Pip as a character was established to originate from the Dickens novel early on in the series, and "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone had the idea of retelling "Great Expectations" with the character for a long time. "Pip" has a unique design and animation compared to other episodes. To achieve this look, many assets had to be built from scratch. This was a demanding task for the "South Park" studios at the time, and production of the episode was stretched out across several months. The concept of the episode changed significantly during this time; for example, the original plan was for the episode to be a musical.