Top 10 Times South Park Made Fun of Disney

When Disney + was announced, people everywhere went nuts - including South Park’s Scott Malkinson. He’ll do anything to get his hands on it - including selling his insulin to a street dealer. Meanwhile, his pleas for a Disney + subscription have driven his dad over the edge, the point where he decides to take the streaming service down. The episode shines a light on how Disney jumped on the streaming bandwagon, and how streaming services are ruling our lives. And we even get a cameo from the so-called ‘baby Yoda’ character - clearly put in to highlight Disney’s clever tactic for making “The Mandalorian” a must-watch.

In the world of “South Park”, Mickey Mouse isn't just a mascot for Disney, he’s the boss. And when an employee steps out of line, he’s not above getting personally involved. In this episode, someone has been bad mouthing the Chinese government. To get to the bottom of it, Mickey rallies all Disney characters and interrogates them to try and find out who the traitor is. And it’s pretty full on, playing on the perception that Disney is super strict with its stars. The writers also throw a dig in at Mickey being unsure whether his company owns “South Park” - ya know, cause Disney owns everything.

This next entry isn't an episode, but instead an entire video game. Released in 2017, this “South Park” RPG plays on the superhero ensemble format in the vein of “The Avengers”. Starring popular characters from the “South Park” series - including Professor Chaos, The Coon, Mosquito and The Human Kite, the entire thing is absolutely ridiculous, inappropriate and brilliant. Playing to the popularity of superhero flicks and subsequently ridiculing them in a way that only South park can pull off, the game heavily references the superhero movie genre. In fact, the game’s theme songs took direct inspiration from t2012 “Avengers”, among other iconic superhero scores.

When Disney released the Marvel movie “Black Panther” in 2018, it represented a significant cultural moment in the movie business. It not only featured an almost entirely black cast, but also received universal praise from fans and critics. So, of course, “South Park” had to say something about it. In this episode from season 22, Cartman is afraid that people will think he’s racist for not liking the movie. At the same time, he becomes baffled after discovering that his black friend, Token, has not seen the movie. A commentary on the cultural significance of “Black Panther” - and ignorance when it comes to matters of race - Cartman’s attempts to avoid offending anyone prove hilariously offensive.

Okay, so this next entry is basically one big long rant about the “Star Wars” sequel trilogy, specifically “The Force Awakens”. In the midst of a rousing speech, Randy Marsh makes a point of how recycling old ideas is a bad idea. And it doesn’t take long for his crosshairs to land on “Star Wars”. Criticising “The Force Awakens” for its lack of originality, Randy rants about how looking back to the past isn’t necessarily the way to go - sending out a big “wink, wink” to Disney and director J. J. Abrams. It’s clear that “South Park” creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker wanted to vent a little here, and boy oh boy did they ever tell us how they feel.

This next entry takes us all the way back to season one of the show - and a now-legendary character, Big Gay Al. When Stan is upset that his dog Sparky is gay, Sparky runs away - only to be taken in by Big Gay Al at his gay animal sanctuary. For fans of the “Jungle Cruise” ride in Walt Disney World, Florida, Al’s Big Gay Boat Ride will be very familiar. According to animation director Eric Stough, much of what Al says while showing Stan around the boat tour and animal sanctuary, were variations of things Eric himself said when he was “Jungle Cruise” director at the theme park.

We’re venturing away from the usual Disney suspects with this one, and into the world of “Tron” - which for the record, is a Walt Disney Studios movie. This episode aligns the world of “Tron” and Facebook, with Stan trying to delete the latter before finding himself sucked into his computer. There’s tons of criticism throughout, with the writers taking aim at the points system dynamic of Facebook friends, while using a parody of the iconic movie “Tron” to do it. And you know what, all its snarkiness aside, the episode is great to look at!

When the “High School Musical” franchise launched in 2006, kids everywhere went wild, imitating the song and dance numbers from the films. Following the release of the third instalment, something similar happened in South Park, with everyone being caught up in the musical fad - except for Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny. Highlighting how weird it would actually be if everyone sporadically burst into song, the episode ends with the boys joining in to fit in, just as the fad passes. Trends come and go, but as the “South Park” creators remind us, during the height of craze, the peer pressure to conform can feel overwhelming - especially when Disney is involved!

For this entry, we’re back with Mickey Mouse and his totalitarian way of running Disney - at least within the world of “South Park”. Harking back to when boyband The Jonas Brothers wore purity rings, the episode suggests that Mickey Mouse made the boys wear them in a sneaky plot to sell sex to young audiences. And when the band refuses to play along, he beats one of them violently. We’ve already mentioned how “South Park” likes to play on the apparent ruthlessness of Disney and its treatment of its stars, but this scene is particularly hard-hitting. And that laugh Mickey keeps doing - oh man.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Sally "Jabba" Struthers
"Starvin' Marvin in Space"

The Avengers at Halloween
"A Nightmare on Face Time"

Cartman & His Scooter
“Raising The Bar”

Mickey & General Tsao Fight Over Star Wars
"Obama Wins"

And you thought we were done with Mickey Mouse mercilessness - of course not! When Mickey blames Winnie the Pooh for jeopardizing a deal with China, Randy is sent to take Pooh out! The brutal scene consists of Randy luring Pooh down an alley with some honey, and then graphically strangling him. Again, this is another moment targeting the lengths that Disney allegedly goes to in order to keep business running as usual. But ... why did it have to be Pooh? South Park has never shied away from shocking imagery, but this really pushed the envelope!