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{{Merge|Imaginationland Episode II|date=November 2007}}
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{{Infobox Television episode
{{Infobox Television episode
| Title = Imaginationland
| Title = Imaginationland
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| Caption = [[Stan Marsh|Stan]], [[Kyle Broflovski|Kyle]], [[Butters Stotch|Butters]], [[List of students at South Park Elementary#Jimmy Vulmer|Jimmy]], and [[Kenny McCormick|Kenny]] enter a new dimension.
| Caption = [[Stan Marsh|Stan]], [[Kyle Broflovski|Kyle]], [[Butters Stotch|Butters]], [[List of students at South Park Elementary#Jimmy Vulmer|Jimmy]], and [[Kenny McCormick|Kenny]] enter a new dimension.
| Season =11
| Season =11
| Episode = 163
| Episode = 163 to 165
| Airdate = [[October 17]], [[2007 in television|2007]]
| Airdate = [[October 17]], [[2007]]<br />[[October 24]], [[2007]]<br />[[October 31]], [[2007]]
| Production = 1110
| Production = 1110, 1111, 1112
| Writer =
| Writer =
| Director =
| Director =
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| Next =
| Next =
}}
}}
'''"Imaginationland"''' is episode 1110 (#163) of [[Comedy Central]]'s ''[[South Park]]''. It premiered on [[October 17]], [[2007]]. <ref>[http://www.southparkstudios.com/show/episodes/display_episode.php?episodeid=1110 Episode guide.] South Park Studios. Retrieved on [[2007-10-14]].</ref> It is the first episode in a three-part story arc.
'''"Imaginationland"''' is a [[trilogy]] that encompasses the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth episodes of the eleventh season of [[Comedy Central]]'s ''[[South Park]]''. It aired between [[October 17]] and [[October 31]], [[2007]]. <ref>[http://www.southparkstudios.com/show/episodes/display_episode.php?episodeid=1110 Episode guide.] South Park Studios. Retrieved on [[2007-10-14]].</ref>


== Plot ==
== Plot ==
{{Plot|date=November 2007}}
{{Plot|date=November 2007}}
===Episode 1===
The episode begins in the woods, with [[Eric Cartman|Cartman]] directing the other boys in setting up traps and spying on the surroundings, searching for a [[leprechaun]]. Cartman claims to have seen it in the woods for several days in a row, and a skeptical [[Kyle Broflovski|Kyle]] is there, having made a bet with him---if Cartman can prove leprechauns exist, Kyle will suck his balls, but if not, Cartman will owe Kyle $10. As the two are arguing, Butters suddenly ''does'' spot a leprechaun, and as it flees, the boys chase it, and eventually catch it in a trap. The leprechaun warns the boys of a [[terrorism|terrorist attack]], before vanishing with magic.
The episode begins in the woods, with [[Eric Cartman|Cartman]] directing the other boys in setting up traps and spying on the surroundings, searching for a [[leprechaun]]. Cartman claims to have seen it in the woods for several days in a row, and a skeptical [[Kyle Broflovski|Kyle]] is there, having made a bet with him---if Cartman can prove leprechauns exist, Kyle will suck his balls, but if not, Cartman will owe Kyle $10. The boys actually ''do'' find a leprechaun, and before it vanishises, it warns the boys of a [[terrorism|terrorist attack]].Cartman, triumphant, declares that Kyle must now suck his balls, but Kyle refuses, insisting that the leprechaun could not have been real.


[[Image:South_Park_1110_imaginationland_terrorist_al_qaeda.jpg|left|thumb|200 px|Imaginary characters are taken hostage by terrorists.|{{deletable image-caption|1=Monday, 12 November 2007}}]]
Cartman, triumphant, declares that Kyle must now suck his balls, but Kyle refuses, insisting that the leprechaun could not have been real. The next day, as Kyle is discussing the leprechaun with the other boys, a strange man suddenly appears, asking them if they have seen it. When Kyle argues that leprechauns are just imaginary, the man tells him that just because something is imaginary doesn't mean it isn't real. He then invites the boys for a ride in his magical "Imagination Flying Machine", while he serenades them with "The Imagination Song". The song is banal, consisting simply of the word 'imagination' sung repetetively in various tonal inflection (presumably as a parody of the themes scoring many children's feature films), and prompting irritation from Kyle. They arrive in a bizarre place called Imaginationland, where all the beings created by human imagination reside.
The next day, as Kyle is discussing the leprechaun with the other boys, a strange man suddenly appears, asking them if they have seen it. He invites the boys for a ride in his magical "Imagination Flying Machine", while he serenades them with "The Imagination Song". The song is banal, consisting simply of the word 'imagination' sung repetetively in various tonal inflection. They arrive in a bizarre place called Imaginationland, where all the beings created by human imagination reside. The imaginary creatures are all fascinated by the presence of the "creators," and ask them about the leprechaun. Just as they are about to tell them, however, a band of [[Islamist terrorism|Islamist terrorists]] suddenly appear and set off a series of bombs, which quickly kill hundreds of the imaginary creatures and destroy most of the city. The boys flee, and a passing dragon tells them to climb on its back so it can fly them to safety. [[Butters Stotch|Butters]], however, is left behind at the last minute and beaten by the terrorists, as the others fly away without him.


<!-- Unsourced image removed: [[Image:Imaginationland.jpg|left|thumb|200 px|The imaginary creatures of the Imaginationland]] -->
<!-- Unsourced image removed: [[Image:Imaginationland.jpg|left|thumb|200 px|The imaginary creatures of the Imaginationland]] -->
The next morning, Kyle wakes up in his bed, and is at first sure the whole thing must have been a dream---until he calls [[Stan Marsh|Stan]], and discovers that he had the same dream. They also soon discover that Butters is missing. Meanwhile, Cartman, angry that Kyle has refused to fulfill his part of their agreement, takes Kyle to court, where the judge, seeing the written contract the two made, orders Kyle to suck Cartman's balls within twenty-four hours.
The imaginary creatures are all fascinated by the presence of the "creators," and ask them about the leprechaun. Just as they are about to tell them, however, a band of [[Islamist terrorism|Islamist terrorists]] suddenly appear and set off a series of bombs, which quickly kill hundreds of the imaginary creatures and destroy most of the city. The boys flee, and a passing dragon tells them to climb on its back so it can fly them to safety. [[Butters Stotch|Butters]], however, is left behind at the last minute and beaten by the terrorists, as the others fly away without him.


