Internet meme · Classic

The Spirit of Christmas

Two stop-motion animated short films by Trey Parker and Matt Stone from 1992 and 1995 that became foundational to South Park; they circulated online as early viral videos.

First seen
Last seen
Uses cited
3
Revision
2

Where it started

The Spirit of Christmas is the title given to two stop-motion animated short films created by the duo Trey Parker and Matt Stone. The films, animated with cutout animation, were respectively released in 1992 and 1995 and form the basis for the animated series South Park, with the latter short featuring more established depictions of the series' setting and characters. To differentiate between them, they have been retroactively referred to as Jesus vs. Frosty and Jesus vs. Santa. A clip of both films appears on two respective billboards during the opening sequence for South Park's first four seasons (prior to the fourth season episode "Fourth Grade").

The use timeline

  1. Consists of two different animated short films made by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, which are precursors to the animated series South Park. To differentiate between the two homonymous shorts, the first short is often referred to as Jesus vs. Frosty (1992), and the second short as Jesus vs. Santa (1995). Fox executive Brian Graden sent copies of Jesus vs. Santa to several of his friends, and from there it was copied and distributed, including on the internet, where it became one of the first viral videos. They were created by animating construction paper cut-outs with stop motion, and features prototypes of the main characters of South Park.

  2. Wikidata Q278560: The Spirit of Christmas — 1992 and 1995 two animated short films directed by Trey Parker and Matt Stone.

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