Kenneth "Kenny" McCormick is a
fictional character
In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life perso ...
and one of the four main characters in the
adult animated television series ''
South Park'' along with
Stan Marsh,
Kyle Broflovski
Kyle Matthew Broflovski is a fictional character in the adult animated television series ''South Park''. He is voiced by and loosely based on co-creator Matt Stone. Kyle is one of the series' four central characters, along with his friends Stan ...
, and
Eric Cartman. His often muffled and incomprehensible speech—the result of his
parka
A parka or anorak is a type of coat with a hood, often lined with fur or faux fur. This kind of garment is a staple of Inuit clothing, traditionally made from caribou or seal skin, for hunting and kayaking in the frigid Arctic. Some Inuit ...
hood covering his mouth—is provided by co-creator
Matt Stone
Matthew Richard Stone (born May 26, 1971) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, and composer. He is known for co-creating ''South Park'' (since 1997) and ''The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his creative partner Trey Parker. Stone was interes ...
. He debuted on television when ''South Park'' first aired on August 13, 1997, after having first appeared in ''
The Spirit of Christmas'' shorts created by Stone and long-time collaborator
Trey Parker
Randolph Severn "Trey" Parker III (born October 19, 1969) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, and composer. He is known for co-creating ''South Park'' (since 1997) and '' The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his creative partner Matt Stone. ...
in 1992 (''Jesus vs. Frosty'') and 1995 (''Jesus vs. Santa'').
Kenny is a third, later fourth-grade student who commonly has extraordinary experiences not typical of conventional small-town life in his hometown of South Park,
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
, where he lives with his
poverty-stricken family. Kenny is animated by computer to look as he did in the show's original method of
cutout animation
Cutout animation is a form of stop-motion animation using flat characters, props and backgrounds cut from materials such as paper, card, stiff fabric or photographs. The props would be cut out and used as puppets for stop motion. The world's e ...
. He also appears in the 1999 full-length feature film ''
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut'', in which his true appearance and voice were first revealed, and various ''South Park'' merchandise.
Kenny has gained a lot of popularity thanks to a
running gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are no ...
most prevalent during the first five seasons of the series, in which Kenny would suffer an excruciating death before returning alive and well in the next episode with little or no explanation. Stan would frequently use the catchphrase "Oh, my God! They killed Kenny!", followed by Kyle exclaiming "You bastard(s)!". Since the show began its
sixth season in 2002, the practice of killing Kenny has been seldom used by the show's creators. Various episodes have set up the gag, sometimes presenting a number of explanations for Kenny's unacknowledged reappearances. In the episode "
Mysterion Rises
"Mysterion Rises" is the twelfth episode of the fourteenth season of animated television series '' South Park'', and the 207th episode of the series overall. It aired on Comedy Central on November 3, 2010, and is the second of a three-part arc th ...
," it is found that Kenny actually has the superpower of resurrection, claiming that no matter how many times he's died, he always wakes up in his bed the next day wearing his usual clothes. He also states that none of his peers or family can remember him dying whatsoever. However, in some episodes, the other kids can recall Kenny being killed and mention how he died all the time.
Role in ''South Park''
Kenny attends South Park Elementary as part of
Mr. Garrison
Herbert Garrison, formerly known as Janet Garrison, Ethan F Garrison, and the President, is a fictional character and occasional antagonist on the American animated television series '' South Park''. The character is voiced by cocreator Trey ...
's fourth-grade class. During the first 58 episodes, Kenny and the other main child characters were in the third grade. Kenny comes from a poor household, presided over by his alcoholic, unemployed father,
Stuart McCormick. His mother
Carol McCormick has a job washing dishes at the
Olive Garden. Kenny has an older brother named
Kevin
Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ).
The variant '' Kevan'' is anglicized from , a ...
. He also has a younger sister who is shown with his family in the
season nine
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
episode "
Best Friends Forever
"Best friends forever" is a phrase that describes a close friendship. It is sometimes written as an initialism, "BFF".
Definition
A BFF is a term for someone's best friend or close friend and is characterized by trust and permanence, irrespectiv ...
