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{{short description|South Park character}}
{{Unreferenced|date=March 2007}}
{{Redirect|Cartman|other uses|Cartman (disambiguation)}}
{{South Park character|
{{Distinguish|Eric Carmen}}
image=]|
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}}
name=Eric Theodore Cartman|
{{pp|small=yes}}
gender=]|
{{Infobox character
blood type=AB-|
| series = ]
hair=Brown|
| image = EricCartman.png
job=Student|
| first = '']'' (1992, short)
age=9|
| creator = ]<br>]
religion=]|
| voice = Trey Parker
start=]''|
| designer = Trey Parker<br>Matt Stone
finish=Ongoing|
| full_name = Eric Theodore Cartman
voice=] |
| gender = Male
| occupation = {{plainlist|
*Student
*Rabbi ('']'')
*Unemployed (revised timeline in '']'')
}} }}
| family = {{plainlist|
*] (mother)
*Jack Tenorman (father)
*Scott Tenorman (half-brother)
}}
| children = {{plain list|
*Menorah Cartman (alternate future daughter)
*Moisha Cartman (alternate future son)
*Hackelm Cartman (alternate future son)
}}
| significant_other = Heidi Turner (ex-girlfriend)
| spouse = Yentl Cartman (] wife)
| alias = The Coon<!--"The Coon" is currently the only alias for Cartman. Do NOT add any other names to this parameter without either: 1) first achieving consensus on this article's talk page AND noting that consensus in your edit summary; or 2) supplying a reference to at least one reliable source (per WP:RS). If you do not do one of these two things, you will be reverted.-->
| nationality = American
| lbl23 = Residence
| data23 = ], United States
}}
'''Eric Theodore Cartman''', commonly referred to as just '''Cartman''',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://southpark.cc.com/full-episodes/s02e11-roger-ebert-should-lay-off-the-fatty-foods|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140717051507/http://southpark.cc.com/full-episodes/s02e11-roger-ebert-should-lay-off-the-fatty-foods|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 17, 2014|title=Roger Ebert Should Lay Off the Fatty Foods|date=September 2, 1998|access-date=June 6, 2011}}</ref> is a fictional character in the ] ] '']'', created by ] and ]. He is voiced by Parker, and is one of the series' four main characters, alongside ], ], and ]. He first appeared with the name Kenny in the short film '']'' (1992), and later appeared in the 1995 film of the same title before debuting in "]", the first episode of the series, on August 13, 1997.


Cartman is an elementary school student who lives with his single mother, ], in the eponymous ] town. Cartman is principally characterized by his obesity, his amorality, and his bigoted and especially ] disposition, being described by Parker and Stone as "a little ]". In later seasons, particularly following the ] episode "]" (in which he turns the titular Scott Tenorman's parents into chili, in order to feed it to him as revenge for bullying him), Cartman exhibits increasingly ] and ] behavior. The latter is showcased through Cartman's various schemes, the majority of which fail either due to opposition from other characters or Cartman's own ], frequently leaving Cartman in complete humiliation.
'''Eric Theodore Cartman''', ] by ], is a ] in the ] '']''. He is one of the four central characters. Cartman is arguably the ] of ''South Park''.


Cartman is widely considered to be the most popular ''South Park'' character, one of the most influential fictional characters of all time, and an American cultural icon.<ref name="npr">{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89375695|title=Eric Cartman: America's Favorite Little $@#&*%|work=]|date=April 5, 2008|access-date=July 22, 2013|last=Rovner|first=Julie}}</ref><ref name="am">{{cite web|url=http://www.askmen.com/top_10/entertainment/top-10-cartman-moments.html|title=Top 10: Cartman Moments|work=]|access-date=July 22, 2013|last=McKee|first=Ryan|archive-date=October 12, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012013421/http://www.askmen.com/top_10/entertainment/top-10-cartman-moments.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="IGN top"/> Parker and Stone have stated that he is their favorite character, and the one with whom they most identify. ''South Park'' has received both praise and criticism for Cartman's ] behavior.
Cartman wears a light blue and yellow beanie, a red jacket, and brown pants most of the time. He wears a green or white T-Shirt under his jacket, though it is rarely seen. He has light brown hair (although it is occasionally black, such as when he is presented as ] or a ]); and of the four leads is the one who is most frequently seen without his cap. He has a ], large hands and feet, and is often made fun of due to his obvious ], a fact that Cartman himself is in denial about, claiming that he is "just big boned" when it is shown to obviously be his own fault as a result of his excessive diet of unhealthy food.


==Role in ''South Park''==
According to Trey Parker and ], when they were creating ''South Park'' they were vexed that it would be impossible to put a character like ] on late-] ]. They thought, however, that if he were an animated nine-year-old boy, it might just be allowed. Thus, Cartman was born.<ref>{{cite interview|url=http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/about.aspx?id=12881|title=Matt Stone, Trey Parker, Larry Divney 'Speaking Freely' transcript |accesdate=2007-02-08|date=]|subject=Trey Parker|subject2=Matt Stone}}</ref>
Cartman attends South Park Elementary as part of ]'s class. During the first 58 episodes, he and his classmates were in the third grade, before transitioning to the fourth grade during the fourth season. He is the ] of ], a promiscuous single mother. In the episode "]", Liane is said to be ], being both Eric's mother and father.<ref name="mcfarland1">{{cite news| first = Melanie | last = McFarland| title= Oh my God, 'South Park' killed a decade!| work = ]| date= September 30, 2006|url = http://www.seattlepi.com/tv/287052_southpark02.html| access-date = May 9, 2009}}</ref> This is later revealed to be an elaborate ruse in the fourteenth-season episode "]". In the following episode, "]", it is revealed that Cartman's true biological father is Jack Tenorman, a former player for the ] whom he arranged to have killed in "]"; Scott Tenorman, Jack's son, is thus revealed to be Cartman's half-brother.<ref name="cartmandad">{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/south-park-201-1798164797|title=201|last=O'Neal|first=Sean|date=April 21, 2010|work=The A.V. Club|publisher=Onion Inc.|access-date=April 22, 2010}}</ref>


Cartman is distinguished from most of the other children by a wider physical appearance,<ref name="growsup2">{{cite magazine|author=Jaime J. Weinman |title=South Park grows up |magazine=] |date=March 12, 2008 |url=http://www.macleans.ca/culture/entertainment/article.jsp?content=20080312_115131_115131&page=2 |access-date=April 30, 2008 |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> and is subject to ridicule from others for his obesity.<ref name="islam">{{cite news|author=Ali Asadullah |title=Contemporary Cartoon Conjures Racist Past |publisher=IslamOnline.net |date=November 15, 2001 |url=http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1158658390218&pagename=Zone-English-ArtCulture%2FACELayout |access-date=May 9, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070317003250/http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1158658390218&pagename=Zone-English-ArtCulture%2FACELayout |archive-date=March 17, 2007}}</ref> He is most commonly portrayed as an antagonist, with most of his actions driving the events of many episodes.<ref name="NPR"/> Cartman is alienated by the majority of the other children for his strong amorality,<ref>{{cite news|author=Jonathan Groce |title=Entertainment and wartime make strange bedfellows |work=] |date=April 18, 2003 |url=http://www.jhunewsletter.com/2003/04/17/entertainment-and-wartime-make-strange-bedfellows-78555/}}</ref><ref name="lowbrow">{{cite news | author = Dennis Lim | title = Television: Lowbrow and proud of it | newspaper = independent.co.uk| date = March 29, 1998| url = https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/television-lowbrow-and-proud-of-it-1153256.html| access-date = May 9, 2009}}</ref><ref name="lear">{{cite news | author = Jesse McKinley | title = Norman Lear Discovers Soul Mates in 'South Park' | newspaper = ]| date = April 10, 2003| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/10/movies/norman-lear-discovers-soul-mates-in-south-park.html| access-date = May 9, 2009}}</ref><ref name="asullivan">{{cite magazine | author = Andrew Sullivan | title = South Park and Imus | magazine = ]| date = April 13, 2007| url = https://www.theatlantic.com/daily-dish/archive/2007/04/south-park-and-imus/229330/ | access-date = May 9, 2009| author-link = Andrew Sullivan}}</ref><ref name="philo">Arp and Miller, pp.177–88</ref> but they are occasionally influenced by his manipulation.<ref name="philo2">Arp and Johnson, pp. 213–23</ref>
Cartman's personality has notably changed over the course of series. While always ] and ]ed, he was portrayed as more of an immature brat in the earlier seasons. As the seasons progressed, his personality became more aggressive and cunning, eventually crossing the line into outright ], while his bigotry morphed seamlessly into ]-like hatred. His abilities to manipulate other people into doing what he wants have become keener, along with his overall intelligence.


Though Cartman has shared an enmity with all three of his friends, his rivalry with Stan and Kyle has progressed significantly during the show's run, with Cartman routinely exposing them to physical endangerment. Cartman, a staunch ], reflects most of his hatred towards the ] Kyle, such as deliberately infecting him with ] ("]").<ref name="growsup2"/><ref name="AIDS">{{cite web|url=http://tv.ign.com/articles/859/859352p1.html|title='Tonsil Trouble' Review|website=]|access-date=October 12, 2009}}</ref> Kyle occasionally exhibits similar behavior in such episodes as "]", wherein Kyle encourages Cartman to travel to ], hoping he will be killed.<ref>{{Cite news |last=O'Neal |first=Sean |title=South Park: Season 13: Episode 7: "Fatbeard" |work=] |date=April 22, 2009 |url=https://www.avclub.com/south-park-fatbeard-1798206093 |access-date=April 23, 2009}}</ref>
In ], Cartman was ranked number nineteen on ] 100 Greatest TV Characters.


His rivalry with the other characters stems from opposition with their personalities. Where Kyle is restrained by firm morals, Cartman indulges in sadistic hedonism. He revealed that he hated Kenny the most in the episode "]". He has on numerous occasions made fun of Kenny for being ].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbr.com/south-park-cartman-nastiest-jabs-karma-kenny/|title=South Park: Cartman's Nastiest Jabs at Kenny Resulted in Dark (Yet Hilarious) Karma|first=Renaldo|last=Matadeen|publisher=]|date=February 23, 2022|accessdate=September 29, 2022}}</ref> In "]", Cartman takes advantage of his declining health to get a ban on stem cell research lifted in order to construct his own ] restaurant out of fetus stem cells. However, Cartman also implies that Kenny is his best friend, making their relationship unclear.<ref>{{cite news| last = Dominic| first = Serene| title = Cheap Trick vs. All Four Original Members of Asia!: 'Don't Cry' if Mommy & Daddy just seem a little weird over who to 'Surrender' the fun money to this weekend!| work = ]| date = July 4, 2007| url = https://m.metrotimes.com/detroit/cheap-trick-vs-all-four-original-members-of-asia/Content?oid=2187709| accessdate =March 6, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2008/01/18/classic-south-park-jakovasaurs-review|title=Classic South Park: "Jakovasaurs" Review|last=Fickett|first=Travis|date=January 17, 2008|website=IGN|access-date=December 11, 2016}}</ref>
==Personality and impact==
]"]] Eric Cartman (typically addressed by his last name) is spoiled, foul-mouthed,racist, ill-tempered, insensitive, sadistic, sociopathic, greedy, wildly insecure, bigoted, and manipulative. He is portrayed as having a general lack of moral responsibility or social conscience. He also seems to take pleasure from others' misfortune, and is generally unable to show empathy, although there have been exceptions, such as "]". This has been also parodied, as well as the ] of a typical villain becoming benevolent, in episodes such as "]", where Cartman appears as having a good motive at the beginning, but changes afterwards. In "]", Kyle brands him a "fat, racist, self-centered, intolerant and manipulating sociopath." Cartman, however, does not consider himself to be a bad person, in fact he seems to disregard good or bad altogether and does whatever he feels is necessary for him to get ahead. Cartman seems to be motivated not so much by personal gain as by asserting superiority over others, usually Kyle. In "Red Hot Catholic Love", he won $20 in a bet with Kyle, but instead of using the money, he simply flaunted it in front of Kyle until Kyle conceded that Cartman was right, ruining his sense of victory and causing him to throw a tantrum. Cartman's much quoted line, "Respect my Authority" highlights his power hugry and dictatorial characteristic.


