Massive spoilers hide in the mountains of Colorado!
The first in a series of films exclusive to the TV channel Paramount+, South Park Post Covid is set in 2061, forty years after the events of the South ParQ Vaccination Special. And honestly, if you’re not a fan of the Colorado boys and their shenanigans, what are you even doing here? We’re goin’ down to South Park!
So here we are, some forty years in the future as they rather often point out, the Covid pandemic still endures and affects all of us in the most interesting of ways. The boys have not only grown into, well, we can’t really say adults per se, but perhaps aged versions of themselves, they’ve also grown far apart too. The only thing that could bring them all back together again is the, wait for it, death of a certain infamous scientist, one Dr. Kenneth McCormick.
Nothing brings people together like a funeral and the Covid pandemic has certainly caused far more than we ever wanted, so the older alcoholic and severely depressed Stan has to come back to Colorado with his Alexa-girlfriend, where he promptly clashes with adult Kyle, now the guidance counselor for South Park Elementary. Far worse than that as far as Kyle is concerned, is the appearance of Rabbi Eric Cartman, his very Jewish-stereotyped wife Yentl (Mona Marshall) and their three children, ostensibly here for Kenny’s wake but also to try and slip a spark back into the bro-ship of old by investigating Kenny’s death.
Also in attendance are adult-ish versions of other South Park favorites – Tweak and his partner Craig, still a couple; Wendy Testaburger (April Stewart) and her husband Darwin; late-night talk show host Jimmy Valmer; our beloved Token Black (Adrian Beard), who’s now unsurprisingly a law enforcement officer; anti-vaxxer Clyde Donovan; and Scott Malkinson is now a priest that no one listens to. Just as in the beloved show, the now-adults get together to try and puzzle the mystery of Kenny’s death, yet again!
And what was Dr. McCormick, scientist, philanthropist, well-known if more than a bit eccentric but beloved by most, working on when he died this time? Finding a cure for the Covid pandemic, of course. It should come as zero surprise that Tegridy Weed, Randy Marsh’s damnable marijuana business that consumed far more than an entire season of South Park, was found mentioned in Kenny’s notes, so Stan gets to suck it up and go visit his dad in the nursing home!
Stan and his dad had a serious falling-out over the fiery destruction of Tegridy Weed Farms and the accidental deaths of sister Shelly and the on-purpose death of mom Sharon, so the two guys snarl at each-other and lay blame rather than trying to come together to investigate Kenny’s death.
Meanwhile, of course, the cause of Kenny’s death has been determined as yet another new Covid variant, causing widespread panic in South Park and sending Cartman’s oh so Jewish family to seek shelter with, wait for it, ‘Uncle Kyle’.
After determining that Dr. McCormick’s one surviving associate, a madman known as Victor Chouce (as in, just say it aloud and you’ll know who they mean), has been institutionalized, the would-be sleuths try to go visit him, only to get stopped because good old Clyde is an anti-vaxxer, still.
The boys are trying to figure out where Kenny left his missing information, especially after figuring out that this whole time, their best pal Kenny has been trying to puzzle out time travel so he can go back and stop the whole Covid-19 pandemic, and that yes, he blames his old purportedly best friends for everything horrible that’s happened since then. This of course involves a wonderfully Cartman-like scene where the Rabbi gathers his little Jewish family together and vows to not let his old friends change the past, for fear of losing his current-tense future. And over at the asylum, surviving lunatic Victor Chouce is just waiting for his chance to … raise a little chaos.
South Park has been on the air for more than two decades at this point, and creators (and main voice actors) Trey Parker and Matt Stone have made their disdain for conforming to any kind of standards and practices well known, poking fun at everything from actual curse words to Mecha-Streisand to PCism to member-berries and much more. The trend towards nostalgia while the real Covid-19 pandemic rages on is well-known at this point, but South Park Post Covid offers us a look at what could happen, the real dangers of living your past nostalgic glory and nothing else, and shows us all that despite growing up, the South Park characters will never ever actually grow into adults, or anything resembling contributing members of ‘polite society!
If you were born in the ’80s, ’90s, or literally ANY decade after those, you know about Super Mario. A cultural phenomenon was brought to life on the big screen this last weekend. One that has not only stood the test of time but reinvented itself time and time again. This wasn’t even the first time it’s been made into a movie but, well, let’s be honest.. some of us choose not to acknowledge the LIVE action adaptation of the beloved game from 30 years ago.
It was pretty bad… But this was animation. ILLUMINATION animation at that. The Universal company that brought us Gru and his Minions, showed us the Secret Life of Pets, and gave us a reason to SING! Still, I had my reservations and even some concerns, especially when the casting was announced.
Eyebrows were raised. As big of stars as they were on paper, could they really deliver on voicing characters from a staple of our childhood? They did.
