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
A Charlie Brown Christmas comics and animation industries, among them Eric Goldberg ("Pocahontas"), Pete Docter ("Monsters, Inc.", "Up"), Andrew Stanton ("Finding Nemo", "WALL-E"), Jef Mallett ("Frazz"), and Patrick McDonnell ("Mutts"). The show's score made an equally pervasive impact on viewers who would later perform jazz, among them David Benoit and George Winston. More directly, the special launched a series of Peanuts films, TV specials (many of them holiday-themed) and other works of entertainment. Linus' speech near the end of the special was used in the Sidewalk Prophets Christmas song "What a Glorious Night". In 2013 Tams-Witmark Music Library, Inc. began licensing an official stage