The Spirit of Christmas

This short film came out in 1992 and with the materials and camera work back then, this blew my mind. This is a cool, funny and clever animation. There are some dark bits and swear words too so be on the look out for that.

This is the very first, early draft of what would become 'South Park'. This is the work of film students in their last year of university/college, and frankly, I like this little short. Why? because it's such a classic, I never even knew about this until 10 minutes ago.

Trey and Matt soon would discover that this little short film will have a sequel to it, in which that will spawn them a TV show, two years later. It's bad quality, but it's 1992, so don't complain. But if you want to be reminded of your child-hood memories, then watch this. A nice 10/10 for originality. You think it starts out as your regular Christmas special or educational Christmas cartoon short, but as soon they put the magic hat on the snowman, everything goes nuts, and you see the true nature of what South Park is today. Again, 10/10 for originality.

This is pretty funny considering it looks and sounds terrible. It's really interesting to see how Trey Parker and Matt Stone started out with South Park, and they created a very demented and vulgar short film. Within this short, we see a switch of characters: the fat kid, better known as Cartman on the TV series, is named Kenny and is the first to get killed. The hood-wearing kid, who is known as Kenny on the TV series, is the second killed and is not given a name. And the other two (Stan and Kyle) also remain nameless in this short. You'll never look at snowmen wearing top hats the same ever again.

The Spirit of Christmas" is an intriguing piece of television history, serving as the seed that would grow into the cultural phenomenon that is South Park. Created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone as a crude, stop-motion Christmas card, the pilot features the familiar, edgy humor that would later define the series, but it's far from the polished show fans have come to know.

The short introduces a rudimentary version of the main cast-Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny-as they navigate a chaotic Christmas filled with vulgarity and a surprisingly epic battle between Santa and Jesus. The plot is delightfully absurd, a hallmark of Parker and Stone's comedy, and offers an early glimpse into their irreverent approach to religious and cultural satire.

However, as a pilot, it lacks the refined pacing and characterization that the series developed over time. The animation is charmingly crude, but it's also rough enough to be distracting at times. The humor is hit-or-miss, with some jokes feeling more like shock value than clever commentary.

While it's an essential watch for die-hard fans and a fascinating artifact of South Park's origins, it doesn't hold up as a standalone piece of entertainment compared to what the series would later achieve.

Final Verdict: 6/10 "The Spirit of Christmas" is a raw but intriguing prototype of South Park. It's worth watching for its historical value, but its appeal lies more in what it represents than in its execution.

This is interesting for the way it shows a very early, very rough version of the show. The four principals are there, though not quite the same way we know them now. Collectors will love watching it, though the 1995 remake is funnier.