Meanwhile, the [[United States Department of Defense]] has learned about the attack on Imaginationland, and is horrified to discover that terrorists have managed to "attack our imaginations". They receive a video from the terrorists, showing that they have the survivors of the attack, including Butters, hostage. Butters reads a note from the terrorists, and calls out to Stan and Kyle as the video ends. Unsure of how to counter such a move, they turn to Hollywood film makers, hoping that they can use their creativity to get ideas.<ref> {{cite web| url= http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117854200.html?categoryid=1&cs=1| title= Pentagon calls for rewrites on war script| author= Peter Bart| accessdate= 2007-10-19| publisher= Variety}} </ref> Eventually, the advice of [[Mel Gibson]] is sought. He suggests that they examine the video the terrorists sent, and determine if there is anyone in it that somehow doesn't fit. The officials at the Pentagon rewatch the video and realize that Butters is not an imaginary character and head out to locate both Stan and Kyle.
The next morning, Kyle wakes up in his bed, and is at first sure the whole thing must have been a dream---until he calls [[Stan Marsh|Stan]], and discovers that he had the same dream. They also soon discover that Butters is missing. Meanwhile, Cartman, angry that Kyle has refused to fulfill his part of their agreement, takes Kyle to court, where the judge, seeing the written contract the two made, orders Kyle to suck Cartman's balls within twenty-four hours and must do it for a minimum of 30 seconds. If he fails to do this, he will be arrested for [[Contempt of court|contempt]].


In Imaginationland, the terrorists take one of the creatures, Rockety Rocket, modify him, and use him to blow up "the Barrier" - the wall that separates the good and evil halves of Imaginationland. The explosion causes the wall to slowly begin to crack.
[[Image:South_Park_1110_imaginationland_terrorist_al_qaeda.jpg|left|thumb|200 px|Imaginary characters are taken hostage by terrorists.|{{deletable image-caption|1=Monday, 12 November 2007}}]]
Meanwhile, the [[United States Department of Defense]] has learned about the attack on Imaginationland, and is horrified to discover that terrorists have managed to "attack our imaginations". They receive a video from the terrorists, showing that they have the survivors of the attack, including Butters, hostage. Butters reads a note from the terrorists, and calls out to Stan and Kyle as the video ends. Unsure of how to counter such a move, they turn to Hollywood film makers, hoping that they can use their creativity to get ideas.<ref> {{cite web| url= http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117854200.html?categoryid=1&cs=1| title= Pentagon calls for rewrites on war script| author= Peter Bart| accessdate= 2007-10-19| publisher= Variety}} </ref> At first [[M. Night Shyamalan]] and [[Michael Bay]] are consulted, but when their 'ideas' are considered to be not really ideas at all (Shyamalan only comes up with plot twists and Michael Bay just nonsensically strings together special effects sequences), the advice of [[Mel Gibson]] is sought. He suggests that they examine the video the terrorists sent, and determine if there is anyone in it that somehow doesn't fit. Surprised to finally hear a good idea from a Hollywood director, the general comments, "Say what you want about Mel Gibson, but the son of a bitch knows story structure."<ref> {{cite web| url= http://fww.tvsquad.com/2007/10/18/south-park-imaginationland/| title= TV Squad - Imagionationland| author= Brad Trechak| accessdate= 2007-10-21| publisher= TV Squad}} </ref> The officials at the Pentagon rewatch the video and realize that Butters is not an imaginary character and head out to locate both Stan and Kyle.

In Imaginationland, the terrorists take one of the creatures, Rockety Rocket, and begin to modify him, planning to use him to blow up "the Barrier" - the wall that separates the good and evil halves of Imaginationland; this would allow the most evil beings of the human mind to come forth and rule the entire world. The imaginary creatures urge Butters to stop them. Butters stands in front of the wall just as the terrorists are about to do it, and urges them not to, arguing it won't make them "feel any better" and that they should learn to live in peace with other people. The terrorists simply blow the Barrier up anyway; the explosion causes it to begin to crack.


<!-- Unsourced image removed: [[Image:3317a.jpg|right|thumb|[[Eric Cartman]] at the party.]] -->
<!-- Unsourced image removed: [[Image:3317a.jpg|right|thumb|[[Eric Cartman]] at the party.]] -->
Cartman, meanwhile, throws a huge party, during which the other boys and even girls are supposed to watch Kyle come over and suck his balls as he is wearing a sultan's robe and hat. Kyle and Stan are about to walk into Cartman's house, when the members of the military suddenly show up and take the two of them away for questioning about what they know about Imaginationland. Cartman, furious at being foiled, quickly leaves and begins to hitchhike to [[Washington, D.C.]] to force Kyle to fulfill his obligation.
Cartman, meanwhile, throws a huge party, during which the other kids are supposed to watch Kyle come over and suck his balls. Kyle and Stan are about to walk into Cartman's house, when the members of the military suddenly show up and take the two of them away for questioning about what they know about Imaginationland. Cartman, furious at being foiled, quickly leaves and begins to hitchhike to [[Washington, D.C.]] to force Kyle to fulfill his obligation.

===Episode 2===
[[Butters Stotch|Butters]] has a dream that he is home in his bed, but is quickly jolted out of it to find himself still in Imaginationland, having blacked out just as the evil imaginary creatures are invading through the destroyed Barrier. The creatures quickly attack the [[Al-Qaeda|terrorists]] who freed them, and then attack the good imaginary characters, including the Mayor, who is fatally wounded by a [[Xenomorph_%28Alien%29|Xenomorph]]. Prior to his death, the Mayor tells everyone to flee into the Gumdrop Forest, and to find the Castle of Sunshine. Butters flees with the others into the woods, as the monsters quickly conquer the destroyed Imaginationland.

