“South Park” had one big, unexpected villain in its latest special: Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. “Joining the Panderverse” even went as far as to blame the executive for “why Disney movies all suck now.” Spoilers ahead.
Before diving into the madness that is “South Park,” some background on Kennedy is helpful. The real-life executive became president of Lucasfilm after Disney acquired the company in 2012, handpicked by George Lucas. Kennedy has overseen the latest Star Wars films — including “The Force Awakens,” “Rogue One,” “The Last Jedi,” “Solo” and “The Rise of Skywalker” — all of the Star Wars series on Disney+ and the newest Indiana Jones movie, “Dial of Destiny.” She is not involved with Marvel or Disney’s non-Star Wars animated content, though that doesn’t seem to be the case in the universe of “South Park.”
At first blush, that may make her an odd choice as “South Park’s” latest boogeyman. But buckle up because that’s just the beginning of this particular rollercoaster.
Paramount+’s “Joining the Panderverse” starts with Cartman waking up with a nightmare in which he and all of his friends have been replaced by queer adult women of color as Bob Iger’s stock falls. He begs his mom to check under his bed to make sure “no Disney executives are under there,” namely Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy.
But as is often the case with “South Park,” what starts as a silly take on the irrational fears and anger of fanboys is pushed to its absolute limits. As the special progresses, Cartman swaps places with his multiverse counterpart, a Black woman who acts identically to him. And it’s all Kathleen Kennedy’s fault.
In the special, Kennedy and Disney CEO Bob Iger eventually reveal that they’ve been using a device known as the Pander Stone, “an ancient piece of artificial intelligence that could be used to make the same movies over and over again while appealing to absolutely everyone,” Kennedy explains.
These more diverse movies led to a backlash of hateful and racist letters from fans. Desperate to counter this bigotry, “South Park’s” Kennedy returned to the Pander Stone and attempted to fight back with even more “lit” movies. The repeated use of the Pander Stone fractured the multiverse, known as the Panderverse, which is how both versions of Cartman and Kennedy came to be in the wrong universe.
“That’s actually the best explanation I’ve heard about why Disney movies all suck now,” Cartman says to Kennedy.
Ultimately, the two team up. Cartman apologizes for sending Kennedy tens of thousands of pieces of hate mail a day about Star Wars and Indiana Jones, and Kennedy vows to make “original content that doesn’t pander” going forward.
“I’m sorry I was so reckless with the things that you love. It was lazy,” Kennedy tells Cartman, getting to the crux of the episode.
“I guess just railing on woke stuff all the time is pretty lazy too,” Cartman responds.
This is far from the first time “South Park” has targeted Disney. It’s not even the show’s most ridiculous thrashing of the company. A vulgar, cruel and money-obsessed version of Mickey Mouse often serves as the show’s Disney punching bag. Over the course of the series, Mickey Mouse has bullied the Jonas brothers to become sex symbols, teamed up with Randy to sell weed in China and was shown having sex with a bat and a pangolin. The latter foray leads to the start of COVID-19 in the “South Park” universe.
The show even previously took on the “Indiana Jones” in an episode devoted to the poorly received “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” that time blaming Lucas and director Steven Spielberg.
But this may be the first time Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s show has so explicitly and repeatedly targeted a specific entertainment executive rather than the head of a conglomerate. Typically, the show uses recognizable stand-ins — like Mickey Mouse — for its corporate mockery rather than naming names. Other corporate heads the series has ridiculed include its telepathic take on Jeff Bezos and its poorly dubbed Mark Zuckerberg.
Watch a clip from the special below.
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