Cannibal! The Musical (1993)

Director: Trey Parker

Starring: Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Dian Bachar, Toddy Walters, Jason McHugh

More info: IMDb

Tagline: All Singing! All Dancing! All Flesh Eating!

Plot: Alfred Packer was a mountain guide and sole survivor of a party of pioneers that got lost in the mountains in winter. Accused and convicted of murdering and eating his travelling companions, he was to be executed by hanging.The movie begins at his trial, where he pleads his innocence to an unsympathetic audience. Only reporter Polly Pry will listen to his story, which is then related to the viewers in the form of flashbacks. As Packer and his gold-prospecting clients make their way through the forests and mountains, they encounter bemused Japanese Indians, an unimpressed group of mountain men and the brutal Rocky Mountain winter, all of which inspire the travellers to break out into song and dance.

My rating: 5.5/10

Will I watch it again? Nope.

This one's been on my to-watch list since 1997 when SOUTH PARK first aired and I was hooked from that premiere episode.  I love Matt & Trey and everything the do...until now.  Woof.  I dig the idea and premise behind turning this story into a gory musical but it's got an awful lot of spots that need tightening, they're too long.  The songs are OK but are marred by the synthesizers that back them up.  I'm OK with a synth score because of the budget restraints but this one irritated me.  It was neat to hear the origins of the motif that ends every episode of SOUTH PARK.  Trey tries really hard and it shows.  He's so likable.  It's a shame he's not in front of the camera more.  I'm kind of sad that I didn't dig this more.  Their drunken commentary on the DVD is legendary but I'm not sure I can take another 90 minutes of this.  I have a feeling that one of my friends is going to inherit this disc very soon.