Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo
"Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" | |
---|---|
South Park episode | |
Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 9 |
Directed by | Trey Parker Matt Stone |
Written by | Trey Parker Matt Stone |
Production code | 110 |
Original air date | December 17, 1997 |
"Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" is the ninth episode of the
The episode was written and directed by co-creators
The episode received generally positive reviews and has been described as one of the classic South Park episodes. It was watched by 4.55 million viewers during its original broadcast, the highest
Plot
The night of the play arrives, and with the performance stripped of all Christmas symbols, the children instead present a minimalist song and dance by Philip Glass. The parents, unentertained by the secular play, begin scapegoating one another for "ruining" Christmas and a fight ensues. When Chef is informed of the situation, he reveals that he too believes in Mr. Hankey. When everyone else starts believing, Mr. Hankey reveals himself and scolds them for losing sight of the true meaning of Christmas. With Mr. Hankey's existence confirmed, Kyle is released from the asylum and joins the townspeople in caroling as Mr. Hankey departs with Santa Claus. Cartman, Stan, and Kyle realize that something is amiss. As The End appears, Kenny cheers, indicating excitement and relief that he has survived the entire episode.
During the end credits, Jesus dejectedly sings "Happy Birthday to You" to himself alone in his television studio.
Production
Conception and early history
The Mr. Hankey character was based on an idea
After the shorts began to generate interest for a possible television series, Parker and Stone conceived the idea of an adult-animated show with four children as main protagonists, and one of the minor characters included a talking stool named Mr. Hankey. They contacted the
The elements of the episode involving Kyle's loneliness as a Jew during Christmas were inspired by Parker and Stone's perceptions of Jews growing up in Colorado during their childhood. Although the two went to different schools, they both witnessed Jewish children get beat up and bullied because both of their schools had very few Jewish students to begin with; although Stone himself is Jewish, he was not raised as a practicing Jew and so he did not experience much of the bullying himself firsthand. The unsuccessful efforts by the South Park Elementary School in the episode to include people of non-Christian denomination were inspired by similarly failed attempts Parker and Stone witnessed growing up. Parker cited as an example a chorus concert in which the single Jewish student was asked to sing her own Hanukkah song while everybody else sang Christmas songs; although the idea was to make the student feel special, Parker said it only made her feel more lonely and isolated.[3]
Episode production
"Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" was written and directed by Parker and Stone, and first aired in the United States on Comedy Central on December 17, 1997.[9] It was the first official South Park Christmas episode.[10] Television journalists said the Spirit of Christmas shorts were precursors to Mr. Hankey and that they shared some common traits, but that the television episode was considered tamer and more tasteful.[11][12] Parker and Stone originally conceived the episode "Damien", which involves a boxing match between Jesus and Satan, as the first season's Christmas episode. Although they had long planned to feature Mr. Hankey in the show, they did not decide to make him a Christmas character until halfway through the filming of "Damien". Once they made the decision, they decided to make "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" the holiday episode instead; although it would not air until after the "Mr. Hankey" episode, Parker and Stone finished production of "Damien" before working on "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo".[13]
At the time they were writing the episode, Parker and Stone had seen a large number of news reports about government buildings refusing to allow the display of models of the nativity scene and other Christian holiday symbols, in an effort not to offend other religions. Parker and Stone, as two agnostics who still appreciated the Christmas holiday, said they felt the idea was "ridiculous"[3] and, according to Stone, "We just wanted Mr. Hankey to say Christmas was about good and about presents, and it doesn't have to be this religious [controversy]."[3] The two sought to write an episode in the tradition of old classic Christmas specials with their own irreverent South Park twist, and so they watched the famous 1965 Peanuts special, A Charlie Brown Christmas, repeatedly during the production process. Parker said, "At this point, we just sort of wanted to do a Charlie Brown Christmas South Park version. That [special] was definitely a huge part of my life growing up."[3]
