BlanketyBlog Retro: The Rankin-Bass/South Park Thread

In honor of the holiday specials that air non-stop until December 25, I thought I'd drag this out of storage. Being a huge South Park fan, and having watched enough Rankin/Bass specials to virtually imitate the Charlie in the Box or Jimmy Durante, I did some research and found out that Matt and Trey must be big on stop-motion too.

Let's go back, then...

I've almost made this a regular feature in my episode descriptions. For one thing, I've watched so many Rankin/Bass specials I could spot the gag in the episode.With the help of alt.tv.southpark via Google Groups, here's the list of R/B jokes in South Park:"Chef's Salty Chocolate Balls." The return appearance by Mr. Hankey. When our beloved talking poo suffers a shitty (rimshot) demise, we're treated to a solemn rendtion of the Mr. Hankey theme complete with montage. This bit was inspired by Frosty the Snowman; after Frosty melts we hear Jimmy Durante's sad version of the song, and the Frosty montage.

"Sexual Harassment Panda." After Sexual Harassment Panda is fired by the school as a result of the budget cuts resulting from the sexual harassment lawsuits, he ends up on the Island of Misfit Mascots. Of course, if you've watched Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer, you'll get the joke. If you don't, it's merely a play on "Island of Misfit Toys."

"Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics." The mailman at the beginning is a clear rip of Fred Astaire's role in Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

"Wacky Molestation Adventure." Kyle writes to Castro in Cuba to change his ways, complete with picture of sad Kyle. This was inspired by the "Blue Christmas" scene in The Year Without a Santa Claus where a sad girl writes to Santa.

"A Very Crappy Christmas." I'll be damned if it isn't a complete spoof of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. Both plots are the same: a plot centered on bringing Christmas spirit back to a town, a child questioning the holiday (Albert/Cornwallis), an important item breaking and being fixed by the questioning child (the film/clock), and even the immortal song "Even a Miracle Needs a Hand." Even Mr. Hankey's family is an homage to the Mice family (George Gobel's character as the mouse father helping Albert fix his mistake)

"The Death Camp of Tolerance." After Lemmiwinks is shoved into Mr. Slave, the music the plays when he's traveling is inspired by The Hobbit's theme music "The Greatest Adventure."

"Red Sleigh Down." The boys, after receiving their most-wanted present, develop the Rankin/Bass faces from 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. Watch and you'll get it.

UPDATE: Here's one I totally forgot about. In "Woodland Critter Christmas," the "Christmas Comes Once a Year" song is a spoof of a song from The Year Without a Santa Claus. No, not the Miser songs.

Hopefully, Trey and Matt will insert another Rankin/Bass homage into another episode. It's neat, funny, and it makes me feel a little smarter.

By the way, if there's any reference I've missed, please include them in the comments thread.