For 27 years, South Park has had memorable characters come and go and shift who the present focuses on. While Towliee is a fan favourite and Randy Marsh has been a point of interest as of late for creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, it is laborious for any character to match what Leopald “Butters” Stoch brings to the quiet little mountain city. Initially a background character, Butters grew to become a common comedic punching bag for the fourth grade protagonists and rapidly obtained not solely his personal episode however joined the boys as Kenny’s alternative briefly (earlier than being fired.) Fans have grown to like Butters for his excessive spirits and good nature, and whereas it is easy to giggle on the torture he receives from his “friends” and fogeys, it is laborious to not love the harmless little goofball. But maybe a few of Butters’ attraction comes from Parker and Stone drawing from actual life for his inspiration.

Who Is Butters Based On?

There are a variety of South Park characters that had been primarily based on individuals Parker and Stone had met of their lives. In the commentaries for Season One, the duo references themselves as inspiration for Stan and Kyle, Cannibal! The Musical producer Jason McHugh was used because the visible foundation for the just lately deceased Jason White, and Parker referred to his personal sister and father for Shelly and Randy Marsh (together with the tempestuous relationship he and his sister had.) But Butters was somebody who grew into his character. Initially simply one other child within the classroom, Butters was even christened “Swanson” in season 2’s “Conjoined Fetus Lady.” But that every one modified in the course of the manufacturing of South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut.

While the nonetheless as of then named Swanson solely has two moments within the South Park movie, it was behind the scenes that Butters was born. As described on the commentary for the movie, animation director Eric Stough was christened Butters as a light teasing by Parker and Stone impersonating him throughout lengthy hours on the manufacturing. Stough tries to clarify that it was the devolution of the duo referring to him as “buddy,” “Mr. Buddy,” “Mr. Budders.” into ultimately “budders,” one thing one in every of them had additionally executed with an ex-girlfriend (although Parker & Stone constantly speak over him.) The character developed out of Stone impersonating Stough’s voice and heightening a pushover nature. But is that actually the case for the person behind Butters?

Who Is Eric Stough?

Eric Stough has been concerned with South Park earlier than South Park was even a present. In a detailed interview he gave to Cracked final 12 months, Stough revealed he is recognized Trey Parker since junior excessive, when he noticed Parker carry out in a pretend heavy metallic band at a expertise present. Two years youthful, Stough and Parker did not change into associates till becoming a member of choir in highschool, the place they carried out collectively. They remained associates whereas attending University of Boulder the place Stough met Matt Stone (who’s nearer to Stough’s age than Parker’s) and labored on quick movies collectively. An enormous fan of Looney Tunes and The Muppets, Stough was drawn to animation and took artwork courses till Parker satisfied him in any other case. “You know, Eric, you’re going to waste a lot of time simply sitting there within the drawing class. You have to be within the movie college and begin working on animating movies any approach which you could,” Stough stated, however a collaboration was nonetheless but to come back.

Before South Park was the present, it began as a viral video Christmas Card. In school, Parker and Stone had made a quick Jesus Vs. Frosty, about a killer snowman. As a favor to an government in Hollywood, they got down to remake it with a greater manufacturing worth (and shift the main target from Frosty to Santa.) At the time, Stough was not in Los Angeles, however relatively working at an animation firm in Denver. Parker reached out to him about making the pilot with higher supplies and tools, and Stough was keen to assist out. When the quick grew to become a hit and a TV present was developed, Stough left Denver to go work on the pilot.

From thereon, and to this present day, Stough has labored on South Park. Initially, because the animation director, he helped Parker and Stone determine the software program to recreate the development paper-like search for the collection to keep away from doing it as stop-motion (which took far too lengthy.) He has additionally been concerned in small methods in different tasks Parker and Stone have labored on, like Cannibal! The Musical, Orgazmo, and Team America: World Police. Stough has graduated to producer, although, and has, up to now, even directed a few episodes of South Park, one thing by and huge reserved for Parker. But is Stough okay being the inspiration of South Park’s most put-upon character?

How Does Stough Feel About Butters?

Stough initially responded with some hesitation to seeing Butters within the episode script. He advised Cracked, “I was a little worried because I’d seen what happened with other people put in the show. Like Mr. Mackey, he was based on a vice principal we had in junior high; Mr. Lackey was his name.” But greater than that, his fear was the way it may catch on. When not being talked over in a commentary, Stough tells the total story of the identify’s improvement, being that he would typically tag together with Parker and Stone as they had been invited to main occasions with their profession on the rise and have become their “little buddy.” It’s a time period of endearment, however these on the receiving finish might be choosy about who makes use of it. “It was cool when Matt and Trey were doing it since we’d been friends for so long, but I didn’t like it when everyone else started doing it,” Stough advised Cracked.

He admits, whereas heightened to comedic ends, there may be a little bit of Butters that comes from him. He went on to say, “When first coming out to Hollywood, I was a deer in headlights. I was into Disney and the Muppets and just came out here to animate, and they were hanging out in bars and things like that. I also grew up on a hillside in Evergreen, Colorado, and there was this innocence and purity to it.” It’s straightforward to see how this grew to become warped into Butters’s naïveté and good nature, which regularly resulted in some horrors taking place to him. Stough was a little upset concerning the impression at first, denying that was his voice or how he sounded. But, ultimately, he got here round to understand how beloved a determine Butters had change into. “Once I saw people getting tattoos of Butters and naming their dogs Butters, I embraced it.”

Butters is the Most Relatable

Butters is a fan favourite, even receiving his personal DVD field set. The attraction of Butters comes straight from the connection Parker, Stone, and Stough have collectively. “They’re like big brothers… Early on, before we all had families, we would travel together. We went to Japan, the World Cup, and Europe,” he advised Cracked. Despite being the butt of a joke that became an iconic character, there may be clear affection between the three of them. It’s a sort of fraternal connection represented in how the boys of South Park deal with Butters. If you have not had a pal like Butters, there’s a good probability you are any individual’s Butters, and that is okay. We all really feel like Butters generally, and when issues do not go your approach, all you’ll be able to say is “Oh, hamburgers!”

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