Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo aspects of Christmas from South Park to remain politically correct and inoffensive. The episode was written and directed by the series' co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. The Mr. Hankey character was based on an idea from Parker's childhood; when Parker and Stone conceived the "South Park" series, they wanted to make Mr. Hankey the lead character. Heavily influenced by the "Peanuts" Christmas special "A Charlie Brown Christmas" from 1965, "Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo" was the first Christmas-themed "South Park" episode, the first musical episode, and the only episode in season one (and therefore the first time in the
'Twas the Night Before Christmas (1974 TV special) Kyle to Stan and Kenny during a seemingly hopeless situation. At one point, Joshua Trundle's face is even superimposed over Kyle's face. Like many of Rankin-Bass' other animated TV specials, this special was animated in Japan by the animation studio Topcraft, which was rolled into Studio Ghibli in 1985. The special was originally first issued on VHS by ABC Video Enterprises and Golden Book Video in 1987. Then as courtesy of Warner Home Video, the special was re-released on VHS in 1990, and on DVD in 2004, paired with the 1976 special "Frosty's Winter Wonderland". A Blu-ray was released on