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Spirit of Christmas is the name of two different animated short films made by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. They are precursors to the animated series South Park . To differentiate the two, they are often referred to as Jesus vs. Frosty (1992) and Jesus vs. Santa (1995).
| Jesus vs. Frosty | |
|---|---|
 The boys put a "magic hat" on Frosty. | |
Release date | December 8, 1992 |
Running time | 3:52 |
Jesus vs. Frosty begins with four boys building a snowman and, in the vein of Frosty the Snowman , putting a magic hat on it to make it come to life. Unfortunately, Frosty turns out to be evil and deranged, sprouting tentacles and throwing Kenny (who resembles Cartman from South Park) across the yard, killing him. One of the other boys cries out the first version of the now-famous line: "Oh my God! Frosty killed Kenny!"
The boys go to Santa Claus for help, but he turns out merely to be Frosty in disguise. This time he kills the unnamed hooded boy (who resembles Kenny from South Park) by throwing him. The two remaining boys (who resemble Stan and Kyle from South Park) run away, and come across a nativity scene with a baby Jesus, who flies over to the evil snowman and defeats it by slicing off the magic hat with a hurl of his halo. One of the boys says another recurring line from the South Park series: "You know, I've learned something today", and he and his friend realize the purported "true" meaning of Christmas: that is, presents. As a goat nibbles on Kenny's corpse they go to their homes to find presents hidden by their parents.
In 1992, Parker and Stone made The Spirit of Christmas (aka Jesus vs. Frosty) while they were students at the University of Colorado under the "Avenging Conscience Films" moniker. They animated the film using only construction paper, glue and a very old 8 mm film camera, and premiered it at the December 1992 student film screening. The film features four children very similar in appearance to three of the four main characters of South Park, including a character resembling Eric Cartman but called "Kenny", a hooded boy resembling Kenny McCormick (who remains unnamed) and two other boys similar in appearance and voice to Stan Marsh and Kyle Broflovski.
This film is later referenced in a season six South Park episode entitled "Simpsons Already Did It". In this episode, Stan, Kyle, and Tweek are building a snowman, and Tweek is reluctant to put the nose on the snowman and says that this is because he thinks it will come to life and kill him, to which Stan replies, "Dude, when has that ever happened except for that one time?"
| Jesus vs. Santa | |
|---|---|
 A scene from the film showing Santa and Jesus fighting each other. | |
Release date | December 1, 1995 |
Running time | 5:12 |
Jesus vs. Santa opens with the four boys singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas", when suddenly Stan stops to tell Kyle he should sing Hanukkah songs instead, since "Jewish people don't celebrate Christmas!" Cartman insults the song ("I Have a Little Dreidel") that Kyle begins singing, and they start to argue. They are interrupted, however, when Jesus appears, asking them to take him to the mall, where they find Santa Claus.
Jesus is angry with "Kringle" because, in his opinion, he diminishes the memory of Jesus' birthday with his presents. Santa, insistent that Christmas is a time for giving, and not merely remembering Jesus's birthday, claims that "this time" they will "finish it", and that "there can be only one". They fight in a style reminiscent of such games as Mortal Kombat , accidentally killing various bystanders, including Kenny (thus eliciting Stan and Kyle's catchphrase), in the process. Jesus pins Santa down, and each of them asks the boys to help him. Stan hesitates: "What would Brian Boitano do?" (this joke is referenced in the 1999 feature film South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut via the song "What Would Brian Boitano Do?"). The figure skater miraculously appears and delivers a speech about how Christmas should be about being good to one another. The boys, enlightened, transmit the message to the fighters, who apologize to each other in shame. They thank the boys for helping and decide to bury the hatchet over an orange smoothie. The boys then marvel that they got to meet Brian Boitano (as opposed to either Jesus or Santa) As in Jesus vs. Frosty, the boys come to realize the "true" meaning of Christmas: that is, presents. Kyle remarks that, if one is Jewish, one receives presents for eight days rather than on only one. The others decide as a result to become Jewish, too, and, while rats gnaw on Kenny's corpse, leave the scene singing the "Dreidel Song".