The episode was considered the first South Park musical episode, and included such songs as "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo", "A Lonely Jew on Christmas" and "Kyle's Mom is a Big Fat Bitch". Parker and Stone were initially concerned about making a musical because, Parker said, "The general rule was people hated musicals". For the Mr. Hankey character, Parker and Stone adapted most of the elements from the Mr. Hankey short film they planned in college, except that Mr. Hankey would prove to be real, not a figment of Kyle's imagination. Parker said this was decided because of his frustration with the character Mr. Snuffleupagus in the children's show Sesame Street; for his first 14 years on the show, Mr. Snuffleupagus was an imaginary character seen only by Big Bird, which Parker said "really bummed me out". Parker and Stone felt Mr. Hankey should embody the wholesomeness and morals of cartoons from the 1930s, so they designed him to resemble the version of Mickey Mouse in the 1928 cartoon Steamboat Willie, particularly in his eyes. For the scenes in which Mr. Hankey smears feces wherever he walks, the animators scanned images of spread out chocolate and fudge and inserted those images into the episode. Parker and Stone had trouble deciding on a voice for Mr. Hankey, but Stone said it came to him while eating a Sausage McMuffin at a McDonald's in New York City, while taking a break from promoting South Park to the press.[3]
Although Comedy Central did not object to most aspects of the episode, they did require some edits to material they deemed potentially offensive. During rehearsal for a
"Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" is the first episode in which Kenny was not killed. Parker and Stone deliberately included several scenes that looked like they might lead to Kenny's death, but they decided because it was Christmas that they would not kill him (though he would later go on to be killed in several subsequent Christmas episodes). The episode was also the first time
Home media and soundtrack release
"Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" was released, along with 11 other episodes, in a three-
Songs from "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" were featured in the October 2007 CD soundtrack release called "Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics".[19] The Birmingham News said the album "gleefully tramples on one of America's most cherished holidays [and] will likely make even cynical listeners gasp".[20]
Themes
"There was this sort of backlash from agnostics saying, 'Don't force your Jesus stuff on us', and what we're trying to say with this show is, 'Hey, it's the one time of year where we're supposed to sort of have fun, so forget about all that.'"
"Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" is a satire on political correctness and religious sensitivity, particularly in its portrayal of the characters organizing "The Happy, Non-Offensive, Non-Denominational Christmas Play" to avoid offending anyone of any religious background.[3][9] While many Christmas specials focus on the religious, spiritual and moral values of the Christmas holiday rather than the commercial aspects, "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" actually embraces commercialism in Christmas, suggesting viewers should enjoy those elements of the holiday without taking religion too seriously. York University Professor Alison Halsall said of this aspect of the episode, "Again, Parker and Stone blur the sacred and the profane, in this instance, to gut holidays of their traditional meanings."[21]
The episode has also been described as simultaneously embracing and
Alison Halsall said "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" is the strongest example of a history of scatology, the study of excrement, throughout the South Park series. Halsall said the use of fecal matter as a character, and especially its tendency to smear parts of itself around as it moved, directly confronts the viewer with "the inherent dirtiness of the human body, no matter how much we try to aestheticize it, Mr. Hankey's stains systematically mess up the cleanliness of the social order. [...] South Park refuses sanitization through the gross-out factor."[21]
Cultural impact and references
Some writers consider Mr. Hankey one of the most easily recognizable and popular of the non-regular South Park characters. His high-pitched greeting, "Howdy-ho", was equally recognizable and became one of the most quoted lines from the show's first season.[26] Several fan websites were made about the character within months of the episode's broadcast.[27] In January 1998, Entertainment Weekly reported that Comedy Central executives had plans to produce a Mr. Hankey chocolate bar.[28] Larry Lieberman, the channel's vice president of strategic planning and new business development, said a sketch of a Mr. Hankey candy bar was drawn and circulated, but mainly as a joke; he said no serious discussions were held about producing such an item.[26] A stuffed Mr. Hankey became one of the most popular South Park tie-in products of the 1998 Christmas season.[21]
In addition to the title character, "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" included the first appearances of characters
"Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" includes several references to the Peanuts holiday special, A Charlie Brown Christmas. A Christmas pageant features the same biblical quote spoken by
A doctor prescribes
Reception
Reviews and ratings
Although Parker and Stone credit "
"Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" has been described as one of the classic episodes of South Park.[24][33][34] Chris Vognar of The Dallas Morning News described Mr. Hankey himself as "the most outrageous character yet on TV's most outrageous show".[8] Charlie Patton of The Florida Times-Union said the episode was "crude, nasty, irreverent and generally offensive—also extremely funny".[12] He also said of the Mr. Hankey character, "If you're the sort of person who didn't care for that scene in Trainspotting where the Ewan McGregor character dove down the toilet and into the sewer in pursuit of his lost suppository, the whole Mr. Hankey subplot is going to be deeply disturbing."[12] Doug Pratt, a DVD reviewer and Rolling Stone contributor, said, "Technically, the Christmas episode might well be the show's best effort, artistically, because it tackles the PC-ification of Christmas head-on, and also has an interesting psychological subtext: does the hero actually see Mr. Hankey, or does he have some serious psychological problems?"[33] Diane Werts of Newsday said of the episode, "It's gross. It's yucky. It's probably offensive. It's also possibly the funniest holiday episode anybody's airing this year."[35] Werts particularly praised the song "A Lonely Jew on Christmas".[35] Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock, author of Taking South Park Seriously, said, "This episode arguably pushes the boundaries of what is acceptable, both for Christmas specials and television in general, farther than any previous one." Weinstock said this was particularly true of the episode's fake live-action commercial.[36]
Before the episode was released, Debbie Liebling, then-Comedy Central vice president of development and production, herself described the episode as "adorably offensive".[37] Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger called the episode "a brilliant skewering"[9] of political correctness and over-sensitivity, and called it "at once hilariously satiric and extraordinarily foul."[9] Sepinwall also added Mr. Hankey to his 1997 list of most memorable TV moments, describing the character as the year's "most disturbing cartoon image"[38] and as "a mythical holiday creature so bizarre and offensive it literally cannot be described in a family newspaper".[38] Matt Roush of USA Today praised the episode, which he described as "ribald, raunchy and riotous".[39] A.J. Jacobs of Entertainment Weekly said in January 1998 that the episode was "already infamous".[28] Jacobs also said Mr. Hankey was so popular, he half-jokingly suggested Matt Stone and Trey Parker pursue a spin-off revolving around the character.[28]
The music in "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" was also praised. "A Lonely Jew on Christmas" has been described as a "classic song",
In 2003, the Chicago-based RedEye ranked "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" the greatest South Park episode.[42] In October 2004, the Comedy Central website held a poll to determine the top 27 South Park episodes for a television marathon; "Mr Hankey, the Christmas Poo" came third, just behind "Good Times with Weapons" at #2 and "Fat Butt and Pancake Head" at #1.[43] South Park Studios, the official South Park website, listed "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" at number four on its list of the Five Most Notorious Episodes.[44]
Ren & Stimpy controversy
John Kricfalusi, the creator of The Ren & Stimpy Show, claimed the Mr. Hankey concept was stolen from his cartoon short, "Nutty the Friendly Dump", which was part of a cartoon book series viewable online. Kricfalusi even confirmed that he pitched the idea for an animated series of "Nutty the Friendly Dump" to Comedy Central, who turned it down. Kricfalusi said after the show aired, "I got nine or 10 messages from friends screaming, 'I can't believe this! They totally stole your story!' ... This idea of [feces] singing or dancing and being friends, well, that is my idea."[1] Kricfalusi said he felt other elements of South Park were lifted from his work, and he told media outlets his company Spümcø was contemplating taking legal action against Parker and Stone.[32] Comedy Central spokesman Tony Fox said Stone and Parker were not familiar with "Nutty the Friendly Dump" and that the claim was "ludicrous".[1] Parker said he had never seen more than half an episode of Ren & Stimpy, which he said he did not enjoy because the characters were too over-the-top and the voice acting was too annoying.[45] Parker said Kricfalusi eventually contacted the South Park creators, "He wrote a letter back saying, 'Oh, OK, I see how it could just be a coincidence, but you should just admit to the press that you're a big Ren and Stimpy fan.' — I'm not a Ren and Stimpy fan."[46]
References
- ^ a b c d Houston, David (December 22, 1997). "South Park". City News Service. Los Angeles.
- ^ Collins, James; Ressner, Jeffrey (March 23, 1998). "Gross and Grosser". Time. Los Angeles. p. 74.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Trey Parker, Matt Stone (2003). South Park: The Complete First Season: "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" (Audio commentary). Comedy Central.
- ^ Littlefield, Kinney (January 28, 1998). "Comedy Central scores with poop and circumstance; Television: Trey Parker and Matt Stone subvert prime-time comedy with the animated satire "South Park"". The Orange County Register. Santa Ana, California. p. F04.
- ^ "Fox Refused to Take 'South Park' in 1997 Because of One Character, and Something Else as well". Glamour Fame. September 18, 2019. Archived from the original on October 7, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
- ^ Ashton, Will (September 17, 2019). "That Time Fox Refused To Pick Up South Park Because Of Mr. Hankey". CinemaBlend. Archived from the original on September 23, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
- ^ Pride, Ray (July 14, 1998). "D'oh! Fox Turned Down "South Park"?". E! News. Archived from the original on October 7, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
- ^ a b Vognar, Chris (February 1, 1998). "Brats entertainment; "South Park" creators potty hardy on Comedy Central show". The Dallas Morning News. Pasadena, California. p. 1C.