Meanwhile, [[Kyle Broflovski|Kyle]] and [[Stan Marsh|Stan]] have been taken by [[the Pentagon]] and are being interrogated about their trip into Imaginationland. The boys, however, are not aware of how the Mayor managed to bring them there, and thus cannot help them. During the interrogation, one of the interrogators lets slip that the American government has a [[stargate|portal constructed]] that leads to Imaginationland, but has never worked. The generals show the portal to the boys, and during further questioning, mention that the Mayor had sung the "Imagination Song" on their trip to Imaginationland. As the two sing the song, the portal begins to respond, and after carefully remembering the intonations, the portal activates, and the military plans to go through it to attack the terrorists, unaware that they themselves have already been defeated by the various evil imaginary creatures.

Back in Imaginationland, the various evil creatures debate what to do, and invade the Lollipop Forest, beginning to attack the remaining good imaginary creatures; Butters and his companions manage to evade them. The most disturbing of the evil creatures are revealed to be the [[Woodland Critter Christmas|Satanic Woodland Critters]], who were imagined for a story by [[Cartman]] himself in an earlier episode. Meanwhile, back in the real world, Cartman has arrived in [[Washington, D.C.]], and calls the Pentagon to demand to know Kyle's location. The same agent that had slipped the secrets to the boys winds up telling him, and Cartman goes to get Kyle. He finally manages to burst in, and shows the generals their contract. The generals then allow Cartman to take Kyle to a conference room to suck his balls. Cartman spends a great deal of time gloating, however, he ends up taking too long and is cut off by an alarm.

The American government sends in a group of soldiers, as well as [[Kurt Russell]] (because he was in "[[Stargate (film)|that one movie that's kind of like this]],") into Imaginationland. They are killed by the Christmas critters; A moment later the [[ManBearPig]] monster, breaks through the portal into the Pentagon, and begins to kill numerous workers before grabbing Kyle. A surviving government worker finally manages to reverse the portal so that it sucks ManBearPig back into Imaginationland, but it sucks Stan in as well. ManBearPig drops Kyle in the confusion, but he is badly [[asphyxia]]ted, and is pronounced dead. Cartman screams at Kyle and attempts to perform [[Cardiopulmonary resuscitation|CPR]] in a desperate struggle to revive him. With Cartman on the verge of tears, Kyle weakly begins to move and is taken to the medical ward.

In Imaginationland, Butters arrives at the Castle of Sunshine. However, the guard is suspicious that, as someone from the real world, he was likely involved with the terrorists. The guard arrests him and leads him to the Council of Nine, a group made up of the wisest of all good fictional characters. This council, meanwhile, has apparently been offered by the evil creatures to flee unharmed, and are debating whether or not to trust the promise. When Butters walks in, the council decides that the Mayor may have brought Butters into Imaginationland to help them fight the terrorists, and declare that he must be their hero.
Back in the real world, the American government has determined that the only way to stop the terrorists is to launch a nuclear missile into the imagination portal, thus "nuking our imagination," not realizing that both Stan and Butters are still inside. Meanwhile, Kyle wakes up in a hospital bed with an eager Cartman at his side.

===Episode 3===
As an army of evil, violent imaginary creatures are marching towards the castle, [[Aslan]], [[Gandalf]] and [[Luke Skywalker]] inform [[Butters Stotch|Butters]] that, as a real person, he has the ability to manifest things in Imaginationland by using his imagination. They tell Butters to bring back [[Santa Claus]] first, but Butters has trouble focusing his mind with all the chaos going on around him.

In the real world, Kyle wakes up at [[Washington DC]] Memorial Hospital, where Cartman is undergoing preparations in anticipation of Kyle sucking his balls. Kyle begins hearing Stan's voice in his head, and after Cartman confirmed Stan's presence into Imaginationland, Kyle recognizes Stan and is asked by him for newest events.

In a press conference [[The Pentagon]] is forced to admit the events about Imaginationland and their plan to nuke it, because [[Al Gore]] (who is wearing his Nobel prize medal) had leaked a video about [[Manbearpig]]'s rampage. Debates immediately ensue over whether or not Imaginationland can be nuked. To proceed with the nuking, the Supreme Court overturns the "Cartman vs. Brofloski decision" that imaginary creatures are real. Now Kyle legally no longer has to suck Cartman's balls, but Stan instructs Kyle to stall the launch for time. Kyle promptly leaves the hospital, but not before a furious Cartman vows to make Kyle suck his balls before the day is over.

The battle is underway in Imaginationland when Butters finally manages to summon [[Santa Claus]] and other figures capable for fighting. Meanwhile, [[Icarus]] spots and brings over Stan, who tells everyone about the government's plan. Stan then convinces Kyle, along with other imaginary characters, that he needs to do all he can to stop the bombing. Kyle is reluctant because that would mean he has to suck Cartman's balls. However, he realizes he has no choice.

Cartman manages to sneak into the Pentagon again, and tries convince the officials that imaginary creatures are real. At this point, Kyle sneaks in too and successfully convinces the officials to withdraw the launch, by stating that imaginary creatures are just as real as real people because of their impact on the real world. Facing a demanding Cartman, Kyle also asserts refusal to suck his balls, even if it means Kyle's own illegality and imprisonment. Just as everything is going to be alright, [[Al Gore]] barges in, and demands that Manbearpig be killed. He smashes at the controls of the portal and reverses it, sucking everything and everyone in the room, including the nuke, into Imaginationland.

As Butters, Stan and the good imaginary characters celebrate their victory, they see Kyle, Cartman and the military staff fall from the sky, followed shortly by the nuke, which detonates on impact and reduces Imaginationland to blank white emptiness. Butters somehow survives, who uses his imagination to restore Imaginationland to its state ''prior to the terrorist attack'': All dead characters are revived, and all evil creatures are behind the wall, now repaired.

