Story

Description

Eric Cartman draws attention by acting unusually nice to Tolkien Black, and having nightmares while asleep in class. When his counselor, Mr. Mackey, questions him, Cartman says he thinks Tolkien is a "ticking time bomb". It is revealed that his nightmares feature himself as Gerry Lane, the protagonist in the feature film World War Z, with the role of the zombies in that film being played by African Americans, including Tolkien, who are rioting after the verdict of the Zimmerman trial. With Mackey's encouragement, Cartman reads a poem to Tolkien, and later performs a musical adaptation of it at a student assembly, disavowing any involvement with the Zimmerman case. When Tolkien takes offense at the notion that he should feel bad because of Cartman's feelings, Cartman, feeling the "outbreak has started", goes to his house for his survival kit, picks up a random woman, and commandeers a passenger plane at an airport, warning the passengers they can only stop the end of the world by finding a place where the "contagion" cannot reach them.

On the airplane, Cartman discovers a black passenger in the bathroom, and barricades him in. When the passenger tries to break out, the other passengers begin to panic, causing the plane to crash in the Rocky Mountains. Cartman and the woman survive and go to Jimbo's gun store to purchase a rifle to kill Tolkien, but Jimbo informs him he can't shoot anybody unless he's threatened in his own home. After considering this, Cartman and the woman head for Florida to shoot George Zimmerman, as a way to stop the outbreak. She is run over and killed. Cartman goes to Zimmermans' house wearing black paint on his face. Zimmerman shoots Cartman, to the praise of the officials for apparently saving them, before one of the agents discovers that Cartman is white. Zimmerman is tried, found guilty, and executed via electrocution for attempted murder.

Cartman survives the shooting, and back in South Park, he apologizes to Tolkien, who is upset. Cartman then tricks Tolkien into moving close enough to shoot him in accordance with the stand-your-ground law. At school, Cartman is sent to Mackey's office along with a bandaged Tolkien. When Mackey demands that the two apologize to each other in order to resolve their "feud", Tolkien angrily denounces the stand-your-ground law for not also applying to white people. Once more, Cartman panics, flees, and causes yet another plane to crash.

Memorable Quotes

• "I can't think here... I need a magazine and a Toilet" Cartman
• "Fist bump, bro." Eric Cartman
• "Did you know if it wasn't for African Americans we wouldn't have rock & roll? So cool that we have a black president." Eric Cartman
• "MY BRAINS! STOP EATING MY BRAINS! BRAD PITT! AHGHGHG!!!!" Eric Cartman
• "I was not bullet! I was not the gun! I was not the jury, so don't blame me, son." Eric Cartman
• "Oh wait, is this a Tesla? SHIT! Well step on the prissy pedal, we're gonna die!!!" Eric Cartman
• "BLACK GUY IN THE BACK!" Eric Cartman
• "Nobody can see us wearing black." Eric Cartman
• "I'll have to live with this the rest of my life, even though I'll be walking around a free man." George Zimmerman
• "Brad Pitt… but cooler" (Reporter)
• "Fist Bump?" Eric Cartman
• "You made everyone think I'm a fucking patient zero!" Tolkien
• "Bump that shit bro, be the bigger person." Eric Cartman
• "Yeah Tolkien, that's the law. Everything inside the red line is lava." Eric Cartman
• "Black or White it's alright! Black or white let's not fight! White People say HO!!!!" Eric Cartman
• "Not a chance. By now most of the urban cities will be compromised…" Eric Cartman

Characters

Locations

Behind The Scenes

• Where did the "fist bump" idea come from? From the writers: "Just another opportunity for Cartman to be racist."

• Mr. Mackey is featured throughout this episode, trying to mend the relationship between Cartman and Tolkien. Trey says Mr. Mackey was modeled after his own junior high school counselor.

Where Did the Idea Come From?

Where did the episode idea come from? Originally, this was gonna be our first episode coming back from our hiatus. At the Writer's Retreat, we talked about stuff that had happened while we were on hiatus and how we could make a show about it. This episode was going to begin with Tolkien waking up from a 9 month coma (the number of months South Park was on hiatus). The boys were going to rush in in and tell him everything that had happened while he was asleep. Cartman was scared that Tolkien would freak out when he heard about the Zimmerman verdict.

So Cartman’s racial paranoia launched the idea. And then there is the happy coincidence that Zimmerman starts with ‘Z”

Fist Bump: Storyboard

After the script is written, the first step in our production process is creating storyboards. Here's a "board" of the fist bump scene, before it was animated bro.

Animating Cartman's Zombie Nightmare

This intense specialty shot of zombies crawling up the building required unique setup, textures and character design. It was by far the most complex shot we had to animate for "World War Zimmerman".

Hip Hop Cartman: Character Design

Our art department created this special hip hop outfit for Cartman. You can see it in action during his "I Was Not The Bullet" presentation.

No-Armed Pilot: Character Design

Any new character, like this no-armed pilot, must first be storyboarded by the art department.

Cartman's Injections

The injections Cartman gives himself on the plane? That's a direct parody of "World War Z". It was going to be part of Cartman's storyline, but the writers went in another direction and just didn’t remove it. Cartman was all about being like Brad Pitt and we thought it would be funny if some people “got it”.

Storyboard: Electrocution Scene

Check out the storyboard from the notorious electrocution scene.

"Patient Zero" Art

Here's a better look at the art for Cartman's "Patient Zero" sketch. All props used in the show are created by our Art Department.

Pop Culture References

• Many scenes throughout this episode are spot-on parodies of the 2013 blockbuster "World War Z", with Cartman playing Brad Pitt.

• Cartman's song (featured twice in this episode) is a pretty awesome rendition of Michael Buble's "It's A Beautiful Day". Why?  Because the writer's just found it funny.

Garrison's History Lesson

Garrison's lesson on the French Revolution is taken right out of the 2012 movie, Les Misérables.

Bonus Factoids

• Tolkien's girlfriend Nichole made her debut in Season 16's "Cartman Finds Love". As seen in this episode, they are clearly still together.

• This is the first time in 17 years Jimbo's Gun Shop has re-appeared in the show. It's debut was in our second episode ever, "Weight Gain 4000".

• Easter Egg The sign on the wall in Jimbo's Gun Shop reads: "Criminals: Can you run 850 feet per second? If not, your head better be bulletproof!"

• The Moovit! van (which kills Cartman's female partner on this adventure) has been seen in a number of previous episodes.

• This is not the first time Cartman has dressed in black-face. The first time was back in Season 2's "Summer Sucks".

Season 17 Intro: Bus Driver

The Season 17 intro prominently features the "new" bus driver, Mr. Jose Venezuela. He also doubles as the school's janitor (a fact we learned in "Mystery of the Urinal Deuce"). He's taken over as the boy's bus driver ever since Miss Crabtree died in Season 8's "Cartman's Incredible Gift".

The Return of Ned

Although seen in the background of several episodes recently, Ned actually got some legit screen time in this episode. His last big speaking role was in Season 5's "Here Comes The Neighborhood". 

Tolkien vs. Cartman

Tolkien and Cartman have always had a love/hate relationship. Tolkien even kicked Cartman's ass in "Christian Rock Hard". 

Season 17

e1 Let Go, Let Gov

e2 Informative Murder Porn

e3 World War Zimmerman

e4 Goth Kids 3: Dawn of the Posers

e5 Taming Strange

e6 Ginger Cow

e7 Black Friday

e8 A Song of Ass and Fire

e9 Titties and Dragons

e10 The Hobbit