ManBearPig

"ManBearPig" is the sixth episode of the tenth season and the 145th overall episode of the American animated sitcom South Park. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 26, 2006. In the episode, Al Gore visits South Park to warn and frighten everyone about a fictional monster called ManBearPig, which he insists is real. On a trip to the Cave of the Winds, Gore thinks he hears ManBearPig and ends up getting Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny trapped inside the caves.

The episode was written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker and is rated TV-MA in the United States. It parodies the film An Inconvenient Truth, and mocks Al Gore's handling of his belief in man-made global warming, equating it to a mythical beast.^[1]

Plot

Former Vice President of the United States Al Gore visits South Park Elementary School and warns the school's students about the terrible ManBearPig, a scary monster which is "half man, half bear and half pig" and roams the Earth attacking humans for no reason at all. He also demands throughout the episode that people take him "cereal", which he cannot distinguish from the correct use of the word "seriously".

Later, the boys' basketball game is interrupted by another visit from Gore, who is poorly disguised as the ManBearPig and claims to be "trying to spread ManBearPig awareness". Stan's father Randy picks up the boys to drive them home, proclaiming that Gore is just desperate for attention, because he has no friends. Al Gore phones Stan in the middle of the night inviting him to a ManBearPig meeting and convinces Stan to attend (he does so out of sympathy for Gore not having any friends). Stan and his friends go to the meeting where Gore states that "MBP" is hiding in the Cave of the Winds. The boys are persuaded to go when Gore guarantees them a day off school.

In the cave, Gore first starts asking the tour guide illogical questions and annoying the group. Gore forces the boys to follow him off the tour path to find ManBearPig. He begins firing a shotgun wildly after mistaking wind for ManBearPig, causing a cave-in that leaves the boys trapped in the caverns while Gore and all the other tourists evacuate the cave only moments before rocks come down, sealing off the cave entrance. Gore claims ManBearPig caused the cave-in and that the monster is still at large. While the boys search for a way out of the cave, Cartman discovers a small cavern filled with what appears to be a hoard of treasure. He hides the loot from the other boys and starts swallowing the treasure piece-by-piece to smuggle it out of the cave.

A rescue team has been assembled outside the cave to find the boys, while Gore whines about killing ManBearPig. Gore later diverts the flow of a nearby stream in order to cause a flood which fills the cavern in an attempt to kill the still-unseen monster. Meanwhile, the boys think that Cartman, bloated with gold and jewels, has become severely ill, and carry him while trying to find a way out of the cave. As the cave floods, Kyle risks his life to get Cartman to safety. The boys manage to escape just as a memorial service is being held for them. Gore is secretly celebrating having "killed" ManBearPig, believing that he is a hero. When Gore claims he rescued them, Stan angrily yells at him and calls him a loser; however, Gore is unfazed as he is certain that he "killed" ManBearPig. Cartman tries to walk away, but he does not get far before he begins painfully defecating pieces of treasure. It is revealed to Cartman that the treasure was a prop used for tourist photo ops and is only worth about $14, much to Cartman's dismay. While Cartman continues to expel more treasure in pain, Stan, Kyle, and Kenny get angry at him for making them pull him to safety for his greed. As Gore explains his intention is to make a film starring himself, he ties a cape onto himself and "flies" away, exclaiming "Excelsior!" (the catchphrase of Marvel Comics' Stan Lee). In the last second before the credits roll, Cartman defecates out a large golden cup.

Continuity

ManBearPig, as well as his foil, Al Gore, appears in the South Park Season 11 episodes "Imaginationland Episode II" and "Imaginationland Episode III".

References in other media

On April 1, 2008 biotechnology news website Think Gene carried an April Fools Day story about the creation of a human-bear-pig chimera, complete with a picture and scientific description of the genes involved. The story concluded with "Al Gore could not be reached for comment".^[2]

In the Season 10 DVD commentary, the creators talk about An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore's documentary film. Matt Stone states that Gore's movie should not have won the Academy Award for Best Documentary, charging "It wasn't a documentary. It was a PowerPoint presentation."

Marine Observation post ManBearPig in Treekha Nawa, Afghanistan is named after the fictional creature.^[3]

In a November 7, 2008 interview on Current TV, Gore was asked about spreading "ManBearPig awareness," and he laughingly replied that he found it "unbelievable" how many comments he received from the episode.^[4]

The Nintendo DS game Scribblenauts, as well as its sequels, Super Scribblenauts, Scribblenauts Remix, and Scribblenauts Unlimited, contain the object "MANBEARPIG", which can be ridden or carried, depending on its size.

In the 2014 video game South Park: The Stick of Truth, the ManBearPig made another appearance. After doing quests for Al Gore, the player can fight ManBearPig at the South Park Church (who is once again merely Gore in disguise).

The Minnesota Wild hockey team is sometimes called the "Minnesota Manbearpigs" by radio sports commentators. A t-shirt design for the Minnesota Manbearpigs mimics the Wild logo to make the form of Al Gore dressed as Manbearpig.

References

External links

• "ManBearPig" episode at South Park Studios
• "ManBearPig" in South Park‍‍ '​‍s episode guide at South Park Studios