With everybody gathered up, Butters explains that he was able to do all this because of the power of his imagination. Cartman is inspired and imagines duplicates of himself and Kyle, and the duplicate Kyle proceeds to suck the the duplicate Cartman's testicles offscreen. Kyle angrily states the scene is imaginary, but Cartman insists that because imaginary creatures are "real," as Kyle himself said earlier, then Kyle is "''really''" sucking Cartman's balls.

Butters then awakes in his bed and, when his parents enter the room, tells them about his dream. His parents inform him that the dream was real, and ground him for not being home to do his chores. Disappointed, Butters lay back in bed uttering, "Aw, shit".


==Reception==
==Reception==
{{incomplete}}
<!--Reception for part 2 and 3 to be added shortly-->
The episode was both a critical and commercial success. It drew in over 3.4 million viewers and was the most watched program in all of television for Wednesday night among Men between ages 18-24 and 18-34 and ranked #1 in cable among Persons 18-49. <ref>[http://www.comedycentral.com/press/press_releases/2007/102207_sp_imaginationland_ep2.jhtml| Comedy Central Press Release]</ref>
The episode was both a critical and commercial success. It drew in over 3.4 million viewers and was the most watched program in all of television for Wednesday night among Men between ages 18-24 and 18-34 and ranked #1 in cable among Persons 18-49. <ref>[http://www.comedycentral.com/press/press_releases/2007/102207_sp_imaginationland_ep2.jhtml| Comedy Central Press Release]</ref>


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* In the penultimate scene where Rockety Rocket has met his death, the "barrier" that separates the good and the evil sides of Imaginationland begins to crack. The Mayor of Imaginationland states, "They are coming." This is a direct reference to [[Gandalf]]'s translation of the dwarf runes prior to the fellowship's oncoming battle in Moria in [[Peter Jackson]]'s 2001 film ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (film)|The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring]]''.
* In the penultimate scene where Rockety Rocket has met his death, the "barrier" that separates the good and the evil sides of Imaginationland begins to crack. The Mayor of Imaginationland states, "They are coming." This is a direct reference to [[Gandalf]]'s translation of the dwarf runes prior to the fellowship's oncoming battle in Moria in [[Peter Jackson]]'s 2001 film ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (film)|The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring]]''.
* In the last scene of the episode where Cartman is getting a ride from the trucker, Cartman is dressed exactly like [[Sylvester Stallone]]'s character [[Rambo]] in the movie "[[First Blood]]" with the trademark green Army jacket, red undershirt, and brown traveling bag. This also refers to the way he is hitchhiking and the words he speaks at the end, "When a man has been wronged, he no longer cares about danger." and "You go through life being told there's justice, then you learn the only real justice...is the justice you take." <ref> {{cite web| url= http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b245/ssjyamivegeta/CartmanStallone.jpg| title= Rambo & Cartman Image Comparison | accessdate= 2007-10-21}} </ref> Cartman's final line in the episode is a reference to a line made by [[Mel Gibson]]'s character in ''[[The Patriot (2000 film)|The Patriot]]'', Benjamin Martin.{{Fact|date=October 2007}}
* In the last scene of the episode where Cartman is getting a ride from the trucker, Cartman is dressed exactly like [[Sylvester Stallone]]'s character [[Rambo]] in the movie "[[First Blood]]" with the trademark green Army jacket, red undershirt, and brown traveling bag. This also refers to the way he is hitchhiking and the words he speaks at the end, "When a man has been wronged, he no longer cares about danger." and "You go through life being told there's justice, then you learn the only real justice...is the justice you take." <ref> {{cite web| url= http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b245/ssjyamivegeta/CartmanStallone.jpg| title= Rambo & Cartman Image Comparison | accessdate= 2007-10-21}} </ref> Cartman's final line in the episode is a reference to a line made by [[Mel Gibson]]'s character in ''[[The Patriot (2000 film)|The Patriot]]'', Benjamin Martin.{{Fact|date=October 2007}}
* In the scene where Cartman discovers that Kyle has died, it pays homage to a scene from the The Abyss (film) where Cartman is Ed Harris' character and Kyle is Mary Elizabeth Mastrontonio's character. Cartman's method to reviving Kyle is similar in style and lines of Virgil "Bud" Brigman (Harris) in the Abyss where Bud tries to revive his ex-wife (Mastrontonio) who he, apparently, is still in love.

===Character References in Imaginationland===
===Character References in Imaginationland===
{{trivia}}
{{Rewrite}}
<!--Needs to be merged into ONE list.-->
Numerous characters are present in Imaginationland, some of which are outlined in the following list.
Numerous characters are present in Imaginationland, some of which are outlined in the following list.
====Part 1====
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-3}}
{{Col-3}}
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*[[Voltron]]
*[[Voltron]]
*Waldo from [[Where's Wally?]]
*Waldo from [[Where's Wally?]]
*[[Wario]]
*Wembley from ''[[Fraggle Rock]]''
*Wembley from ''[[Fraggle Rock]]''
*Wild Thing from "[[Where The Wild Things Are]]"
*Wild Thing from "[[Where The Wild Things Are]]"
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*[[Yoda]]
*[[Yoda]]
*[[Zeus]]
*[[Zeus]]
{{Col-end}}

