Raising the Bar/Trivia

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This page contains trivia for "Raising the Bar". Remember, trivia must be factual, provable, and it is always best to cite your source for not-so-obvious trivia. If you would like to dispute a trivia point, please discuss it in the talk page.

Trivia[]

This episode won an Emmy in 2013 for 'Outstanding Animated Program'.
Kenny and Butters have no lines in this episode. This is one of the very few episodes after Season Three where Butters appears as a background character.
In the creator's commentary, Trey Parker mentions that the idea for this episode came from an article about Disneyland and people on mobility scooters. The article was in reference to the new Cars Land section at Disney California Adventure, where the line entrances were expanded to accommodate those on mobility scooters so they could be in the same line as other guests. Previously, those on scooters were allowed to bypass long lines and moved into a shorter queue. He and Matt Stone then joke about how some people were now upset at the change, before pointing out how many lazy fat people would take advantage and use the scooter instead of letting those who truly needed have it.
When Cartman is trying to access Kyle's bathroom for the first time in his mobility scooter, there is a picture of Kyle without his hat.
Various insurance providers, including Medicare, that provide coverage for motorized convenience chairs have been scammed by those wanting a free one for convenience.
- Also addressed is how many use them regularly in supermarkets whether they need them or not.^[1]
Randy Newman's "Fatty Doo Doo" theme song has the lyric, "White President, Black President I don't care", referencing his satirical song titled "I'm Dreaming", having the lyric "I'm dreaming of a white president." The lyric also references, at the time, the 2012 presidential election.
Tolkien says that Here Comes Honey Boo Boo! airs on The Learning Channel. Although that's its original name, it has gone by the initials TLC since 1998 and hasn't aimed to be educational.
During the News 4 segment, four kids can be seen tipping over a man on a mobility scooter. These kids are recolors of Pete Thelman, Francis (without the Snacky S'mores logo on his shirt), Nate, and Tommy Turner.

References to Popular Culture[]

One of the major elements of the episode is director James Cameron. Several of his films and real-life events involving him are referenced:
- The film Aliens is referenced when James Cameron says, "We're in the pipe, five by five."
- The line in the James Cameron song "No budget too steep" is a reference to Cameron setting record-high budgets on his movies such as Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Titanic, and Avatar.
- His struggle to raise the bar as he screams “Goddammit, you b****!” is a reference to The Abyss.
- James Cameron remarks about how he will be filming Avatar 2, which will be partly filmed underwater.^[2]
- On March 26, 2012, James Cameron set the record for the deepest solo dive in a submersible when he explored the Mariana Trench in the Deepsea Challenger.
- James Cameron exploring the ocean floor to raise the bar is a reference to his passion for deep-sea exploration, which is also seen in several of his films such as The Abyss, Titanic, and Sanctum.
- In a 2014 AMA (Ask Me Anything) thread on Reddit, Cameron thought his portrayal in the episode was funny.^[3]
The episode contains several references to the reality TV series Here Comes Honey Boo Boo on TLC.
- In the commentary for this episode, Trey mentions that he only knew a little bit about Honey Boo Boo from another show. Matt did not know about the show at all until he received an e-mail about its season finale beating the ratings for South Park's season premiere, as it was airing at the same time on Wednesday nights.
- The real June Shannon later commented that she did not like her and her family's portrayal in South Park, calling it "Trashy".^[4]
Musician Randy Newman has worked on dozens of film soundtracks, including many Disney/Pixar films.
The introduction to the speech from First Lady Michelle Obama refers to her campaign against childhood obesity.^[5] She was an outspoken advocate on obesity and health issues in the United States with her Let's Move! campaign.
The episode's title has several references:
- The idiom, "Raise the bar" which means to raise the standards of quality for something.
- The 1980 film Raise the Titanic
- James Cameron's films noteworthy for "raising the bar" on modern film making.
- James Cameron's obsession with the Titanic and deep-sea exploration.
Candy Corn Oreos are a real product made by Nabisco/Kraft.
After Kyle suggests that Cartman learn to pick up his scooter if it is tipped over, Cartman mentions British singer Adele. At the time the episode aired, she was known for having a curvier figure compared to other young women in the music industry. However, in recent years she has lost a significant amount of weight.^[6]^[7]
Cartman's voice-over monologue about “being treated differently” and the corresponding music are a reference to Bruce Springsteen's “Streets of Philadelphia”, a song written for the 1992 film Philadelphia.
Kyle breaks the fourth wall when he tells Stan that "We lowered the bar, a long time ago."

Continuity[]

The Wall-Mart has apparently been rebuilt after being destroyed in "Something Wall-Mart This Way Comes".
- Alternatively, the Wall-Mart scene may not be happening in South Park. For example, the kids tipping the convenience chair are unknown.
This episode again shows Kyle being tempted into doing something immoral for money, as in the Season Fifteen episode, "Crack Baby Athletic Association".
This is the second time we see South Park Elementary's new gym uniform, though it seems that Kenny McCormick still can't afford one.
Despite being Canadian, James Cameron is presented without the flapping head or beady eyes that Canadians on South Park typically display. This is also the case for Justin Bieber in "Coon vs. Coon & Friends", Edge in "W.T.F." and others.
At the beginning of the episode, the boys are looking for a catcher's mitt for Cartman, even though they established in "The Losing Edge" that they hate playing baseball.
The Terrance and Phillip episode, "I Fart Huckabees", can be seen during the "Here Comes Fatty Doo Doo" theme song. The last time it was shown was during "Canada on Strike".
The University of Colorado Boulder, where Trey Parker and Matt Stone met, is shown again. It was previously seen in "Crack Baby Athletic Association".

Goofs[]

At the beginning of Honey Boo-Boo's interview, it shows her name and age in the bottom left corner showing that she's seven, but then later in the interview, she states that she's six.
Michelle Obama calls Cartman 'Fatty Poo-Poo' instead of 'Fatty Doo-Doo' right before the fight.

Dubbing Changes[]

International Titles[]

Language	Title	Translation
Czech	Zvyšování laťky	Raising the Bar
French	Toujours plus bas	(It's) always lower
German	Eine hohle Bar	A hollow bar
Hungarian	Dagidudu	Fatty Doo Doo
Italian	Un'impresa titanica	A titanic undertaking
Japanese	モラルの引き揚げ (Moraru no hikiage)	Raising morals
Polish	Podnoszenie poprzeczki	Raising the Bar
Portuguese (Brazil)	Subindo o nível	Raising the Bar
Spanish (Latin America)	Subiendo los niveles	Raising the bars
Spanish (Spain)	Subiendo los niveles	Raising the bars

Common[]

The Candy Corn Oreos picked up by Cartman at Wall-Mart are identified as simply sweetcorn-filled cookies in the Brazilian Portuguese and Hungarian dubs.

French[]

The act of Rascal tipping is known as the "Turtle technique", referencing the attribute that turtles that cannot move if they are turned on its back.
All mentions of "sketti" are replaced with "pasta with ketchup".

Portuguese (Brazil)[]

In the Fatty Doo Doo theme song, the lyrics of "White president, black president" are swapped in order.

Spanish (Latin America)[]

The "tip assist" for mobility scooters is identified as simply a "device".
Cartman's line of "But even at Disneyland I get reminded of my weight" is removed.
Honey Boo-Boo's favorite drink of Mountain Dew is changed to cola.
The "James Cameron" song is only performed by a solo singer.