Cannibal! The Musical: 13th Anniversary Edition

Cannibal! The Musical: 13th Anniversary Edition Review

Cannibal! The Musical: 13th Anniversary Edition Feature

• Before there was South Park, there was Trey Parker and Matt Stone's macbre musical comedy masterpiece Cannibal the Musical! Based on the legend of Colorado Cannibal Alferd Packer, Cannibal the Musical tells Packer's version of what really happened when he and a group of gold diggers embarked on their fateful trip into the Rocky Mountains. Gruesomely gory, savagely satirical and painfully f

Alferd Packer was the only man in the United States ever convicted of cannibalism--what better hero for fellow Coloradan and future South Park creator Trey Parker to celebrate in music? Blue-eyed and boyish Parker was still in college when he wrote, directed, composed the songs for, and took the starring role as the innocent young Packer in this film, giving a gee- whiz performance as an ambitious pioneer who joins an ill-fated trek west that ends up stranded in the mountains. At times resembling a perverse community theater parody of Rodgers and Hammerstein ("My heart's as full as a baked po-ta-to!"), Parker bounces back and forth between cheery production numbers and goony songs ("Let's build a snowman," sings one starving-mad hiker) and grotesque gore (bloody body parts, festering sores, human hors d'oeuvres). It lacks in style and consistency and the juvenile gags and fart jokes wear thin over the course of a feature film, but Parker's sheer energy and inventiveness carry the overlong picture to a rousing conclusion. Regular Parker collaborators Matt Stone and Dian Bachar costar in this tuneful barbecue. --Sean Axmaker 13th Anniversay Edition. Not Rated. Before there was South Park, there was Trey Parker and Matt Stone's macbre musical comedy masterpiece Cannibal the Musical! Based on the legend of Colorado Cannibal Alferd Packer, Cannibal the Musical tells Packer's version of what really happened when he and a group of gold diggers embarked on their fateful trip into the Rocky Mountains. Gruesomely gory, savagely satirical and painfully funny, Cannibal the Musical stands as a predecessor to what would come next for Parker and Stone, and features several in-jokes that would become part of the South Park legacy! Further, Cannibal the Musical has become a worldwide cult sensation to rival The Rocky Horror Picture Show, inspiring stage revivals and sing-along screenings all over the world!