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:

All Singing! All Dancing! All Flesh Eating!

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Musical | Thriller | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for comic gore/violence and some language

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film was released by Troma in 1996 but it was actually filmed in 1993 while Trey Parker was attending the University of Colorado at Boulder. Contrary to popular belief, Parker was not expelled due to missing class while making the movie, and went on to graduate.

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Goofs

Matt Stone's real voice is briefly heard when Humphrey says the lines, "How far to Colorado territory?" and "Watch out for that bear trap."

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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 movie was altered, some would say drastically, between release to cable channels and its DVD release. The former, only really available on bootleg VHS, has a much different audio mix, with fewer sound effects/comments, and some sound effects altered. It also includes the "Don't Be Stupid" song, which is nowhere to be found on the Cannibal disc.

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Connections

Featured in Music Movies: Cannibal! The Musical (2012)

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Soundtracks

Let's Build A Snowman
Music & Lyrics by Trey Parker
Produced by Rich Sanders
Performed by John Hegel
Arranged by Franz Roehmann & Beth Clapper
© 1993 by The Avenging Conscience, Inc.

User Reviews

For stupid humour, I definitely recommend!

The movie (from what I've pieced together, little help from the movie) is about man by the name of Alferd Packer. Alferd was head of a mining expedition, who apparently was forced to turn to cannibalism after things for him and his group didn't go exactly to plan. Becoming one of the few people in America to be convicted of cannibalism-before 1950 onwards anyway.

The movie is cheap, in production values, and laughs. But that is why it is so funny. It's just a really stupid movie. Typical "so stupid, you have to laugh" situations are what the 90 minute + movie is all about.

It doesn't say much for me that some of the songs have actually stuck in my head. Or, that I have watched it everyday for the last 3. But it must say something about the movie. Trey Parker (best known for South Park) managed to make a low budget film that easily stands up against multi-million dollar comedies that have good acting but tired plots. This offers bad acting, bad singing, the goofiest songs you'll ever hear, you'll learn some history and see plenty of America.

If you're tired of big Hollywood productions or remake and sequel after remake and sequel and the same old thing, try this. It's goofy. It's dumb. It's something you and a group of friends could probably make yourselves on the weekend. But it did make me laugh, and 3 days in a row. For that I must recommend.

7/10