ManBearPig

"ManBearPig"

"ManBearPig" is the sixth episode of the tenth season of Comedy Central's South Park. It originally aired on April 26, 2006. The episode parodies global warming and the book and film An Inconvenient Truth.

Plot

Al Gore visits South Park Elementary School and talks about the terrible ManBearPig, "half man, half bear, and half pig", who roams the Earth and attacks humans for no reason at all. He also demands throughout the episode that people will take him "cereal", which he uses apparently in place of the word "serious", referencing a real-life appearance Al Gore made on The Oprah Winfrey Show before the episode aired, where he misunderstood a question regarding his favorite cereal. Afterwards, the boys' basketball game is interrupted by another visit from Al Gore, who is disguised (poorly) as the ManBearPig and claims to be "trying to spread ManBearPig awareness" by handing out flyers and bumper stickers. Stan's father, Randy, picks up the boys to drive them home, proclaiming that the former U.S. Vice President is just desperate for attention because he has no friends. Al Gore then phones Stan in the middle of the night and begins pestering him about ManBearPig. Gore breaks down on the phone, and Stan reluctantly agrees to go to a meeting, where Al Gore tells Stan and his friends that "MBP" is hiding in the Cave of the Winds. At first the boys are reluctant to accompany him, but when he explains that he will excuse them from school, they agree to go.

In the cave, Gore first starts asking the tour guide illogical questions and begins moaning, trying to call ManBearPig. Al Gore forces the kids to follow him off the path, and begins shooting wildly, causing a cave-in that leaves the kids trapped in the caverns while Gore and all the other tourists evacuate the cave only moments before rocks come down, sealing off the cave entrance. Gore claims ManBearPig caused the cave-in and that the monster is still at large. While the boys search for a way out, Cartman discovers a small cavern filled with what appears to be gold coins, pearls, and other treasures. He hides the loot from the other boys and starts swallowing the treasure piece-by-piece to smuggle it out of the cave. He gets even fatter by doing this.

Outside the cave, a rescue team has been assembled to find the boys, despite Al Gore's pleas that the caves be filled with molten lead in order to kill ManBearPig. Gore diverts the flow of a nearby stream in order to cause a flood that fills the cavern in an attempt to kill the still-unseen monster. The boys meanwhile believe that Cartman, bloated with gold and jewels, is severely ill, and try to find a way out, carrying him. The cave soon floods, and Kyle risks his life to get Cartman to safety. The boys manage to escape just as a memorial service is being held for them and Al Gore is secretly celebrating the fact he "killed" ManBearPig, believing that he is a hero. Cartman tries to walk away but he does not get far before he begins painfully defecating pieces of treasure. It is revealed to Cartman that the treasure was a prop used for tourist photo ops and has little value. While Cartman continues to expel treasure in pain, Kyle angrily rebukes him for forcing the others to pull him to safety after eating the treasure. The episode ends with Cartman defecating pounds upon pounds of more fake treasure and Al Gore exclaiming his intention is to make a film starring himself. He ties a cape onto himself and "flies" away. Cartman then defecates a trophy.

In other media

• On April 1, 2008 biotechnology news site Think Gene carried an April Fools Day story about the creation of a human-bear-pig chimera, complete with a picture and scientific description of the genes involved. The story concluded with "Al Gore could not be reached for comment".
• The ManBearPig is featured in the "Imaginationland" episodes of South Park in Season 11.
• In the DVD commentary, the creators talk about "An Inconvenient Truth." Matt Stone himself says that Gore's movie should not have won the Oscar for Best Documentary, charging "It wasn't a documentary. It was a Power-Point presentation."
• In the Nintendo DS game Scribblenauts, typing in "MANBEARPIG" summons a minotaur.
• Marine Observation Post ManBearPig in Treekha Nawa, Afghanistan is named after the fictional creature.