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Since its big premiere in 1997, South Park has been dividing audiences. Fans, and even some critics, find it hilarious and brilliant, a clever satire on current events. The show’s naysayers, however, have been offended and outraged by its humor since day one. Twenty-six seasons later, South Park has become one of the longest-running TV shows of all time. Its tremendous success stems from its graphic content and profane language, its crude yet unique animation style, and its colorful cast of iconic characters. And one of those characters is Butters.
South Park
- Release Date
- August 13, 1997
- Seasons
- 26
Leopold Stotch — commonly known as “Butters”, even by his own strict parents — is the most beloved supporting character in South Park. Even creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have called him one of their favorite characters. Butters’ innocence and naïveté make him a favorite among fans and a frequent target of absurd situations. Using words like “gosh”, “gee whiz”, and “fellas”, he was modeled after a 1950s sitcom child character and is loosely based on South Park co-producer Eric Stough. Originally just an extra, Butters gradually gained prominence and even replaced the main character Kenny for a few seasons. Here are 10 episodes that prominently feature Butters in all of his comedic glory.
10 “Butters’ Bottom B*tch”
Season 13, Episode 9
Tired of being the only boy in his class to have never kissed a girl, Butters purchases his first kiss from Sally Darson, who sells kisses for $5. The 10-year old immediately sees the potential in this and develops a “kissing company”, recruiting girls to hand out kisses for money to unpopular boys. In other words, Butters becomes an elementary school pimp.
Butters the Pimp
Little, innocent, naive Butters as a pimp– how is that not funny? We see him attend a pimp convention, where he hangs out with older, hardened, and more experienced pimps. He adopts their slang and starts acting like a pimp himself. He takes their frequent use of “Know what I’m sayin’?” and comically replaces it with the more grammatically correct, “Do you know what I am saying?” He rocks a gold necklace and refers to girls only by derogatory words. Butters even visits an ACORN office seeking benefits for his prostitutes, a controversial moment that refers to a real-life 2009 scandal.
9 “Butters’ Very Own Episode”
Season 5, Episode 14
“Butters’ Very Own Episode” is exactly like it sounds: it’s the first episode in South Park to focus solely on Butters. At the time, South Park was setting up Butters to replace longtime cast member Kenny McCormick, killing him off completely. The opening credits might make it look endearing, but the story…well, it’s South Park. What do you expect?
A 1950s Sitcom Parody
To match Butters’ personality, the episode is designed to be a parody of a 1950s sitcom. A very dark, yet very funny, 1950s sitcom. Butters’ mother, Linda, asks Butters to spy on his father, Chris, and discern what he got her for their anniversary. Butters trails his father into adult theaters for gay men, where he unknowingly uncovers Chris’ homosexual inclinations.
Oh, but the ridiculousness doesn’t end there. Butters ignorantly shares this news with his mother, who completely loses her mind. She tries to kill Butters — the literal version of killing the messenger — by dumping her car into a river while Butters is still inside. His unhinged parents cover up the murder attempt, creating a televised scandal and blaming their son’s disappearance on “some Puerto Rican guy.”
8 “The Death of Eric Cartman”
Season 9, Episode 6
After eating all the fried skin on their Kentucky Fried Chicken, the boys of South Park Elementary decide that Cartman has finally gone too far. They ignore his existence — which leads Cartman to logically assume that he’s dead. The only person who can see him, it seems, is Butters (but really, Butters was just excluded from the boys’ joke).
Butters vs. Cartman
Poor Butters often finds himself the target of Cartman’s plots — and the result is often comedic gold. Cartman’s selfish and manipulative personality hilariously compliments Butters’ ignorant and gullible nature; he’s happy to go along with whatever scheme Cartman hatches. Their team-ups have resulted in some of the funniest, most iconic episodes in South Park, several of which appear on this list. “The Death of Eric Cartman” is such an episode.
Convinced that he’s a ghost, Butters is manipulated into helping Cartman pull off good deeds so that his soul can go to Heaven. What follows is a hilarious chain of events that gets Butters sent to a mental asylum, where he’s diagnosed with deep trauma and anally probed for no reason. There’s another hysterical scene where Cartman distracts a group of criminals by “haunting” them (though really, they’re just baffled by watching a little, fat kid walking around, shaking furniture and making ghost noises), allowing Butters to free their hostages. The episode ends with Cartman realizing the truth and resuming his old ways — and with Butters going back to the mental asylum for another anal probe.
7 “Super Fun Time”
Season 12, Episode 7
Mr. Garrison’s fourth grade class of South Park Elementary goes on a field trip to Pioneer Village, a 19th-century-themed living history museum. All the kids are asked to buddy up with a partner. Naturally, Cartman gets partnered with Butters, who promises Mr. Garrison to never let go of Cartman’s hand. But of course, Cartman has other plans for the duo, like visiting the nearby kids arcade “Super Phun Thyme”.
Another Funny Cartman and Butters Team-Up
This episode excels at contrasting the rule-abiding Butters with the rule-breaking Cartman. When they finally leave Super Phun Thyme and return to Pioneer Village, the boys are stunned to see the police. Convinced that the cops are there looking for them, Butters and Cartman try sneaking back into the village, all without ever separating hands. But really, there’s a ridiculous ongoing robbery and hostage situation at the Pioneer Village, where its employees stupidly refuse to break their 19th-century characters, even in the face of death.