", but does not reappear until the
15th season episode "
The Poor Kid
"The Poor Kid" is the fifteenth season finale of the American animated television series '' South Park'', and the 223rd episode of the series overall. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on November 16, 2011. In the episode, Ke ...
", where her name is revealed to be
Karen, whom he loves unconditionally. Kenny is friends with Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Butters. Kenny is regularly
teased for living in poverty, particularly by Cartman.
Kenny's superhero
alter ego, Mysterion, first appeared in the Season 13 episode "
The Coon", as a rival to Eric Cartman's eponymous superhero alter ego. He unmasks himself at the end of the episode, but his identity is left intentionally ambiguous to the viewer. He is not revealed to be Kenny until the Season 14 episode "
Mysterion Rises
"Mysterion Rises" is the twelfth episode of the fourteenth season of animated television series '' South Park'', and the 207th episode of the series overall. It aired on Comedy Central on November 3, 2010, and is the second of a three-part arc th ...
", the character's third appearance as part of a story arc.
Deaths
Prior to
season six, Kenny died in almost every episode. The nature of the deaths was often gruesome and portrayed in a comically absurd fashion,
and usually followed by Stan (or Kyle) respectively yelling "Oh, my God! They killed Kenny!" with Kyle yelling "You bastard(s)!"
Shortly afterward, rats would commonly appear and begin picking at his corpse.
In a following episode, Kenny would reappear alive and well, usually without any explanation. Most characters appear oblivious or indifferent to the phenomenon, although occasionally one will acknowledge awareness of it.
In "
Cherokee Hair Tampons", Kenny gets irritated and offended when Stan laments Kyle's critical condition while utterly ignoring Kenny's past demises. Eric Cartman commented on Kenny's deaths in the episode "
Cartmanland
"Cartmanland" is the sixth episode of the fifth season of the animated television series ''South Park'', and the 71st episode overall. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on July 25, 2001.
In the episode, Eric Cartman inherits ...
" when he is being sued for unsafe rides insisting to attorneys representing his family that "Kenny? He dies all the time!" In "
Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo", as the episode is about to end, the kids point out that "something feels unfinished", and Kenny celebrates as "The End" sign appears; it is the first episode in the series he survives.
Near the end of the production run of the show's
fifth season, Parker and Stone contemplated having an episode in which Kenny was killed off permanently. The reasoning behind the idea was to genuinely surprise fans, and to allow an opportunity to provide a major role for
Butters Stotch
Leopold "Butters" Stotch is a fictional character in the adult animated television series ''South Park''. He is voiced by series co-creator Matt Stone and loosely based on co-producer Eric Stough. He is a student at South Park Elementary School. ...
, a breakout character whose popularity was growing with the viewers and creators of the show.
[ Mini-commentary for episode "Kenny Dies"] In the episode "
Kenny Dies", Kenny dies after developing
terminal
Terminal may refer to:
Computing Hardware
* Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together
* Terminal (telecommunication), a device communicating over a line
* Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output dev ...
muscular dystrophy,
while Parker and Stone claimed that Kenny would not be returning in subsequent episodes. The duo insisted they grew tired of upholding the tradition of having Kenny die in each episode.
Stone stated that thinking of humorous ways to kill the character was initially fun, but became more mundane as the series progressed.
[ When they determined that it would be too difficult to develop the character because he was too much of a "prop", Parker and Stone finally decided to kill off Kenny permanently.]
For much of season six, Kenny remained dead, though he still appears to possess Cartman's body, and both Stone and Parker entertained the idea of eventually bringing the character back.[ According to Stone, only a small minority of fans were significantly angered by Kenny's absence to threaten a boycott of the cable channel ]Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programmin ...
, on which ''South Park'' is aired.[ For most of the season, Stan, Kyle, and Cartman fill the void left by Kenny by allowing the characters ]Butters Stotch
Leopold "Butters" Stotch is a fictional character in the adult animated television series ''South Park''. He is voiced by series co-creator Matt Stone and loosely based on co-producer Eric Stough. He is a student at South Park Elementary School. ...
and Tweek Tweak into their group, paving the way for those characters to receive more focus on the show; nevertheless, Kenny returned from the year-long absence in the season six finale " Red Sleigh Down", has remained the main character since, and has been given larger roles in episodes.