Kyle is sometimes an enthusiastic participant in Cartman's schemes and he is sometimes seen treating Kyle well, although this is generally to put aside their hatred momentarily for a common goal or for manipulation.<ref>e.g. "]", "]"</ref> Parker and Stone have compared the relationship to that between ] and ] on '']''. Kyle has a tendency to make what he thinks are safe bets with Cartman, often losing these bets when the improbable actions promised by Cartman are accomplished. Cartman's motivation in this regard is not only monetary gain, but an obsession with beating Kyle, a fixation that ultimately plays a major part in a subplot to the three-part "]".<ref name="growsup2"/> This obsession has been shown to overshadow other goals Cartman wishes to achieve. Cartman has a high sadistic streak towards Kyle, and has repeatedly expressed desire in seeing him suffer,<ref>e.g "]"</ref> often to extremes.<ref>e.g "]", "]"</ref>
Ironically, despite (or perhaps because of) these qualities, Cartman also seems to be a natural-born leader, able to utilize overwhelming charisma and rhetoric to gain the obedience of large groups on a moment's notice. He appears innately aware of how to take advantage of "mob mentality" and direct it toward accomplishing his personal goals, as has been evidenced in countless episodes throughout the series' history. In situations where the other boys share his goals, Cartman is often the De facto leader (for example, ]). Indeed, the others consistently show a willingness to follow him and trust in his leadership when he's using his abilities for "good".
In "]", it is suggested that Kyle and Cartman may be developing a genuine friendship, possibly due to the void left by Stan's apparent departure. This relationship ends in "]", however, due to Kyle finding out how Cartman was producing his hamburgers. Cartman's resentment of Stan is at times reserved for when Cartman actively proclaims his hatred for both Stan and Kyle as a duo, and his contempt for Stan as an individual is usually due to his annoyance with Stan's sensitivity, affection for animals, and relationship with ].<ref name="philo3">Arp and Jacoby, pp. 58–65</ref>


Despite being intolerant of other cultures, Cartman displays an aptitude for learning foreign languages. He knows ], and once uses this knowledge to impersonate ] while promoting the extermination of Jews to an oblivious audience that did not speak German,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/south-park-cartman-darkest-storylines/|title=South Park: Eric Cartman's 10 Darkest Storylines|date=October 24, 2019|website=ScreenRant}}</ref> and in interactions with Mexican laborers, such as the episode "]", seems to speak at least conversational ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=South Park: The Complete Sixth Season DVD Review |work=IGN |date=February 26, 2009 |last=Schorn |first=Peter |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2005/10/14/south-park-the-complete-sixth-season |accessdate=January 25, 2017}}</ref> This is in service of a running joke in which Cartman displays incredible aptitude at quickly learning almost any topic in service of his schemes, despite being an awful student in a school environment and displaying extreme ignorance about subjects that do not immediately interest him.
A ] throughout the series is that, despite his mother's sweetness and wholesome demeanor, ] is in fact a promiscuous, ], ]-smoking, ] ] queen, as well as a ] and overall ]. In the episode "]" Cartman exclaims, "If a girl was ever beating me up I'd be like, ' ''AY! Why don't you stop dressing me up like a mailman, and making me dance for you, while you go and smoke crack in your bedroom and have sex with some guy I don't even know, on my dad's bed!'' '" Liane, meanwhile, dotes on her son endlessly, beyond simply spoiling him. Cartman usually gets what he wants simply by whining.


Conversely, in "]", Cartman shelters the town's cats when they are outlawed;<ref>Fickett, Travis (March 27, 2008). . ''IGN''.</ref> outside of episodes that take place in alternate timelines, this is the only multi-scene plotline in which Cartman acts in a traditionally moral way without any ulterior motive being indicated on-screen.
===Popularity===
] ] in “].”]]
As the ] of the four leads, Cartman was never intended to be the focal point of the series.{{fact|date=May 2007}} After the show premiered, however, his outrageous and shocking behavior made him instantly popular with viewers. Another reason Cartman tends to stand out is because he is generally the most pro-active of the four main characters. Cartman is frequently the one to come up with new ideas and plans, usually told excitedly to an often unimpressed ], ], and ]. Aware of Cartman’s popularity, the show’s writers are often careful to not temper the many unfavorable aspects of his behavior with contempt. Cartman frequently comes up with ideas that are ridiculous or offensive, and while he may appear to have the upper hand, his antics tend to inevitably turn on him. He is often shown receiving the brunt of consequences generated by his behavior by the end of the episode.


Cartman will use an awkward pause during a conversation as an opportunity to casually remind Kenny that he hates him.<ref name="bullzeye">{{cite news| author = Jamey Codding| title = Bullz-Eye's All-Time Best Cartoon Characters| publisher = Bullz-Eye.com| date = January 28, 2006| url = http://www.bullz-eye.com/entertainment/features/2006/best_cartoon_characters.htm| access-date = May 11, 2009| archive-date = September 19, 2009| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090919140708/http://www.bullz-eye.com/entertainment/features/2006/best_cartoon_characters.htm| url-status = dead}}</ref> Cartman's mischievous treatment of Butters, and the relationship the duo shares, has received significant focus in the more recent seasons of the series.<ref name="growsup2"/> This reflects Parker's interest, as the scenes between the two are the ones he most enjoys writing.<ref name="buttersfave">{{cite news | author = Dudley Price| title = Butters one of 'South Park' creator Trey Parker's favorite characters.| publisher = ] | date = December 18, 2003| url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-19761309_ITM | access-date = May 9, 2009}}</ref>
===Physical confrontations===
]”.]]
Although Cartman frequently insults and taunts his friends, he sometimes appears to be more cowardly than they are when it comes to physical confrontation. In "]," Kyle slaps Cartman and he immediately bursts into tears; also in “]” Cartman threatens Kyle and it leads to Kyle giving Cartman a bloody nose; in “],” Cartman is beaten up by ] after provoking him with racial jibes, and in several episodes, he is seen unable to overpower Kenny. However, in such earlier episodes as “],” “],” and “],” Cartman has no problem with fighting the other boys back physically. Most recently, in episode “],” he did not back down from ] with Kyle, and in the episode "]", he was dominant in a physical fight against a midget (who supposedly had a black belt in karate). His peers, meanwhile, also give as much as they take—constantly calling him "fat ass," questioning his intelligence and intimating how they like him the least.


Several episodes concern Cartman's greed and his get-rich-quick schemes, although his numerous attempts to attain wealth generally fail.<ref name="NPR"/> His extreme disdain for ]s serves to satirize the ] and its influence in contemporary society,<ref name="cityjournal"/> reflecting Parker's real-life antipathy towards hippies.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://southpark.cc.com/fans/behind/interviews.php?interview=25|title=An interview with Matt Stone|publisher=www.southparkstudios.com/|access-date=February 16, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081219061433/http://www.southparkstudios.com/fans/behind/interviews.php?interview=25|archive-date=December 19, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> Though the role is customarily taken by Stan or Kyle, Cartman will occasionally be the one to reflect on the lessons learned during the course of an episode with a speech that often begins with "You know, I've learned something today...".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~smaji/southpark.html |title=List of "I've learned something today" quotes including relevant episode citations |access-date=September 28, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090627134449/http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~smaji/southpark.html |archive-date=June 27, 2009}}</ref>
===Eccentricities===
[[Image:601 image 21.jpg|right|thumb|''“Whateva! I do what I want!”''
----
Cartman in drag on '']''.]] It has been repeatedly shown that Cartman has serious behavioral and emotional problems. He has displayed traits of ], as he occasionally has tea parties with stuffed dolls (pretending they are talking about how cool he is), owns a female ] named "Mister Kitty", and in the episode "]", he was seen re-enacting a scene from '']'' as ] with a ] he named Polly Prissy Pants trapped down a well. As well, in episode 316, "]", Cartman claims that he has begun his first period because he is bleeding from his anus due to a stomach virus. He believes that every boy needs to have their period to become a man, leading to the other boys to wait for theirs unsuccessfully (this, however, can be attributed to his ignorance). In episode 601, "]", Cartman goes on the ] to be a panelist during a discussion on out of control kids. In an attempt to win the assumed prize, he dresses up as a promiscuous teenage girl. In episode: “],” Butters reveals to the residents of South Park a video of Cartman dressed as Britney Spears, while dancing around cut out cardboard of Justin Timberlake. In ], Cartman takes pictures of himself with Butter's penis in his mouth, believing it will make the other boy look homosexual. Kyle, Stan and Kenny however explain that such actions in truth make Cartman look gay, which results in Cartman trying to get a picture taken of his own penis in Butter's mouth.


===Sexual Abuse=== ==Character==
===Creation and design===
Cartman has also had brushes with sexual abuse. In the episode "]", his attempt to find older friends winds up with him almost being molested by members of the ]. In the episode, "]", after discovering that ] will fertilize his ], he goes to a ] to collect more. When Cartman later empties a bowl of semen into the tank, he tells Stan and Kyle that he got some of it from a man named Ralph in an alley, who told him to "close his eyes and ]". In episode ], a movie producer asks Cartman (who’s disguised as a robot) if he is a ]. Cartman does not understand him until he takes his pants off, at which point, he runs out screaming. Also, in the episode "]", Cartman convinces Ben Affleck (among others) that his left hand is ]; Affleck later has a sexual encounter with "Miss Lopez", leaving Cartman’s hand covered with his ]. In the episode ] Cartman responds to the robot's request to be friends with "I'm not supposed to have male friends that are over 30. I kinda got screwed on that once." In the episode ], Cartman ] Trent while still having nipples painted on, a photo of which the kids had sold as boobs to the sixth graders previously. The sixth graders are so overwhelmed that they take Cartman with them, apparently to abuse the "boobs". Finally, in the episode ], Cartman is awaken by the other boys and blurts out "No, uncle Jesse! No!" before realizing where he is.
]
A precursor to Cartman 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 ]. In the short, the character resembling Cartman was named "Kenny", and a variation of the catchphrase "Oh my God, they killed Kenny!" was exclaimed when this character was killed by an evil snowman. The character was composed of ] cutouts and animated through the use of ].<ref name="method">{{cite news | author = Matt Cheplic | title = 'As Crappy As Possible': The Method Behind the Madness of South Park | publisher = ] | date = May 1, 1998 | url = http://www.creativeplanetnetwork.com/news/news-articles/crappy-possible-method-behind-madness-south-park/382927/ | access-date = April 28, 2009}}</ref> When commissioned three years later by friend Brian Graden to create another short as a ] ] 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><ref name="NotableBiographies">{{cite web|url=http://www.notablebiographies.com/news/Ge-La/Graden-Brian.html|title=Brian Graden Biography|publisher=Advameg, Inc|access-date=January 10, 2008}}</ref> In this short, his character first appears as he does in the series, and is given the name "Cartman", while the character of Kenny appears as the character is depicted today and given Cartman's moniker from the previous short. Cartman next appeared on August 13, 1997, when ''South Park'' debuted on ] with the episode "]".


In keeping with the show's ], Cartman is composed of simple geometrical shapes and ]s.<ref name="method"/><ref name="avr">{{cite news|author=Abbie Bernstein |title=South Park – Volume 2 |publisher=AVRev.com |date=October 27, 1998 |url=http://www.avrev.com/dvd-movie-disc-reviews/tv-shows/south-park-volume-2.html |access-date=April 30, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515045446/http://www.avrev.com/dvd-movie-disc-reviews/tv-shows/south-park-volume-2.html |archive-date=May 15, 2013}}</ref> He is not offered the same free range of motion associated with hand-drawn characters; his character is mostly shown from one direction, and his movements intentionally jerky.<ref name="growsup2"/><ref name="method"/><ref name="avr"/> Ever since the show's second episode, "]" (], 1997), Cartman, 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"/>
===Ignorance===
Although Cartman can at times be worldly, he is often wildly misinformed—once believing that ]s lived in ]s. Cartman has also been known to formulate complex, yet insane, plans, some of which have succeeded. In episode, "]", instead of studying, Cartman records various documentaries on the American Revolution from ] on a ] and then electrocutes himself with it in a tub, which sends him on a flashback/time travel experience to ], and ultimately helps him stop the riots going on in present-day South Park between pro and anti-] activists after waking from a coma. Cartman’s ability to compose elaborate plots is demonstrated in episode "]", and hints at his intellectual prowess, which is often overlooked due to his ignorance.


