South Park, Drawn Together & Futurama: Animation Analysis

South Park's Imaginationland Trilogy

South Park's "Imaginationland" trilogy is an ambitious project with a rich and well-crafted plot. Its bawdy humor belies the cleverness of the film, which is one of the most remarkable aspects of the series. All the elements familiar to South Park are present, including Cartman's over-the-top, egomaniacal, tyrannical, homoerotic ranting. However, "Imaginationland" is more than just another South Park episode. The three-part series includes social and political commentary and touches upon metaphysical issues as well.

An encounter with a leprechaun eventually takes the boys to a parallel universe where human thoughts, powered by emotions and creative drive, are made manifest. The people are therefore portrayed as the creators of "Imaginationland." All sorts of characters are present there: from cereal box icons like Count Chocula to Ronald McDonald and the Smurfs. Just when one begins to wonder where all the demons of our imagination are, the central conflict of the story emerges. Terrorists are attacking via the imagination. Their tactics are to break down the Barrier — the wall between negative and positive imagery.

The message of the film is that we feed our fears as well as our hopes. What we give power to becomes our reality. Imaginationland is itself a shared dream, a collective state of consciousness in which all human beings can work together to either benefit or destroy the world. The creators of South Park color such a weighty message with their characteristic toilet humor, so "Imaginationland" comes across as light even though the underlying message is heavy. The film is also directed extremely well, with frequent cuts and slow-motion action sequences, as well as allusions to popular culture and established filmmaking techniques.

Drawn Together: The Hot Tub Pilot

The pilot episode of "Drawn Together" introduces the characters of the show as well as its tone, theme, and style of humor. The basic premise of Drawn Together is a reality show for animated characters. The cast lives in a giant mansion together, with cameras on them at all times. They speak directly into the camera in a private room, just like participants on real-life reality shows. Interpersonal conflicts and melodrama are also integral to the show. The concept allows for a great deal of irony, as the animated characters are aware that they are animated and of what their animated nature makes them capable of doing.

One of the most striking features of the "Hot Tub" episode is how Drawn Together bases its humor on stereotypes and social norms. The show mines stereotypes for jokes by creating the most offensive material possible. For example, the Princess character is a blatant bigot who directs a torrent of racist bile at Foxy upon her arrival. Foxy is a stereotypical African-American female — promiscuous, feisty, and highly sexualized. Her kissing the Princess also plays on the norm of lesbian love. The only other female character is a Betty Boop-like washed-up actress with cellulite, drawn in black and white. The animation itself is clever and executed well. The sole "Asian" character is a Pokémon-like creature who requires subtitles and who wants to fight at all times. The two male characters include the jock and the closeted homosexual who pines for his girlfriend.

Their interactions are often hilarious, and so are their characters. Although the stereotypes are played for harmless laughs, there is a level at which the show risks losing its appeal. All the jokes are built on stereotypes, which means there is little holding the show together beneath the superficial giggles.