Free Willzyx

"Free Willzyx"

"Free Willzyx" ([ˈwɪlziæk]) is the thirteenth episode of the ninth season of the animated television series South Park. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on November 30, 2005. In the episode, Kyle, Stan, Cartman and Kenny go to an amusement park and a killer whale, which is been kept in a giant tank there, speaks to them, telling them that it will die if it is returned to its real home on the moon. They attempt to do this, unaware that the whole thing is just a prank being played on them by workers at the amusement park.

The episode was written by series co-creator Trey Parker and was rated TV-MA in the United States.

Plot

The boys are at Sea Park in Denver where they are watching the antics of a killer whale named Jambu. While Stan, Cartman and Kenny go elsewhere, Kyle stays behind to study Jambu in more detail. While getting a closer look at Jambu, Kyle is shocked to hear the whale speak. Jambu tells Kyle about his dream to one day go to space in a big rocket ship. In reality, Jambu's voice comes from Brian, a show announcer who, along with his co-announcer Mike, enjoys playing pranks on unsuspecting visitors. Kyle runs off to find the other boys. He brings them back to the tank, but for a while Jambu remains silent, due to the announcers either reading or playing a video game. A few minutes later, when the announcers notice the boys' return, Jambu starts to speak again. The boys learn that Jambu, whose real name is "Willzyx" (pronounced Will-zee-ak), will die unless he returns to his family's home on the moon. The boys are in total shock at this and vow to do something.

When the boys get back home, they rally some of their classmates to help them liberate Jambu. They put together a plan that involves the pool from Clyde's backyard, Timmy's wheelchair, the Russian government and all of their skateboards. The boys sneak into Sea Park and manage to free Jambu. The next morning at the Sea Park, Mike and Brian find that the boys whale-napped Jambu, and start panicking knowing that their prank has gotten out of hand. Rather than tell the police and park officials about their prank, let alone face the possibility of being fired, Mike and Brian decide that they must find the boys and retrieve Jambu before the police do.

In Russia, the government is looking for a way to raise money and they take a call from Kyle who wants to hire them to take Willzyx to the moon. When they give their price of $20 million, Kyle tries to explain what they are really trying to do, but the Russians believe that this is actually a prank call from George W. Bush. The boys decide to shop around for another Third World country with a cheaper space program, and they need to hide the whale. Since everyone is on the lookout for the whale, if it remains outside, eventually someone will see it. At the Sea Park in Denver, protesters from the Animal Liberation Front have gathered to applaud the whale liberators. Brian and Mike are in South Park looking for the whale; they find the pool behind Clyde's house, along with a broken fence. While looking at the pool, they find whale feces, but see that the whale and the boys are gone. The whale is inside, in Kyle's bedroom to be exact, where the boys are keeping him wet. Kyle is on the phone with the Japanese, while Jimmy, Timmy and Tweek are at the Chinese Embassy, but everyone's price is too high. Stan and Craig are in Mexico, where they find that Mexicano Aeronáutica y Spacial Administración (MASA) will take their whale to the moon for $200. Brian and Mike find out that the boys are going to Tijuana.

Kyle, Kenny, Cartman, Butters and Clyde are on the road to meet Stan and Craig in Tijuana to get the whale home, when their truck is stopped by Brian and Mike. Just as the hosts are about to tell the boys the truth, the police arrive and demand that they give the whale back. However, the ALF comes to their rescue as the whale is saved in a hail of gunfire. Mike, the truck driver the boys hired and one of the police officers are killed by the ALF during the firefight. The ALF leader drives the van for the boys as they resume their trip to Tijuana. In Tijuana, the rocket is being prepared. The ALF leader and the boys crash through the Mexican border, and the boys work on getting the whale into the water. Just before they do, Kyle says a tearful goodbye to him, which also brings tears to Clyde's and Butters's eyes. The whale finally gets into the water and the ALF is declaring victory when the manager of Sea Park arrives with the police. The rocket is finally launched and everyone else present watch the Mexican replica of the Apollo Saturn V rocket get launched into space, with a whale in tow while a mariachi band plays to celebrate Mexico's first successful space project. The boys celebrate their victory back home; meanwhile, on the surface of the moon, the asphyxiated whale lies dead. The end credits roll over this shot in silence.

Production

This is the only South Park episode where very realistic drawings of the boys are shown, portrayed as a facial composite drawn by the Sea Park workers. According to the South Park Studios FAQ, the model for Stan and Kyle was Nico Agnone, a relative of one of the animation crew members who formerly voiced of Ike Broflovski and the kindergarteners. The image was drawn by storyboard/production artist supervisor Adrien Beard and storyboard/production artist Valerie Fletcher.

In Russia, channel 2x2 cut out the scene with a portrayal of then-President Vladimir Putin. However, on channel MTV Russia, this scene is not cut out.

Cultural references

The episode is based on the 1993 film Free Willy, in which a trapped killer whale is freed.

References in later episodes

In the season 14 episode "201", Stan and Kyle help Tom Cruise find a place without fear of mockery. In the end credits, Cruise's corpse can be seen lying next to Willzyx on the moon's surface. This is revisited in "Coon 2: Hindsight", where Cruise and Willzyx's bodies are briefly seen on the moon, again.

External links

• Free Willzyx Full episode at South Park Studios
• Free Willzyx Episode guide at South Park Studios