In 1995, after seeing the Jesus vs. Frosty film, Fox Broadcasting Company executive Brian Graden paid Stone and Parker $1,000 to make another animated short as a video Christmas card that he could send to friends. [1] [2] In turn, the duo created Jesus vs. Santa. Graden initially distributed the video to eighty friends in December 1995.
As Jesus vs. Santa bloomed into popularity, Stone and Parker wanted to turn the short into an adult-animated television series called South Park , and Fox was the first network to consider acquiring the rights to the show. After negotiations with Stone and Parker, Fox declined to get involved due to the show including the talking poo character called Mr. Hankey and didn't want anything to do with it as a result. After months' being passed around on bootleg video, the short caught the attention of cable network Comedy Central, which hired the pair to develop the series. The show premiered in the United States with "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" on August 13, 1997, and became the highest rated show that put the spotlight on the network.
This version of The Spirit of Christmas features an animation style very similar to that of the eventual South Park series, as well as more developed versions of Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny (each of whom are referred to by name) living in South Park. Wendy Testaburger additionally appears unnamed in a non-speaking role as a child sitting on Santa's lap, as well as making her first appearance in this version. The film largely establishes the characters as they are used in South Park and contains elements that recur in the series, such as Kyle being a Jew and rats eating Kenny's corpse. The film reportedly had a budget of $750, with Parker and Stone keeping the remainder of their commission.
Clips from Jesus vs. Santa are shown in a fourth season episode of South Park. In the episode, "A Very Crappy Christmas", the boys try to create a short animated film to bring back the spirit of Christmas to South Park. During the episode a few parts of "The Spirit of Christmas" are used as the film the boys are making.
Jesus vs. Santa received a Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for best animation.
The film can be found on the South Park The Hits: Volume 1 DVD. A short clip is visible in a drive-in movie screen in some openers of South Park.
It was also included in AVI format on the first 100,000 pressings of Tiger Woods '99 for PlayStation. It is accessible from the game disc by PC. This unauthorized use caused the game to be recalled in January 1999 by Electronic Arts. [3]
Parker and Stone launched the production company Avenging Conscience while attending the University of Colorado, along with two other students. [4] They named the company after the D.W. Griffith film by the same name, which both had seen and actively disliked. [5] It was formed to produce Jesus vs. Frosty (1992) and Alferd Packer: The Musical, which was later retitled to Cannibal! The Musical (1993). [5] [6] Parker and Stone went on to release three more projects through Avenging Conscience, Jesus vs Santa, Orgazmo , and The Book of Orgazmo.
Eric Theodore Cartman, often referred to just by his surname, is a main character in the animated television series South Park, created by Matt Stone and Trey Parker, and voiced by Parker. Cartman is one of four central characters in South Park, along with Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Kenny McCormick. Cartman first appeared, originally in prototypical form in a 1992 animated short Jesus vs. Frosty, and a 1995 animated short Jesus vs. Santa, and first appeared on television in the pilot episode of South Park, "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe", on August 13, 1997.
Kenneth "Kenny" McCormick is a main character in the adult animated television series South Park, along with Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Eric Cartman. His oft-muffled and indiscernible speech—the result of his parka hood covering his mouth—is provided by co-creator Matt Stone. He debuted on television when South Park first aired on August 13, 1997, after having first appeared in The Spirit of Christmas shorts created by Stone and long-time collaborator Trey Parker in 1992 and 1995.
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut is a 1999 American adult animated dark comedy adventure musical war film based on the Comedy Central adult animated television series South Park. The film was directed by series co-creator Trey Parker and stars the regular television cast of Parker, Matt Stone, Mary Kay Bergman and Isaac Hayes, with George Clooney, Eric Idle and Mike Judge in supporting roles. The screenplay was written by Parker, Stone and Pam Brady. It follows Stan Marsh as well as his friends Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman and Kenny McCormick as they sneak into an R-rated film featuring Canadian actors Terrance and Phillip and begin cursing incessantly. Eventually, their mothers pressure the United States to wage war against Canada for allegedly corrupting their children, giving Stan, Kyle and Cartman no choice but to unite the other children, fight their own parents, put both America and Canada back into control and rescue Terrance and Phillip, while Kenny tries to stop a prophecy when Satan and Saddam Hussein conquer the world.
