Several student characters attend the fictional school South Park Elementary in the animated television show South Park. The school is one of the most prominent settings on the show, the narrative of which revolves mostly around the students.
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While a few characters from varying grades have been depicted in recurring minor roles, the students in the fourth grade—including central characters Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Kenny McCormick, Eric Cartman, and Butters Stotch—receive the primary focus of the series. The fourth grade class is taught throughout most of the series by Mr. Garrison, with a hiatus between seasons 4 and 6 when he is replaced by Ms. Choksondik. These students also attended class under Mr. Garrison during their previous time as third graders during South Park's first three-and-a-half seasons.
In tradition with the show's animation style, all characters listed below are composed of simple geometrical shapes and bright colors.[1][2] Ever since the show's second episode, "Weight Gain 4000" (season one, 1997), all characters on South Park have been animated with computer software, though they are portrayed to give the impression that the show still utilizes the method of animating construction paper composition cutouts through the use of stop motion, which was the technique used in creating the show's first episode, "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe".[1]
In addition to the main characters, other students below will sometimes give a brief monologue as a means of expressing the lessons they have attained during the course of an episode. Most of the characters are foul-mouthed as a means for series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone to display how they claim young children really talk when they are alone.[2][3] Most of the male students are amused by bodily functions and toilet humor,[4] and their favorite television personalities are Terrance and Phillip, a Canadian duo whose comedy routines on their show-within-the-show revolve substantially around fart jokes. In response to the focus on elements of satire in South Park, Parker has said that the main goal of the show is to portray the students as "kids just being kids" as a means of accurately showcasing "what it's like to be in [elementary school] in America".[5]
Bebe Stevens is Wendy Testaburger's best friend and has often been seen keeping company with fellow female classmates throughout the duration of the series. She has frizzy blonde hair and wears a red coat. Bebe first prominently appears in the season 1 episode "Weight Gain 4000", where she narrates a play for Kathie Lee Gifford's visit to South Park and the play was directed by Mr Garrison. In the season 2 episode "Clubhouses", she develops a crush on Kyle Broflovski and uses a game of Truth or Dare as an excuse to kiss him. She plays a major role in the episode "Bebe's Boobs Destroy Society", when the boys' attraction to her increases due to her newly developing breasts. When the attention became unwanted, she professes her wish to have others appreciate her for her aspirations and intelligence instead. She later plays a large role in the season 11 episode "The List", where she abuses her powers within the "list committee" to change the list so that Clyde is the cutest boy, so that she can date him for free shoes. She is arrested after a brawl with Wendy and accidentally shooting Kenny. Bebe is voiced by South Park supervising producer Jennifer Howell and Mary Kay Bergman in "Weight Gain 4000"[6]
Leopold "Butters" Stotch is cheerful, naïve, optimistic, and more passive than the show's other child characters, and can become increasingly anxious, especially when faced with the likelihood of punishment by his parents. He is often treated poorly by other characters and put in painful or humiliating situations. As a result of his increasing popularity with the show's staff and fans, Butters was given a more prominent role beginning with the show's fifth season (2001). He is voiced by Matt Stone.[6]
Clyde Donovan (originally Clyde Goodman and briefly Clyde Harris) maintains a friendship with the show's main characters and is among the most often-seen of the boys' extended group, playing small roles in several episodes. He is also known for his constant crying at "the drop of the hat". He made his first prominent appearance in the season 3 (1999) episode "Tweek vs. Craig" where he told everyone that both Tweek and Craig wussed out and went home instead of fighting each other. In the season 4 (2000) episode "Cartman's Silly Hate Crime 2000" as "the second fattest kid" in class besides Cartman, and is chosen to replace him in the sled race. The season 11 (2007) episode "Lice Capades" focuses heavily on Clyde and a group of anthropomorphic lice, who are portrayed as living in a civilized society on Clyde's head. Clyde was so embarrassed when a girl at the doctors office asked what he was going in for he said he had AIDS. [7] Clyde is also featured prominently in the episode "The List", where the girls vote him the cutest boy in class (although this list is later revealed to be false). Clyde also has a major appearance in the three part story arc Coon 2: Hindsight, Mysterion Rises and Coon vs. Coon and Friends appearing as his alter-ego Mosquito. His nasal voice is provided by Trey Parker.[6] It is revealed in the episode Crack Baby Athletic Association that Clyde is part Dutch. In the episode Mystery of the Urinal Deuce, it is revealed that Clyde had a colostomy at the age of 5. In the episode Quest for Ratings, Kyle reports that he has only one testicle.
