Editing Kenny McCormick (section)

===Creation and design===
[[Image:KennyUnhooded.jpg|thumb|left|Kenny's entire face was revealed for the first time in the 1999 film ''[[South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut]]''.]]
When developing the character, the show's creators had observed that most groups of childhood friends in small middle-class towns always included "the one poor kid" and decided to portray Kenny in this light.<ref name=goindown>{{cite video|people=Trey Parker, Matt Stone|title=Goin' Down to South Park|medium=Television documentary|publisher=Comedy Central}}</ref>

In a 2000 interview, Parker said that Kenny was based on a childhood friend of his who was also named Kenny and wore an orange parka that muffled his voice. He was the poorest child in the neighborhood and often skipped school, causing Parker and his friends to jokingly say he died, only for him to return to school later.<ref>{{Citation|title=South Park - The Real-Life Inspiration for Kenny (Paley Center, 2000)| date=September 16, 2010 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xL11JnW7pzY |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/xL11JnW7pzY| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|access-date=2021-06-17}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

An unnamed precursor to Kenny first appeared in the first ''The Spirit of Christmas'' short, dubbed ''Jesus vs. Frosty'', created by Parker and Stone in 1992 while they were students at the [[University of Colorado at Boulder|University of Colorado]]. The character was composed of [[construction paper]] cutouts and animated through the use of [[stop motion]].<ref name=method>{{cite news|author=Matt Cheplic |title='As Crappy As Possible': The Method Behind the Madness of South Park |publisher=[[Penton Media]] |date=May 1, 1998 |url=http://digitalcontentproducer.com/mag/video_crappy_possible_method/ |access-date=April 28, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090329014416/http://digitalcontentproducer.com/mag/video_crappy_possible_method/ |archive-date=March 29, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> When tasked three years later by friend Brian Graden to create another short as a video [[Christmas card]] that he could send to friends, Parker and Stone created another similarly-animated ''The Spirit of Christmas'' short, dubbed ''Jesus vs. Santa''.<ref name=VH1>{{cite web|url=http://www.vh1.com/press/bios/brian_graden.jhtml |title=Brian Graden's Bio |publisher=VH1.com |access-date=January 10, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080120161058/http://www.vh1.com/press/bios/brian_graden.jhtml |archive-date=January 20, 2008 }}</ref> In this short, Kenny is given his first name, and first appears as he does in the series.
Kenny next appeared on August 13, 1997, when ''South Park'' debuted on [[Comedy Central]] with the episode "[[Cartman Gets an Anal Probe]]".<ref>Frederic M. Biddle, "'South Park' wickedly makes the grade", ''[[The Boston Globe]]'' (August 13, 1997). [[LexisNexis]] {{subscription required}}. Retrieved April 30, 2009.</ref>

In tradition with the show's [[Cutout animation|animation style]], Kenny is composed of simple geometrical shapes and [[primary color]]s.<ref name=avr/><ref name=method/> He is not offered the same free range of motion associated with hand-drawn characters; his character is mostly shown from only one angle, and his movements are animated in an intentionally jerky fashion.<ref name=avr/><ref name=method/><ref name=growsup2>{{cite news|author=Jaime J. Weinman |title=South Park grows up |publisher=Mac leans.ca |date=March 12, 2008 |url=http://www.macleans.ca/culture/entertainment/article.jsp?content=20080312_115131_115131&page=2 |access-date=April 30, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090802210052/http://www.macleans.ca/culture/entertainment/article.jsp?content=20080312_115131_115131&page=2 |archive-date=August 2, 2009 }}</ref> Ever since the show's second episode, "[[Weight Gain 4000]]" ([[South Park season 1|season one]], 1997), Kenny, like all other characters on the show, has been animated with computer software, though he is portrayed to give the impression that the show still utilizes its original technique.<ref name=method/>