Cartman is usually depicted wearing winter attire which consists of a red coat, brown pants, yellow gloves/mittens, and a yellow-brimmed turquoise ] tapered with a yellow ]. He has parted brown hair, and he is seen without his hat more often than the other characters with distinctive headwear. As he is overweight, his body is wider and his hands noticeably larger than those of the other children, and his head is more elliptical. An additional curved line on his lower face represents a double chin.
===Sexual Tendencies===
Cartman consistently shows less interest in sexuality than the other boys. This seems intentional on the writer's parts, and fits with his self-absorption, immaturity and gender confusion.


Parker adduced that he came up with the voice of Cartman while he and Stone were in film class, where they would speak in high-pitched childish voices, which was quite irksome to their film teachers. They would naturally reproduce these voices in the initial seasons of ''South Park''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Making Fun Of Everyone On 'South Park'|url=https://www.wbur.org/npr/127210540/story.php|access-date=April 6, 2021|website=wbur.org|archive-date=September 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210928161934/https://www.wbur.org/npr/127210540/story.php|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|title=South Park - Season 24 - TV Series|url=https://southpark.cc.com/seasons/south-park|access-date=April 6, 2021}}</ref> Although he had originally voiced Cartman without any computer manipulation, Parker now does so by speaking within his normal vocal range with a childlike inflection. The recorded audio is then edited with ], and the pitch is altered to make the voice sound like that of a fourth grader.<ref name="digizine">{{cite web|author=Stephanie Jorgl |title=South Park: Where The Sound Ain't No Joke! |publisher=Digizine |year=2005 |url=http://www2.digidesign.com/digizine/dz_Q105/features/cover_story/index.cfm?pagenum=2 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20131130070727/http://www2.digidesign.com/digizine/dz_Q105/features/cover_story/index.cfm?pagenum=2 |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 30, 2013 |access-date=April 30, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = South Park FAQ | url = http://www.southparkstudios.com/fans/faq/archives.php?month=2&year=2009 | date = February 10, 2009 | publisher = South Park Studios | access-date = April 30, 2009 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090511145241/http://www.southparkstudios.com/fans/faq/archives.php?month=2&year=2009 | archive-date = May 11, 2009}}</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> Parker says to achieve the effect of Cartman's voice, he simply uses the same technique when voicing Stan while "adding a lot of fat to it".<ref>{{cite news|title=Yahoo! Internet Life |publisher=treyparker.info (transcribed from yahoo.com) |year=1998 |url=http://treyparker.info/archives_yahoo_98.htm |access-date=May 9, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101129005316/http://treyparker.info/archives_yahoo_98.htm |archive-date=November 29, 2010}}</ref>
However, during the episode "]", Cartman briefly became an object of affection for ]. After being passionately kissed by Wendy at the end of the episode, he is disappointed when she says that she no longer has any feelings for him. In "]," Cartman shows a desire to be invited to the fourth grade girl's boy-girl party, and is angered when they reject him. He later gets a hip make-over and attempts to crash the party.


===Friendship with Kenny=== ===Development===
].]]
Cartman and ] occasionally make "best friend" pacts with one another. This is mostly in response to Stan and Kyle being best friends, which sometimes leaves the other two boys alone with each other. They're also shown to share a sense of humor, as can be seen in the episode "]" when Kenny and Cartman continue an elaborate joke despite Stan and Kyle's rejection.
Cartman is partially named after and based on Matt Karpman, a high school classmate of Parker who remains a friend of both Parker and Stone.<ref name=karpmancartman>{{cite web|url=https://southpark.cc.com/fans/faq/archives.php?id=11264|title=FAQ Archives|access-date=May 9, 2009|publisher=South Park Studios|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080408072434/http://www.southparkstudios.com/fans/faq/archives.php?id=11264|archive-date=April 8, 2008}}</ref> Cartman is also inspired to some degree by '']'' patriarch ], who is himself inspired by ] from '']'', the original British version of ''All in the Family''. Parker and Stone are reportedly big fans of ''All in the Family''. They alleged in 2008 that creating Cartman as a "little eight-year-old fat kid" made it easier for the two to portray a Bunker-like character after the introduction of ] to late-20th century television.<ref name="NPR">{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89375695 |title=Eric Cartman: America's Favorite Little $@#&*% |access-date=October 25, 2008 |last=Rovner |first=Julie |date=April 5, 2008 |work=]}}</ref><ref>{{cite interview|url=http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/about.aspx?id=12881 |title=Matt Stone, Trey Parker, Larry Divney 'Speaking Freely' transcript |access-date=February 8, 2007 |date=March 1, 2002 |subject=Trey Parker |subject2=Matt Stone |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100209001855/http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/about.aspx?id=12881 |archive-date=February 9, 2010}}</ref> While developing the character, Parker noted that everyone either remembers "an annoying fat kid in their pasts", or "they were the annoying fat kid".<ref>{{cite web|title=Yahoo! Chat |publisher=treyparker.info (transcribed from yahoo.com) |date=June 28, 1999 |url=http://treyparker.info/archives_transcripts_yahoo_28jun99.htm |access-date=May 9, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101129011634/http://treyparker.info/archives_transcripts_yahoo_28jun99.htm |archive-date=November 29, 2010}}</ref> Stone has observed that "kids are not nice, innocent, flower-loving little rainbow children&nbsp;... they don't have any kind of social tact or etiquette, they're just complete little raging bastards".<ref name="lowbrow"/>


In the ] (2001) episode "]", Cartman is tricked into buying the ] of a local ninth-grader named Scott Tenorman for $16.12. He then successfully executes an elaborate scheme to publicly humiliate Scott in front of his favorite band ], by getting Scott's parents killed and then tricking Scott into eating them.<ref name="mcfarland2">{{cite news|author=Melanie McFarland|title=Social satire keeps 'South Park' fans coming back for a gasp, and a laugh|work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer|date=October 2, 2006|url=http://www.seattlepi.com/tv/287050_tv02.html|access-date=May 12, 2009}}</ref> The show's writers debated during production of the episode whether the incident would be "a step too far, even for Cartman".<ref name="NPR"/> Parker felt that the act could sufficiently be the culmination of Cartman's ]ic behavior, and would " a new bar" by portraying Cartman as being capable of performing anything short of murder.<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="hitscommentary">{{cite AV media|last1=Parker|first1=Trey|last2=Stone|first2=Matt|title=Audio commentary for "Scott Tenorman Must Die"|work=South Park – The Hits: Volume 1|year=2006|medium=DVD|publisher=Paramount Home Entertainment}}</ref><ref name="60minutes_cartman">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rKIFr-2CaU| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211107/1rKIFr-2CaU| archive-date=November 7, 2021 | url-status=live|title=Creating the incorrigible Cartman|work=]|publisher=]|date=September 25, 2011}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="commentary">{{cite AV media|last1=Parker|first1=Trey|last2=Stone|first2=Matt|title= Audio commentary for "Scott Tenorman Must Die"|work=South Park – The Complete Fifth Season|year=2005|medium=DVD|publisher=Paramount Home Entertainment}}</ref> Fans reacted by ranking it as Cartman's "greatest moment" in a 2005 poll on ]'s website.<ref name="cartman25">{{cite web|url=http://www.comedycentral.com/events/south_park/cartman_25/index.jhtml|title=Comedy Central voting page for Cartman's 25 Greatest South Park Moments|access-date=December 20, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211024032/http://www.comedycentral.com/events/south_park/cartman_25/index.jhtml|archive-date=December 11, 2007}}</ref> It is later revealed in the ] episode "]" that Jack Tenorman, Scott's father, was a ] player for the ] who impregnated Cartman's mom, therefore making him Cartman's father too.<ref>{{cite episode|title=]|series=]|date=April 21, 2010|network=]}}</ref>
However, Cartman has at times displayed a special dislike for Kenny, often without reason. In the "South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut" Kenny and Cartman are alone in the scene, and Cartman blurts out "I hate you, Kenny." out of nowhere. In the episode, “],” Cartman makes up a song called "I Hate You Guys" where he sings: ''"I hate you guys / you guys are assholes / especially Kenny / I hate him the most."'' In episode, "]", Cartman proclaims that Kenny is his best friend among the three boys, but at the end of the episode it is implied that Cartman is Kenny's "worst friend" since he exploited Kenny's illness for personal gain. In the episode "]", Kenny states in his will that he felt sorry for Cartman because of his inability to feel compassion and show decency.


Parker and Stone, despite being the basis for Stan and Kyle, insist that Cartman is their favorite character, and the one with whom they identify the most.<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="goin down">{{cite AV media|last1=Parker|first1=Trey|last2=Stone|first2=Matt|title=Goin' Down to South Park|medium=Television documentary|publisher=Comedy Central}}</ref>
Recently Butters has taken Kenny's place as Cartman's closest friend, though the dynamic between the two pairs is very different.


===Greediness=== ===Personality and traits===
{{Quote box
A defining arc during the show’s fourth season was Cartman’s single-minded quest to make ]10 million. The schemes he has tried include becoming a part of the “tooth trade” and ], starting a ] called “],” and ] and embezzling the church’s collection money.
| quote = There's a big part of me that's Eric Cartman. He's both of our dark sides, the things we'd never say.
| source = &nbsp;]<ref> by Alex Leo, '']'', February 25, 2010</ref>
| width = 30%
| align = right
}}


Cartman uses profanity (as do his friends) to provide a means for Parker and Stone to portray how they believe young boys really talk when they are alone.<ref name="avr"/><ref name="abc4">{{cite web| author=Jake Trapper and Dan Morris| title=Secrets of 'South Park'| work=]| date=September 22, 2006| url=https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/Entertainment/Story?id=2479197&page=4| access-date=April 18, 2009}}</ref> According to Parker, Cartman does not possess the "underlying sweetness" of the show's other child characters. Cartman is shown at times to be completely amoral and remorseless. Cartman, as with ] and ], is amused by bodily functions and ],<ref name="time">{{cite news|author1=Jeffrey Ressner|author2=James Collins| title = Gross And Grosser | magazine = ] | date = March 23, 1998 | url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,988028,00.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090821033347/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,988028,00.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = August 21, 2009 | access-date = April 28, 2009}}</ref> and his favorite television personalities are ], a Canadian duo whose comedy routines on their show-within-the-show revolve substantially around fart jokes.
===Impatience===
Cartman shows a pathological degree of impatience when forced to do something he doesn't want to do or when he has to wait for something he wants. An example of the former is seen in "]," in which Cartman electrocutes himself in an attempt to create a flashback and avoid studying; the latter is evidenced in the episode “],” where Cartman freezes himself so he won't have to wait three weeks for a Nintendo Wii.