Craig Tucker, commonly characterized by his blue chullo hat and nasal, monotone voice, is one of the more prominent members of the children's classroom. Cartman once claimed that Craig was the "biggest troublemaker in [their] class",[8] and parents of his classmates have cited him as a "bad influence".[9] In a running gag during the show's earlier seasons, establishing shots of Mr. Mackey's office would feature Craig waiting outside.[10] Craig has a habit of giving people the finger,[11] a trait the show's official website attributes to his learning the behavior from his family, all of whom frequently use the gesture as well.[8][12] This trait was last seen in the Season 6 (2002) episode "Fun with Veal".
Craig dislikes the four main characters and rivals them in several episodes. Craig is a pragmatist[13] and has no wish of being involved in any extraordinary adventures the other main characters on the show customarily experience.[14] In the season 12 (2008) episodes "Pandemic" and "Pandemic 2 - The Startling", Craig repeatedly castigates the main characters' propensity to have a pursued activity or idea disproportionately backfire. Despite his hatred for adventure, he plays a crucial role in these two episodes, saving the world from guinea animals, but is shown even after doing so unintentionally to care little.[14][15] Craig is one of the most often-used of the boys' extended group, often providing lines in group scenes with the other children. He is voiced by series co-creator Matt Stone.
One of the show's four main characters and one of the most popular and iconic characters, Eric Cartman is obese, obnoxious, racist, and considerably sociopathic. Most other students are alienated by Cartman's insensitive, often misogynistic, and bigoted behavior, though they are occasionally influenced by his obtrusive, manipulative, and propagandist antics. While Cartman has few if any attachments towards people, he exhibits a softhearted fondness for cats as seen in the episode "Major Boobage". He is voiced by Trey Parker.[6]
Jimmy Valmer (formerly Jimmy Swanson and sometimes spelled Vulmer), voiced by Trey Parker, is physically handicapped, requiring crutches in order to walk. Hampered by his withering legs, Jimmy prefers to be called "handi-capable".[16][17] Jimmy is able to speak coherently, though his speech is largely affected by his stuttering and his tendency to end some of his sentences with "...very much". He aspires to be a stand-up comedian, and is often featured performing his routines. His catchphrase during his routines is "Wow, what a great audience!"
