South Park: Joining the Panderverse Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

South Park: Joining the Panderverse Blu-ray Movie Review

"Disney and Kathleen Kennedy are gonna get ya!"

Reviewed by Justin Dekker June 16, 2024

'South Park: Joining the Panderverse' makes its Blu-ray debut courtesy of Universal. In this 48-minute special, Cartman, Stan, Kyle, Kenny, and the rest of the denizens of South Park tackle such current hot-button issues such as the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and the re-casting of beloved and established characters to make the intellectual properties reflect a more diverse population. Never ones for subtlety, Matt Stone and Trey Parker push their observations and critiques to the point of absurdity while drenched in the boys' effusive and oddly endearing trademark vulgarities. Neither a DVD nor a Digital Copy is included, but a slipcover is.

As is typical and expected for any South Park special, and most episodes for that matter, South Park: Joining the Panderverse sets it's sights on a few salient issues of the day. In this instance, it's the the dangers of AI and ruining popular entertainment by recasting films, television, and comics, etc. So as to be able to put a direct and real face to some this villainy, a substantial amount of blame is laid at the feet of Bob Iger, Disney and Kathleen Kennedy, who frequently erupts in shouts of "Put a chick in it and make her gay!" in reference not only to film projects, but also in reference to more absurdist elements like her lunch. Meanwhile, the AI plotline takes some very thinly veiled swipes at Elon Musk and others.

As out story opens, Eric is at the breakfast table, claiming his current unfortunate medical conditrion prohibits him from going to school. His mother quickly sees through this deception, recognizing that his complaints are only to afford him the opportunity to stay home from school so that he may spend the day playing his new computer game, Baldur's Gate 3. She authoritatively quashes the notion and sends him on his way. Soon, the boys, as they so frequently do, are bundled up and waiting at the bus stop for their morning ride to school. Subjects familiar to long-time viewers are discussed in their usual juvenile fashion, with rapid-fire line delivery of vulgarity peppered dialogue. But something isn't right. Then, with a start, a dinosaur jammy-clad Cartman wakes with a scream. As his mother bursts into the room, he explains exactly what was off in the opening scene - in this newly recurring nightmare, he an his friends had been replaced with women of color.

Those expecting a fantastically apocalyptic take on the impact of AI will, unfortunately, be disappointed though the seeds were there for the creators to exploit. In the first half of 2023, the recognized godfather of AI, Geoffrey Hinton, had candidly expressed his concerns over AI's future. By his estimation AI was set to become the most intelligent species on the planet in as little as five years. In his opinion, the opportunity to set and impose boundaries or limits on the technology had long since passed and should, in fact, have been in place prior to AI being switched on. The implications of AI supplanting humans at the top of the intellectual food chain are as terrifying as they are unquantifiable. Other movies prior to this South Park special have mined that material to some degree or other, and more will likely follow suit. In these 48 minutes, though, Parker and Stone avoid this somewhat bleak portion of the subject and instead focus on a smaller and much more "real world" implication of AI. Namely, that no one knows how to do anything anymore.

When Randy Marsh is confronted with an oven door that no longer closes correctly, rather than taking a few minutes and little bit of elbow grease and fixing it himself, he takes the opportunity to frame it as a teachable moment for his children, showing them that the way to solve such an issue is to take out ones phone and call a handyman. In South Park, this seems to be the strategy for most, resulting in long waits and spiraling cost due to the increased demand for handymen but an all too finite supply. Escalating things to the point of ridiculousness, handymen become billionaires involved in a space race, while Randy and other adults wage war on colleges for not imparting on them any useful real world skills. All the while, Cartman rails against a multiverse where he and his friends have been replaced as a result of Kathleen Kennedy and Disney pandering too much to audiences. As the episode progresses, both issues grow to threaten the world as we know it.

South Park: Joining the Panderverse Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

South Park: Joining the Panderverse looks quite good on Blu-ray. Colors, as is usual for South Park Blu-ray releases are nicely saturated and rich. Primaries pop, especially the red in Cartmans' shirts and Mrs. Broflovski's hair, the yellow in Cartman's hat and Butters' hair, and the vibrant blue in the walls of Kyles room. The computer generated stop motion cutout animation allows for an assortment of as strongly tactile textures to occasionally be on display on certain costumes and other fabrics. The image does not show any instances of banding, noise or other anomalies. Blacks tend to be impressively dark and inky, but in mid- to long-range shots blacks can unfortunately absorb detail. On the whole, though, fans should be familiar with and pleased by what's on display here.

South Park: Joining the Panderverse Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

South Park: Joining the Panderverse is outfitted with a English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 that is much more functional than it is flashy. The track here is extremely front heavy, and only very occasionally mildly immersive. These moments of immersion are typically only leveraged for musical interludes or transitions. While the music is faithfully rendered and precise, it is largely subdued. The track never really takes a moment to stretch its legs and even attempt to tax any viewer's set-up, and it quite simply lacks the bombast and "bigness" experienced with Cardi B's WAP which served as the unforgettable and unquestioned acoustic centerpiece of South Park: The Streaming Wars. Dialogue is clear and intelligible, and directionality is satisfactory when the opportunities arise. Its a perfectly satisfactory if subdued audio experience.

South Park: Joining the Panderverse Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of South Park: Joining the Panderverse does not contain any supplemental material.

South Park: Joining the Panderverse Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Parker and Stone demonstrate yet again that they are perfectly willing to wade into what they view as the important issues of the day no matter the scale or delicasy of the subject matter. In less deft hands, the gender and race swapping storyline that serves as an indictment and lampooning of Kathleen Kennedy, Disney, and others may only have served to alienate and antagonize. Instead, by taking the concept to an extreme they prove their point with their unique brand of humor and generating laughs all along the way. The AI storyline nets similar results as the duo demonstrates that through the use of the technology people can garner knowledge in a variety of subjects, but neither AI nor the people who rely on it can perform simple "manual" tasks. While their best advice to future-proof ones career choice may currently be to choose a a trade that "requires arms", they don't address what happens when AI develops to a point where it starts producing an army of robots as science-fiction films and television have depicted multiple times. But that's likely fodder for another special. The video presentation is strong and the audio is functionally adequate for those considering a purchase. For fans of the series, South Park: Joining the Panderverse comes recommended.