging analysis as always Johnny! thanks again for the upload. Its so nice to see your channel thriving with so many fans and friends to art
That part where the kids are working out the imagination song is cute.
I grew up withSouthpark. I live in the same tow matt stone and trey Parker grew up in Colorado. I was only like 5 when I first started watching. My mom just saw cartoons ad never really checked. It definitely shaped my humor and how I can look at two sides of an rgument and better understand the world.
Did you know the concept for Imaginationland was carried over by Vernon Chatman from S2E3 of Wonder Showzen? The end of the episode is the debut of the Imagination song! Uploading it now.
well i spotted an easter egg i wasnt expecting, at 12:39 iron maidens mascots fighting the crowd..
Love how they parodied saving private Ryan’s opening scene when imagination land gets bombed
2 Questions.
1 if Matt and Trey considered a return to Imaginationland 2 part Special what would they be up too this time.
2. Are you guys working on Cartoons That Curse behind the scenes or are you guys still on hiatus
6:33 lmfao I watched The Abyss as a kid, and I never realized the scene was a parody of the drowning scene
I would still love a deep dive on every character imaginationland
Not so fun fact. The Abyss was so traumatic during filming that the two leads don't do interviews about it anymore. Ed Harris was rumored to pull over and cry after shooting some days. Also, James Cameron almost drown during prep for this movie.
Uncensored version is on Apple TV for 2.99
Anything with the woodland critters is pure gold for me so for them to play as large a role as they do is great.
I feel like imaginationland would be a good candidate for "the day south park died"
The castle in Imagination Land is 100% Rivendell from The Hobbit and LOTR
What I hate about the "remastered" versions of Seasons 11 and 12A (because only the rest of Season 12 made it to widescreen as originally produced unlike the earlier episodes running from "Tonsil Trouble" to "Super Fun Time") is that they are not remastered the same way Seasons 1-10 were, theoretically meaning that Matt and Trey possibly lost the files for all the 4:3 rendered episodes of Seasons 11 and 12A and had to recreate them and crop them into widescreen instead of recreating them into widescreen from scratch.
If the new south park game isnt based on imagination land i will be so upset. It literally can give them the reason to just do whatever they want without it not making sense
I honestly think for legal reasons it would be really difficult for them to do Imaginationland for a game
Legal reasons? Excuse my ignorance.
6:00 somehow I never realized that the general there is also an staff-NCO.
Why do they call it an M-80 when it’s clearly an M-60? An M-80 isn’t even a gun, it’s an explosive.
Sounds better and some what rhymes with Jesus
Use your imagination, 80 is 20 more than 60 so it's stronger
one of my only problems was about how underused Kenny and Jimmy were. They were on the ship too and they were there in imaginationland too. Maybe they could've teamed up with Cartman to get in the base or they could've came in in episode 3 where they help Kyle get to Imaginationland
My top 5 South Park episodes of all time:
5: Y2K episode
4: LotR video rental episode
3: Imagination Land series
2: X-Box wars / GoT series
**1: Scott Tenerman Must Die episode.**
First! also please talk about midnight gospel. I’d also like to see a breakdown of “still broken” or “Hank after dark” season 2 bojack is underrated
9:08 Well, I have the UK and US DVD copies and both aren’t in widescreen at all, imaginationland is presented in a letterbox format meaning black bars on top and bottom of an 4/3 aspect ratio. This sucks. I have to zoom in the image on a 16/9 screen to remove the black bars.
I'd definitely rate "Coon and Friends" above Imaginationland. That's just personal opinion though.
As far as 'ambitious' goes, they've far exceeded that with their 2 games, and the stories told therein. I think The Stick of Truth especially is a culmination of all the potential of the South Park world and Matt & Trey's writing. If not released as a game, this could easily have been a trilogy of movies.
Quite possibly it is these fanciful experiments like Imaginationland that inspired ever more thirst for experimentation though, even those later expressed through a different medium.
The future doesn't happen without the past, and everything has it's place...
I would say that the earliest blueprint for this kind of overarching trilogy was the meteor shower trilogy not this. Although it was a much more rough attempt.
I did an entire video about all of the earlier attempts! But Meteor shower was clearly not a continuous story, more of an experiment, since they’re simultaneous. And I used specific clips of Trey talking about how Imaginationland’s writing was different
@Johnny 2 Cellos Yeah, I suppose that makes sense. It's really interesting seeing how serialized storytelling with South Park has evolved over the years and how it continues to do so!
"Well, I guess we'll just have to see what happens..."
12:44 weird that the way the design looks is venom esque but the coloring is more like Carnage who is 100% an evil serial killer unlike venom who's sometimes an anti hero
A two hour imaginationland character breakdown would be amazing! These vids are so cool, thanks for making them. The Abyss shouldnt be as hard to find as it is.
We need you tooz Woodland Christmas Critters.
m60, not m80. My FRAGILE EMOTIONS.
I never loved the South Park movie, but imaginationland I always considered a movie. Especially because this is before they had done specials or “events” and it stood out from normal 2 part or 3 part episodes it felt separate and was so ambitious. I wish they’d revisit the concept but Matt and Trey don’t usually revisit past episodes
They did revisit a couple past concepts like the Coon and Friends, Woodland Christmas Critters, and Manbearpig, plus PiPi from the episode "Pee" came back in the Streaming Wars specials.
