South Park: 10 Classic Moments In The ‘Imaginationland’ Trilogy

While there’s only been one official South Park movie – of the released-in-theaters kind, anyway – season 11’s “Imaginationland” trilogy has the epic scope, multitude of broad satirical targets, and (most importantly) runtime of a feature film. It’s even been released as such on DVD.

The story of Butters getting trapped in an alternate dimension where the figments of our collective imagination (from Luke Skywalker to the Care Bears) exist as tangible beings during a terrorist attack on the fantastical realm is a favorite among South Park fans. From character interactions to sight gags to creative worldbuilding, the three-parter is filled with great moments.

10 The Attack On Imaginationland

As the terrorist attack on Imaginationland begins, the episode suddenly breaks into a spot-on parody of Saving Private Ryan’s opening D-Day landings sequence as Stan’s ears start ringing and he dives for cover.

Stan sees all kinds of horrors, like Ronald McDonald finding his own severed arm, before Kyle rushes over to get him on the back of a Scottish dragon who can fly them to safety.

9 Hollywood Directors Brainstorm Ideas

When the U.S. military becomes aware of a terrorist attack on people’s imagination, they recruit a handful of Hollywood filmmakers to see if they have any ideas for how to thwart the terrorists.

M. Night Shyamalan proposes twists instead of actual ideas (like making the terrorists “werewolves from the future” or revealing that we were all dead the whole time), while Michael Bay proposes special effects involving CG explosions and motorcycle stunts.

8 Cartman’s Party

The “Imaginationland” trilogy begins with Cartman winning a bet against Kyle that he’ll be able to show the guys a living leprechaun. For losing the bet, Kyle has to suck Cartman’s balls.

After taking Kyle to court and winning the case, Cartman throws a party, invites all his friends, and dresses up as a sultan for the big event. However, Kyle is whisked away by the military before he can perform the act, much to Cartman’s chagrin.

7 The Barrier Breaks

The first part of the “Imaginationland” trilogy ends with the cliffhanger of the terrorists breaking “the Barrier” between heroic characters and villains. The second part opens with the Barrier breaking and Butters dealing with the ensuing invasion.

After the Mayor of Imaginationland is killed by a xenomorph from the Alien franchise, Butters flees from a Predator, a legion of Stormtroopers, and Jason Voorhees.

6 Cartman’s Dream

In the second part of the trilogy, Cartman is still trying to get Kyle to fulfill his legal obligation. He has a dream in which he approaches Kyle in a wheat field and finds that his lips have been sewn shut.

He wakes up with a start on a cross-country bus ride, wearing an army jacket like grizzled Travis Bickle, and complains to the old lady sitting next to him about his “dry balls.”

5 Stan And Kyle Try To Replicate The “Imaginationland” Song

As the U.S. government desperately attempts to open a portal into Imaginationland, Stan and Kyle – two of the only people to ever enter the realm and make it back – remember that the Mayor of Imaginationland sang a song to open the portal.

So, the government demands that they replicate the song, but since the song just consisted of singing “Imagination” at different pitches over and over again, that’s a lot easier said than done.

4 Butters Speaks To The Council Of Nine

The worldbuilding expands in each successive part of the “Imaginationland” saga. The second part reveals that the good side of the realm is governed by the Council of Nine.

This group consists of the most heroic characters of all time: Aslan, Gandalf, Glinda, Luke Skywalker, Morpheus, Popeye, Wonder Woman, Jesus, and Zeus.

3 Trying To Define ManBearPig

After the scientists manage to open a portal into people’s imaginations, they’re paid a visit by ManBearPig (South Park’s stand-in for climate change created by “super cereal” Al Gore).

The creature mauls everyone in the room, ripping them to shreds as they flee in terror. But even during this intense massacre, the scientists debate how much of ManBearPig is man, how much is bear, and how much is pig.

2 Al Gore Launches The Nuke

After Kyle gives an impassioned speech about how fictional characters like Luke Skywalker can have a real impact on the way people live their lives, the government decides to call off the nuke strike on Imaginationland.

However, Al Gore is unhappy with the launch being aborted, because he wants ManBearPig to die, so he goes ahead with the launch anyway.

1 Butters Recreates Imaginationland

All throughout the “Imaginationland” trilogy, Butters struggles to use his imagination to recreate dead characters like Santa Claus, instead creating monstrous, deformed versions of what he’s trying to conjure up.

At the end of the final part, after Imaginationland is wiped out by a nuclear blast and all that’s left is Butters standing in a vast emptiness, he thinks really hard and manages to recreate the entirety of Imaginationland as it was in the beginning, with the evil kept behind the Barrier and everyone still alive and well.

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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