[[File:MysterionUnmasked1.png|thumb|Mysterion unmasked at the end of "[[The Coon]]". Originally intended to have been a generic, unnamed classmate of the main characters, he was revealed to be Kenny in "[[Mysterion Rises]]".<ref name=mysterion/>]]

The effect of Kenny's speech is achieved by Stone mumbling into his own hand as he provides Kenny's lines.<ref name=method/> While he originally voiced Kenny without any computer manipulation, Stone now does so by speaking in his normal vocal range and then adding a childlike inflection. The recorded audio is then edited with [[Pro Tools]], and the pitch is altered to make the voice sound more like that of a fourth-grader.<ref>{{cite web|title=South Park FAQ|url=https://southpark.cc.com/fans/faq/archives.php?month=2&year=2009|date=February 10, 2009|publisher=South Park Studios|access-date=April 30, 2009|archive-date=May 11, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090511145241/http://www.southparkstudios.com/fans/faq/archives.php?month=2&year=2009|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=sps40>{{cite web|title=40 Questions |url=http://treyparker.info/archives_spstudios.htm |date=October 4, 2001 |publisher=South Park Studios |access-date=January 30, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101129004417/http://treyparker.info/archives_spstudios.htm |archive-date=November 29, 2010 }}</ref> As the technique of Kenny's muzzled enunciation frequently implies, many of his lines are indeed profane and sexually explicit, the lengthier of which are mostly improvised by Stone.<ref name=method/>

He first appeared unobscured by his hood in ''[[South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut]]'', where it was revealed that he had messy blonde hair. [[Mike Judge]] provided the voice for Kenny's one line of uninsulated dialogue: "Goodbye, you guys."<ref name="voiceactors">{{cite web |url=https://southpark.cc.com/fans/faq/355463 |title=FAQ: In 'Meet the Jeffersons' and in BLU Kenny's voice can be heard without it being muffled by his hood. But the voice in the movie sounds different from the episode!! Was it done by two different people?? If so why and who did the voice? |publisher=South Park Studios |date=June 24, 2010 |access-date=December 4, 2011 |archive-date=November 29, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101129121524/http://www.southparkstudios.com/fans/faq/355463 |url-status=dead }}</ref> On a few occasions during episodes that have originally aired since the film's release, he has been seen without the parka;<ref group=note>Including "[[The Tooth Fairy Tats 2000]]", "[[Super Best Friends]]", "[[Lil' Crime Stoppers]]", "[[The Jeffersons (South Park episode)|The Jeffersons]]", "[[Good Times with Weapons]]", "[[The Losing Edge]]", "[[South Park Is Gay!]]", "[[Lice Capades]]", "[[Margaritaville (South Park)|Margaritaville]]", "[[W.T.F. (South Park)|W.T.F.]]", "[[Pee (South Park)|Pee]]", "[[You're Getting Old]]", and "[[DikinBaus Hot Dogs]]".</ref> however, unlike in ''Bigger, Longer & Uncut'' his entire face has been only seen four times in the television series without being partially obscured or otherwise altered, this being in "[[The Losing Edge]]", "[[The Jeffersons (South Park episode)|The Jeffersons]]", "[[You're Getting Old]]", and "[[DikinBaus Hot Dogs]]" (except in DikiniBaus Hot Dogs, his face is slightly concealed by a pair of sunglasses shades). He also speaks unmuffled during some of these instances, in which case co-producer [[Eric Stough]] provides Kenny's voice.<ref name="voiceactors" /> During "[[The Coon]]" episodes of seasons 13 and 14, Kenny has his first major speaking role as the character Mysterion.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbr.com/south-park-best-kenny-quotes-ranked/|title=Kenny's 6 Best Quotes From South Park, Ranked|date=March 3, 2022|website=CBR|access-date=March 10, 2022|archive-date=March 10, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220310013549/https://www.cbr.com/south-park-best-kenny-quotes-ranked/|url-status=live}}</ref>