South Park fans are currently engaged in a heated discussion over a “creepy” deepfake portrayal of the show’s animated characters reimagined as real individuals in an Eighties sitcom setting.
The artist known as “demonflyingfox,” based in Berlin, employed deepfake technology to envision how Eric Cartman, Kyle Broflovski, Stan Marsh, and Kenny McCormick would look if played by live actors in a sitcom now in its 27th season.
Apart from the main characters, the artist also recreated figures like Mr. Mackey delivering his famous “drugs are bad” speech, Randy Marsh, Timmy Burch, and Mr. Garrison in a YouTube video that has resurfaced on Reddit.
Deepfakes refer to digitally altered photos and videos manipulated using AI or machine learning methods.
Reactions to the YouTube video varied, with some users finding the deepfake versions “creepy and strange,” while others commended the accuracy of the depictions.
One user sarcastically remarked, “‘Yeah make them blink, that will make them less creepy, for sure,’” pointing out the unsettling constant blinking of the characters throughout the video.
Another criticism highlighted, “Randy, Stan, and Mr. Slave are absolutely spot on. As much as I want to like Kenny, it botched too many details – he’s supposed to have blond hair and wear a parka, not a hoodie.”
While some viewers were impressed by the video, others found it “oddly unnerving” due to the realistic yet fictitious nature of the faces.
The artist, “demonflyingfox,” also presented the images on Instagram, where one observer noted that the deepfake characters “all look old and young simultaneously.”
In a separate development, an American company introduced an AI tool that allows users to create their own episodes of the long-running cartoon series, South Park.
Fable Simulation, a US-based tech company, unveiled the AI Showrunner tool, capable of generating a new South Park episode based on a brief prompt, even crafting an original character resembling the user in voice and appearance.
British entrepreneur and Fable’s CEO Edward Saatchi stressed that the tool, encompassing animation, voice work, and editing, is purely for research purposes and will not be available for commercial use, stating, “we don’t want to profit from it.”
“demonflyingfox” frequently shares AI-generated artwork, including reimagining Harry Potter characters as Balenciaga models, a French interpretation of the iconic Batman villain The Joker, and an all-female cast of Breaking Bad featuring Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul).