Kyle Broflovski is a main character in the animated television series South Park. He is voiced by and loosely based on co-creator Matt Stone. Kyle is one of the show's four central characters, along with his friends Stan Marsh, Kenny McCormick, and Eric Cartman. He debuted on television when South Park first aired on August 13, 1997, after having first appeared in The Spirit of Christmas shorts created by Stone and long-time collaborator Trey Parker in 1992 and 1995.
Stanley "Stan" Marsh is a main character of the animated television series South Park. He is voiced by and loosely based on series co-creator Trey Parker. Stan is one of the show's four central characters, along with Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormick. He debuted on television when South Park first aired on August 13, 1997, after having first appeared in The Spirit of Christmas shorts created by Parker and long-time collaborator Matt Stone in 1992 and 1995.
"What Would Brian Boitano Do?" is a song from the 1999 film South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut written by South Park co-creator Trey Parker and composer Marc Shaiman. In the song, Olympic and professional figure skater Brian Boitano is treated lyrically as a superhero in a series of increasingly ludicrous situations. The title of the absurdist song is a parody of the evangelical Christian motto "What Would Jesus Do?"
"Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" is the series premiere of the American animated television series South Park. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on August 13, 1997. The episode introduces child protagonists Eric Cartman, Kyle Broflovski, Stan Marsh and Kenny McCormick, who attempt to rescue Kyle's younger brother Ike from being abducted by aliens.
"Simpsons Already Did It" is the seventh episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 86th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on June 26, 2002. In the episode, which continues on from the events of the previous episode "Professor Chaos", Butters thinks up a series of schemes to take over the world, but realizes that each one has already been performed on The Simpsons. Meanwhile, Ms. Choksondik dies and Cartman, Kyle and Stan think that they are responsible.
"Free Hat" is episode 88 of the animated series South Park. It originally aired on July 10, 2002.
"The Passion of the Jew" is the third episode of the eighth season and the 114th overall episode of the American animated series South Park, originally broadcast on Comedy Central on March 31, 2004. It was written and directed by Trey Parker, who, along with fellow series co-creator Matt Stone, voiced most of the characters in the episode. "The Passion of the Jew" is a satirical critique of the media discourse and controversy surrounding Mel Gibson's 2004 film, The Passion of the Christ.
"Sexual Harassment Panda" is the sixth episode of the third season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 37th episode overall of the series. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on July 7, 1999. In the episode, a school presentation on sexual harassment prevention leads to Cartman suing Stan for sexual harassment, which in turn kicks off a series of sexual harassment lawsuits across South Park.
"Red Sleigh Down" is episode 96 of the Comedy Central series South Park. It originally aired on December 11, 2002.
"Tweek vs. Craig" is the fifth episode of the third season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 36th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on June 23, 1999. In the episode Stan, Kyle and Cartman pit Tweek and Craig against each other. Meanwhile, the boys' wood shop teacher, Mr. Adler, struggles to cope with the loss of his wife, who died in a plane crash.
"A Very Crappy Christmas" is the seventeenth and final episode of the fourth season of the animated television series South Park, and the 65th episode overall. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on December 20, 2000. In the episode, Kyle awaits Mr. Hankey on Christmas, but he does not show up. To try to spread some Christmas cheer, Kyle and the boys decide to create their own animated special.
The first season of the animated television series South Park ran for 13 episodes from August 13, 1997 to February 25, 1998 on the American network Comedy Central. The creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone wrote most of the season's episodes; Dan Sterling, Philip Stark and David Goodman were credited with writing five episodes. The narrative revolves around four children—Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman and Kenny McCormick—and their unusual experiences in the titular mountain town.
Wendy Testaburger is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. She is best known for her on-again, off-again relationship with her boyfriend Stan Marsh, and being more intelligent and mature than most children her age, which is utilized by her activism and feminism. Wendy debuted as a nameless background character in Trey Parker and Matt Stone's 1995 college short film The Spirit of Christmas, and made her first appearance on television when South Park initially premiered on Comedy Central on August 13, 1997 with the episode "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe". She is currently voiced by April Stewart. Prior, she had been voiced by several different voice actors throughout the show's run: Mary Kay Bergman, Eliza Schneider, and Mona Marshall.
Brian Graden is an American television executive.
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