====Part 2====
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-2}}
*[[Aslan]]<ref name="named">Mentioned by name in the episode.</ref>
*[[Akuma (Street Fighter)|Akuma]]
*[[Little Shop of Horrors (musical)|Audrey II]]
*a [[Ghosthunter#Ghosts|Blue Spook]]
*a [[Care Bear]]
*[[Cerberus]]
*The [[Creature from the Black Lagoon]]
*[[Charlie Brown |Charlie Brown]]
*[[Christine (film)|Christine]]
*[[Cthulhu]]
*[[Cylon (Battlestar Galactica)|Cylons]]
*a [[Cyclops]]
*[[Darth Maul]]
*a [[Winged monkeys|flying monkey]]
*[[Frankenstein's monster]]
*[[Flash (comics)|The Flash]]
*[[Freddy Krueger]]<ref name="named"/>
*[[Fu Manchu]]
*[[Freeza]]
*[[Gandalf|Gandalf the Grey]]
*[[General Otmin]]
*[[Glinda|Glinda the Good Witch]]<ref name="named"/>
*[[Gremlins|Gizmo]]
*[[Goro (Mortal Kombat)|Goro]]
*[[Green Goblin]]
*The [[Headless Horseman]]
*[[H.R. Pufnstuf]]
*[[Imperial stormtrooper|Imperial Stormtroopers]]
*[[Jason Voorhees]]<ref name="named"/>
*[[Jesus (South Park)|Jesus]]<ref name="named"/>
*[[SpaceCamp|Jinx]]
*[[Joker (comics)|The Joker]]
*[[Jiang Shi]]
*[[Joseph Smith]]
*[[Khan Noonien Singh]] based on his [[Star Trek II]] appearance
*[[Kraken]] from [[Clash of the Titans]]
*[[King Ghidorah]]
*[[Link (The Legend of Zelda)|Link]]
*Lollipop King<ref name="named"/>
{{Col-2}}
*[[Luke Skywalker]]<ref name="named"/>
*[[Mario]] (wearing a hat with an E instead of a M)
*[[ManBearPig]]
*[[Medusa]] (as depicted in the movie "[[Clash of the Titans]]"
*[[Legend (film)|Meg Mucklebones]]
*[[Mighty Mouse]]
*[[Mordred]] (as depicted in the movie ''[[Excalibur (film)|Excalibur]]'')
*[[Morpheus (The Matrix)|Morpheus]]<ref name="named"/>
*[[Mr. Men]]
*[[Orko]]
*An Orc (Animated version, "[[The Hobbit]]")<ref name="named"/>
*[[Perseus]]
*[[Pinhead (Hellraiser)|Pinhead]]
*[[Popeye]]<ref name="named"/>
*[[Red Hot Catholic Love|The Queen Spider]]
*[[Robin Hood]]
*[[Ronald McDonald]]
*[[Sagat]]
*a [[List of programs and machines in the Matrix series#Sentinels|Sentinel]]
*a [[Skeksis]]
*[[ThunderCats#The Snarfs|Snarf]]<ref name="named"/>
*[[Strawberry Shortcake]]<ref name="named"/>
*a [[Terminator (character)|T-800]]
*Tooekneee
*Ō-Totoro from ''[[My Neighbor Totoro]]''
*a [[Tripod (The War of the Worlds)|Tripod]] (from ''[[War of the Worlds (2005 film)|War of the Worlds]]'')
*[[Tron (character)|Tron]] and [[Tron (film)|Flynn]] serve as guards in the Castle of Sunshine, although their uniforms also sport some tetrominoes on the chest (a reference to ''[[Tetris]]'')
*[[Ogre (Tekken)|True Ogre]]
*[[V.I.N.CENT]]
*[[Violator (comics)|Violator]]
*[[Wario]] (with a V on his hat rather than a W)
*[[Woodland Critter Christmas|The Woodland Critters]]<ref name="named"/>
*[[Wonder Woman]]<ref name="named"/>
*a [[Xenomorph (Alien)|Xenomorph]]<ref name="named"/>
*a [[Predator (alien)|Yautja]]<ref name="named"/>
*[[Zeus]]<ref name="named"/>
*Zylyn from [[Space Rangers (TV series)]]
{{Col-end}}
====Part 3====
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-3}}
*[[Akuma (Street Fighter)|Akuma]]
*[[Appa]]
*[[Ash Ketchum]]
*[[Aslan]]
*[[Astro Boy]]
*[[Little Shop of Horrors (musical)|Audrey II]]
*[[Baba Looey]]
*[[Bigfoot]]
*[[Blue Meanies (Yellow Submarine)|Blue Meanie]]
*[[Bob Marley]]
*[[Boo Berry]]
*[[Bowser (Nintendo)|Bowser]]
*[[Buddha]]
*[[Bugs Bunny]]
*[[Bullwinkle J. Moose]]
*[[Cabbage Patch Kids]]
*[[Captain Carrot]]
*[[Cap'n Crunch|Cap'n Crunch]]
*[[Captain Kirk]]
*[[Captain Planet]]
*[[Care Bears]]
*Cavity Creeps <ref>http://www.retrojunk.com/details_commercial/1389</ref>
*[[Centaur]]
*[[Charlie Brown]]
*A [[Chocobo]]
*[[Cinderella]]
*a [[Crest (toothpaste)|Crest]] toothpaste tube
*[[Cobra Commander]]
*[[Silverhawks#Characters|Copper Kid]]
*[[DangerMouse]]
*[[Darkseid]]
*[[Darth Maul]]
*[[Dick Tracy]]
*[[Duke (G.I. Joe)]]
*[[Eddie the Head]]
*[[Frankenstein's monster]]
*[[Franken Berry]]
*[[Freddy Krueger]]
*[[Freeza]]
*[[Gandalf]] the Grey
*[[Ganesha]]
*[[Ganon|Ganondorf]]
*[[Garuda]]
*[[General Otmin]]
*[[Glinda|Glinda the Good Witch]]
*[[Son Goku (Dragon Ball)|Goku]]
*[[List_of_minor_characters_on_South_Park#God|God]]
*[[Goro (Mortal Kombat)|Goro]]
{{Col-3}}
*[[Gossamer (Looney Tunes)|Gossamer]]
* A [[Griffin]]
*[[Harry Potter (character)|Harry Potter]]
*[[Hercules]]
*[[Holly Hobbie]]
*[[H.R. Pufnstuf]]
*[[Icarus]]
*[[Ichigo Kurosaki]]
*[[The Incredible Hulk]]
*[[Inspector Gadget]]
*[[Jason Voorhees]]
*[[Jem (TV series)|Jem]]
*[[Jesus (South Park)|Jesus]]
*[[Jiang Shi]]
*[[John Henry (folklore)|John Henry]]
*[[The Joker]]
*[[Jonny Quest]]
*[[Khan Noonien Singh]]
*[[Leonidas I|King Leonidas]] from [[300 (film)|300]]
*[[The Lone Ranger]]
*[[Lucy van Pelt]]
*[[Luke Skywalker]]
*Lollipop King
*[[Mad_Hatter (comics)|The Mad Hatter]]
*[[ManBearPig]]
*[[Mario]]
*[[Marlboro Man]]
*[[Marvin the Martian]]
*[[Medusa]]
*[[Morpheus (The Matrix)|Morpheus]]
*[[Mothra]]
*[[Mumm-Ra the Ever-Living]]
*[[Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery|Nibblet]]
*[[Obelix]]
*[[Ookla the Mok]]
*[[Optimus Prime]]
*[[Oscar the Grouch]]
*[[Pacman#Ghosts|Pacman and Ghosts]]
*[[Paul Bunyan]]
*[[Peter Griffin]]
*[[Peter Rabbit]]
*[[Pillsbury Doughboy]]
*[[Pinhead (Hellraiser)|Pinhead]]
*Pooka from [[Dig Dug]]
*[[Popeye]]
*Punchy the [[Hawaiian Punch]] mascot
*[[Q*Bert]]
*[[Quick Draw McGraw]]
{{Col-3}}
*[[Reverend Henry Kane]]
*[[Robin Hood]]
*[[Rocky the Flying Squirrel]]
*[[Rom (comics)|ROM, Spaceknight]]
*[[Ronald McDonald]]
*[[Santa]]
*[[She-Ra]]
*[[Silver Surfer]]
*[[Sinistar]]
*[[Six Million Dollar Man]]
* A [[Skeksis]]
*[[Skeletor]]
*[[Smurfs]]
*[[Smoo]]
*[[Snarf]]
*[[Snoopy]]
*[[Spawn (comics)|Spawn]]
*[[Tintin and Snowy|Snowy]]
*[[Spider-Man]]
*[[Steve Irwin]]
*[[Imperial Stormtroopers]]
*[[Strawberry Shortcake]]
*[[Superman]]
*[[Tarzan]]
*A [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle]]
*Thun the Lion Man From [[The New Adventures of Flash Gordon]]
*[[Tintin and Snowy|Tintin]]
*[[Tripod (The War of the Worlds)|Tripod]]
*[[Totoro]]
*[[Tron]]
*[[Tailed beasts]]
* Tyrannosaurus-rex [[Dino-Riders]]
*[[Uncle Tom]]
*[[V.I.N.CENT]]
*[[Venom (comics)|Venom]]
*[[Voltron]]
*[[Where's Waldo?|Waldo]]
*[[Wario]]
*[[Wicked Witch of the West]]
*[[Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner|Wile E. Coyote]]
*[[Wonder Woman]]
*[[Woodland_Critter_Christmas|Woodland Critters]]
*a [[Xenomorph (Alien)|Xenomorph]]
*[[Yoda]]
*[[Zeus]]
*[[Zorro]]
{{Col-end}}
{{Col-end}}


