South Park: 10 Classic Moments In ‘Casa Bonita’

“Casa Bonita” is widely regarded to be one of the best episodes in South Park’s history. The writers came up with the idea for Cartman to hide Butters in a bomb shelter before connecting it to the titular Mexican-themed restaurant in Denver. Trey Parker, Matt Stone, and a few other crew members working on the show remembered childhood trips to Casa Bonita, so the series’ portrayal of the restaurant is pretty spot-on.

Since the episode aired, the restaurant has seen a huge boost in customers. According to the general manager, South Park opened them up to the 18-25 demographic. There are a ton of iconic moments from the episode.

10 Cartman Yells At Kyle, Then Backtracks Seconds Later

When Kyle refuses to invite Cartman to his birthday party at Casa Bonita, Cartman immediately flips out. He gives Kyle the finger and screams at him, “Well, f*ck you, Kyle!!” Then, he storms out of the house and slams the door behind him.

Seconds later, he comes back in, completely calm, and says, “Dude, I totally didn’t mean that, Kyle. I really, really wanna go to Casa Bonita. I’m sorry we had that fight just now. You know, I mean, I said some things, you said some things, but I think it was good and we’ve moved past it.” When Kyle says he’s still not inviting him, Cartman flips out again.

9 Dreaming Of Casa Bonita

The night after Kyle announces his birthday party and decides not to invite Cartman, Cartman has a dream in which he fantasizes about all the things he loves about Casa Bonita.

Then, the dream is invaded by Kyle telling him he can’t come, prompting Eric to think of a plan to get himself invited to the party.

8 Cartman Tries To Be Nice To Kyle

In order to get himself on the guestlist for Kyle’s birthday party, Cartman decides to change his ways and be nice to his friend. However, he doesn’t know how to be nice, so he just puts on a nice sweater and goes to Kyle’s house.

Kyle tells him, “That’s not being nice! That’s just putting on a nice sweater!” A confused Cartman says, “I don’t understand the difference,” and Kyle replies, “I know you don’t.”

7 “Bingo!”

Following a phony extension of an olive branch, Cartman’s plan is set in motion. He gives Kyle a whole speech about how he doesn’t mind not going to his party and doesn’t want it to affect their friendship.

Moved by Cartman’s speech, Kyle tells him that if, for some reason, Butters can’t go, then he can come in his place. As Cartman walks off, he smiles and says, “Bingo!”

6 Cartman Convinces Butters That The World Has Ended

After Kyle tells Cartman that he can go to his birthday party if Butters can’t make it, Cartman launches the second part of his plan. He takes Butters into his bedroom and convinces him that a meteor is heading for the Earth that will wipe out humanity.

He takes Butters to Jimbo’s bomb shelter, locks him in, and tells him he can’t come out until after the day of Kyle’s party.

5 “Next Saturday!? I’ll Never Be Able To Keep Butters In The…In The Depths Of My Heart For That Long.”

On the day of Kyle’s party, Cartman stops by with a present and, since Butters didn’t show up, he’s invited to come along. However, then Butters’ parents arrive and say they haven’t seen him all week. Kyle decides to help out with the search and delay the party. His mom says, “We can postpone Casa Bonita until next Saturday.”

Cartman says, “Next Saturday!? I’ll never be able to keep Butters in the…” Just in time, he realizes he’s about to give away his plan and covers his tracks: “…in the depths of my heart for that long. I sure hope he turns up before then.”

4 Cartman Pretends To Get Attacked By A Cannibal

When the police search extends to bomb shelters, Cartman has to move Butters to a local junkyard. He covers up his head and describes a post-apocalyptic wasteland that isn’t there.

Upon arrival at the dump, Cartman locks Butters in a refrigerator and pretends to be attacked by a cannibal. He snaps twigs to make it sound like his bones are breaking.

3 Butters’ New Civilization

The refrigerator that Butters is hiding in is taken to the city dump, which he believes to be post-apocalyptic America. He joins forces with a scrapyard dog and starts building a new civilization for the last survivors of humanity.

After a few days, a junkyard employee finds him and tells him he’s at a dump, which Butters takes as an insult against his new civilization.

2 Singing “Happy Birthday” While Driving Past A Missing Child Poster With Butters On It

When he’s finally on the way to Casa Bonita, Cartman starts making plans for what he wants to do. Stan says they should do what Kyle wants to do because it’s his birthday, but Cartman says, “What? F*ck Kyle!” Kyle’s mom gives him a horrified look and he plays it off as a “birthday joke” and starts singing “Happy Birthday.”

The other boys join in the song and, as they sing it, they drive past a missing child billboard with a picture of Butters and the number for South Park P.D. on it.

1 Cartman Enjoys Casa Bonita While Being Chased By The Cops

When they get to Casa Bonita, Kyle’s mom receives a phone call telling her what happened to Butters. Then, the police arrive to question Cartman. Realizing his plan has failed, Cartman decides to go for broke and runs into the restaurant.

Pursued by police, he enjoys as much of Casa Bonita as he can. Eventually, he’s backed onto the top of the fake waterfall that divers jump from and jumps into the water below. When the cops ask if it was worth it, he says, “Totally!”

About The Author

Ben Sherlock
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Ben Sherlock is a writer, comedian, independent filmmaker, and Burt Reynolds enthusiast. He writes lists for Screen Rant and features and reviews for Game Rant. He’s currently in pre-production on his first feature (and has been for a while, because filmmaking is expensive). You can catch him performing standup at odd pubs around the UK that will give him stage time. Previously, he wrote for Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop.

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