The first explanation given for Kenny's deaths and reappearances was given in "Cartman Joins NAMBLA
"Cartman Joins NAMBLA" is the fifth episode of the fourth season of the animated television series ''South Park'', and the 53rd episode of the series overall. Going by production order, it is the 6th episode of Season 4. It originally aired in th ...
", wherein the McCormicks have a baby exactly like Kenny, including the characteristic orange parka, shortly after the former Kenny dies. Mr. McCormick exclaims, "God, this must be the fiftieth time this has happened", to which Mrs. McCormick quickly replies, "Fifty-second". This explanation is expanded upon in the Season 14 episodes " Coon 2: Hindsight", "Mysterion Rises
"Mysterion Rises" is the twelfth episode of the fourteenth season of animated television series '' South Park'', and the 207th episode of the series overall. It aired on Comedy Central on November 3, 2010, and is the second of a three-part arc th ...
" and " Coon vs. Coon and Friends", in which Kenny, while playing superheroes with his friends, claims his "superpower" is immortality
Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some modern species may possess biological immortality.
Some scientists, futurists, and philosophers have theorized about the immortality of the human body, with some suggesting that human immorta ...
. He actually dies several times during these episodes—even committing suicide more than once—reawakening alive and unharmed in his bed each time. He is frustrated and angry that no one can remember him dying every time he regenerates and longs to know the source of his power, which he views as a curse. Unbeknownst to him, his parents were previously connected to a Cthulhu
Cthulhu is a fictional cosmic entity created by writer H. P. Lovecraft. It was first introduced in his short story " The Call of Cthulhu", published by the American pulp magazine ''Weird Tales'' in 1928. Considered a Great Old One within the p ...
-worshipping death cult. After Kenny shoots himself the second time, Mrs. McCormick awakes with a scream, shrieks "It's happening again!", and minutes later, is shown gently placing a newborn Kenny in his bed. "We should never have gone to that stupid cult meeting," she grouses as she and her husband return to bed.
In " Put It Down", he is killed off-screen by a driver on his phone, as his picture is shown among those of kids killed by a driver on phone texting tribute. In " Bike Parade", Jeff Bezos
Jeffrey Preston Bezos ( ;; and Robinson (2010), p. 7. ''né'' Jorgensen; born January 12, 1964) is an American entrepreneur, media proprietor, investor, and commercial astronaut. He is the founder, executive chairman, and former preside ...
tells Alexa
Alexa may refer to: Technology
*Amazon Alexa, a virtual assistant developed by Amazon
* Alexa Internet, a defunct website ranking and traffic analysis service
* Arri Alexa, a digital motion picture camera
People
* Alexa (name), a given name a ...
to kill Kenny, and Cartman hauls his coffin while riding his bike in the parade. " The Pandemic Special" sees Kenny being gunned down by the police when they are equipped with military weaponry to deal with the children breaking free from COVID-19 quarantine.
In '' South Park: Post Covid'', as a millionaire scientist in the future finding the cause of COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
, McCormick dies due to a time travel experiment that got him a variant named COVID Delta+ Rewards.[ This death is undone in '' South Park: Post Covid: The Return of Covid'' after Stan, Kyle, and Cartman time travel to the past.]
Character
Creation and design
When developing the character, the show's creators had observed that most groups of childhood friends in small middle-class towns always included "the one poor kid" and decided to portray Kenny in this light.
In a 2000 interview, Parker said that Kenny was based on a childhood friend of his who was also named Kenny and wore an orange parka that muffled his voice. He too was the poorest kid in the neighborhood and often skipped school, causing Parker and his friends to jokingly say he died, only for him to return to school later.
An unnamed precursor to Kenny first appeared in the first ''The Spirit of Christmas'' short, dubbed ''Jesus vs. Frosty'', created by Parker and Stone in 1992 while they were students at the University of Colorado
The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...
. The character was composed of construction paper
Construction paper, also known as sugar paper, is coloured cardstock paper. The texture is slightly rough, and the surface is unfinished. Due to the source material, mainly wood pulp, small particles are visible on the paper's surface. It is used f ...
cutouts and animated through the use of stop motion
Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...