Maybe they should do a real south park movie in theaters again but make it probably 1 hour and 30 minutes and make it the biggest film ever
And also mabey make more of a real south park finale where we get time travel again but this time the timlines start to mess up and bring back characters and even Darth chef and Scott since they both are still alive and connected to future and have Segal return to get his revenge on the 4 boys of past and future for screwing his plans and yey make it one big finale wrapping up all the cliff angers we never got like segul death cheif and Scott
@@Mr.encore I’ve been saying this a South Park movie in theatres now I think would be insane give Matt and Trey a big budget and just let them cook but their tied up in all these streaming contracts
Hack meby have the main plot be about how the boys from the future 2 versions the one that had the boys break up and the one where the boys got back together start to get telported to the there past percent town and the three main villans would be segual death cheif and Scott and there the ones who's going to mess with all the south park timeline like bringing in stick of truth boys and coon and friend boys and everyone gets telported here until the timelines are starting to fall apart and now everyone from the past persent and future must team up to put a stop to those three villains whose going to distory the south park universe
Fun fact we know Jesus was a real person in history. As the Roman’s have it in their official ancient records. Moses on the other hand there is no proof this character ever existed in real life. Any of my friends who are of the Jewish faith feel free to chime in.
Imaginationland was originally intended to be a film. If they edited the sequences that they added to make the film an episode, it could feel more like a film.
That being said, the sequences are themselves a parody of movie trilogies.
Imaginationaland is a social commentary about art (most poignantly a commentary on film trilogies), religion, politics and nationalism. I view the transitions created for television literally and figuratively as Trey and Matt’s literal immersion into the project. That is to say, they sold their movie to Comedy Central as episodes. They exploited themselves, sure, but the exploitation element was there. That shit is meta as fuck.
Personally, the commentary of the government using fear as a method of control is my favorite part of the story. I have also been a huge fan of Butters since Scrotie McBoogerballs (his character is my favorite kid on Southpark - Randy is my favorite adult character). This surely played a role in my immediate appreciation and admiration of Imaginationland (the dark humor, too).
Imaginationland was released my senior year of college. George Bush was still POTUS. Obama was barely a Senator. The story is a love letter to the fans. It is, in my opinion, the best story they have produced - Team America being a close second. It isn’t timeless, but the subtle (and unsubtle) ambiguities and powerful commentary makes it a remarkable experience.
I grew up watching this and to be honest I wasn’t completely sure if imagination land was a real movie or my kid brain made it up
5:18
south park remy is terrifying, while south park franklin is cute.
I love how much this takes from the imagination Pavillion in epcot and I dont think they know it
7:25 not an M80, but an M60. M80s usually refer to a type of firework/fire cracker. The M60 is a general purpose machine gun used by the US military in Vietnam. It’s also the gun of John Rambo.
Doing the lords work
The writers had to have been high when writing Imagination Land special
Popeye uppercutting Khan and then going to work on Darth Maul is art.
Love to see channels blowing up like this and blooms
that the Mayor is definitely a reference to the “Dreamfinder” from the original “Journey into Imagination” ride at EPCOT, i knew from the jump these eps were going to be special
Jesus had an M60 not an M80, an M80 I think is some firework. Otherwise spot on. A pretty unique and insanely creative trilogy of episodes, probably to me the height of South Park. Funny, creative, visually interesting, and didn't (that I recall) rely on bleeding edge pop culture, news, or politics. Watching it not too long ago I felt like it still held up, isn't "dated" feeling like some episodes of South Park.
I was just using the term Butters says in the episode haha
@@Johnny2Cellos So its all Butter's fault? He's going to get himself grounded again.
Actually I was wrong he does say m60 😂
I think of Jesus and the other religious figures getting to go between the real world and Imaginationland because they were mostly real figures but had made-up stuff about them
This trilogy is pure genius, I've watched it countless Times, I even have the dvd. It truly is south park peak fiction
Only downside is how little of Kenny it had. Anyway, this whole ordeal should be a copyright holder's nightmare haha. Never knew about the changes in the feature length DVD recut too
What's also interesting about this Trilogy is how a lot of the themes line up with those of The Book of Mormon Musical. After seeing it, you can see a lot of overlap in their work on South Park. The baptism song even evoked that time Cartman wrote a bunch of Christian Rock songs with heavy sexual overtones.
5:30 omg that's The Dreadful Flying Glove in the background!
10:48 highly doubt this is the case when Jesus Christ was a verifiable historical person regardless if you belive he was the prophet or not.
infinitely more debatable than a man who lived in the 1850s lol
I’d say this was peak South Park. In these seasons or specials lately I feel like it’s too much about what’s trending in the news instead of creative ideas
Panderverse is epic imo
The war scenes is better then Marvel films war scenes!
Trey and Matt oughtta make a sequel to this. This is my favorite things in South Park.
at around 12:00 you said venom, but that's actually carnage, you can tell by the red colour.
Design looks nothing like carnage except for the red! I think it’s a legally distinct combo but I didn’t wanna draw it out lol
Just one question
Why would I buy any single piece of a collection if I can never finish the collection?
The thing I find really annoying is Kenny didn’t came along with Stan and Kyle when they were taken in by the government
Funny, I remember watching the show as a Christian and also being confused on what Jesus was doing in "imagination Land" as a canonical Character of the series. I honestly assumed it was like a Neil Gaiman "American Gods" situation where there is a real Jesus but there's also the imagined Personal Jesus-es of individual imaginations.
Great Review! I seriously forgot the Kyle/Cartman plot was even in this trilogy.