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*[http://southpark.comedycentral.com/video_by_episode.jhtml?episodeId=118663 Episode highlights] from [[Comedy Central]]
*[http://southpark.comedycentral.com/video_by_episode.jhtml?episodeId=118663 Episode highlights] from [[Comedy Central]]


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[[Category:South Park episodes: Season 11]]
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[[Category:Crossover fiction]]
[[Category:Crossover fiction]]

Revision as of 23:00, 5 November 2007

"Imaginationland"

"Imaginationland" is a trilogy that encompasses the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth episodes of the eleventh season of Comedy Central's South Park. It aired between October 17 and October 31, 2007. [1]

Plot

Episode 1

The episode begins in the woods, with Cartman directing the other boys in setting up traps and spying on the surroundings, searching for a leprechaun. Cartman claims to have seen it in the woods for several days in a row, and a skeptical Kyle is there, having made a bet with him---if Cartman can prove leprechauns exist, Kyle will suck his balls, but if not, Cartman will owe Kyle $10. The boys actually do find a leprechaun, and before it vanishises, it warns the boys of a terrorist attack.Cartman, triumphant, declares that Kyle must now suck his balls, but Kyle refuses, insisting that the leprechaun could not have been real.

File:South Park 1110 imaginationland terrorist al qaeda.jpg


This file may be deleted after Monday, 12 November 2007.

The next day, as Kyle is discussing the leprechaun with the other boys, a strange man suddenly appears, asking them if they have seen it. He invites the boys for a ride in his magical "Imagination Flying Machine", while he serenades them with "The Imagination Song". The song is banal, consisting simply of the word 'imagination' sung repetetively in various tonal inflection. They arrive in a bizarre place called Imaginationland, where all the beings created by human imagination reside. The imaginary creatures are all fascinated by the presence of the "creators," and ask them about the leprechaun. Just as they are about to tell them, however, a band of Islamist terrorists suddenly appear and set off a series of bombs, which quickly kill hundreds of the imaginary creatures and destroy most of the city. The boys flee, and a passing dragon tells them to climb on its back so it can fly them to safety. Butters, however, is left behind at the last minute and beaten by the terrorists, as the others fly away without him.

The next morning, Kyle wakes up in his bed, and is at first sure the whole thing must have been a dream---until he calls Stan, and discovers that he had the same dream. They also soon discover that Butters is missing. Meanwhile, Cartman, angry that Kyle has refused to fulfill his part of their agreement, takes Kyle to court, where the judge, seeing the written contract the two made, orders Kyle to suck Cartman's balls within twenty-four hours.

Meanwhile, the United States Department of Defense has learned about the attack on Imaginationland, and is horrified to discover that terrorists have managed to "attack our imaginations". They receive a video from the terrorists, showing that they have the survivors of the attack, including Butters, hostage. Butters reads a note from the terrorists, and calls out to Stan and Kyle as the video ends. Unsure of how to counter such a move, they turn to Hollywood film makers, hoping that they can use their creativity to get ideas.[2] Eventually, the advice of Mel Gibson is sought. He suggests that they examine the video the terrorists sent, and determine if there is anyone in it that somehow doesn't fit. The officials at the Pentagon rewatch the video and realize that Butters is not an imaginary character and head out to locate both Stan and Kyle.

