Our take
A cheerfully self-referential special about the season losing its sparkle, in which the cure turns out to be a homemade cartoon very like the one that launched the show. It spreads itself across too many ideas, but the family living in the sewer is a funny, grubby parody of cosy holiday households, and the musical pastiche of The Lion King is a gem.
What happens
Christmas comes round again, but Mr. Hankey does not appear. The boys go looking for him and find him living in the sewers with his hard-drinking wife and their three little nuggets. He tells them nobody is into Christmas any more, and when the boys go carolling they find he has a point: their singing rouses no cheer and people are not even buying presents. Mr. Hankey teaches his son Cornwallis about the circle of poo, and on a night out at a drive-in he struggles to keep his wife under control. Then the boys hit on an idea: they will make their own animated Christmas special, a cartoon Christmas card to remind the town what the season is about. The mayor gives them money for it, Mr. Hankey promises to help, and Kenny is run over by a car along the way. The film they make, which they call The Spirit of Christmas, is very like the short that started South Park itself.
Can the kids watch it?
Not for children: rated 12 in the UK on its own and 15 on the season set, with crude toilet humour and bleeped swearing; best for older teenagers.
Cast and crew
Starring
- Trey Parker as Stan Marsh, Eric Cartman, Mr. Hankey, Mr. Mackey, Randy Marsh
- Matt Stone as Kyle Broflovski, Kenny McCormick, Butters Stotch
- Isaac Hayes as Chef
- Eliza Schneider as Mayor McDaniels, Sharon Marsh
- Mona Marshall as Sheila Broflovski
Guest stars
- Pam Brady as Amber Hankey
- Kyle McCulloch
Writer
- Trey Parker
Director
- Adrien Beard