Even the most casual South Park fan knows that the show began as an animated short, or an animated “Christmas card,” as they referred to it. Created in 1992, when Matt Stone and Trey Parker were still students at the University of Colorado, The Spirit of Christmas featured Jesus fighting Frosty the Snowman.
They followed that up with another short three years later, also called The Spirit of Christmas, but this time Jesus fought Santa. This second short was the one that made Parker and Stone famous and led to the creation of South Park.
However, even some South Park die-hards don’t know that Parker and Stone never really stopped making shorts. From 1997 until 2000, they made roughly a dozen shorts for Comedy Central, then at least one short every couple of years thereafter. The most recent one premiered in 2020.
Don’t Miss
Here’s your guide to every one of these lost shorts — okay, not necessarily “lost,” just largely forgotten…
The Spirit of Christmas (1992)
Given that Parker and Stone made this one while still in college, it’s very crude and doesn’t really make clear which character is which (case in point: the kid who looks like Cartman is called “Kenny,” and he’s the one who dies). Still, you can see the DNA of South Park beginning to take form here.
The Spirit of Christmas (1995)
This one is a lot closer to what South Park would become, as the boys all look like they do today and the character dynamics are there (as are all their names).
CableACE Awards 1997 (1997)
Before the Emmys paid any attention to cable programming, there was something called the CableACE Awards. In 1997, just a few months after South Park debuted and became an overnight success, the boys were presenters for the “Best Talk Show,” which went to Inside the Actors Studio. The best joke is when Kenny incomprehensibly announces the winner.
Jay Leno Short (1997)
This short aired on The Tonight Show less than a week after “CableACE Awards 1997.” In it, Leno, playing himself, visits Mr. Garrison’s class to talk about Thanksgiving. It’s just a bunch of predictable chin jokes, making it only slightly funnier than a Leno monologue.
1998 New Year’s Countdown (1997)
This is the first of three shorts made to count down to New Year’s Day on Comedy Central. It’s also super basic — just a handful of South Park characters counting down from 10 with a “1997” sign over them, then the “7” falls, revealing an “8,” which falls as well and ultimately lands on Kenny, killing him.
The 12th Annual American Comedy Awards (1998)
Another spot for a now-defunct awards show. Nothing great. Kenny dies — that’s about it.
A Mother’s Courage (1998)
This Halloween-themed short was considered to be lost media until 2015. Before then, it lived as a file that could be downloaded via Comedy Central’s website and was made with a short-lived animation program called Media Conveyor. Once Media Conveyor was replaced by Flash, however, Comedy Central took down the short, never to be seen again until a YouTuber named Mannis reposted it.
1999 New Year’s Countdown (1998)
This is the first short not starring the boys. It’s just Mr. Mackey stumbling his way through a New Year’s countdown as he sits behind a desk.
Dead Friend Sketch (1999)
This short is especially funny and far less generic than some of the others. It was made for the 1999 special Python Night: 30 Years of Monty Python and its essentially a take on the Monty Python Dead Parrot sketch but with Cartman taking over for John Cleese, Kyle for Michael Palin and Kenny for the parrot. It also has some Monty Python-esque animation flourishes, which is cool to see merged with South Park’s style.
2000 New Year’s Countdown (2000)
The third and final New Year’s countdown is much like the first except they use more obscure characters in addition to the boys and they begin at 15, not 10. It’s easy to see why they stopped making these after this one.
The Gauntlet (2000)
Five years before South Park mercilessly skewered Scientology in “Trapped in the Closet,” they more gently mocked the religion with this short for the MTV Movie Awards. In it, the boys square off against Russell Crowe in a Gladiator parody. Crowe quickly kills Kenny and proceeds to go after Stan, Kyle, Timmy and Cartman (who crapped his pants at the sight of Crowe). Suddenly, a spaceship lands and out comes John Travolta dressed as his character from Battlefield Earth. Travolta hands each of the boys a pamphlet about Scientology and kills Crowe. It ends with Cartman saying he’ll use the pamphlet to wipe his ass.
The Aristocrats Sketch (2005)
This one is exactly what the name would indicate: Cartman tells the other boys the infamous “Aristocrats” joke. It was created for the 2005 film The Aristocrats, in which many comedians tell their versions of the notoriously vulgar joke. Cartman’s is as dirty as the rest, and it ends with Kyle saying, “I don’t get it.” To which Cartman responds, “Me neither.”
Lil’ Rush (2007)
Two years later, South Park made an exclusive short for the band Rush to be viewed on the Snakes & Arrows Tour. It was an intro to the song “Tom Sawyer,” and it was as funny as the song is — that is, not very funny at all.
The Real South Park (2010)
Although this short is live action, it belongs on the list because it features the main cast of South Park — sorta. According to the South Park Wiki, “The sketch was a preview video for what was reputed to be a live adaption of the original television series. It was later revealed to be an April Fool’s joke.” While mildly funny, it’s more of a curiosity than anything.
Cartman and the Hobbit (2012)
“Cartman and the Hobbit,” in which Cartman interacts with a hobbit, eventually killing him, was produced for the 2012 SpikeTV Video Game Awards. If you’re wondering what SpikeTV was, just know you didn’t miss anything.
Tegridy Farms (2019)
The YouTube short “Tegridy Farms” helped launch the site Tegridyfarms.com. It was a fake commercial for Randy’s new farm in the show, which is still a relevant plot line in the series today, even if some South Park fans are sick of it.
BoardGameGeek Anniversary Video (2020)
And last but not least is the “BoardGameGeek Anniversary Video,” which is a pleasant video wishing the gaming site BoardGameGeek a happy 20th anniversary. We haven’t gotten another short since, though perhaps that’s because there are fewer obscure cable award shows than there used to be.
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