Al Gore
Al Gore
| Gender | Male |
| Age | 70 |
| Hair Color | Gray; previously Brown |
| Occupation | Former Vice President of the United States |
| Aliases | Jim Turner |
| Religion | Baptist |
| Voiced by | Trey Parker |
| First Appearance | The Red Badge of Gayness |
| Last Appearance | Nobody Got Cereal? |
About
Having largely faded into obscurity since the end of his political career and a presidential loss to George W. Bush, former Vice President of the United States Al Gore chose to dedicate his life by warning people about the greatest threat to the human race... Manbearpig - performing extensive research to study the enemy, delivering presentations and speeches across the country, and spreading awareness, building an information network between computers, and making movies starring only himself, Gore is willing to do whatever it takes to continue his crusade and stay politically relevant, even if meddling kids get in the way. Despite his best efforts, and a lot of people feeling sorry for him, nobody ever actually takes him cereal.
After two of his more ambitious plans to defeat his fated enemy, at the Cave of the Winds and within Imaginationland, both ended in failure, and nearly killed the boys in the process, he retired to Colorado, where he took up bowling and became state champion under the alias of Jim Turner, seeming to give up his crusade to save the world from Manbearpig for good... until, of course, the beast appeared in South Park, and the boys sought Gore's help.
Personality and Traits
Notable Skills
Able to destroy anything he wants without getting arrested. Knows where manbearpig is all the time
Memorable Quotes
- "As Vice-President, I think we'd better give them what they want. It's just the Southern states; who really needs them?" (The Red Badge of Gayness)
- "Haha, I'm so glad I don't have your job." (The Red Badge of Gayness)
- "He's Half Man Half Bear and Half Pig." (Manbearpig)
- "Why won't anybody listen to me?! ManBearPig is in there and we have to kill him while we all have the chance. I'm cereal!" (Manbearpig)
- "They're already dead! Didn't you listen to me?? They got attacked by a manbearpig and ManBearPig leaves nobody alive! I'm super seruous!! Nobody will listen to me but I'm serious!" (Manbearpig)
- "Well, my work here is done. I've killed MBP, and now I must save the world from something else. Maybe I'll make a movie. A movie starring me. Then people will take me super serial." (Manbearpig)
- "I wanted to find ManBearPig's origins. And so I created this - thte Internet. With that, I was able to look everywhere for any bit of data, and what I learned is that ManBearPig... is a demon." (Time To Get Cereal)
- "Why does the Devil do anything? He's the freakin' Devil. He's a dick." (Time To Get Cereal)
- "All I can say is you boys better get to the grocery store, 'cause it's time... to get cereal." (Time To Get Cereal)
- "Yeah, sounds really hard, doesn't it? People might not believe you and like, make fun of you and stuff. Poor you guys, huh?" (Time To Get Cereal)
Catchphrases
- "I'm super cereal." (debuted in "ManBearPig")
- "Excelsior!" (debuted in "ManBearPig")
Life Lessons
- "Your local library is an excellent resource for whatever you wish to learn." (Time To Get Cereal)
Design and Outfits
Al Gore is a slightly obese older man with short, neat dark hair, usually wearing a light blue shirt with rolled up sleeves and a purple tie, with a watch on one hand, and gray trousers with a belt and a golden buckle. In his later appearances, he also wears his own personal bowling shoes wherever he goes, and sports graying hair with a thick, woolly beard.
Gore has used a number of costumes for other purposes during his time in South Park, including a "realistic" Manbearpig costume he often used to spread awareness and terrify children, as well as a special outfit for summoning demons.
Allies
While Gore has no real friends, the boys assisted him on occasion in dealing with the very real threat of Manbearpig, though often while expressing their distaste for Gore, who had little concern for their safety. He affectionately referred to them as his "little crusaders" and was also known to refer to young companians as "junior Al Goreans". He was particularly close with Stan Marsh, who was the one who felt most sorry for the former Vice President.
He also previously worked with Bill and Hillary Clinton and despite leaving politics, still seemed to remember them fondly.