6 “Professor Chaos”
Season 6, Episode 6
After Butters gets fired as the boys’ replacement for Kenny, they hold a contest to find a replacement for Butters, the necessary fourth member of their crew. Enraged, Butters vows revenge and creates a supervillain alter-ego: Professor Chaos
Professor Chaos’ Introduction
This episode is known for introducing Professor Chaos, who’s become an iconic South Park character in his own right. It also introduces his trusty, young sidekick, General Disarray. Seeing the innocent and ignorant Butters embrace a villainous role is laugh-out-loud funny. And his evil plots are comically dumb and trivial, such as stealing erasers from their teacher, Ms. Choksondik, during class. The boys’ contest also parodies The Bachelor, where each advancing competitor is given a rose.
5 “Marjorine”
Season 9, Episode 9
The boys of South Park Elementary become enthralled by a high-tech gadget that their female classmates have been using, which supposedly sees into the future. They devise an elaborate plan to steal it, which naturally involves Butters.
Butters Gets a New Identity
Remember those paper fortune-tellers that kids made in elementary school? That is the incredible future-telling device that the boys want for themselves. But perhaps even more ridiculous than that is the boys’ elaborate plan to steal it. They fake Butters’ death by dropping a pig carcass in his clothing from the top of a building, and then disguise the real Butters as a new female student named Marjorine.
Butters humorously embraces his new identity (perhaps a little too well) when he attends a girls’ slumber party. Later, the CIA and Russians get involved, all of them after the paper fortune-teller, and Butters’ devastated father tries bringing his son back to life by digging up his corpse (a pig carcass) and reburying it at an Indian burial ground.
4 “Awesom-O”
Season 8, Episode 5
Cartman comes up with an elaborate scheme (because, of course, he does) to dress up as a cardboard robot named A.W.E.S.O.M.-O 4000 and become best friends with Butters — all to lure out Butters’ deepest, darkest secrets and make fun of him. But Cartman’s scheme takes both him and Butters to unexpected places, like the center of Hollywood.
Butters Reveals His Deepest Secrets
It’s one thing for Butters to get fooled by Cartman’s disguise. But things are taken to a whole new level when Hollywood studio Catamount Pictures (poking fun at South Park parent company Paramount) finds out about A.W.E.S.O.M.-O and uses him to pump out movie ideas — 800 of which involve Adam Sandler. As usual, the US military gets involved, believing that A.W.E.S.O.M.-O is an advanced form of artificial intelligence.
Cartman refuses to break character and endures absurd things, like sexual advances from Hollywood producers and allowing the murder of a military scientist, just to keep up his joke on Butters. In the end, it’s a simple fart that unravels Cartman’s scheme. This is yet another incredible episode that showcases the hilarious dynamic between Cartman and Butters. This one, though, is a breath of fresh air because, for once, it’s Cartman who gets destroyed in the end rather than Butters.
3 “Casa Bonita”
Season 7, Episode 11
Cartman refuses to be excluded from Kyle’s birthday party at Casa Bonita, the hottest Mexican restaurant in South Park. He’s determined to make Kyle’s guest list and experience all the fun and wonder of Casa Bonita — by any means necessary. Enter Butters…again. “Casa Bonita” has become iconic in the South Park universe. Show creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone even purchased the real-life Casa Bonita restaurant.
Butters Is Gullible, Once Again
Cartman decides to knock Butters off Kyle’s guest list and claim his spot at Casa Bonita. He diabolically tricks Butters into thinking that the world was destroyed by a meteor and then hides him away from civilization, so that Butters will miss the birthday party. Led by Cartman, Butters hilariously runs through town with a box over his head to protect him from the nonexistent radiation. He then lives in a garbage dump for weeks, mistaking it for a post-apocalyptic Earth, and tries to start a new civilization with a stray dog. Is it horrible and sad? Yes. But is it also amazing and hysterical? Yes.
2 “Good Times with Weapons”
Season 8, Episode 1
After buying martial arts weapons from the local market, the boys imagine themselves as Japanese ninjas and playfully battle. The episode’s animation switches back and forth from its usual cardboard-cutout appearance to the Japanese anime style. It’s one of the most iconic episodes of South Park and has been called a favorite of creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone.
It’s All Fun and Games
The boys refuse to include Butters in their imaginary Japanese-warrior battles. Their rejection prompts him to whip out his old, villainous alter-ego, Professor Chaos, and he becomes the episode’s antagonist. We’re treated to an anime-inspired brawl between him and the other boys. But the fun and games end when Professor Chaos hilariously takes a shuriken to the eye — not just in the game, but in real life.
The boys are afraid that if they take Butters to the hospital, their parents will find out about what happened. So they go with the next best option: disguising the bloodied Butters as a dog by gluing actual dog fur to his body and taking him to a vet. The absurdity of it all is laugh-out-loud funny, especially when Butters ends up getting rejected by a hospital because the doctor thinks he’s actually a dog. “Good Times with Weapons” is regarded as one of the funniest episodes in the series.
1 “The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers”
Season 6, Episode 13
A spoof of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the South Park boys pretend to be characters from Peter Jackson’s iconic fantasy trilogy and embark on a quest to the mythical world of the Two Towers video store to return a powerful videotape.
The Funniest Butters Episode
“The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers” is a brilliant ensemble episode that showcases South Park’s best characters, from the four main boys, to the dim-witted Randy Marsh, to other supporting characters. Although it’s an ensemble episode, it heavily features Butters in arguably his funniest episode. The boys unknowingly come into possession of the most hardcover porno ever made: Backdoor Sluts 9.
Poor Butters ends up watching it, thinking that it’s The Lord of the Rings. He becomes obsessed with the porno and becomes a Gollum-like character. He spends the rest of the episode slinking about and calling the tape “my precious”. Aside from that, there are a lot of funny references to iconic moments in The Lord of Rings, as well as a funny jab at Harry Potter.
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