Some months past, a Berlin-based AI artist, “demonflyingfox,” used AI technology to deepfake the iconic South Park characters to imagine them as real people.
Deepfake of South Park Characters Stirs Mixed Reactions
Seeing the exaggerated personalities of Eric Cartman, Kyle Broflovski, Stan Marsh, and Kenny McCormick, and his friends translated into live-action, complete with Eighties attire and hairstyles, tickled their funny bones, some of the fans found the creation “creepy,” while others found it side-splittingly funny.
“At first I thought this was a mediocre attempt at a real life south park intro with real actors, but then I realized this was made with AI. This is insane,” someone commented on the video on YouTube.
Some others commented that the remake was on point and that they would watch an episode of the show created by AI.
“If someone was to take an actual south park episode and have the AI recreate the whole episode to this, I’d totally watch it. Please lemme know if anyone’s already done that!!! This is the epitome of what AI should be used for,” a fan commented.
Fans Find The Deepfakes “Unnerving”
However, others found the creations unsettling. The uncanny valley effect, where something realistic but not quite human can trigger a sense of eeriness, took hold. Seeing the familiar South Park characters with human faces and movements pushed some fans into the realm of the disturbing.
The deepfake wasn’t all perfect, as the characters were continuously blinking in the video, to which someone ironically said, “Yeah make them blink, that will make them less creepy for sure.”
“Something about this this feels oddly…unnerving. just the fact that these faces that look real, and move around but don’t really exist gives me this weird creepy feeling,” another displeased fan commented.
The result was a fascinating debate among South Park enthusiasts. Did the deepfakes tickle or terrify? Did they reignite a desire for a live-action South Park, or leave fans content with the original’s animated absurdity?
