7. South Park Mr. Hanky the Christmas Poo (1997)
Right from the off it was clear that South Park would never do a normal Christmas episode. The show revels in being offensive and shocking, no surprise as Matt Stone and Trey Parker see themselves as the punk rockers of the animation world. Having established the four foul mouthed protagonists, they had to come up with a suitable way to subvert Christmas for the first time. They obviously delivered and we were given the gift of 'Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo'. This fecal theme fit right in with the show's irreverent tone and allowed for a terrific satire on religion in schools. When Sheila Broflovski (Kyle's mom) raises concerns over the content of the school play it quickly becomes out of hand, leading to Mayor McDaniels' decree that anything offensive to anyone be removed from the Christmas celebrations. Kyle suggests that he could sing Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo as a non-religious substitute but his mother forces him to quit. The play continues as planned, presented as a minimalist performance created by composer Phillip Glass. Shocked by how awful it has turned out, a fight ensues leading to Mr. Hankey proving his existence and scolding the townsfolk for losing sight of Christmas values. Of course, as is the norm with South Park we are given a message to take away and in this case it's one of holiday cheer and acceptance. Before we get to that point however we are treated to 20 minutes of gross-out scatological visuals and hilarious jokes, early South Park at its best.