. When tasked three years later by friend Brian Graden to create another short as a video Christmas card
A Christmas card is a greeting card sent as part of the traditional celebration of Christmas in order to convey between people a range of sentiments related to Christmastide and the holiday season. Christmas cards are usually exchanged during ...
that he could send to friends, Parker and Stone created another similarly-animated ''The Spirit of Christmas'' short, dubbed ''Jesus vs. Santa''. In this short, Kenny is given his first name, and first appears as he does in the series.
Kenny next appeared on August 13, 1997, when ''South Park'' debuted on Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programmin ...
with the episode " Cartman Gets an Anal Probe".
In tradition with the show's animation style, Kenny is composed of simple geometrical shapes and primary color
A set of primary colors or primary colours (see spelling differences) consists of colorants or colored lights that can be mixed in varying amounts to produce a gamut of colors. This is the essential method used to create the perception of a ...
s.[ He is not offered the same free range of motion associated with hand-drawn characters; his character is mostly shown from only one angle, and his movements are animated in an intentionally jerky fashion.] Ever since the show's second episode, "Weight Gain 4000
"Weight Gain 4000" is the third episode of the first season of the American animated television series '' South Park''. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on August 27, 1997. In the episode, the residents of South Park excited ...
" ( season one, 1997), Kenny, like all other characters on the show, has been animated with computer software, though he is portrayed to give the impression that the show still utilizes its original technique.[
The effect of Kenny's speech is achieved by Stone mumbling into his own hand as he provides Kenny's lines.][ While he originally voiced Kenny without any computer manipulation, Stone now does so by speaking in his normal vocal range and then adding a childlike inflection. The recorded audio is then edited with ]Pro Tools
Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture ( sound design, audio post-produ ...
, and the pitch is altered to make the voice sound more like that of a fourth-grader. As the technique of Kenny's muzzled enunciation frequently implies, many of his lines are indeed profane and sexually explicit, the lengthier of which are mostly improvised by Stone.[
He first appeared unobscured by his hood in '' South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut'', where it was revealed that he had messy blonde hair. Mike Judge provided the voice for Kenny's one line of uninsulated dialogue: "Goodbye, you guys."] On a few occasions during episodes that have originally aired since the film's release, he has been seen without the parka;[Including " The Tooth Fairy Tats 2000", " Super Best Friends", " Lil' Crime Stoppers", "]The Jeffersons
''The Jeffersons'' is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, to July 2, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. ''The Jeffersons'' is one of the longest-running sitcoms in history, ...
", "Good Times with Weapons
"Good Times with Weapons" is episode 112 of ''South Park''. The first episode of season 8, it originally aired on March 17, 2004. In the episode, the boys are transformed into Japanese warriors after they buy martial arts weapons at a local marke ...
", " The Losing Edge", " South Park Is Gay!", "Lice Capades
"Lice Capades" is the third episode of the eleventh season of the American animated television series ''South Park''. The 156th episode of the series overall, it first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on March 21, 2007. In the episode ...
", "Margaritaville
"Margaritaville" is a 1977 song by American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett from the album '' Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes''. This song was written about a drink Buffett discovered at Lung's Cocina del Sur restauran ...
", " W.T.F.", " Pee", and " You're Getting Old". however, unlike in ''Bigger, Longer & Uncut'' his entire face has been only seen three times in the television series without being partially obscured or otherwise altered, this being in " The Losing Edge", "The Jeffersons
''The Jeffersons'' is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, to July 2, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. ''The Jeffersons'' is one of the longest-running sitcoms in history, ...
", and " You're Getting Old". He also speaks unmuffled during some of these instances, in which case co-producer Eric Stough
Eric "Butters" Stough (born July 31, 1972) is an American animator and producer. He is best known as the animation director and a producer on the television series ''South Park''. Born in Evergreen, Colorado, Stough attended the University of Co ...
provides Kenny's voice. During " The Coon" episodes of seasons 13 and 14, Kenny has his first major speaking role as the character Mysterion.
