By Robert Scucci
| Published
South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have always had a tendency to base their characters off of people they knew in real life, and the ever-wholesome Leopold “Butters” Stotch is no exception. If you dig through enough interviews, you’ll find that school guidance counselor, Mr. Mackey was based off of Parker’s high school counselor, Stan Lackey, who was known for his signature catchphrase, “m’kay.”
Even Kenny McCormic’s death in every early episode was based on a childhood friend of the same name, who was the poorest kid in school, wore an orange parka that muffled his voice, and often skipped class, which made his classmates joke that he probably died, only for him to show up at school the next day.
Butters, on the other hand, was actually inspired by South Park’s very own animation director – now producer – Eric Stough after Parker and Stone realized he would make a great character for the show because of his innocence and reputation for being such a “goody goody.”
From Eric To Butters
Though the character design for Butters was shown on screen from the very first episode of South Park, “Cartman Gets an Anal Probe,” he wasn’t officially given a name until the Season 3 episode, “Two Guys Naked in a Hot Tub,” three years into the show’s run, just three weeks after South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut saw its theatrical premiere. In fact, the character was simply referred to as “Puff Puff” and “Swanson” before being officially named, and these names were committed to scripts and storyboards interchangeably until he was given a more prominent role in the Season three episode and referred to as Butters.
So how did Butters come to be as the South Park character we know and love today?
Eric Stough, South Park’s animation director at the time, was known to be a wholesome geek of the highest order, resulting in Parker and Stone ripping on him, often referring him to their little buddy. Over time, they started calling him their little Butters, saying things like “Who’s our little Butters?,” and “Who’s a good Butters?” along the way to get under his skin. This playful ribbing evolved into full-blown character development when Stough, against the wishes of Parker and Stone, decided it was a good idea to leave work early with show crew members to attend the premiere of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace while the creators were working tirelessly on their feature film, as well as Season 3, which was also in the middle of an active run.
Formal Introductions
Vexed by the fact that their animation director jumped ship during a crucial point in the show’s run and the movie’s production, they decided to bring his personality into the show to continue ripping on him. Just three weeks after Bigger, Longer, & Uncut premiered, Butters had his first “official” appearance in South Park in the iteration that we’re familiar with. Inspired by Stough’s unwillingness to offend, and his overall wholesome countenance, Butters was introduced to South Park as a permanent character, and voiced by Matt Stone moving forward.
Known for his ever-present sense of innocence and naivety, Butters would become known to utter out minced oaths like “oh, hamburgers” and “gee whiz,” like a child character from a 50s sitcom who wanted to express frustration without ever saying any profanities.
It wouldn’t be until Season 5’s finale, “Butters’ Very Own Episode,” that we’d catch a better look at the character’s family life, explaining his sheltered disposition thanks to his overbearing parents when his mother, Linda, tried to drown him by crashing her car into a lake after finding out that his father, Stephen, was going to questionable massage parlors under the guise of searching for a wedding anniversary present. To this day, “Butters’ Very Own Episode” is one of South Park’s darkest entries, even though Butters remains in high spirits after the entire ordeal, which is an obvious continuation of the joke that Eric Stough is simply a lovable goofball who often finds himself in extraordinary situations beyond his control.
The Rest Is History
As the South Park creators would later learn, Butters turned out to be the perfect foil for Eric Cartman, who’s a textbook sociopath, and Parker has frequently gone on record stating that the episodes involving the two going on adventures together are his favorite episodes because of the clash of personality between the two characters. From “The Death of Eric Cartman” and “Super Fun Time” to the legendary “Casa Bonita,” Cartman and Butters frequently butt heads as Cartman manipulates the narrative in his favor while dragging Butters along as an unwilling participant who’s so afraid of getting grounded that he’ll cautiously join in on the adventure, knowing full well that his parents are really going to let him have it when all is said and done.
As South Park approaches its 27th season, Butters is a series mainstay, and it’s hard to imagine the show without his sunny disposition and sickeningly sweet personality that often serves as the voice of reason when things go off the rails in his small mountain town. And to think, all it took was three years of jokes at Eric Stough’s expense before he would eventually become one of the series’ most beloved characters.
