Cannibal! The Musical (originally known as Alferd Packer: The Musical) is a 1993 American independent musical Western black comedy film directed, written, produced, co-scored by and starring Trey Parker in his directorial debut while studying at the University of Colorado at Boulder, before reaching fame with South Park alongside his friend Matt Stone who also stars in and produced the film. It is loosely based on the true story of Alfred "Alferd" Packer and the sordid details of the trip from Utah to Colorado that left his five fellow travelers dead and partially eaten. Trey Parker (credited as Juan Schwartz) stars as Alferd Packer, with frequent collaborators Stone, Dian Bachar, and others playing the supporting roles.
A live staged version was performed at Sierra College, in Rocklin, California, in May 1998. It was followed by Dad's Garage Theater, Atlanta Georgia, in the fall of 1998. The Dad's Garage version is highlighted in the special features of Troma's DVD release of the movie. The show has continued to find small theaters and audiences across America and beyond for many years. In 2001, a production was staged Off-Broadway at the Kraine Theater on East 4th Street in New York.
In 2011, producer Jason McHugh released a book titled Shpadoinkle: The Making of Cannibal! The Musical which chronicles all aspects of the creation and continuation of the Cannibal! The Musical cult phenomenon.
Though not a success, the film would manage to attract the attention of Pam Brady, who was at the time an assistant to then-Fox executive Brian Graden, with Parker and Stone's relationship with Brady and Graden ultimately becoming the key to the history of South Park.
Plot The film begins with a reenactment of the gruesome act of cannibalism described by the prosecuting attorney during Alferd Packer's 1883 trial. During this sensationalized account, a haggard Packer repeatedly insists that was not how it happened. During a break in the trial, Packer is enticed by journalist Polly Pry to tell his side of the story, which he proceeds to do, via flashback beginning with his horse Lianne galloping in a field.
In 1873, Packer was part of a group of miners in Bingham Canyon, Utah, who hear of new prospects in Breckenridge. Together, the small group decide to travel together into Colorado Territory. Packer is appointed as the replacement for the original guide, since he claimed knowledge of the area. He and Lianne set off on what Packer estimates will be a three-week journey with a party of five miners: Shannon Wilson Bell, James Humphrey, Frank Miller, George Noon and Israel Swan.
Four weeks later, while attempting to visit Provo for supplies they become convinced they are lost. They are given warning by a local of impending doom awaiting them in the mountains. Finally arriving in Provo, they run into a group of three fur trappers bound for Saguache; O.D. Loutzenheiser, Preston Nutter, and their diminutive leader, Jean "Frenchy" Cabazon. The trappers despise the miners, whom they contemptuously call "diggers", yet seem to like Packer's Arabian horse, telling Packer that she's a "trapper horse". The next day, Packer wakes up to discover his horse Lianne is missing. The men attempt to cross the Green River near the Utah border. Eventually, after a disastrous crossing of the Colorado River the Packer party is spotted by two "Nihonjin" Indians. They are taken back to the tribe's encampment near Delta where the chief warns them of a winter storm, allowing them to wait it out with the tribe. Packer's party also find the trappers camping out with the tribe, a small altercation breaks out over Lianne, whose feedbag Packer finds in their possession.
In the present time, Packer is sentenced to death by hanging, with his execution to occur in Lake City. That night, Polly reveals her growing affection for him through song. The next day, Polly visits Packer once again in prison, where he continues his story.
The men set out in the wilderness and begin to suspect that Packer is really only interested in following the trappers to find his horse. They soon run out of food, resorting to eating their shoes as they become lost in the snow-covered Rocky Mountains. An optimistic Swan sings about building a snowman; Bell shoots him in the head out of frustration. The men discuss their dire situation that night over the fire, speaking of the cannibalism that the Donner Party had to resort to in California. They decide to consume the body of their dead companion as Miller cuts up Swan's body, and only Bell refuses to partake in the cannibalism. After a few more days, the party loses hope, which leads to talk of sacrificing one of their own. Packer convinces them for one more chance for a scouting trip, but when he returns, Bell has killed the others, claiming they planned to kill and eat him after Packer left. Packer is forced to throw a cleaver at Bell, seemingly killing him. He is then forced to cannibalize the others to wait out the rest of the winter.
Arriving in Saguache sometime later, Packer finds Lianne, who has taken to Cabazon, upsetting Packer. The sheriff of Saguache, suspicious of Packer arriving without the rest of his party, eventually finds out the fate of the other members and attempts to arrest Packer for cannibalism at a saloon. A bar-fight between Packer and the trappers occurs, which Packer wins after brutally attacking Cabazon's groin using fighting techniques he learned from the Nihonjin chief, leaving Cabazon incapacitated. Following this, Packer attempts to flee to Wyoming, only to later be arrested there and brought back to Colorado to await judgment. However, he is saved at the last minute by Polly, who arrives on the scene with Lianne. Meanwhile, Cabazon, wants revenge against Packer for their fight in Saguache. The Nihonjin chief saves Packer by cutting his rope with a katana before beheading Cabazon. Packer, seeing that Polly brought back Lianne, he realizes he does not need her anymore and chooses Polly, the two kiss, only to be frightened by a still-alive but badly maimed Bell.