Jimmy first appears in the season five (2001) episode "Cripple Fight", in which he moves to South Park from a neighboring town and antagonizes Timmy.[16] Parker and Stone initially intended for this to be Jimmy's only appearance, but decided to include the character in subsequent episodes.[18] Now portrayed as a South Park resident, student, and good friend of Timmy, Jimmy has been a recurring character ever since. Jimmy's parents had made fun of handicapped children in high school, and believe that Jimmy's disability is a punishment from God. The season eight (2004) episode "Up the Down Steroid" ends with Jimmy addressing the issue of anabolic steroid use in athletic competitions, declaring it as "cheating" while suggesting that professional athletes who use steroids voluntarily reject the accolades and records attributed to them.[19] Melanie McFarland of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer describes Jimmy and Timmy's capabilities and portrayal in the show as Parker and Stone declaring their opposition to political correctness as social restriction.[20] When praising the show for both its depiction of Jimmy and Timmy and its coverage of disability-related issues, The Seattle Times columnist Jeff Shannon, a quadriplegic, describes Jimmy and Timmy as "goodwill ambassadors".[21]
Kenny McCormick comes from one of the poorest families in town, and almost always wear a parka so that the hood covers most of his face and muffles his speech. He often shows a precocious interest in and knowledge of sex, unlike his friends, often providing Stan, Kyle and Cartman with a graphic (albeit muffled) definition of such confusing sexual terminology as "dildo" and "fingerbang". As a running gag, he dies in most episodes of the first five seasons before returning in the next. This gag has become occasional following Kenny's absence through season 6, and is explained in the season 14 (2010) episode "Coon vs. Coon and Friends" as resulting from his parents dabbling in the Cult of Cthulhu around the time of his conception. He is voiced by Matt Stone.[6]
Kyle Broflovski is one of the main four characters in the show and stars and co-stars in many episodes. Kyle is distinctive as one of the few Jewish children on the show, and because of this, he often feels like an outsider amongst his friends and classmates. Kyle is also the child who clashes the most often with Cartman. Kyle is both voiced by and based on Matt Stone.[6]
Phillip "Pip" Pirrup, voiced by Matt Stone,[6] was featured mostly during the first few seasons of the series. He was later relegated to being a background character after his role in the show was replaced by Butters. Pip is originally from England, and shares his name with the main protagonist of the Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations. Wearing a bow tie and flat cap, he was often teased by his fellow classmates.[22] While largely passive, the only thing that would drive him to anger is when fellow students mistake him for being French. The show's official website has noted that this is in reference to the animosity shared between some natives of Britain and France.[23] A similar gag is seen in South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut, in which The Mole, a young French boy, is called "British" by Cartman. Pip is the central figure of an eponymous episode during the show's fourth season. The episode, which does not feature any of the show's other characters, was a comedic retelling of Great Expectations, with Pip assuming the role of his character's namesake.[24][25] After this titular episode, Pip became a background character with only two further speaking appearances—as a candidate for the new fourth boy in "Professor Chaos" and then being absent for eight years until another brief appearance in "201" to beg the Mecha-Streisand to spare South Park, but it responds by stepping on him, killing him.
Stan Marsh is leader of the South Park Elementary students, the most level-headed and convivial of the four boys. Stan is generally kind, honest, smart, well-meaning, assertive, and often shares with his best friend Kyle a leadership role as the main protagonist of the show. Stan is portrayed as the everyman among the show's four central characters. Stan is both voiced by and based on Trey Parker.[6]
Timmy Burch is a mentally and physically handicapped boy who uses a motorized wheelchair. Voiced by Trey Parker,[6] he is based on an elementary school acquaintance of South Park art director Adrien Beard.[26] Timmy's exact condition has never been specified in the show, though South Park's official website describes it as "a strange combination of palsy and Tourette's".[27] Timmy's vocabulary is mostly limited to the enthusiastic shouting of his own name which could be aphasia.[21][28][29]
Timmy first appears as a minor character in the season four (2000) episode "The Tooth Fairy Tats 2000". Parker and Stone had to push hard for the inclusion of the character, as Comedy Central was originally reluctant to allow the show to feature a character with a cognitive disability.[30][31] The duo asserted their intention of portraying other children as treating him as an equal,[31] while stressing the importance of both including a mentally retarded character who is "happy to be [himself]", and representing him "as part of the gang and not as the subject of cruel schoolyard humor".[32] Two weeks after his debut, Timmy was a central figure in the episode "Timmy 2000", where doctors and school faculty erroneously attribute his behavior to ADD in the show's condemnation of the rampant diagnosis of the disorder.[21]
Timmy quickly became a fan favorite, and was once voted "The Greatest Disabled TV Character" in a poll conducted by a BBC-sponsored webzine named Ouch!, where he was more popular among disabled voters than among non-disabled voters.[21] IGN ranked Timmy second in a list of the "Top 10 South Park Peripheral Characters", stating that "South Park's most controversial character may be one of the funniest and most enduring".[33] Parker noted that soon after Timmy debuted, fans he encountered began mimicking the character's exclamation of "Timmy!" as opposed to their earlier habits of impersonating Cartman and repeating the show's other popular catchphrases.[31] When the handicapped Jimmy was introduced in the season five (2001) episode "Cripple Fight", Timmy becomes jealous of Jimmy's newfound popularity with the main characters, and the two later got into a violent brawl in a parking lot. The two make amends, and are depicted as good friends in subsequent episodes.