- ^ a b c d e Sepinwall, Alan (December 17, 1997). "Comedy Central doesn't think it funny as Craig Kilborn trips over his tongue". The Star-Ledger. Newark, New Jersey. p. 41.
- The Record. p. Y06.
- ^ Daily News. New York. p. 79.
- ^ a b c Patton, Charlie (December 17, 1997). ""South Park" puts own spin on Christmas". The Florida Times-Union. Jacksonville, Florida. p. C-5.
- ^ Trey Parker, Matt Stone (2003). South Park: The Complete First Season: "Damien" (Audio commentary). Comedy Central.
- ^ Perry, Vern (November 13, 1998). "Not just another pretty face". The Orange County Register. p. F33.
- ^ "Comedy Central Home Entertainment (R) releases "Christmas Time in South Park" DVD to hit stores on Tuesday, November 13". New York. PR Newswire. October 29, 2007.
- ^ Lawson, Terry (November 12, 2002). "4-disc "Rings" could take up a whole weekend". Detroit Free Press. Detroit, Michigan.
- ^ Owen, Rob (November 22, 2002). ""South Park" warped and worthy". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. p. 39.
- ISBN 1-932916-01-6.
- Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney. p. 6.
- ^ ""South Park" outrageous, but it's not stupid". The Birmingham News. Birmingham, Alabama. December 10, 1999. p. 13G.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7914-7566-9.
- ^ a b Marder, Keith (February 21, 1998). "Welcome to South Park: Crude Cartoonists: A pair of American slackers have become the toast of Hollywood by creating the rudest animated series ever shown on television. Despite the toilet humour, their show is the surprise hit of the TV season". The Globe and Mail. Canada. p. C1.
- ISBN 0971401861.
- ^ ISBN 0-275-99019-2.
- ISBN 0-312-26389-9.
- ^ a b Owen, Rob (January 31, 1998). ""South Park" surge Howdy-ho! The hippest show on TV has become a cult phenomenon". Times Union. Albany, New York. p. D1.
- Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney. p. 4.
- ^ a b c Jacobs, A.J. (January 23, 1998). "Gross, Point Blank; Comedy Central has struck crude oil with its cult hit South Park, a cartoon dedicated to glorifying bodily functions, celebrating sacrilege—and selling a butt load of T-shirts". Entertainment Weekly. p. 32.
- ^ The Record. p. Y02.
- ^ Trey Parker, Matt Stone (2003). South Park: The Complete First Season: "Tom's Rhinoplasty" (Audio commentary). Comedy Central.
- ^ Grennan, Karin (February 13, 1998). "Going down to 'South Park': The most talked about 30 minutes on television are also the most offensive. But fans like it that way". Ventura County Star. Ventura, California. p. TO18.
- ^ a b Richmond, Ray (December 22, 1997). ""Park" ploy poohed-poohed". Daily Variety. p. 31.
- ^ ISBN 1-932916-01-6.
- ISBN 0-312-35150-X.
- ^ a b Werts, Diane (December 17, 1997). "Flash! The latest entertainment news and more...". Newsday. New York. p. A12.
- ISBN 978-0-7914-7566-9.
- ^ Fretts, Bruce; Baldwin, Kristen (December 19, 1997). "What to Watch; A day-to-day guide to notable programs". USA Today. p. 65.
- ^ a b Sepinwall, Alan; Seitz, Matt Zoller (December 29, 1997). "Moments to remember". The Star-Ledger. Newark, New Jersey. p. 49.
- ^ Roush, Matt (December 17, 1997). "Naughty season's greetings from "South Park"". USA Today. p. 3D.
- )
- ^ Marin, Rick (March 23, 1998). "The Rude Tube". Newsweek. p. 56.
- ^ "Celebrate with cheesy poofs". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. April 9, 2003. p. 64.
- ^ "Have we really experienced eight seasons of 'South Park'?". The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. Fargo, North Dakota. October 22, 2004.
- ^ "Could you please list the Five Most Notorious Episodes in order?". Comedy Central. June 25, 2002. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved April 7, 2009.
- ^ "Parker & Stone: A candid conversation with the outrageous duo behind South Park about corrupt studios, evil celebrities and why we should all see Tom Cruise's weenie". Playboy. June 1, 2000. p. 65.
- ^ Feran, Tom (February 3, 1998). ""South Park" a runaway cult hit". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland, Ohio. p. 5E.
External links
- "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" Full episode at South Park Studios
- "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" at IMDb