Cartman is sensitive and in denial about his ]. Often reasserting Liane's notion by exclaiming "I'm not fat, I'm big-boned!" and will just as often either threaten to bring harm to anyone who mocks his weight or curse them out in aggravation.<ref name="NPR"/> He has also had people killed due to his insecurity; after his psychiatrist mocked his weight, Cartman framed the man as a ] to his wife, causing her to commit ]. He views himself as more mature than his fellow friends and classmates, and often grows impatient with their company; despite claiming to be more mature, he will often break down crying childishly and pathetically whenever he feels defeated. This often leads to loud arguments, which in earlier seasons typically end with Cartman peevishly saying "Screw you guys&nbsp;... I'm going home!" and then leaving.<ref name="NPR"/> In an action ] ] professor ] describes as "directed either toward accomplishing his own happiness or the unhappiness of others", Cartman often feigns actual friendship with his classmates when needing a favor.<ref name="philo2"/> The lack of a true father figure in his life, and Liane's promiscuity and drug use have caused repressed ] hardship in Cartman's life. As a parent, Liane often spoils Cartman,<ref name="salon">{{cite news|author=David Horowitz |title=Why Gore would censor "South Park" |work=Salon.com |date=July 19, 1999 |url=http://www.salon.com/news/col/horo/1999/07/19/south_park/index2.html |access-date=May 12, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091121035850/http://www.salon.com/news/col/horo/1999/07/19/south_park/index2.html |archive-date=November 21, 2009}}</ref><ref name="bw">{{cite news|author=Joan Oleck |title='South Park': Canny bait-and-switch |work=] |date=April 27, 1998 |url=http://www.businessweek.com/archives/1998/b3575069.arc.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130118183134/http://www.businessweek.com/archives/1998/b3575069.arc.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 18, 2013 |access-date=May 12, 2009}}</ref> and is largely ineffectual as a disciplinarian.<ref name="nytimesmorals">{{cite news|author=Virginia Heffernan |title=What? Morals in 'South Park'? |newspaper=The New York Times |date=April 28, 2004 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/28/arts/television/28SOUT.html?ei=5007&en=9cf4a2bb20610253&ex=1398484800&partner=USERLAND&pagewanted=all&position |access-date=July 8, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090803023224/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/28/arts/television/28SOUT.html?ei=5007&en=9cf4a2bb20610253&ex=1398484800&partner=USERLAND&pagewanted=all&position |archive-date=August 3, 2009}}</ref> Cartman sometimes commands his mom to do tasks for him, but more often resorts to pleading with her in an ingratiating tone. When neither method works, he resorts to excessive and indecipherable whining, to which Liane usually succumbs.<ref name="lezard">{{cite news| author = Nick Lezard | author-link= Nicholas Lezard | title= Cartman, a true hero of our age| newspaper = independent.co.uk| date= August 27, 1999|url = https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/cartman-a-true-hero-of-our-age-1115522.html| access-date = May 9, 2009}}</ref> Parker has noted that this is the primary cause for Cartman's behavior, stating that Cartman is "just a product of his environment".<ref name="NPR"/>
===Miscellaneous mannerisms===
Cartman has a disturbing habit of appearing in other peoples’ homes in the middle of the night. He has a preoccupation with becoming “mature,” or at least more so than his friends, which frequently ends in him doing something that is anything but. Cartman also appears to be driven by a desire to surpass Kyle (especially), Stan, and Kenny. Knowing that his satisfaction chiefly comes with seeing other people unhappy, ]. This, of course, ruined Cartman’s ] satisfaction at having humiliated him.


{{blockquote|We always had this thing where Cartman's mother was so sweet—she was always so sweet to him and giving him whatever he wanted. And I don't know if it's worse in L.A. than most places in the country—I hope so—but so many parents who were just so desperately trying to be friends to their kids. And it was the thing we really picked up on. And it was just like, 'These are making these really evil kids'.<br />– Trey Parker, discussing Liane's role in shaping Cartman's personality in an interview with ]<ref name="NPR"/>}}
Cartman apparently sees scenes of sickening and/or disturbing imagery every time he closes his eyes, but thinks nothing of it. He also occasionally has ] come out of his nose when he laughs, even when he was not drinking any. This milk-sneezing problem is due to a malfunctioning kidney, which Cartman is tricked into donating for transplant, benefiting his friend Kyle, who receives the malfunctioning organ as seen in the episode "]". Many of Cartman’s mannerisms were revealed to be inherited in "]", in which most of the Cartman family were depicted in a similar manner.
Cartman thrives on achieving ascendancy over others,<ref name="philo4">Arp and White, pp. 66–76</ref> and exerts his will by ] and by demanding that others "Respect my authoritah!"<ref name="NPR"/> Cartman has several times declared that his dream is getting "Ten million dollars", and that if he got it he would be "so happy". He has shown initiative in taking a businesslike approach to earning money, starting his own "] control" and "parental revenge" operations, as well as a ] and a ], a basketball team of ] (parody of the ]) and his own church.<ref name="crm">{{cite news|author=Amber Conrad |title=25 Things I Learned About Business from "South Park" |publisher=InsideCRM |date=June 3, 2008|url=http://www.insidecrm.com/features/south-park-business-lessons-060308/ |access-date=May 5, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090318170003/http://www.insidecrm.com/features/south-park-business-lessons-060308/ |archive-date=March 18, 2009}}</ref>


Cartman's anti-Semitism, while mostly limited to mocking Kyle, culminates in the ] episode "]". In the episode, Cartman, after watching '']'' numerous times, ] the film's director, ], and starts an official Gibson fan club, praising Gibson for "trying to express—through cinema—the horror and filthiness of the common Jew".<ref name="gross">{{cite news| author = Max Gross| title = 'The Passion of the Christ' Fuels Antisemitism—on 'South Park'| work = ]| date = April 9, 2004| url = http://www.forward.com/articles/5445/ | access-date = May 9, 2009}}</ref> Cartman's interpretation of the film influences him to dress up as ] and lead other fan club members (who are oblivious of Cartman's actual intentions) in a failed effort to engage in a systematic ] of the Jews similar to that of the ].<ref name="gross"/> In the ] episode "]", Cartman anonymously saves Kyle's life in an effort to get him and his family to return to South Park from ], revealing that he craves the animosity shared between the two.<ref name="smug">{{cite web|author=Eric Goldman |title=TV Review: This week's target? Hybrid drivers. |website=IGN |date=March 30, 2006 |url=http://movies.ign.com/articles/699/699373p1.html |access-date=May 3, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100426025359/http://movies.ign.com/articles/699/699373p1.html |archive-date=April 26, 2010}}</ref> Cartman later directs the "evil god" ] to destroy "most of the synagogues" during the ] episode "]".<ref>{{cite episode|title=Coon vs. Coon and Friends|series=South Park|author=Trey Parker|network=Comedy Central|airdate=November 10, 2010|season=14}}</ref>
===Anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry===
<blockquote>'''''"If you had a chance right now to go back in time and stop ], would you do it? I mean, I personally wouldn't stop him because I think he was awesome, but you would, right?"''''' — Cartman in Episode: “Make Love, Not Warcraft”</blockquote>


Upon hearing his classmates tell him that they hold him in the lowest regard possible and that they could not possibly think any worse of him, a stubborn Cartman misinterprets this act as their attempt to make him feel better, and convinces himself that everyone thinks he is the "coolest kid in school". In the ] (2009) episode "]", Cartman subconsciously believes that he helped in creating a joke that quickly becomes a nationwide sensation, despite the fact that the character ] writes the joke without any assistance. Carlos Delgado of ''If Magazine'' noted this as "Cartman being so egotistical that he manipulates the past to serve his own purposes".<ref>{{cite news|last=Delgado |first=Carlos |title=TV Review: South Park – Season 13 – 'Fishsticks' |work=If Magazine |date=April 9, 2009 |url=http://www.ifmagazine.com/review.asp?article=3168 |access-date=April 10, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091015113520/http://www.ifmagazine.com/review.asp?article=3168 |archive-date=October 15, 2009}}</ref>
Due in part to his adversarial relationship with Kyle (who is Jewish), Cartman is ''very'' ]. In the season eight episode “],” after seeing '']'', he believes the film was ] way of rallying people against the Jews, and idolizes him for it. He then dresses up as Hitler and manipulates people, who think that they are simply raising awareness for the movie and Christianity, to join him in an anti-Jew march while chanting in mispronounced ]: "''Es ist Zeit für Rache''" (It is time for revenge.) and "''Wir müssen die Juden ausrotten''" (We must eradicate the Jews). When Cartman ] and win the special olympics by feigning a disability, Kyle attempts to talk him out of it by telling him, regardless of their differences, that Cartman will surely go to Hell for such an act; Cartman replies that Kyle does not understand that Hell is reserved for the Jews, indicating once again his self-righteousness.


Though he is commonly portrayed as having a chauvinist disrespect for foreign cultures, Cartman is shown at least twice ("]" and "]") to be able to speak fluent Spanish (and German).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://southpark.cc.com/episodes/xfaqzg/south-park-my-future-self-n-me-season-6-ep-16|title=South Park - My Future Self n' Me|date=December 4, 2002|website=South Park United States}}</ref>
In episode: "]," Cartman dresses up as Hitler for Halloween. When shown a documentary to demonstrate why dressing like him “isn't cool,” Cartman is enthralled and imagines himself being the one commanding the Nazi troops in the video. Cartman’s admiration for Hitler is further emphasized in episode: “],” after being offered $40 by Kyle not to tease Kyle's cousin, ], Cartman has trouble restraining himself from teasing Kyle about his Jewish heritage. When ] later tells Kyle S. to concentrate, Cartman impulsively blurts out: “Maybe we should send him to ]!”


==Cultural impact==
A contradiction of his idolisation of Hitler is seen in ], when Cartman compares ] – who had been instructed how to treat her rampantly egocentric son by a ] – with Hitler, as a reason why she should be killed.
Cartman is a ''South Park'' fan favorite,<ref name="islam"/> and is often described as the most famous character from the series as well as having a significant influence on comedy and culture.<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="411mania">{{cite news | author = Jeremy Thomas | title = South Park: The Cult of Cartman – Revelations DVD Review | publisher = 411mania.com | date = October 20, 2008 | url = http://www.411mania.com/movies/dvd_reviews/88174/South-Park:-The-Cult-of-Cartman---Revelations-DVD-Review.htm | access-date = May 11, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081021143638/http://www.411mania.com/movies/dvd_reviews/88174/South-Park:-The-Cult-of-Cartman---Revelations-DVD-Review.htm | archive-date = October 21, 2008 | url-status = dead}}</ref><ref name="kidsnews">{{cite news|author=Hemant Tavathia |title=Music and Entertainment 2: South Park Hits 100 |publisher=Kidsnewsroom.org |date=April 11, 2003 |url=http://www.kidsnewsroom.org/newsissues/041103/index.asp?page=Music2 |access-date=May 11, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070208125207/http://www.kidsnewsroom.org/newsissues/041103/index.asp?page=Music2 |archive-date=February 8, 2007}}</ref> With a headline to their online written version of a radio report, ] declared Cartman as "America's Favorite Little $@#&*%".<ref name="NPR"/> "Respect my authoritah!" and "Screw you guys&nbsp;... I'm going home!" became catchphrases and, during the show's earlier seasons, were highly popular in the lexicon of viewers.<ref name="perth">{{cite news |last1=DeCeglie|first1=Anthony|last2=Blake|first2=Sarah| title = TV comedy sends WA students 'Jonah' | work = ] | date = September 14, 2007 | url= https://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/12/27/1040511174507.html | access-date = May 9, 2009}}</ref><ref name="oldandnew">{{cite news|last=Diaz|first=Glenn L.|title=Old and New 'South Park'|publisher=]|date=January 22, 2009|url=http://www.buddytv.com/articles/south-park/old-and-new-south-park-25870.aspx|access-date=May 9, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302082642/http://www.buddytv.com/articles/south-park/old-and-new-south-park-25870.aspx|archive-date=March 2, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> His eccentric enunciation of "Hey!" was included in the 2002 edition of ''The Oxford Dictionary of Catchphrases''.<ref name="oxford">{{cite news | author = David Dale| title = The Oxford Dictionary of Catchphrases | work = ] | date = December 28, 2002 | url= https://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/12/27/1040511174507.html | access-date = May 9, 2009}}</ref> Stone has said that when fans recognize him or Parker, the fans will usually do their imitation of Cartman, or, in Parker's case, request that he do Cartman's voice.<ref name="page2">{{cite news|author=Page 2 Staff |title=Matt Stone |publisher=] |date=March 13, 2002 |url=https://www.espn.com/espn/print?id=1350858&type=page2Story |access-date=May 5, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109224708/http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=1350858&type=page2Story |archive-date=November 9, 2013}}</ref>


In 2005, ] ran a three-night marathon of episodes showcasing what voters had deemed to be his "25 greatest moments".<ref name="cartman25"/> A two-disc DVD collection entitled "]", which Comedy Central described as "12 classic episodes with Cartman at his very worst!", was released in 2008.<ref name="cult">{{cite news| author = David Lambert| title = Join the Cult of Cartman this October| publisher = TVShowsOnDVD.com| date = July 14, 2008| url = http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/South-Park-Cult-of-Cartman/10055| access-date = May 9, 2009| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090523102724/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/South-Park-Cult-of-Cartman/10055| archive-date = May 23, 2009}}</ref>
In addition to taking regular jabs at racial, ethnic and religious minorities, as well as people of lower income, Cartman is also prejudicial against ], or ‘Gingers’ as he calls them. (Though this hatred may come from the fact that Kyle has red hair.) When the other three boys lead him to believe he has become a redhead himself, he is horrified. Later, he organizes a cult of homicidal redheaded children bent on world conquest known as the ‘Ginger Separatist Movement,’ remarking: “I'm not going to live my life as a Goddamn minority!”