Melanie McFarland of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer describes Jimmy and Timmy's capabilities and portrayal in the show as Parker and Stone declaring their opposition to political correctness as social restriction.[20] When praising the show for both its depiction of Jimmy and Timmy and its coverage of disability-related issues, The Seattle Times columnist Jeff Shannon, a quadriplegic, describes Jimmy and Timmy as "goodwill ambassadors", while commenting that "Timmy appears, at first glance, to uphold the condescending disability stereotypes that are gradually fading from mainstream entertainment. But like everything else in 'South Park,' he's actually challenging preconceptions, toppling taboos and weaving his singularity into the fabric of the show".[21]
Token Black (previously Williams) is the only black child in South Park.[16] His name is a reference to tokenism.[34][35] The name has been interpreted as an example of the anti-political correctness attitude of South Park[16] and as an implication that the tokenism phenomenon is outmoded enough to be a laughing matter.[35] Despite the role that his name implies, Token will sometimes play a significant part in an episode, and has been a recurring character since his first major role in the season four (2000) episode "Cartman's Silly Hate Crime 2000". His next came in the season five (2001) episode "Here Comes the Neighborhood", where he is picked on for being rich. He invites several other wealthy families to move to South Park (who all happen to be black), leading the townspeople to refer to them as "richers".
Episodes in which he plays a major role often address ethnicity-related topics. In "Cartman's Silly Hate Crime 2000", he declares hate crime legislation to be "a savage hypocrisy".[36] In the season 11 (2007) episode "With Apologies to Jesse Jackson", Stan is perplexed by Token's rebuffs of his attempts to make amends with Token after Stan's father reluctantly exclaimed "niggers" when attempting to solve a puzzle as a contestant during a live taping of Wheel of Fortune. When Stan has an epiphany, he tells Token "I've been trying to say that I understand how you feel, but I'll never understand. I'll never really get how it feels for a black person to [hear] somebody use the N-word", to which Token accepts Stan's apology by saying "Now you get it".[37]
Parker and Stone had originally taken turns providing their voices for the few lines Token had as a minor character.[38] Token is now voiced by South Park art director and co-producer Adrien Beard.[39] When trying to find a new voice actor for Token during production of "Cartman's Silly Hate Crime 2000", Parker said he recruited Beard "because he was the only black guy we had in our building at the time".[40]
Tweek Tweak is a boy characterized by his hyperactivity, paranoia and anxiety,[41] due to his mass consumption of coffee.[42] His strained voice is provided by Stone,[43] and he tends to scream, "Oh, Jesus, dude!", "GAH!",[41] and "Too much pressure!". His name is taken from a slang term referring to recreational users of methamphetamine, as well as hyperactive or dysfunctional people in general.
While Tweek's parents—who run a coffee shop—attribute his hyperactivity to ADHD predominantly inattentive, it is actually a result of the two frequently giving Tweek coffee to "calm him down."[27][44] This has the effect of increasing his caffeine levels and worsening his mental state.[41] As a result, Tweek is constantly shaking or twitching and is always depicted with spiky, disheveled blond hair and an incorrectly buttoned shirt.
