South Park began its television run back in 1997 and was hugely popular for its ability to be satirical, hilarious, unapologetic in its delivery of jokes or any offense that may be taken because of them, and often just ridiculous fun. It’d be two years before creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone took the big screen with South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, and now, 25 years later we all get to experience this comedic masterpiece (did he say masterpiece? – yes, yes I did) in glorious 4K. And let’s face it, if any movie deserves the 4K treatment to highlight the incredible details within its animation, it’s South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut.
This is just a truly fun movie that holds up incredibly well, even if there are a number of jokes that are of the time, and a few choice words that even in these types of shows aren’t really used anymore. I was 18 and a huge fan of the film when it was originally released and watched it three times theatrically, purchased the soundtrack and memorized it while listening to it during commutes. This release marks the 25th anniversary of the film’s release, and while I can’t be sure of the last time I watched it (I believe it was around 2005), so many quotable moments came flooding forward as I watched, and a number of them have been things I’ve randomly said since seeing the film in 1999. Most don’t have any actual context when I say them, but I’ll randomly quote a joke from the film, even if I just make myself laugh doing it.
What helps the film hold up is the premise of the story, which is parents blaming movies or TV for warping their children’s fragile little minds, works with pretty much all generations. When Canadian duo Terrance and Phillip release an R-rated comedy film entitled Asses of Fire, Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny sneak in to watch it. What they’re met with is an abundance of flatulence and crude language that they’ve never heard before. Sure, they’ve watched Terrance and Phillip on TV, but there’s no censor when it comes to the silver screen!
When the children bring their newfound language to the playground, Kyle’s mom, Shiela Broflovski, creates a group called Mothers Against Canada, blaming the country for ruining the innocence of their children. The themes of censorship and blame stemmed from the reaction certain people had of the South Park TV series. This movie was a way that Parker and Stone (who co-wrote the film with Pam Brady) felt they could poke fun at it in a way that TV just wouldn’t allow. That said, they had to constantly battle with the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) to get an R-rating instead of the dreaded NC-17 rating which they kept getting hit with due to the large amounts of profanity in the film. The MPAA would become the butt of several jokes in the movie, as would the fact that gratuitously violent films would often get a pass and be viewed by younger audiences, while movies with coarse language would be seen as vile and a plague upon the youth.
Being Canadian, I do love self-deprecating humour towards our country, and South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut is filled with it, such as our response to the U.S. declaring war on Canada and holding Terrance and Phillip as war criminals is to bomb the Baldwin family. In response, the U.S. retaliates with an all-out assault on Toronto, and in turn we bomb the Arquette family with our shoddy bomber planes. When Kyle’s mom initially wants to find someone to blame, she sings the song, “Blame Canada,” which was actually nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
While I did bring up the soundtrack earlier, I didn’t mention that Bigger, Longer & Uncut is a straight-up musical, which is just perfect for this type of film. The songs were written by Parker and Marc Shaiman, and they’re all just so good. There’s honestly not a miss in the almost dozen songs that are sung over the course of this brisk 81-minute movie. I had to refrain myself from singing along with them for the sake of my wife who joined me in revisiting the film, but they’re all incredibly catchy and superbly written, all while properly furthering the story in hilarious fashion.
Some films – especially in the comedy genre – can be looked back upon with rose-coloured glasses. Sometimes we remember a movie to be hilarious and upon rewatching it you realize it just doesn’t hit the same way, or lacks staying power and was just something you found funny at that point in time. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as if it brought you joy at any time that’s a win; however, when the movie holds up as strongly as you remember it’s truly something special. South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut does just that. It’s a smart, highly entertaining, easy to watch and laugh-out-loud funny movie that’s packed from start to finish with a magnificent soundtrack. Whether you’re a fan of South Park or not, Bigger, Longer & Uncut works on its own with no prior knowledge of the series itself, and I highly recommend you visit (or revisit) this quiet mountain town – now in glorious 4K.
Overall Movie Score: 5/5
4K Blu-ray Video and Audio Review:
I did joke about South Park’s simpler animation style receiving the 4K treatment; however, if you own the Blu-ray or DVD versions of the film you’ll notice a significant difference in the clarity, stability and colours overall. There are also details that take it up a notch, such as when the characters are in Hell, as well as during the battle scene and a lot of the third act. Overall it’s a fantastic upgrade that fans will truly appreciate, and newcomers will get to enjoy without having to deal with any of the issues that prior releases of the film had.
On the audio side of things we do have the same Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio mix that was previously released. It’s fine and does the job; however, an Atmos upgrade would’ve been hugely appreciated and really boosted the film to match the picture upgrade. There’s nothing particularly wrong with this soundtrack mix, which is why they likely recycled it, but that extra oomph in the songs and dialogue throughout would’ve been welcome! Nothing to really knock on the audio side, but nothing new to praise either.
Special Features:
The Blu-ray disc that’s included with the 4K disc is where all the legacy features are to be found. We also have one new feature this time around, which is a sing-a-long that I’ll get into below. I would’ve loved a retrospective or something small like that, but it’s easy for us to want those things without knowing what schedules are like or if they felt there was enough to even be said to warrant one.
New to this release:
Sing-A-Long Version – The Blu-ray disc has the sing-a-long version of the film on it, so when you play the movie on that disc you’ll get to see the lyrics as they’re sung. Fans of the movie may not need this, as I’m sure many like me have them memorized. Newcomers may enjoy it to learn the words, but I think you’re just better off watching the 4K movie repeatedly until you know them.
Legacy Features:
Commentary by Matt Stone and Trey Parker – This is a must-listen for fans of the movie, as these are the two you want to hear from and learn about what they went through and their thought process when it comes to making the movie and series. If you’re going to use the Blu-ray disc at all it should be for listening to this commentary, and then back to the 4K release. On that note, it’s really unfortunate they didn’t just put this onto the 4K release as well.
“What Would Brian Boitano Do?” Music Video – This one is fairly self-explanatory.
Theatrical Trailers
Paramount Pictures Presents South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. Directed by: Trey Parker. Written by: Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Pam Brady. Starring: Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Isaac Hayes, Mary Kay Bergman, George Clooney, Brent Spiner, Minnie Driver, Dave Foley, Eric Idle, Toddy Walters, Nick Rhodes. Running time: 81 Minutes. Rating: 14A. Released on 4K Blu-ray: June 25, 2024.
About Brendan Campbell
