Rainforest Shmainforest

"Rainforest Shmainforest" is the third season premiere of Comedy Central's animated series South Park. It originally aired on April 7, 1999 and is the 32nd episode overall. This episode features Jennifer Aniston providing the voice for Miss Stevens. The episode criticizes the American Movement to Save the Rain Forest and mocks Costa Rica. The episode's title includes a shm-reduplication.

This episode was written by series co-creators Trey Parker & Matt Stone and co-directed by Parker with Eric Stough, their first work as co-directors for an episode and it was inspired by Trey Parker's personal intense distaste towards rainforests and Costa Rica. Parker explains on the DVD commentary that, at the suggestion of Flea, Parker and his girlfriend went to Costa Rica and hated the country, and that everything Cartman says about the rainforests and Costa Rica during the episode is how he (Parker) personally feels.^[1]

The episode is also filled with famous environmentalist clichés, such as, "We must take only photos and leave only footprints", "It's more afraid of us than we are of it", and "We have to respect mother nature and she will respect us." It is also the second episode of the entire series in which Kenny survives (although he gets struck by lightning, he is resuscitated).