Mentor
On a few occasions, Gore has improbably cited himself as his own mentor, and seems to interact with his mentor, his own ghostly visage, as a separate being on the set of 'When Should I Worry?' with Jim Kimble.
Headquarters
When he was first saying in town, Gore used his hotel room at the Komfort Inn as his unofficial Manbearpig Headquarters, setting up with his super-computer and other resources. When he realized he might be spending a longer amount of time in the town, however, he rented out his own U-Stor-It storage locker to set up a proper workspace, with a super-computer, a special place for his Nobel Prize and cape, and plenty of space for research and boards of paranoia-fueled curiosity.
Appearances and Sightings
Featured Episodes
- The Red Badge of Gayness (s03e14)
- ManBearPig (s10e06; formal debut)
- Imaginationland, Episode III (s11e12)
- 200 (s14e05; cameo)
- 201 (s14e06; cameo)
- Time To Get Cereal (s22e06)
- Nobody Got Cereal? (s22e07)
Video Games
South Park: The Stick of Truth
Gore has a series of side-quests in the game during which he tasks the player to help him find Manbearpig before finally adding them on Facebook - he then spams the feed obsessively with pointless messages until the player shows up and challenges him into battle at his base. After a difficult boss battle, he runs off, and the player can access his secret room - which is a poor replica of the Oval Office. The player must then fight 'Manbearpig' - Gore in disguise - by the South Park Church.
Behind the Scenes
The more familiar incarnation of Al Gore made his South Park debut in the Season 10 episode, "Manbearpig", where he was voiced by series co-creator Trey Parker.
The version of Gore that became a recurring character was inspired by the then-recent release of An Inconvenient Truth, a documentary during which Gore discussed the "serious" effects of global warming and climate change. The film was seen by some as a vanity project and an effort for Gore to regain the national spotlight to mount another presidential campaign, and these were key influences in the version of Gore in the episode.
His catchphrase, "I'm super cereal", actually came from an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show during the 2000 presidential campaign, where Gore was asked about his favorite cereal, and responded "Oprah", as her show is serialized. (His favorite cereal in the same interview turns out to be Wheaties.)
In "Time To Get Cereal" and "Nobody Got Cereal?", he is depicted with a thick, woolly beard that is based on the one Luke Skywalker had in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Earlier References
What a lot of fans don't know is that Gore appeared on South Park many years before that! When "The Red Badge of Gayness" aired during the third season, the likenesses of then-President Clinton and then-Vice President Gore were used. The voice of the Vice President is provided by Matt Stone, who suggests giving up on the southern states and expresses pleasure he does not have Clinton's job. Both jokes carry irony, as Gore preceded his turn as Vice President by serving as Senator from Tennessee from 1985 until 1993, and ultimately sought to succeed Clinton as President.
Not long later, Matt and Trey had planned to lampoon Gore in a political sitcom called Everybody Loves Al, intended as a parody starring Gore, but when he lost the election, it instead became That's My Bush! starring comedian Timothy Bottoms as President George W. Bush.
He is also alluded to in the season 4 episode "Trapper Keeper", which parodies the election with Filmore Anderson in Gore's place. Anderson is depicted as a petty know-it-all bully who relies on Hollywood celebrities to stand up for him.
Gore's Response
The real Gore finally shared his feelings on his South Park appearance in a November 2018 appearance on Comedy Central's The Daily Show With Trevor Noah, in response to a viewer question.
"So 12 years ago, they did that episode that had me hysterically warning about a nonexistent problem, this ManBearPig. And for years, I get this question,†Gore said. “So now, all of a sudden, a few weeks ago out of the blue they come out with these new episodes and the kids on South Park realize ManBearPig is real!
Honestly, I was so impressed. I don’t know these guys, Matt and Trey. And I kind of thought they were nihilists of sorts. But funny nihilists. And when they come out with this new thing, and they had the kids come out and seek me out to help them. But my character forces them to apologize.
And they all say ‘Oh, we’re so sorry, Al Gore.’ ManBearPig is real! I thought it was a hell of a statement by South Park and I appreciated it a lot."