Chris Pratt and Charlie Day may not be Italian, and Jack Black may not be a King or Turtle creature from the Mushroom Kingdom, but they make the characters their own all while paying homage to the lore of a video game.
From the jump, the story reintroduces us to the brothers that just want to save Brooklyn one clogged sink at a time. We feel an instant connection and relate to these “underdogs of the plumbing world”. The movie is riddled with easter eggs, each of which tugs on the heartstrings of every generation of Mario fandom. And the soundtrack was beautifully put together to not only make us feel like we’re taking a walkthrough of the game but like an experience all its own with some familiar favorites thrown in.
Every word in the movie is pure eye candy for both those that are casual fans, and those analyzing every frame to see what they’ll catch next. Bowser’s ship, the Mushroom Kingdom, Kong’s arena, and the Rainbow Road.. They’re all meant to give us just enough of a “new” look at these amazing worlds, but stay true to how we remember them.
The movie itself moves along at the perfect pace. Although, if you don’t really know ANYTHING about the Super Mario Bros, you may have gotten a little lost and felt left behind in the green tunnel. But that’s ok! It’s an adventure of the imagination and a classic story of a boy that meets a girl and tries to save the world from a monster that wants to destroy it.
What’s funny is that you could easily say this is a story about two characters who couldn’t be more opposite if they tried, battling to win the heart of a princess. Who would’ve thought that the King of the Koopas was just trying to impress his crush?
And that song? Ohhh THAT song! It’s my new ringtone and deserves the Oscar for Best Original Song.
Back to the movie.
Universal and Illumination clearly understood the assignment. Is it missing some things or could things have been done differently or even better? Absolutely! We’re the worst critics of the things we hold nearest and dearest to our hearts. But if you’re up for going on a 90-minute adventure through amazing worlds, with awesome music, and characters that’ll make you smile and laugh, then this is the perfect movie to spring you into that warm summer feeling.
Plus there’s the whole part with karts and shells, and banana peels and oh my goodness how amazing was that?? It’s enough to make you want to stand up and cheer, then go home and destroy your friends and family on your favorite track haha.
The bottom line, it pays homage in all the right ways to the little guy with the mustache, while giving us something new and exciting. Take the kids and go see Super Mario Bros. You’ll be glad you did!
Justice League x RWBY: Superheroes & Hunters Opening Act Saturday, March 25 at 1:30 p.m. on North 200A. Talent confirmed so far to participate in the post-screening panel is Natalie Alyn Lind (Big Sky, The Goldbergs, Gotham) as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince and longtime RWBY cast member Lindsay Jones (Camp Camp) as Ruby, Kara Eberle ( RWBY: Ice Queendom) as Weiss, Arryn Zech (Detective Now Dead) as Blake and Barbara Dunkelman (Blood Fest) as Yang – along with Jeannie Tirado (Soul, Saints Row) as Green Lantern and Tru Valentino (The Rookie, The Cuphead Show!) as a cyborg. Also attending the panel will be producer/director Kerry Shawcross (series RWBY) and writer Meghan Fitzmartin (Supernatural, Justice Society: World War II).
Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment returns to WonderCon 2023 with the big screen debut from DC Animated Films: highlights this year include the world premieres of the highly anticipated Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham and Justice League x RWBY: Superheroes & Hunters Part One the weekend of March 24-26 in Anaheim, California. Both screenings will be followed by panel discussions with actors and creators. Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham premieres at The Arena on Friday, March 24 at 6 p.m. Tati Gabrielle (Kaleidoscope, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Uncharted) as Kai Li Cain, Christopher Gorham (The Lincoln Lawyer, Insatiable) as Oliver Queen, David Dastmalchian (Dune, Suicide Squad, Ant-Man) as Grendon, producer/co-director Sam Liu (The Death and the Return of Superman), co-director Christopher Berkeley (Young Justice) and screenwriter Jase Ricci (Teen Titans Go! and DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem Across the Multiverse).
Both films will have encore screenings in the Arena on Sunday, March 26. Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part One will screen at 12:15pm, followed by Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham at 2:00pm
No Question Mark Box Here; Super Mario Delivers a 1-Up in Theaters
Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment returns to WonderCon 2023
Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Crunnchyroll presents ‘BOFURI: I don’t want to get hurt so I’ll max out my defense’: You’re not twinking!
‘Knock at the Cabin’: Puttin on your boogie shoes!
No Question Mark Box Here; Super Mario Delivers a 1-Up in Theaters
Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Illinois’ financial crisis could bring the state to a halt
The final 6 ‘Game of Thrones’ episodes might feel like a full season
No Question Mark Box Here; Super Mario Delivers a 1-Up in Theaters
Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment returns to WonderCon 2023