In a 1999 poll conducted by ], eight and nine-year-old children in the United Kingdom voted Cartman as their favorite personality. This drew the concern of several parent councils who were expecting a character from a television show aimed at children to top the list, to which Stone responded by claiming the results of the poll were "upsetting to people who have an idyllic vision of what kids are like".<ref name="bbcpoll">{{cite news | title = Cartman top with kids| publisher = BBC | date = August 26, 1999 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/entertainment/430977.stm | access-date = May 9, 2009}}</ref>
Cartman’s most passionate abhorrence is aimed at ], though he seems to use this term for liberals in general. In episode: “],” he believes that hippies will destroy the town, and while the rest of the town is initially skeptical, his fears are eventually borne out. In episode: “],” Cartman entered ] (after vowing to never enter it), the heart of liberal America, to save Kyle. In order to avoid possible contamination, he wears a biohazard suit. When too close to liberals, he suffers what could be called an ].


While some in the ] have praised the show's depiction of Cartman holding an anti-Semitic attitude towards Kyle as a means of accurately portraying what it is like for a young Jew to have to endure prejudice,<ref name="mediatrans">{{cite news|author=Robert Bolton |title=The Media Report: South Park |publisher=] |date=July 23, 1998 |url=http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/8.30/mediarpt/mstories/mr980723.htm |access-date=May 5, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050311041603/http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/8.30/mediarpt/mstories/mr980723.htm |archive-date=March 11, 2005}}</ref> other Jews have blamed ''South Park'' and Cartman for having found themselves surrounded by "acceptable racism".<ref name="margolis">{{cite news | author = David Margolis | title = Anti-Semitism in the playground | newspaper = independent.co.uk | date = February 1, 1999 | url= https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/antisemitism-in-the-playground-1067983.html | access-date = May 9, 2009}}</ref> On November 20, 2008, a ] group titled "National Kick a Ginger Day, are you going to do it?" surfaced, suggesting abuse towards ]. Thousands of internet users signed up as a member of the group, and reports of a feared increase of bullying of ] students across Canada soon followed. The group's administrator, a 14-year-old from ], said the group was only intended as a joke, and apologized for the offense it caused. The group was inspired by the ] (2005) episode "]", in which Cartman incites prejudice towards those with red hair, pale skin, and freckles, a group he calls "Gingers" and claims are inherently evil and without souls. <ref name="kickaginger">{{cite news|url=http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=49022ee5-66d1-46e0-a057-7707de6e140b |title=RCMP investigating Facebook group over 'Kick a Ginger' day |last=Barber |first=Mike |author2=Catherine Rolfsen |date=November 20, 2008 |publisher=Canada.com |access-date=November 23, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211010429/http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=49022ee5-66d1-46e0-a057-7707de6e140b |archive-date=December 11, 2008}}</ref>
===Heroic moments===
]
Despite Cartman’s penchant for malevolence, he has displayed redeeming qualities, and has had a number of heroic moments where he has saved the boys, the town, and/or the entire world, though these moments often occur through motives on Cartman’s part that are not necessarily altruistic. Also, there have been many moments where the other boys seem to appreciate him, or at least understand why he is so rude and obnoxious. An example would be in “Kenny Dies,” where Kyle comforts Cartman. Another example is in “Cartman’s Mom is a Dirty Slut,” where the boys offer to give him 3,000 dollars for him to find out who his real father is.
Other characters commonly express lessons learned from the antagonistic actions Cartman commonly provokes; this has resulted in these characters giving their opinions on issues such as ],<ref name="nytimesconserv">{{cite news | author = Frank Rich | title = Conservatives ♥ 'South Park' | work = The New York Times | date= May 1, 2005 | url= https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/opinion/01rich.html | access-date = May 3, 2009}}</ref> ],<ref name="cityjournal">{{cite news| author = Brian C. Anderson| title = We're Not Losing the Culture Wars Anymore| publisher = ]| year = 2003| url = http://www.city-journal.org/html/13_4_were_not_losing.html| access-date = May 3, 2009| archive-date = January 18, 2016| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160118080938/http://www.city-journal.org/html/13_4_were_not_losing.html| url-status = dead}}</ref> excessive religious devotion,<ref name="philo5">Arp, pp. 40–54</ref> the ],<ref name="lear"/> ] use,<ref name="steroids">{{cite news|author=David Kuhn |title=Steroids sour fun of Olympics |work=] |date=July 22, 2004 |url=http://media.www.dailypennsylvanian.com/media/storage/paper882/news/2004/07/22/Sports/David.Kuhn.Steroids.Sour.Fun.Of.Olympics-2151098.shtml |access-date=May 9, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081104232914/http://media.www.dailypennsylvanian.com/media/storage/paper882/news/2004/07/22/Sports/David.Kuhn.Steroids.Sour.Fun.Of.Olympics-2151098.shtml |archive-date=November 4, 2008}}</ref> the "]" debate,<ref name="loudlewd">{{cite news | author = Frazier Moore | title = Loud and lewd but sweet underneath | work = ] | date = December 14, 2006 | url= http://www.theage.com.au/news/tv--radio/loud-and-lewd-but-sweet-underneath/2006/12/13/1165685687176.html?page=2 | access-date = May 9, 2009}}</ref> and ].<ref name="islam"/> In the ] (2006) episode "]", Cartman, planning to exploit the public's fear of ], seeks to get the ] television series '']'', a program he despises, permanently removed from the airwaves when Fox plans to air an episode despite its inclusion of a cartoon likeness of ]. This leads Kyle to give a short speech about the ethics of ],<ref name="growsup1">{{cite magazine|author=Jaime J. Weinman |title=South Park grows up |magazine=Maclean's |date=March 12, 2008 |url=http://www.macleans.ca/culture/entertainment/article.jsp?content=20080312_115131_115131&page=1 |access-date=May 5, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090719082617/http://www.macleans.ca/culture/entertainment/article.jsp?content=20080312_115131_115131&page=1 |archive-date=July 19, 2009}}</ref> which reiterates Parker and Stone's sentiments of "Either it's all okay, or none of it is" in regards to whether any subject should remain off-limits to satire.<ref name="bbcnews">{{cite news| author = Thomas H. Maugh II | title = South Park duo criticise network| work = BBC News| date = April 14, 2006| url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4909820.stm| access-date = May 3, 2009}}</ref> Both Cartman's commentary and the commentary resulting in response to his actions have been interpreted as statements Parker and Stone are attempting to make to the viewing public, and these opinions have been subject to much critical analysis in the media and literary world.<ref name="seriously">Fallows and Weinstock, p. 165</ref>


The book '']'' includes an essay in which Johnson uses Cartman's actions and behavior as examples when discussing the ],<ref name="blackwell"> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070901034507/http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/book.asp?ref=9781405161602&site=1 |date=September 1, 2007}}, Blackwell Publishing, ''Series: The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series'', Retrieved January 21, 2008</ref> and another essay by ] professor Mark D. White cited the ] (1998) episode "]", in which Cartman is temporarily granted law enforcement powers, in its discussion regarding the ] and what obligates a citizen to obey the law.<ref name="blackwell"/> Essays in the books '']'', ''Blame Canada! South Park and Contemporary Culture'', and ''Taking South Park Seriously'' have also analyzed Cartman's perspectives within the framework of popular philosophical, theological, political, and social concepts.<ref name="seriously"/><ref name="blmp">{{cite book | editor-last = Hanley | editor-first = Richard | title = South Park and Philosophy: Bigger, Longer, and More Penetrating | publisher = Open Court | date = March 8, 2007 | isbn = 978-0-8126-9613-4}}</ref><ref name="blame">{{cite book | last = Johnson-Woods | first = Toni | title = Blame Canada! South Park and Contemporary Culture | publisher = Continuum International Publishing Group | date = January 30, 2007 | isbn = 978-0-8264-1731-2 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/blamecanada00toni}}</ref> Parker and Stone downplay the show's alignment with any particular political affiliation, and deny having a political agenda when creating an episode.<ref name="mcfarland2"/><ref name="refugees">{{cite news| author = John Tierney| title = South Park Refugees| work = The New York Times| date = August 29, 2006| url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A06E4DC113EF93AA1575BC0A9609C8B63| access-date = May 3, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| author = Lynn Barker | title = Trey Parker and Matt Stone: The "South Park" Guys, Uncut| publisher = TeenHollywood.com |date = October 14, 2004| url= http://www.teenhollywood.com/printerversion.asp?r=81433| access-date = May 3, 2009}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> In response to the focus on elements of satire in ''South Park'', Parker has said that the main goal of the show is to portray Cartman and his friends as "kids just being kids" as a means of accurately showcasing "what it's like to be in in America".<ref name="rocky">{{cite news| author = Saunders| title = At 10, 'South Park' still bites| work = ]| date = July 17, 2006| url = http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/spotlight_columnists/article/0,2777,DRMN_23962_4848796,00.html| access-date = May 3, 2009| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070104070024/http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/spotlight_columnists/article/0%2C2777%2CDRMN_23962_4848796%2C00.html| archive-date = January 4, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://drbmk.com/parker-and-stone-interview-at-10th-season-premiere|title=Parker and stone interview at 10th season premiere – Drugs are bad mkay- A south park fan site|access-date=December 30, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222134846/http://drbmk.com/parker-and-stone-interview-at-10th-season-premiere/|archive-date=December 22, 2015}}</ref>
*In the full-length feature film, '']'', his frequent use of ], after getting electrocuted by a power box, coupled with the experimental ] implanted in his brain to stop him swearing (which gave him temporary electrostatic powers), deliberately helps save the world from ].
*In the episode “],” he rescues the students of the choir tour from the Costa Rica jungle.
*In the episode “],” Stan and Kyle were about to be brainwashed by the evil Dr. Adams while Cartman was on TV. This angered Cartman because nobody saw it and he destroyed the brainwashing machine before it was too late.
*In the episode “],” Cartman tells ] that her career encouraged people to help more people, and convinces her to help them. Amusingly, however, he lists this in “]" among the bad things that he's done.
*In the episode “],” he destroys the ] and sets up ]’s death (in a spoof of a ] ] ] cartoon).
*In "]" Cartman travels back in time to a vision of 1776 in order to meet the founding fathers and eventually saves the day and the town from total chaos.
*In the episode “],” his intolerance of hippies saves South Park from a drug-filled hippie ].
*In the episode “]” although he doesn't know it, he saved ] by going to the Supreme Court and requesting the pulling of Kenny's feeding tube (even though his motive was to get his hands on Kenny's ]).
*In “],” he travels to San Francisco (a place he had vowed never to go) and ultimately saves Kyle and his family from the smug storm that sucked San Francisco out of existence and into “its own asshole.” This, however, is rooted in Cartman’s realization that he needs Kyle around, because Kyle is a much better object of his hatred than Butters, who proved a poor replacement.
*In “]” Cartman, along with Butters, rescues twelve people being held hostage at the Red Cross by three convicted murderers that had escaped from prison. Cartman and Butters thought that Cartman was a ghost and attempted to scare the fugitives by making ghost cries, flipping books, opening file cabinets and throwing papers out of them, and ringing bells. The fugitives are merely befuddled by Cartman’s behavior, which provides enough of a distraction for Butters to release the hostages and the police to arrest the convicts. This is one of the rare instances in which his actions are motivated by a need to be altruistic, as he thought that he had died and could not go to heaven because of all the horrible things he had done over the years, and needed to atone for them.
*In “],” Cartman leads the attack with Stan, Kyle, and Kenny in ] against the “one who has no life” and in the end kills him, making the game safe for other players to play again and saving the World of Warcraft.
*In “],” Cartman, emboldened by his appointment as the school’s hallway monitor, takes his authority seriously, and dresses up like ], catching the kindergarten teacher and ] making out in the school corridors, and reporting her to the principal. Kyle then comments, “Wow. I think I owe you one, Cartman.”
*In “],” Cartman apparently manages to save the Earth from a fate of atheists at war. By his meddling in the past (Albeit still in the quest for a Wii) he changes future history enough for the war to be erased, and is sent home.
*In “],” Cartman’s bigoted actions against a new Muslim child in class prompts others to inadvertently identify a real threat that saves the country from war with the British.
*In “],” Cartman is under the impression that ‘jumping’ homeless people on his skateboard will somehow get them to leave South Park.


