South Park: Ghouls, Ghosts And Underpants Gnomes

Animation, Comedy

Mary Kay Bergman
Franchesca Clifford
Isaac Hayes
Jennifer Howell
Jesse Howell
Mona Marshall
Trey Parker
Matt Stone
Eliza Schneider
Gracie Lazar

Director

Trey Parker; Matt Stone

This collection of four fiendishly funny South Park episodes is a veritable goodie bag of rude tricks and treats. The catch of the day is "Spookyfish," a comedy creepfest about a killer fish, possessed animals, and alien alter egos presented in Spookyvision (with pictures of Barbra Streisand framing the screen). "Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery" is a dead-on Scooby-Doo parody. Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny are also haunted by "Underpants Gnomes" and an alien "Trapper Keeper," although the subplots of these two episodes offer, in the words of one character, "more fertile territory" for South Park's skewed social commentary. In "Underpants Gnomes," corporate takeover by an invading Harbucks Coffee threatens a local family business. "Trapper Keeper," especially, is a hilarious response to the botched 2000 U.S. presidential race, as an undecided student, Flora (natch), sends an election for kindergarten class president into chaos that will somehow involve (shudder!) Rosie O'Donnell. --Donald Liebenson