Cannibal! The Musical (1993)

The sole survivor of an ill-fated mining expedition tells how his taste for gold was replaced by that of human flesh.

Director:

Trey Parker

Writer:

Trey Parker (screenplay)

Stars:

Trey Parker, Dian Bachar, Stephen Blackpool

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dian Bachar	...	George Noon
Stephen Blackpool	...	Black Cat
Stan Brakhage	...	Noon's Father
Dan Brother	...	Guard #2
Duster	...	Liane
Brad Gordon	...	Mills
Ian Hardin	...	Shannon Bell
Dave Hardin	...	Drummer
Edward Henwood	...	O.D. Loutzenheiser / The Cyclops
Jon Hegel	...	Isreal Swan
Andrew Kemler	...	Preston Nutter
Steve Jackson	...	Sheriff of Lake City
Jessica James Kelly	...	Tiny Tim / Baby Packer
M.K.	...	'The Dropout' (credit only)
Martin Leeper	...	Sheriff of Saguache (as Marty Leeper)

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

character name as title | alfred packer character | mountain | song | flashback | 

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Taglines:

In the tradition of Friday the 13th Part 2... and Oklahoma comes the first intelligent movie about cannibalism!

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical | Thriller | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for comic gore/violence and some language

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Packer wakes from this dream, he scream, "Ike!" This was taken from the film, The Legend of Alfred Packer (1980). wherein the character awakes from a dream screaming, "Ike!" for no discernible reason. Trey Parker carried it over as a joke.

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Goofs

When George walks past the Indian woman, his car keys are heard jingling in his pocket as he goes out of the shot.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Title Card: The film you are about to see was originally released in 1954. Upstaged by the overwhelming popularity of "Oklahoma!", it's short lived theater run was canceled, and "Alfred Packer: The Musical" soon fell into obscurity. The original negative, re-discovered just last year, has been painstakingly restored using state-of-the-art color enhancing and computer reconstruction technology. The film's violent scenes have been edited out for your viewing pleasure.

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Crazy Credits

(At the end of the closing credits) Due to the graphic nature of this film, it should not have been watched by small children.

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Alternate Versions

The film was originally prepared as a three-minute joke "trailer" shown at Trey Parker's college in Colorado. The cast is largely the same, although there is no Polly Prye yet, and most of the scenes in the "trailer" are matched in the final movie, including the songs "Let's Build a Snowman" and "On Top of You." There are also one or two songs not used in the final movie, though. In this version Packer, upon seeing the bodies of his mutilated companions, lets out a loud scream which gradually changes into a musical note, and he starts to sing a funky number. He sings something similar at the end of the trailer too. Although in the final movie, characters played by Matt Stone and Dian Bachar never develop facial hair, this version shows everyone growing at least a moustache, even Matt. This cheap and amusing "trailer" is sometimes actually used as the trailer for the final film [Although the final film does have its own trailer]. The title of the original trailer [And the original cut of the movie] was "Alferd Packer: The Musical," but of course all Troma releases replace the title cards with new ones reading "Cannibal: The Musical." Versions of the original trailer and the final film with both titles are circulating somewhere.

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Connections

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: Nudist Colony of the Dead (2010)

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Soundtracks

Shpadoinkle
Music & Lyrics by Trey Parker
Produced by Rich Sanders
Performed by Trey Parker
Also performed by Toddy Walters,Dian Bachar, Ian Hardin, Jon Hegel, Matt Stone and chorus
Arranged by Douglas Krause (as Doug Krause) & Trey Parker
© 1993 by The Avenging Conscience, Inc.

User Reviews

Showcase for Trey Parker's talents

"Alferd Packer: The Musical" is an early showcase for Trey Parker's various talents: acting, writing, directing, composing and singing. The man is virtually doing it all by himself and with low to no budget. As a movie made by a film student "Alferd Packer: The Musical" (or "Cannibal: The Musical" as the movie is commonly known) is breathtaking and it's almost scary that if it hadn't been for the Christmas Card incident nobody would have recognized Parker and his movie.

From today's point of view, however, "Cannibal: The Musical" isn't among the funniest things Parker and Stone (who's in the movie, too, but wasn't involved as much as in later projects) have ever done. Much like "Orgazmo" and "BASEketball" the two comedy greats can't really convince in real life movies. The jokes are kinda slow and strewn in between and the whole thing just isn't as funny as "South Park" or "Team America".

Still, one must not forget when this movie was made and how. For a student movie this is a great, no, gigantic achievement. The songs are every bit as hilarious as latter day material by Parker and - I'll say it again - they showcase some serious talent for writing melodies. So, yes, "Cannibal: The Musical", this strange mixture of Comedy, Musical, Western and Horror (just a wee bit) can be recommended to every fan of Parker and Stone.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Troma

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

30 August 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cannibal! The Musical

Filming Locations:

Lake City, Colorado, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$125,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Avenging Conscience, Cannibal Films Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min 97 min (video)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1