==Family== ===Recognition===
'']'' ranked Cartman at number 10 on their 2002 list of the "Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters",<ref name="TVGuide">{{cite news|url=http://archives.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/TV/07/30/cartoon.characters.list/ |title=TV Guide's 50 greatest cartoon characters of all time |access-date=August 25, 2007 |date=July 30, 2002 |publisher=CNN |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070320230753/http://archives.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/TV/07/30/cartoon.characters.list/ |archive-date=March 20, 2007}}</ref> 24th on ]'s "25 Greatest TV Villains", 198th on ]'s "200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons",<ref name="pop">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b1ruwF6xYNIC&q=eric+cartman&pg=PA144 | title=From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th | location=] | publisher=] | year=2005 | isbn=0-7407-5118-2 | oclc=57316726 | first=David|last=Mansour}}</ref> and 19th on ]'s "100 Greatest TV Characters" television special in 2004.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bravoprofiles.com/The_100_Greatest_TV_Characters/index.shtml |title=The 100 Greatest TV Characters |publisher=] |access-date=August 25, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090507184134/http://www.bravoprofiles.com/The_100_Greatest_TV_Characters/index.shtml |archive-date=May 7, 2009}}</ref> When declaring him the second-scariest character on television (behind only ] of '']'') in 2005, ]'s Brian Bellmont described Cartman as a "bundle of pure, unadulterated evil all wrapped up in a fat—er, big-boned—cartoony package" who "takes a feral delight in his evildoing".<ref name="msnbc">{{cite news| author = Brian Bellmont| title = TV's top 10 scariest characters| work = Today.com| date = November 1, 2005| url = https://www.today.com/popculture/tv-s-top-10-scariest-characters-wbna9699636| access-date = May 9, 2009}}</ref> In 2014, '']'' ranked Cartman first place on their list of "The Top 25 South Park Characters", commenting that he was "the obvious choice" of number one and that "sometimes the obvious choice is also the right one". The website stated that despite Cartman being "one of the worst human beings in the history of fiction&nbsp;... he's the most loathsome character we've ever loved." ''IGN'' concluded by calling him "the biggest contribution to the world of animated characters that South Park has made – and that's saying something."<ref name="IGN top">{{cite web| author1 = Ramsey Isler| author2 = Jesse Schedeen| title = The Top 25 South Park Characters| page = 5| website = IGN| date = February 28, 2014| url = https://ign.com/articles/2014/03/01/top-25-south-park-characters?page=5| access-date = March 19, 2014}}</ref> In 2020, '']'' ranked Cartman as #17 of their "The 50 Best Cartoon Characters of All Time".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/tv/the-50-best-cartoon-characters-of-all-time/|title=The 50 Best Cartoon Characters of All Time|date=May 10, 2010|website=]|access-date=March 10, 2022|archive-date=April 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404051515/https://www.pastemagazine.com/tv/the-50-best-cartoon-characters-of-all-time/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Cartman is the only boy in the series who does not have a ] shown at any time. This is because of his intersexed mother (]), who actually fathered him with an unknown woman. This shocking twist is revealed at the end of the two-part story arc, "]" and "]."


==In other media==
<small>'''NOTE:''' In the unaired version of the pilot, "]," Cartman has a father and sister, though neither had any lines.{{Fact|date=May 2007}}</small>
* Cartman has a major role in '']'',<ref>{{cite news|url=http://film.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/Critic_Review/Guardian_review/0,,77038,00.html|title=South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut &#124; Reviews &#124; guardian.co.uk Film|date=August 27, 1999|work=guardian.co.uk|access-date=July 24, 2009|last=Pulver|first=Andrew}}</ref> the full-length film based on the series, and appeared on the ] singing the same musical numbers performed in the movie.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.discogs.com/Various-Music-From-And-Inspired-By-The-Motion-Picture-South-Park-Bigger-Longer-Uncut/release/1396078|title=Various – Music From And Inspired By The Motion Picture South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut|date=December 7, 1999 |publisher=www.discogs.com|access-date=July 24, 2009}}</ref> As a tribute to the ], a short that features Cartman attempting to return a dead Kenny to a shop run by Kyle aired during a 1999 BBC television special commemorating the 30th anniversary of '']''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?sf=3&set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=qw939324300430R131|title=News – Pythons cut train crash from funny show|publisher=www.iol.co.za|access-date=August 1, 2009}}</ref> Cartman is also featured in the ] '']'', telling his version of the film's titular joke to Stan, Kyle, and Kenny,<ref name="aristocrats">{{cite web |title=HBO Documentary Films: The Aristocrats |url=http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/aristocrats/synopsis.html |publisher=] |access-date=March 27, 2009 |archive-date=April 26, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090426054948/http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/aristocrats/synopsis.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> and in "The Gauntlet", a short spoofing both '']'' and '']'' that aired during the ].<ref name="ortega">{{cite news|last=Ortega|first=Tony|title=Sympathy For The Devil: Tory Bezazian was a veteran Scientologist who loved going after church critics. Until she met the darkest detractor of all.|work=]|date=September 27, 2001}}</ref><ref name="mtvshort">{{cite video | people=Trey Parker, Matt Stone|date=2000|title=The Gauntlet |medium=Television special|publisher=MTV, Comedy Central}} Short that aired during the ]</ref>
* Cartman is a central character in '']'', the first television special made for ]. In the special, which takes place 40 years after the events of the series, Cartman is depicted as having converted to ], becoming a ] with a wife and three children, much to the chagrin of Kyle.<ref>{{Cite web|date=November 26, 2021|title=South Park Post-Covid's take on adult Cartman has fans in utter shock|url=https://www.thefocus.news/tv/south-park-adult-cartman/|access-date=November 29, 2021|website=The Focus|archive-date=November 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129131557/https://www.thefocus.news/tv/south-park-adult-cartman/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* Cartman returns in the follow-up special '']''. In it, Cartman has thoroughly convinced his family that Kyle is out to break them apart on the grounds of being anti-Jewish (in reality, Kyle intends to go back in time to try and alter the events of the COVID outbreak and Cartman is concerned that this will cost him his family). In retaliation, Cartman organizes a rebellion group consisting of Butters, Clyde and Scott Malkinson with the sole purpose of going back in time and killing him. After a brief altercation with Kyle himself, Cartman changes his mind about the plan and kills an adult Clyde in the past, who volunteered to attempt to kill Kyle, allowing Stan and Kyle to help their younger selves save their friendship before the pandemic kicked off. In the now-altered future, Cartman is shown to be alcoholic, homeless, and bitter.<ref>https://amp/s/www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/south-park-fans-struggling-cartman-future-1235064319/amp/{{Dead link|date=January 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>
* For their 2007 ] tour, the rock band ] commissioned a short, video introduction for the song "]". Cartman, dressed in a long wig to look like singer ], sings his own, personal, version of the song's lyrics prompting the usual outrage from Kyle. The video can be seen on the band's ''Snakes & Arrows'' concert video.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001G5ZKZS|title=Amazon.com: RUSH: Snakes & Arrows Live: RUSH: Movies & TV|website=Amazon|date=November 24, 2008 |access-date=December 30, 2016}}</ref>
* In ], Cartman became the main protagonist of a series of promotional videos for the ] of the ], which are played on the big-screen TVs inside of ] where the character ridicules the mascots of rival teams and reacts to various aspects of the game.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://southpark.cc.com/news/2002/may|title=May 2002 Press Releases|date=May 29, 2002|publisher=South Park Studios|access-date=January 15, 2010|last=Riess|first=Breayle|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110508104949/http://www.southparkstudios.com/news/2002/may|archive-date=May 8, 2011}}</ref>
* Short clips of Cartman introducing the starting lineup for the ] football team were featured during ]'s coverage of the 2007 match-up between the University of Colorado and the ].<ref name="cubuffs">{{cite web|url=http://www.cubuffs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=600&ATCLID=1325618|title=Colorado Beats Huskers to Become Bowl Eligible|date=November 23, 2007|publisher=University of Colorado|access-date=January 17, 2010}}</ref>
* In 2008, Parker, as Cartman, gave answers to a ] conducted by ] of ].<ref name="NPR"/>
* Parker performs as Cartman on tracks for '']'' and '']''.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/1999/01/08/psycho-music-and-inspired-motion-picture/|title=Shower Hooks|date=January 8, 1999|magazine=]|access-date=July 24, 2009|last=Browne|first=David|archive-date=December 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201217154324/https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,273973,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/H/Hayes_Isaac/1998/11/27/745908.html|title="Chef" hayes cooks crazy stew|publisher=jam.canoe.ca|access-date=July 24, 2009|last=Nazareth|first=Errol|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120916043148/http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/H/Hayes_Isaac/1998/11/27/745908.html|archive-date=September 16, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1999-12-23/music/various-artists/|title=Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics|date=December 23, 1999|website=]|access-date=July 24, 2009|last=Moorhead|first=M.V.|archive-date=May 11, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511175421/http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1999-12-23/music/various-artists/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Cartman also appears in six ''South Park''-related video games: In '']'', Cartman is controlled by the player through the ] mode who attempts to ward off enemies from terrorizing the town of South Park.<ref>{{cite web |first=Christopher Michael |last=Baker |title=South Park – Overview |url=http://allgame.com/game.php?id=19249 |work=] |access-date=July 16, 2009 |archive-date=December 10, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141210201415/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=19249 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In '']'', a user has the option of playing as Cartman when participating in the game's several "minigames" based on other popular arcade games.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=2100 |title=Review: South Park: Chef's Luv Shack |publisher=ComputerAndVideoGames.com |access-date=July 19, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070330000425/http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=2100 |archive-date=March 30, 2007}}</ref> In the racing game '']'', a user can race as Cartman against other users playing as other characters, while choosing to place him in any of a variety of vehicles.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uk.dreamcast.ign.com/articles/133/133474p1.html|title=South Park Rally Preview|website=IGN|access-date=July 19, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713004750/http://uk.dreamcast.ign.com/articles/133/133474p1.html|archive-date=July 13, 2011}}</ref> In '']'', Cartman can be selected as a playable character used to establish a ] against the game's antagonists.<ref name="igntower">{{cite web|url=http://uk.xboxlive.ign.com/articles/103/1031444p1.html|title=South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play Review|last=Brudvig|first=Erik|date=October 6, 2009|work=IGN |access-date=October 10, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091010182058/http://uk.xboxlive.ign.com/articles/103/1031444p1.html|archive-date=October 10, 2009}}</ref> In '']'', Cartman is the leader of one of two tribes in South Park, at war over the Stick of Truth.<ref>{{cite web |last=Cook |first=Dave |url=https://www.vg247.com/2014/03/04/south-park-the-stick-of-truth-is-the-funniest-episode-in-years/ |title=South Park: The Stick of Truth is the funniest episode in years |website=] |date=March 4, 2014 |access-date=January 25, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150909011327/http://www.vg247.com/2014/03/04/south-park-the-stick-of-truth-is-the-funniest-episode-in-years/ |archive-date=September 9, 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> He plays a similar role in this game's superhero themed sequel, '']'', where he leads the Coon & Friends team.<ref>{{cite news |first=Michael |last=Thomsen |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2017/10/23/south-park-the-fractured-but-whole-is-a-game-thats-too-eager-to-laugh-at-cruelty/ |title='South Park: The Fractured but Whole' is a game that's too eager to laugh at cruelty |newspaper=] |date=October 23, 2017 |access-date=November 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108185939/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2017/10/23/south-park-the-fractured-but-whole-is-a-game-thats-too-eager-to-laugh-at-cruelty/ |archive-date=November 8, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>


==See also==
Cartman's extended family is shown in episode: "Merry Christmas Charlie Manson!," where he and the others go on a trip to ] to visit them for ]. Most of his relatives appear to be similar in manner to him; all fat, with the same speech accent and ]s. The family is seen again in the episode "]," at his grandmother's funeral—where she leaves her estate (valued at $1,000,000) to Eric, citing that all the other family members would have spent it all on ].
{{portal|United States|Colorado|Television|Animation|Comedy}}

*]
Cartman's mother frequently calls her son "poopiekins" or "poopykins", and is one of the few characters who usually refers to Cartman by his first name (the other characters refer to him by his surname or some pejorative phrase, "fat ass" being among the most popular). The others are Mr. Garrison, Butters and Jimmy.
*]

{{clear}}
===Pets and toys===
Cartman has a cat named ] (who despite the name is actually ''female''), and a ] named Fluffy. He also has a stuffed ] toy named "]" (based on a character from the '']'', a program that was played in schools in the 1970s.) Other beloved stuffed animals include Wellington Bear (a take on ]), Polly Prissy Pants the rag doll, purple ] Rumpertumskin (a take on ]), and Peter Panda.