In Imaginationland, the terrorists take one of the creatures, Rockety Rocket, modify him, and use him to blow up "the Barrier" - the wall that separates the good and evil halves of Imaginationland. The explosion causes the wall to slowly begin to crack.

Cartman, meanwhile, throws a huge party, during which the other kids are supposed to watch Kyle come over and suck his balls. Kyle and Stan are about to walk into Cartman's house, when the members of the military suddenly show up and take the two of them away for questioning about what they know about Imaginationland. Cartman, furious at being foiled, quickly leaves and begins to hitchhike to Washington, D.C. to force Kyle to fulfill his obligation.

Episode 2

Butters has a dream that he is home in his bed, but is quickly jolted out of it to find himself still in Imaginationland, having blacked out just as the evil imaginary creatures are invading through the destroyed Barrier. The creatures quickly attack the terrorists who freed them, and then attack the good imaginary characters, including the Mayor, who is fatally wounded by a Xenomorph. Prior to his death, the Mayor tells everyone to flee into the Gumdrop Forest, and to find the Castle of Sunshine. Butters flees with the others into the woods, as the monsters quickly conquer the destroyed Imaginationland.

Meanwhile, Kyle and Stan have been taken by the Pentagon and are being interrogated about their trip into Imaginationland. The boys, however, are not aware of how the Mayor managed to bring them there, and thus cannot help them. During the interrogation, one of the interrogators lets slip that the American government has a portal constructed that leads to Imaginationland, but has never worked. The generals show the portal to the boys, and during further questioning, mention that the Mayor had sung the "Imagination Song" on their trip to Imaginationland. As the two sing the song, the portal begins to respond, and after carefully remembering the intonations, the portal activates, and the military plans to go through it to attack the terrorists, unaware that they themselves have already been defeated by the various evil imaginary creatures.

Back in Imaginationland, the various evil creatures debate what to do, and invade the Lollipop Forest, beginning to attack the remaining good imaginary creatures; Butters and his companions manage to evade them. The most disturbing of the evil creatures are revealed to be the Satanic Woodland Critters, who were imagined for a story by Cartman himself in an earlier episode. Meanwhile, back in the real world, Cartman has arrived in Washington, D.C., and calls the Pentagon to demand to know Kyle's location. The same agent that had slipped the secrets to the boys winds up telling him, and Cartman goes to get Kyle. He finally manages to burst in, and shows the generals their contract. The generals then allow Cartman to take Kyle to a conference room to suck his balls. Cartman spends a great deal of time gloating, however, he ends up taking too long and is cut off by an alarm.

The American government sends in a group of soldiers, as well as Kurt Russell (because he was in "that one movie that's kind of like this,") into Imaginationland. They are killed by the Christmas critters; A moment later the ManBearPig monster, breaks through the portal into the Pentagon, and begins to kill numerous workers before grabbing Kyle. A surviving government worker finally manages to reverse the portal so that it sucks ManBearPig back into Imaginationland, but it sucks Stan in as well. ManBearPig drops Kyle in the confusion, but he is badly asphyxiated, and is pronounced dead. Cartman screams at Kyle and attempts to perform CPR in a desperate struggle to revive him. With Cartman on the verge of tears, Kyle weakly begins to move and is taken to the medical ward.

In Imaginationland, Butters arrives at the Castle of Sunshine. However, the guard is suspicious that, as someone from the real world, he was likely involved with the terrorists. The guard arrests him and leads him to the Council of Nine, a group made up of the wisest of all good fictional characters. This council, meanwhile, has apparently been offered by the evil creatures to flee unharmed, and are debating whether or not to trust the promise. When Butters walks in, the council decides that the Mayor may have brought Butters into Imaginationland to help them fight the terrorists, and declare that he must be their hero.

Back in the real world, the American government has determined that the only way to stop the terrorists is to launch a nuclear missile into the imagination portal, thus "nuking our imagination," not realizing that both Stan and Butters are still inside. Meanwhile, Kyle wakes up in a hospital bed with an eager Cartman at his side.

Episode 3

As an army of evil, violent imaginary creatures are marching towards the castle, Aslan, Gandalf and Luke Skywalker inform Butters that, as a real person, he has the ability to manifest things in Imaginationland by using his imagination. They tell Butters to bring back Santa Claus first, but Butters has trouble focusing his mind with all the chaos going on around him.

In the real world, Kyle wakes up at Washington DC Memorial Hospital, where Cartman is undergoing preparations in anticipation of Kyle sucking his balls. Kyle begins hearing Stan's voice in his head, and after Cartman confirmed Stan's presence into Imaginationland, Kyle recognizes Stan and is asked by him for newest events.

In a press conference The Pentagon is forced to admit the events about Imaginationland and their plan to nuke it, because Al Gore (who is wearing his Nobel prize medal) had leaked a video about Manbearpig's rampage. Debates immediately ensue over whether or not Imaginationland can be nuked. To proceed with the nuking, the Supreme Court overturns the "Cartman vs. Brofloski decision" that imaginary creatures are real. Now Kyle legally no longer has to suck Cartman's balls, but Stan instructs Kyle to stall the launch for time. Kyle promptly leaves the hospital, but not before a furious Cartman vows to make Kyle suck his balls before the day is over.

The battle is underway in Imaginationland when Butters finally manages to summon Santa Claus and other figures capable for fighting. Meanwhile, Icarus spots and brings over Stan, who tells everyone about the government's plan. Stan then convinces Kyle, along with other imaginary characters, that he needs to do all he can to stop the bombing. Kyle is reluctant because that would mean he has to suck Cartman's balls. However, he realizes he has no choice.

Cartman manages to sneak into the Pentagon again, and tries convince the officials that imaginary creatures are real. At this point, Kyle sneaks in too and successfully convinces the officials to withdraw the launch, by stating that imaginary creatures are just as real as real people because of their impact on the real world. Facing a demanding Cartman, Kyle also asserts refusal to suck his balls, even if it means Kyle's own illegality and imprisonment. Just as everything is going to be alright, Al Gore barges in, and demands that Manbearpig be killed. He smashes at the controls of the portal and reverses it, sucking everything and everyone in the room, including the nuke, into Imaginationland.

