Sparky Finally Finds Acceptance
By Hollywood Wire's Charlie Flint
New York City's annual Greenwich Village Halloween Parade, which is in its 23rd year, has never been known for being particularly conservative. In fact, the event is billed as "the nation's wildest, most creative and most public participatory event."
So what could they possibly do to amuse and shock even the most jaded of New Yorkers?
Lead the parade off with a float manned by South Park's foul-mouthed Cartman, of course.
Yes. You read that right. The cartoon characters of Comedy Central's break-out hit South Park was brought to life this Halloween when "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride" (from the episode of the same name) was morphed into the lead float in the October 31st procession.
"From concept to execution, it's the dumbest idea ever," says Park co-creator Matt Stone in this week's Entertainment Weekly. "But that's what's so sweet about it."
Comedy Central employees and actors boarded the float and entertained the 1.5 million revelers that turned out for the event with re-creations of classic Park bits like Cartman's flaming flatulence, Kyle kicking his baby brother, and Stan vomiting (no one's ever accused the show of high-brow humor).
George Clooney, who provided the "voice" of Stan's dog Sparky in the Big Gay Al episode, was not expected to join the cast at the event. The show, which provided the inspiration for Comedy Central's entry into the parade, featured Clooney voicing a confused young dog (who actually only uttered one line: "bark") in search of acceptance as he came to terms with his canine sexuality.
The theme for this year's parade was "The Giddy Cows," which almost seems appropriate if you've ever seen South Park's alien-harassed cattle. Apparently, however, Park's cosmically-embattled bovine have nothing to do with it.
"According to Celtic legend, Halloween is the last day of the year to bring in the cows from summer pasture. The weather gets cold and affects their balance," explained parade director Jeanne Fleming. "They get giddy and wander off, bumping into trees. Witches fly by then and steal their milk. For me it's a night of inversions."
Inversions or not, we're just really glad that organizers didn't choose the episode entitled "Cartman Gets an Anal-Probe" as the inspiration for Friday's festivities.
======================== If a billion people believe in a stupid idea, it is still stupid.
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