==Talents==
===Music===
Cartman appears to be very musically talented. He plays the ] quite well in the episode "Christian Rock Hard," the ] in "]," the ] in "]," the ] in "]," the harmonica in "]," the ] in "]," and the ] in "]." His ] group "]" sold 1,000,000 copies of its album in the episode "Christian Rock Hard." In the film '']'', Cartman is shown singing in mock versions of Chinese, French, Dutch and an unidentified African language by singing "Kyle's mom is a Bitch". In "Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics", Cartman sings, "O, Holy Night" (despite several interruptions). In ], he sings and does a German dance to raise money for Chef's legal fees. He also leads a ] in the episode "]".

Cartman's musical tastes run toward ] and ] in general and maudlin ]s in particular.
"]" shows for the first time that Cartman has the uncontrollable urge to finish singing ]'s "]" whenever he hears any part of the song, which he can do, under pressure, in 27 seconds. In ], Cartman sings "]" to the ] convincing them to vote in favor of ]. Cartman also appears to enjoy ], as demonstrated in his Britney Spears dance sequence in "AWESOME-O". He also quotes ] song ]. "Haha charade you are".

Cartman frequently bursts into song spontaneously, sometimes with melodies and topical lyrics of his own devising. This penchant for '']'' songs was specifically mentioned in "]".

===Manipulation and leadership ability===
Although having his origins as little more than a comic foil, Cartman has evolved into a character of stunningly articulate manipulative talents, following closely in the footsteps of other famous manipulators such as the character ] from William Shakespeare's ]. In several episodes throughout the series, he employs this skill to get what he wants. His most frequent targets are ] and adults in general, including convincing Butters to "take one for the team" and be anally pack raped by men from NAMBLA in ]. He was able to get Congress to lift the ban on stem-cell research in the episode "Kenny Dies" and talked the ginger kids out of killing all non-gingers after Kyle told him that they had played a trick on him in "Ginger Kids". Earlier in that episode he had rallied all the gingers to ]. In the episode "Tsst", Cartman was able to drive several nannies from his house with insults and insinuation (even causing one to be put in a mental hospital and eat her own waste from a toilet).

Cartman's perceived stupidity by his friends can be attributed to his sometimes naive behavior, however his uncanny skill at manipulation, bilingualism, and ability to create elaborate schemes which are often effective imply a surprisingly high intellect. Cartman seems to have no problem talking to people and speaking in general. He has an uncanny way with words and uses that to his advantage whenever he plots an idea. For example, in "]," Cartman delivers a speech to the ] convincing them to vote in favor of ]. He also appears to be multilingual (though not very well). He claims to be able to speak Spanish in ] when he tells a Costa Rican freedom fighter that he wants burritos, and in ], he actually speaks Spanish to the Mexican workers hired to smear Butter's home with excrement. In ] Eric Cartman again demonstrates his proficiency in Spanish when hiring Mexicans to write an "essay" (which the immigrants mistake for the Spanish informal word for a friend ) on ]. In ], Cartman speaks German (but most of his words are mispronounced).

In "]", he exploited a ] involving the appearance of Muhammad on ] ''Family Guy'' to try to get the show off the air; he pretended to be the hapless victim of an Islamic ] attack to try to discourage the FOX president and the ''Family Guy'' staff writers from airing the Muhammad episode. On another occasion he was able to convince the majority of the adults of South Park to nearly take over the U.S. via an out-of-hand re-enactment of the Civil War, as long as he kept them drunk so they wouldn't realize what they were doing.

Cartman's shining accomplishment (according to Comedy Central's list of "Cartman's 25 Greatest Moments") came in the episode "Scott Tenorman Must Die.", a testimony to Cartmans hidden ingenuity and cunning. Though Scott Tenorman continually defeats Cartman throughout the episode, Cartman has the last laugh as he indirectly coerces Scott's parents into a situation where they are trespassing, and are consequently shot and killed. Cartman then steals the bodies and makes them into a chili which he promptly feeds to Scott. Not only that but Scott intended for Cartman to eat the pubic hairs of all the teenagers in town by putting them is Cartmans chill, however Cartman switches them so Cartmen eats the Chili made by Chef and not the one Scott intended him to eat. To make matters worse, Tenorman's favorite band, ], whom Cartman had arranged to be there so that they would be at the scene just as Scott had found out about his parents' deaths, sees him crying over the loss of his parents and deems him a cry baby. Cartman laughs hysterically at the inconsolable Tenorman, licking the tears from his face and dubbing them 'the tears of unfathomable sadness'.

{{Wikiquote|South Park|Eric Cartman}}


==References== ==References==
{{Reflist}} {{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book | editor-last = Arp | editor-first = Robert | editor-last2= Jacoby |editor-first2=Henry |editor-last3=Johnson |editor-first3=David Kyle |display-authors=etal | title = South Park and Philosophy: You Know, I Learned Something Today | publisher = Blackwell Publishing (The Blackwell Philosophy & Pop Culture Series) | year = 2006 | isbn = 978-1-4051-6160-2}}
* {{cite book | editor-last = Weinstock | editor-first = Jeffrey Andrew |last=Fallows |first=Randall |chapter= South Park Heretics | title = Taking South Park Seriously | publisher = ] | year = 2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H7OEFij0QkgC | isbn = 978-0-7914-7566-9}}
{{Refend}}


==External links== ==External links==
{{sister project links|auto=yes}}
* - Official Site
{{Spoken Misplaced Pages|date=October 1, 2021|Eric Cartman.ogg}}
* at South Park Studios


{{South Park characters}} {{South Park}}
{{Trey Parker and Matt Stone}}
{{Good article}}


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Latest revision as of 12:13, 26 December 2024

South Park character "Cartman" redirects here. For other uses, see Cartman (disambiguation). Not to be confused with Eric Carmen.

Fictional character
Eric Cartman
South Park character
First appearanceJesus vs. Frosty (1992, short)
Created byTrey Parker
Matt Stone
Designed byTrey Parker
Matt Stone
Voiced byTrey Parker
In-universe information
Full nameEric Theodore Cartman
AliasThe Coon
GenderMale
Occupation
Family
  • Liane Cartman (mother)
  • Jack Tenorman (father)
  • Scott Tenorman (half-brother)
SpouseYentl Cartman (alternate future wife)
Significant otherHeidi Turner (ex-girlfriend)
Children
  • Menorah Cartman (alternate future daughter)
  • Moisha Cartman (alternate future son)
  • Hackelm Cartman (alternate future son)
NationalityAmerican
ResidenceSouth Park, Colorado, United States

Eric Theodore Cartman, commonly referred to as just Cartman, is a fictional character in the adult animated sitcom South Park, created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. He is voiced by Parker, and is one of the series' four main characters, alongside Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Kenny McCormick. He first appeared with the name Kenny in the short film The Spirit of Christmas (1992), and later appeared in the 1995 film of the same title before debuting in "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe", the first episode of the series, on August 13, 1997.

Cartman is an elementary school student who lives with his single mother, Liane, in the eponymous Colorado town. Cartman is principally characterized by his obesity, his amorality, and his bigoted and especially antisemitic disposition, being described by Parker and Stone as "a little Archie Bunker". In later seasons, particularly following the fifth season episode "Scott Tenorman Must Die" (in which he turns the titular Scott Tenorman's parents into chili, in order to feed it to him as revenge for bullying him), Cartman exhibits increasingly psychopathic and manipulative behavior. The latter is showcased through Cartman's various schemes, the majority of which fail either due to opposition from other characters or Cartman's own hubris, frequently leaving Cartman in complete humiliation.

Cartman is widely considered to be the most popular South Park character, one of the most influential fictional characters of all time, and an American cultural icon. Parker and Stone have stated that he is their favorite character, and the one with whom they most identify. South Park has received both praise and criticism for Cartman's politically incorrect behavior.

Role in South Park

Cartman attends South Park Elementary as part of Mr. Garrison's class. During the first 58 episodes, he and his classmates were in the third grade, before transitioning to the fourth grade during the fourth season. He is the only child of Liane Cartman, a promiscuous single mother. In the episode "Cartman's Mom Is Still a Dirty Slut", Liane is said to be intersex, being both Eric's mother and father. This is later revealed to be an elaborate ruse in the fourteenth-season episode "200". In the following episode, "201", it is revealed that Cartman's true biological father is Jack Tenorman, a former player for the Denver Broncos whom he arranged to have killed in "Scott Tenorman Must Die"; Scott Tenorman, Jack's son, is thus revealed to be Cartman's half-brother.

Cartman is distinguished from most of the other children by a wider physical appearance, and is subject to ridicule from others for his obesity. He is most commonly portrayed as an antagonist, with most of his actions driving the events of many episodes. Cartman is alienated by the majority of the other children for his strong amorality, but they are occasionally influenced by his manipulation.

Though Cartman has shared an enmity with all three of his friends, his rivalry with Stan and Kyle has progressed significantly during the show's run, with Cartman routinely exposing them to physical endangerment. Cartman, a staunch antisemite, reflects most of his hatred towards the Jewish Kyle, such as deliberately infecting him with HIV ("Tonsil Trouble"). Kyle occasionally exhibits similar behavior in such episodes as "Fatbeard", wherein Kyle encourages Cartman to travel to Somalia, hoping he will be killed.

His rivalry with the other characters stems from opposition with their personalities. Where Kyle is restrained by firm morals, Cartman indulges in sadistic hedonism. He revealed that he hated Kenny the most in the episode "Jakovasaurs". He has on numerous occasions made fun of Kenny for being poor. In "Kenny Dies", Cartman takes advantage of his declining health to get a ban on stem cell research lifted in order to construct his own Shakey's Pizza restaurant out of fetus stem cells. However, Cartman also implies that Kenny is his best friend, making their relationship unclear.

Kyle is sometimes an enthusiastic participant in Cartman's schemes and he is sometimes seen treating Kyle well, although this is generally to put aside their hatred momentarily for a common goal or for manipulation. Parker and Stone have compared the relationship to that between Archie Bunker and Michael Stivic on All in the Family. Kyle has a tendency to make what he thinks are safe bets with Cartman, often losing these bets when the improbable actions promised by Cartman are accomplished. Cartman's motivation in this regard is not only monetary gain, but an obsession with beating Kyle, a fixation that ultimately plays a major part in a subplot to the three-part "Imaginationland". This obsession has been shown to overshadow other goals Cartman wishes to achieve. Cartman has a high sadistic streak towards Kyle, and has repeatedly expressed desire in seeing him suffer, often to extremes. In "You're Getting Old", it is suggested that Kyle and Cartman may be developing a genuine friendship, possibly due to the void left by Stan's apparent departure. This relationship ends in "Ass Burgers", however, due to Kyle finding out how Cartman was producing his hamburgers. Cartman's resentment of Stan is at times reserved for when Cartman actively proclaims his hatred for both Stan and Kyle as a duo, and his contempt for Stan as an individual is usually due to his annoyance with Stan's sensitivity, affection for animals, and relationship with Wendy Testaburger.