Cast
Trey Parker as Alferd Packer (credited as Juan Schwartz) Toddy Walters as Polly Pry Matt Stone as James Humphrey (credited as Mathew Stone) Dian Bachar as George "California" Noon Jason McHugh as Frank Miller Jon Hegel as Israel Swan Ian Hardin as Shannon Wilson Bell Duster as Packer's horse, Lianne Robert Muratore as Jean "Frenchy" Cabazon Edward Henwood as O.D. Loutzenheiser/The Cyclops Andrew Kemler as Preston Nutter Masao Maki as the Chief of the fictitious Nihonjin Indian tribe (credited as Maseo Maki) Japanese foreign exchange students as Nihonjin Indians Junichi as Junichi Tomomi as Tomomi, a young Indian girl whom Noon swoons over Audrey Stafferd as the Voice of Doom Randy Parker (Trey Parker's father) as Judge Jerry Jessica James Kelly as Tiny Tim/Baby Packer Martin Leeper as the Sheriff of Saguache (credited as Marty Leeper) Brad Gordon as Mills Steve Jackson as the Sheriff of Lake City Stan Brakhage as Noon's father Don Yannacito as Humphrey's father Kevin Allen as a passerby who glances over Polly Pry with a confused look as she performs "This Side of Me" Lianne Adamo as one of the dancers during the "Hang the Bastard" number (uncredited) Chris Graves as a drunken man who plays a cowbell break in "Hang the Bastard" (uncredited) Joe McHugh (Jason McHugh's father) as General Store Clerk (uncredited) Brody McHugh (Jason McHugh's sister) as Woman leaving store (uncredited)
Cast notes
Musical numbers "Shpadoinkle" – Alferd "Shpadoinkle (Reprise)" – George, Alferd, Shannon, Frank, Swan, and Humphrey "That's All I'm Asking for" – George, Alferd, Shannon, Frank, Swan, and Humphrey. "When I Was on Top of You" – Alferd "Trapper Song" – Frenchy (voice of Parker), Loutzenheiser, and Nutter "This Side of Me" – Polly "Let's Build a Snowman" – Swan "Let's Build a Snowman (Reprise)" – Swan "That's All I'm Asking for (Reprise)" – George, Alferd, Shannon, Frank and Humphrey "Hang the Bastard" – Company "Shpadoinkle (Finale)" – Polly, Alferd, and Company
Contrasting with the musical's generally dark and morbid humor are its cheerful songs, all composed by Parker, including "Let's Build a Snowman", "When I Was on Top of You", "Hang the Bastard", and "Shpadoinkle" (pronounced shpah-doink-ul). The last of these is a transparent parody of the song "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" from the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical Oklahoma!.
Two songs that were originally going to be in the film, but later taken out, were "Shatterproof", a rap song to be sung by Packer during the bar fight scene, and "Don't Be Stupid", a song to be sung by some of the Bingham Canyon miners after the reprise of "Shpadoinkle". An interview with Ian Hardin (now known as Ian Keldin) revealed that Trey thought "Shatterproof" made Packer seem too tough.
Production
The film began as a 3-minute trailer made for a film class, having been an idea Parker and his friends had for a while but also inspired in part by Parker's resentment towards his ex-fiancée Lianne Adamo after discovering her cheating on him not long before their wedding, with Packer's disloyal horse "Lianne" in the final film being based on her."Chapter 1 – Beginnings", The Making of Cannibal! The Musical, by Jason McHugh. Retrieved June 26, 2019. After the trailer drew much attention, Parker and Stone raised around $125,000 and began shooting the full-length film. The film was shot during weekends and on spring break in 1993, and according to Ian Hardin, most of the crew failed their film history class as a result."Keith", Interview with Ian Keldin (Ian Hardin). Retrieved March 10, 2008. Filming was done on location throughout Colorado in Denver, Colorado National Monument, Black Canyon, and Ouray, with the courtroom scenes being shot in the actual courthouse that Alferd Packer was tried in, in Lake City, and the town scenes taking place in Provo, Saguache, and the hanging scene being shot in different parts of the Buckskin Joe Old West theme park in Canyon City."Chapter 11 – Let The Lensing Commence", The Making of Cannibal! The Musical, by Jason McHugh. Retrieved June 20, 2019."Chapter 12 – Spring Break in the Mountains", The Making of Cannibal! The Musical, by Jason McHugh. Retrieved June 20, 2019."Chapter 19 – Spring Break in the Mountains", The Making of Cannibal! The Musical, by Jason McHugh. Retrieved June 20, 2019."Chapter 20 – Spring Break in the Mountains", The Making of Cannibal! The Musical, by Jason McHugh. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
A few incidents happened during filming, such as Parker getting a hairline hip fracture after being thrown from one of the horses playing "Lianne", fights occasionally breaking out among the crew, some of the main cast experiencing cold shock and almost being swept away by strong currents from crossing the icy Gunnison River that doubled for the Green River, as well as inclement weather and even an avalanche complicating shooting."Chapter 13 – Spring Break in the Mountains", The Making of Cannibal! The Musical, by Jason McHugh. Retrieved June 20, 2019."Chapter 14 – Spring Break in the Mountains", The Making of Cannibal! The Musical, by Jason McHugh. Retrieved June 20, 2019."Chapter 15 – Spring Break in the Mountains", The Making of Cannibal! The Musical, by Jason McHugh. Retrieved June 20, 2019."Chapter 16 – Spring Break in the Mountains", The Making of Cannibal! The Musical, by Jason McHugh. Retrieved June 20, 2019."Chapter 17 – Spring Break in the Mountains", The Making of Cannibal! The Musical, by Jason McHugh. Retrieved June 20, 2019."Chapter 18 – Spring Break in the Mountains", The Making of Cannibal! The Musical, by Jason McHugh. Retrieved June 20, 2019.