Tweek is introduced in the season two (1998) episode "Gnomes", and is as prominent as one of the four main characters throughout the middle portion of the sixth season (2002). The character Kenny is absent during the majority of the season, which allowed the show's creators and writing staff an opportunity to provide larger roles for both Tweek and Butters,[45] both of whom were growing more popular with both the viewers and staff of the show.[46] Kenny ultimately returns in the season finale "Red Sleigh Down", and though Butters has continued as a significant presence, Tweek has remained in the background since.
Wendy Testaburger is the show's most prominent female student, and the show's main source of perspective in that regard. Her best friend is Bebe Stevens, and her boyfriend is Stan, though their relationship as such has received less focus in the show's later seasons. Wendy has previously been voiced by Karri Turner (in the unaired pilot), Mary Kay Bergman, Mona Marshall, Eliza Schneider, and is currently voiced by April Stewart. Wendy's character is reportedly based on Liane Adamo, a former fiancée of series co-creator Trey Parker.[47] Fellow co-creator Matt Stone has also cited the name of Wendy Westiberg, the wife of an old friend from his childhood.[48] She wears a pink beret and a purple coat. She has long black hair with uneven bangs. Wendy made her first appearance unnamed, but clearly recognizable, in "The Spirit of Christmas".
Like her boyfriend Stan, Wendy is mature for her age, critical of popular trends, moral and intellectual. She rallies for liberal causes in several episodes, such as Breast Cancer and the suffering of Bottlenose Dolphins, often arguing with Eric Cartman who calls her a "bitch" or "ho" in response. Although the two generally only argue, he pushes her to the limit in the Season 12 (2008) episode "Breast Cancer Show Ever" where in the two engage in a fight on the playground. Despite these differences, in the episode Chef Goes Nanners, Wendy and Cartman work together to change South Park's flag. During this time, the two have what Bebe calls sexual tension. Towards the end of the episode, Wendy kisses Cartman, to which Stan replies by staring at the two with mouth agape.
Wendy is known to be protective of her relationship with Stan. In the Season 1 (1997) episode "Tom's Rhinoplasty" when Stan, along with the other boys, falls in love with an attractive substitute teacher, with Wendy accusing her of stealing Stan from her, eventually formulating a complex plan to get her thrown into the Sun. She also sometimes displays jealousy – in the Season 6 (2002) episode "Bebe's Boobs Destroy Society", her best friend, Bebe Stevens, receives more attention than she does because of Bebe's developing breasts. Wendy then gets breast implants, but the boys end up ridiculing her after only just realizing the control Bebe's breasts had on them. This behavior is somewhat contradicted by episodes such as "Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset" and "Dances with Smurfs" where she is more concerned with principles than trends and attention
Since she got back with Stan, Wendy's role briefly expanded – she and Stan partner up in "Super Fun Time", she beats Cartman up in "Breast Cancer Show Ever" and a plotline in the episode "Elementary School Musical" shows Stan suspecting that Wendy may leave him for a popular kid called Bridon. Their relationship appears to have gotten somewhat stronger since their previous one, as the two are much more affectionate towards one another. On the other hand, Stan seems to have gotten more used to her and her affections, having not thrown up on her outside of "The List" episode, since the movie (and outside of that, the second season). In fact, Wendy was able to kiss Stan on the cheek (in the episode Elementary School Musical) without his normal reaction of vomiting.
Wendy was voted student council president, something first noted in "Bebe's Boobs Destroy Society" and re-addressed seven seasons later in "Dances with Smurfs", when Cartman becomes the morning announcer and starts spreading defaming comments about her—most notably her supposed genocide of the Smurfs. In response to the allegations, Wendy becomes a guest on Cartman's morning show and manipulates his own story of the Smurf holocaust before announcing her resignation and electing him as the new school council president, effectively relieving him of his morning announcement job. Throughout the episode, Stan solidly defends her.
