Background Information
The Spirit of Christmas is the name of two different animated short films that launched South Park. To differentiate the two they are often referred to as Jesus vs. Frosty and Jesus vs. Santa.
In 1995, Fox executive Brian Graden paid Trey Parker and Matt Stone $2000 to make another animated short as a video Christmas card he could send to friends. In turn, the duo created Jesus vs. Santa. This version of The Spirit of Christmas featured more developed versions of Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny. It established the characters as they would be used in South Park. The film reportedly had a budget of $750, with Parker and Stone keeping the rest of their commission.
Graden initially distributed the video to 80 friends in December 1995, one of the friends rumored to be George Clooney. After months of being passed around on bootleg video and the Internet, the film caught the attention of cable network Comedy Central. The network hired the pair to develop South Park, which premiered in the USA on August 13, 1997.
In 1997, Jesus vs. Santa received a Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for best animation.