Personality and traits
While most child characters on the show are foul-mouthed, Kenny is often even more risqué with his dialogue. Parker and Stone state that they depict Kenny and his friends in this manner in order to display how young boys really talk when they are alone. While Kenny is often cynical and profane, Parker notes that there nonetheless is an "underlying sweetness" aspect to the character, and ''Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'' magazine described Kenny and his friends as "sometimes cruel but with a core of innocence".[ He is amused by ]toilet humor
Toilet humour, or potty or scatological humour (compare scatology), is a type of off-colour humour dealing with defecation, diarrhea, constipation, urination and flatulence, and to a lesser extent vomiting and other bodily functions. It sees sub ...
and bodily functions,[ and his favorite television personalities are ]Terrance and Phillip
The following is a list of recurring characters in the animated television series ''South Park''. The list does not include the List of students at South Park Elementary, school children, List of South Park families, family members or List of Sou ...
, a Canadian duo whose comedy routines on their show-within-the-show revolve substantially around fart jokes. Kenny is shown to desire intercourse in the episode "The Ring", when Kenny gets a girlfriend and is overjoyed to find out that she has a reputation as a slut. Kenny is also lecherous,[ and often portrayed as being eager to do and say disgusting things in an attempt to impress others or earn money.][ Conversely, his alter-ego Mysterion is seemingly mature, principled, and serious-minded, the only exception being one instance in "Mysterion Rises" in which he takes delight in irritating Cartman. As Mysterion, he convinces his parents to take better care of themselves and their children, as seen by their reaction when he questions them about the cult of Cthulhu. He also uses his disguise to protect his sister Karen (who refers to Mysterion as her "guardian angel"), as revealed in "]The Poor Kid
"The Poor Kid" is the fifteenth season finale of the American animated television series '' South Park'', and the 223rd episode of the series overall. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on November 16, 2011. In the episode, Ke ...
"; however, in all of his guises, Kenny is depicted as being uncommonly selfless, dying for the sake of others and spending all of his time working so he could buy his little sister a doll.
In the trilogy of episodes " Black Friday", " A Song of Ass and Fire" and " Titties and Dragons", in which the boys play-act characters from the TV series '' Game of Thrones'', Kenny cross-dresses
Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes usually worn by a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and self-express oneself.
Cross-dressing has play ...
as a fantasy-style princess with a wig and dress similar to the video game character Princess Zelda
is the titular Character (arts), character in Nintendo's ''The Legend of Zelda'' video game series. She was created by Shigeru Miyamoto and introduced in the original 1986 game ''The Legend of Zelda (video game), The Legend of Zelda''. She is on ...
, and becomes a Japanese-speaking moe anime
is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
character at one point. When Cartman complains, "You're never going to be a real princess
Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince.
Princess as a subs ...
", Princess Kenny responds (via her translator, Stan) angrily to Cartman, calling him a "ball-licking lesbian".
This portrayal continues in the video game '' South Park: The Stick of Truth'' where Cartman notes that playing a "chick" is "just how ennyseems to be rolling right now". Kenny's sister also refers to Kenny as a girl, if you talk to her in the McCormick house. Throughout the game, Kenny posts 'status updates' referring to herself as "the cutest of them all".
In other media
Kenny had a major role in '' South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut'', the full-length film based on the series, and appeared on the film's soundtrack singing (albeit muffled) several lines of the song "Mountain Town" from the film. As a tribute to the Dead Parrot sketch
The "Dead Parrot Sketch", alternatively and originally known as the "Pet Shop Sketch" or "Parrot Sketch", is a Sketch comedy, sketch from ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' about a non-existent species of parrot, called a "Norwegian Blue". A sati ...
, a short that features Kenny as a "dead friend" being returned by Cartman to a shop run by Kyle aired during a 1999 BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
''. Kenny was also featured in the
.
mode who attempts to ward off enemies from terrorizing the town of South Park. In ''
'', a user has the option of playing as Kenny when participating in the game's several "minigames" based on other popular arcade games. In the racing game ''
'', a user can race as Kenny against other users playing as other characters, while choosing to place him in any of a variety of vehicles. In ''
against the game's antagonists.
'', Kenny (as Princess Kenny) can be selected as a companion over the course of much of the game. In ''
'', Kenny is seen as his alter-ego Mysterion.