As Butters, Stan and the good imaginary characters celebrate their victory, they see Kyle, Cartman and the military staff fall from the sky, followed shortly by the nuke, which detonates on impact and reduces Imaginationland to blank white emptiness. Butters somehow survives, who uses his imagination to restore Imaginationland to its state prior to the terrorist attack: All dead characters are revived, and all evil creatures are behind the wall, now repaired.

With everybody gathered up, Butters explains that he was able to do all this because of the power of his imagination. Cartman is inspired and imagines duplicates of himself and Kyle, and the duplicate Kyle proceeds to suck the the duplicate Cartman's testicles offscreen. Kyle angrily states the scene is imaginary, but Cartman insists that because imaginary creatures are "real," as Kyle himself said earlier, then Kyle is "really" sucking Cartman's balls.

Butters then awakes in his bed and, when his parents enter the room, tells them about his dream. His parents inform him that the dream was real, and ground him for not being home to do his chores. Disappointed, Butters lay back in bed uttering, "Aw, shit".

Reception

The episode was both a critical and commercial success. It drew in over 3.4 million viewers and was the most watched program in all of television for Wednesday night among Men between ages 18-24 and 18-34 and ranked #1 in cable among Persons 18-49. [3]

On the critical side, IGN gave the episode a rating of 9.1/10 and praised it for being "smart, inventive and provides a number of moments that'll stick with you long after it's over." [4] 411Mania also gave the show a positive review, calling it "a great episode", praising it as an improvement over what the site perceived to be two weak episodes, and awarding it 7/10.[5] TV Squad also gave a positive review saying that "They're still on a roll with another great episode." [6]

The episode currently has a score of 9.5 on TV.com, and a rating of 8.7 on the Internet Movie Database, as voted by viewers.[7] [8]

Allusions

  • The title sequence that takes place after the Leprechaun's warning is in reference to the title sequences from the Superman films. The title given is "Kyle Sucks Cartman's balls: The Trilogy"
  • The man who brings the boys to Imaginationland, and likewise his balloon, are a parody of the once popular Dreamfinder character from the now closed attraction Journey Into Imagination at EPCOT Center's Journey Into Imagination pavilion, which was open from 1983-1998.
  • The scene in which Stan is crouched under the giant mushroom right after the suicide bomber explodes is an almost shot-by-shot recreation of a scene from Saving Private Ryan, in which Stan plays the part of Captain John Miller during the landing at Omaha Beach. The scene is spoofed right down to Ronald McDonald re-enacting the infamous shot of a man picking up his own dismembered arm off the ground.
  • The Dragon that offers the boys a ride on his back is a reference to, and sounds like, Sean Connery from the film Dragonheart.
  • Butters' final plea with the terrorists before they unleash Rockety Rocket is reminiscent of Rodney King's appearance during the 1992 Los Angeles riots to ask, "Can we all get along?"
  • In the penultimate scene where Rockety Rocket has met his death, the "barrier" that separates the good and the evil sides of Imaginationland begins to crack. The Mayor of Imaginationland states, "They are coming." This is a direct reference to Gandalf's translation of the dwarf runes prior to the fellowship's oncoming battle in Moria in Peter Jackson's 2001 film The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
  • In the last scene of the episode where Cartman is getting a ride from the trucker, Cartman is dressed exactly like Sylvester Stallone's character Rambo in the movie "First Blood" with the trademark green Army jacket, red undershirt, and brown traveling bag. This also refers to the way he is hitchhiking and the words he speaks at the end, "When a man has been wronged, he no longer cares about danger." and "You go through life being told there's justice, then you learn the only real justice...is the justice you take." [9] Cartman's final line in the episode is a reference to a line made by Mel Gibson's character in The Patriot, Benjamin Martin.[citation needed]
  • In the scene where Cartman discovers that Kyle has died, it pays homage to a scene from the The Abyss (film) where Cartman is Ed Harris' character and Kyle is Mary Elizabeth Mastrontonio's character. Cartman's method to reviving Kyle is similar in style and lines of Virgil "Bud" Brigman (Harris) in the Abyss where Bud tries to revive his ex-wife (Mastrontonio) who he, apparently, is still in love.

Character References in Imaginationland

Numerous characters are present in Imaginationland, some of which are outlined in the following list.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

References

  1. ^ Episode guide. South Park Studios. Retrieved on 2007-10-14.
  2. ^ Peter Bart. "Pentagon calls for rewrites on war script". Variety. Retrieved 2007-10-19.
  3. ^ Comedy Central Press Release
  4. ^ Travis Fickett. "South Park: "Imaginationland" Review". IGN. Retrieved 2007-10-19.
  5. ^ Jerome Cusson. "Goin' Down to South Park 10.17.07: Imaginationland". 411mania.com. Retrieved 2007-10-19.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "South Park: Imaginationland". TV Squad. Retrieved 2007-10-21.
  7. ^ "South Park: Imaginationland Episode Reviews". Tv.Com. Retrieved 2007-10-30.
  8. ^ ""South Park" Imaginationland (2007)". IMDB. Retrieved 2007-10-30.
  9. ^ "Rambo & Cartman Image Comparison". Retrieved 2007-10-21.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h "South Park - Imaginationland (Episode 1103)". Recapist. Retrieved 2007-10-21.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Movie connections for "South Park" Imaginationland". IMDB.com. Retrieved 2007-10-22. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |title= at position 22 (help)
  12. ^ a b c d e f Have appeared in previous episodes.
  13. ^ Kelly Hagen. "Reality check for 'Peanuts'". Bismarck Tribune. Retrieved 2007-10-19.
  14. ^ a b c d e Mentioned by name in the episode
  15. ^ "Mario Makes It To South Park". Kotaku. Retrieved 2007-10-19.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Mentioned by name in the episode.
  17. ^ http://www.retrojunk.com/details_commercial/1389

External links

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