Wendy is very prominent in the show's earlier seasons, usually quarreling with Eric Cartman or reinforcing her relationship with Stan Marsh. She speaks in several episodes (especially in the first season) and is often chosen to help the boys out over her classmates. Over the course of the fifth season, Wendy's role diminished greatly and she increasingly becomes just "one of the girls", and she has only one minor role in Season Six. This culminates in her breakup with Stan for Token Black in "Raisins" after which she makes only scattered prominent appearances until the end of the eleventh season, where she gets back together with Stan, and her role in the show has been much more prominent. Her original role as the voice of reason and an enemy of Cartman has been primarily taken by Kyle Broflovski.
In response to the question 'Will Stan and Wendy ever kiss?" during a South Park Studios interview, Trey Parker said that Stan and Wendy kissed a multitude of times, and jokingly that, during an episode he couldn't recall, they also had sex, but "you didn't see it." Parker then added "If you're dumb enough to look you deserve to lose that much of your life".
Several other students appear as recurring background characters, while also having minor roles in various episodes, including:
Ike Moisha Broflovski is Kyle's younger adopted brother, and the only Canadian-born student at the school. He is a gifted three-year-old, and received advanced placement in the school's kindergarten class. Ike is voiced by the children of the people who work at the South Park Studios.
Dougie is a red-haired, freckled, second-grade boy with glasses, who first appeared in"Two Guys Naked in a Hot Tub". His most prominent appearances come when he assumes the role of General Disarray, sidekick to Butters's alter-ego Professor Chaos. He wants to be a TV news reporter when he grows up.[61] In "Simpsons Already Did It", he displays a thorough knowledge of the TV show The Simpsons, pointing that all of Professor Chaos' schemes resemble plots of that show. He was also the one to let Butters know that freezing oneself in the snow was actually not a good idea when Butters helped Cartman to do so in the episode"Go God Go".
The Goth kids are a group of stereotypical goths, usually composed of four members: A tall, curly-haired boy who walks with a cane, a small child who appears to be a kindergartner, an overweight girl named Henrietta Biggle, and a boy with black hair with dyed red streaks who constantly flicks his long fringe out of the way when it gets in his eyes. In season 14, they were finally added to the title sequence of the show after making several appearances since season 7. In season seven (2003) episode "Raisins", Stan briefly becomes the fifth member of their group, his nickname being "Raven". They frequently stereotype everyone else and display double standards in their talks about conformity;[57][62] however, they are also often portrayed in a sympathetic light.[63][64] The Goth kids are easily provoked,[63] and are very protective of their image. They find it annoying to be confused with emo kids, but even more frustrating to be compared to the Hot Topic "vampire" kids.[63][64] The Goth kids were seen taking part in a talent show in season 9 performing a song about never taking part in a talent show. The eldest Goth boy was in Stan's dance crew in "You Got F'd in the A". The Goth kids are never seen attending classes; they are normally seen listening to goth music, drinking coffee, and smoking.[63][65] They appear as followers of Cthulhu in "Mysterion Rises", though they have become disillusioned in the following episode because Cthulhu hasn't lived up to their expectations.
The Sixth-graders are a group of older students who tend to bully the fourth-graders. They are usually seen riding their bicycles. They were originally depicted as fifth graders, but moved to sixth grade in the fourth season. Their leader is a boy with a distinctive haircut who is always depicted wearing a shirt with a logo of his own face. He regularly refers to the fourth-graders disparagingly as "Fourthies". Episodes concerning the sixth-graders' interactions with the main characters have become less frequent in later seasons.
Wendy and Pip were multi-player characters in the video game South Park. The preceding two characters, along with Tweek, Bebe, and Damien were playable in South Park Rally. All aforementioned characters with the exception of Damien, along with Craig, Clyde, Token, Jimmy, Timmy, and Red are unlockable characters along with Butters Stotch and Professor Chaos (only available as an exclusive Downloadable Content code) in South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play!.
Songs performed by characters from South Park have appeared in the Rock Band series. "Timmy and the Lords of the Underworld", featuring Timmy, features as a bonus song in the first game, while Cartman's interpretation of Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" was released as downloadable content for the series on March 16, 2010.
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