"Never compare me to Family Guy!"

April 7, 2006 2:33 PM

What movie were they referencing with the whole Hot Wheels sequence in the latest episode of South Park?

Asked this in the South Park thread, no avail. Tried looking at fan websites, but I guess it went over their heads. And now it's bugging me.

posted by fungible to media & arts (11 comments total)

Fast and the Furious, I think?
posted by agregoli at 2:38 PM on April 7, 2006

Super Mario Kart: All that junk coming off the back of the karts, the camera angles...
posted by CaptApollo at 2:43 PM on April 7, 2006

Yeah, I was totally thinking Mario when I watched that. Especially weaving in and out of traffic.

*plugs in N64*
posted by radioamy at 2:54 PM on April 7, 2006

Speaking of which, does anyone else get Mario Kart flashbacks when they drive Lower Wacker in Chicago?
posted by rbs at 3:01 PM on April 7, 2006

Can't say, sorry. Yet another vote for the Mario reference.
posted by goo at 3:29 PM on April 7, 2006

I think you mean Big Wheels, not Hot Wheels.

I played my share of Mario Kart, but that didn't come to mind when I watched that scene (I don't remember a head-on camera angle or any weaving in and out of traffic in Mario Kart). I thought it was just a generic reference to movie car chases, with lots of so-cool drifting. But I wouldn't be surprised if there were a specific movie reference I'm just not aware of.
posted by hartsell at 3:42 PM on April 7, 2006

The FAQ at southparkstudios.com is updated often by an employee who works with Matt and Trey, and if there are specific references made in the Big Wheels chase scene, you'll likely get an answer there.

I also think it's just a generic parady of chase scenes, though.
posted by chudmonkey at 4:02 PM on April 7, 2006

rbs: I DO I DO. Seriously, it's a crazy gotham-batman-Mario-Kart funhouse down there.
posted by zpousman at 5:18 PM on April 7, 2006

I thought it might be a generic parody of chase scenes, but the dialogue and the camera angles seem too familiar and of a piece. The cop car flipping over, eyeing eachother as they ride down opposite sides of the road, the howl of Kyle at the end... it's from somewhere. And I never played Mario Kart, so it can't be that, though I know what you mean.

I guess I'll try that FAQ thing.
posted by fungible at 7:48 PM on April 7, 2006

any weaving in and out of traffic in Mario Kart

There was one level in MarioKart (versus, not battle) that had you weaving in and out of traffic. The name escapes me - Toad's Highway or something?
posted by itchie at 10:39 AM on April 8, 2006

Vanishing Point? That's what I thought of with the car flipping over in the rear view.
posted by inthe80s at 9:16 AM on April 10, 2006