Despite being intolerant of other cultures, Cartman displays an aptitude for learning foreign languages. He knows German, and once uses this knowledge to impersonate Adolf Hitler while promoting the extermination of Jews to an oblivious audience that did not speak German, and in interactions with Mexican laborers, such as the episode "My Future Self n' Me", seems to speak at least conversational Spanish. This is in service of a running joke in which Cartman displays incredible aptitude at quickly learning almost any topic in service of his schemes, despite being an awful student in a school environment and displaying extreme ignorance about subjects that do not immediately interest him.

Conversely, in "Major Boobage", Cartman shelters the town's cats when they are outlawed; outside of episodes that take place in alternate timelines, this is the only multi-scene plotline in which Cartman acts in a traditionally moral way without any ulterior motive being indicated on-screen.

Cartman will use an awkward pause during a conversation as an opportunity to casually remind Kenny that he hates him. Cartman's mischievous treatment of Butters, and the relationship the duo shares, has received significant focus in the more recent seasons of the series. This reflects Parker's interest, as the scenes between the two are the ones he most enjoys writing.

Several episodes concern Cartman's greed and his get-rich-quick schemes, although his numerous attempts to attain wealth generally fail. His extreme disdain for hippies serves to satirize the counterculture of the 1960s and its influence in contemporary society, reflecting Parker's real-life antipathy towards hippies. Though the role is customarily taken by Stan or Kyle, Cartman will occasionally be the one to reflect on the lessons learned during the course of an episode with a speech that often begins with "You know, I've learned something today...".

Character

Creation and design

Cartman's hair, which is usually hidden underneath his hat

A precursor to Cartman 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. In the short, the character resembling Cartman was named "Kenny", and a variation of the catchphrase "Oh my God, they killed Kenny!" was exclaimed when this character was killed by an evil snowman. The character was composed of construction paper cutouts and animated through the use of stop motion. When commissioned 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. In this short, his character first appears as he does in the series, and is given the name "Cartman", while the character of Kenny appears as the character is depicted today and given Cartman's moniker from the previous short. Cartman next appeared on August 13, 1997, when South Park debuted on Comedy Central with the episode "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe".

In keeping with the show's animation style, Cartman is composed of simple geometrical shapes and primary colors. He is not offered the same free range of motion associated with hand-drawn characters; his character is mostly shown from one direction, and his movements intentionally jerky. Ever since the show's second episode, "Weight Gain 4000" (season one, 1997), Cartman, 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.

Cartman is usually depicted wearing winter attire which consists of a red coat, brown pants, yellow gloves/mittens, and a yellow-brimmed turquoise knit cap tapered with a yellow pom-pom. He has parted brown hair, and he is seen without his hat more often than the other characters with distinctive headwear. As he is overweight, his body is wider and his hands noticeably larger than those of the other children, and his head is more elliptical. An additional curved line on his lower face represents a double chin.

Parker adduced that he came up with the voice of Cartman while he and Stone were in film class, where they would speak in high-pitched childish voices, which was quite irksome to their film teachers. They would naturally reproduce these voices in the initial seasons of South Park. Although he had originally voiced Cartman without any computer manipulation, Parker now does so by speaking within his normal vocal range with a childlike inflection. The recorded audio is then edited with Pro Tools, and the pitch is altered to make the voice sound like that of a fourth grader. Parker says to achieve the effect of Cartman's voice, he simply uses the same technique when voicing Stan while "adding a lot of fat to it".

Development

Cartman is voiced by series co-creator Trey Parker.

Cartman is partially named after and based on Matt Karpman, a high school classmate of Parker who remains a friend of both Parker and Stone. Cartman is also inspired to some degree by All in the Family patriarch Archie Bunker, who is himself inspired by Alf Garnett from Till Death Us Do Part, the original British version of All in the Family. Parker and Stone are reportedly big fans of All in the Family. They alleged in 2008 that creating Cartman as a "little eight-year-old fat kid" made it easier for the two to portray a Bunker-like character after the introduction of political correctness to late-20th century television. While developing the character, Parker noted that everyone either remembers "an annoying fat kid in their pasts", or "they were the annoying fat kid". Stone has observed that "kids are not nice, innocent, flower-loving little rainbow children ... they don't have any kind of social tact or etiquette, they're just complete little raging bastards".

In the season five (2001) episode "Scott Tenorman Must Die", Cartman is tricked into buying the pubic hair of a local ninth-grader named Scott Tenorman for $16.12. He then successfully executes an elaborate scheme to publicly humiliate Scott in front of his favorite band Radiohead, by getting Scott's parents killed and then tricking Scott into eating them. The show's writers debated during production of the episode whether the incident would be "a step too far, even for Cartman". Parker felt that the act could sufficiently be the culmination of Cartman's sociopathic behavior, and would " a new bar" by portraying Cartman as being capable of performing anything short of murder. Fans reacted by ranking it as Cartman's "greatest moment" in a 2005 poll on Comedy Central's website. It is later revealed in the season fourteen episode "201" that Jack Tenorman, Scott's father, was a football player for the Denver Broncos who impregnated Cartman's mom, therefore making him Cartman's father too.

Parker and Stone, despite being the basis for Stan and Kyle, insist that Cartman is their favorite character, and the one with whom they identify the most.

Personality and traits

There's a big part of me that's Eric Cartman. He's both of our dark sides, the things we'd never say.

 Trey Parker

Cartman uses profanity (as do his friends) to provide a means for Parker and Stone to portray how they believe young boys really talk when they are alone. According to Parker, Cartman does not possess the "underlying sweetness" of the show's other child characters. Cartman is shown at times to be completely amoral and remorseless. Cartman, as with Stan Marsh and Kyle Broflovski, is amused by bodily functions and toilet humor, and his favorite television personalities are Terrance and Phillip, a Canadian duo whose comedy routines on their show-within-the-show revolve substantially around fart jokes.

Cartman is sensitive and in denial about his obesity. Often reasserting Liane's notion by exclaiming "I'm not fat, I'm big-boned!" and will just as often either threaten to bring harm to anyone who mocks his weight or curse them out in aggravation. He has also had people killed due to his insecurity; after his psychiatrist mocked his weight, Cartman framed the man as a pedophile to his wife, causing her to commit suicide. He views himself as more mature than his fellow friends and classmates, and often grows impatient with their company; despite claiming to be more mature, he will often break down crying childishly and pathetically whenever he feels defeated. This often leads to loud arguments, which in earlier seasons typically end with Cartman peevishly saying "Screw you guys ... I'm going home!" and then leaving. In an action King's College philosophy professor David Kyle Johnson describes as "directed either toward accomplishing his own happiness or the unhappiness of others", Cartman often feigns actual friendship with his classmates when needing a favor. The lack of a true father figure in his life, and Liane's promiscuity and drug use have caused repressed psychological hardship in Cartman's life. As a parent, Liane often spoils Cartman, and is largely ineffectual as a disciplinarian. Cartman sometimes commands his mom to do tasks for him, but more often resorts to pleading with her in an ingratiating tone. When neither method works, he resorts to excessive and indecipherable whining, to which Liane usually succumbs. Parker has noted that this is the primary cause for Cartman's behavior, stating that Cartman is "just a product of his environment".

We always had this thing where Cartman's mother was so sweet—she was always so sweet to him and giving him whatever he wanted. And I don't know if it's worse in L.A. than most places in the country—I hope so—but so many parents who were just so desperately trying to be friends to their kids. And it was the thing we really picked up on. And it was just like, 'These are making these really evil kids'.
– Trey Parker, discussing Liane's role in shaping Cartman's personality in an interview with NPR

Cartman thrives on achieving ascendancy over others, and exerts his will by demagogy and by demanding that others "Respect my authoritah!" Cartman has several times declared that his dream is getting "Ten million dollars", and that if he got it he would be "so happy". He has shown initiative in taking a businesslike approach to earning money, starting his own "hippie control" and "parental revenge" operations, as well as a Christian Rock and a boy band, a basketball team of crack babies (parody of the NCAA) and his own church.

Cartman's anti-Semitism, while mostly limited to mocking Kyle, culminates in the season eight episode "The Passion of the Jew". In the episode, Cartman, after watching The Passion of the Christ numerous times, deifies the film's director, Mel Gibson, and starts an official Gibson fan club, praising Gibson for "trying to express—through cinema—the horror and filthiness of the common Jew". Cartman's interpretation of the film influences him to dress up as Adolf Hitler and lead other fan club members (who are oblivious of Cartman's actual intentions) in a failed effort to engage in a systematic genocide of the Jews similar to that of the Final Solution. In the season 10 episode "Smug Alert!", Cartman anonymously saves Kyle's life in an effort to get him and his family to return to South Park from San Francisco, revealing that he craves the animosity shared between the two. Cartman later directs the "evil god" Cthulhu to destroy "most of the synagogues" during the season 14 episode "Coon vs. Coon and Friends".

Upon hearing his classmates tell him that they hold him in the lowest regard possible and that they could not possibly think any worse of him, a stubborn Cartman misinterprets this act as their attempt to make him feel better, and convinces himself that everyone thinks he is the "coolest kid in school". In the season 13 (2009) episode "Fishsticks", Cartman subconsciously believes that he helped in creating a joke that quickly becomes a nationwide sensation, despite the fact that the character Jimmy Valmer writes the joke without any assistance. Carlos Delgado of If Magazine noted this as "Cartman being so egotistical that he manipulates the past to serve his own purposes".

Though he is commonly portrayed as having a chauvinist disrespect for foreign cultures, Cartman is shown at least twice ("My Future Self n' Me" and "Pandemic") to be able to speak fluent Spanish (and German).

Cultural impact

Cartman is a South Park fan favorite, and is often described as the most famous character from the series as well as having a significant influence on comedy and culture. With a headline to their online written version of a radio report, NPR declared Cartman as "America's Favorite Little $@#&*%". "Respect my authoritah!" and "Screw you guys ... I'm going home!" became catchphrases and, during the show's earlier seasons, were highly popular in the lexicon of viewers. His eccentric enunciation of "Hey!" was included in the 2002 edition of The Oxford Dictionary of Catchphrases. Stone has said that when fans recognize him or Parker, the fans will usually do their imitation of Cartman, or, in Parker's case, request that he do Cartman's voice.

In 2005, Comedy Central ran a three-night marathon of episodes showcasing what voters had deemed to be his "25 greatest moments". A two-disc DVD collection entitled "The Cult of Cartman", which Comedy Central described as "12 classic episodes with Cartman at his very worst!", was released in 2008.

In a 1999 poll conducted by NatWest Bank, eight and nine-year-old children in the United Kingdom voted Cartman as their favorite personality. This drew the concern of several parent councils who were expecting a character from a television show aimed at children to top the list, to which Stone responded by claiming the results of the poll were "upsetting to people who have an idyllic vision of what kids are like".

While some in the Jewish community have praised the show's depiction of Cartman holding an anti-Semitic attitude towards Kyle as a means of accurately portraying what it is like for a young Jew to have to endure prejudice, other Jews have blamed South Park and Cartman for having found themselves surrounded by "acceptable racism". On November 20, 2008, a Facebook group titled "National Kick a Ginger Day, are you going to do it?" surfaced, suggesting abuse towards redheads. Thousands of internet users signed up as a member of the group, and reports of a feared increase of bullying of red-headed students across Canada soon followed. The group's administrator, a 14-year-old from Vancouver Island, said the group was only intended as a joke, and apologized for the offense it caused. The group was inspired by the season nine (2005) episode "Ginger Kids", in which Cartman incites prejudice towards those with red hair, pale skin, and freckles, a group he calls "Gingers" and claims are inherently evil and without souls.

A cosplayer as Cartman at a convention

Other characters commonly express lessons learned from the antagonistic actions Cartman commonly provokes; this has resulted in these characters giving their opinions on issues such as hate crime legislation, civil liberties, excessive religious devotion, the stem cell controversy, anabolic steroid use, the "right to die" debate, and prejudice. In the season 10 (2006) episode "Cartoon Wars Part II", Cartman, planning to exploit the public's fear of terrorism, seeks to get the Fox television series Family Guy, a program he despises, permanently removed from the airwaves when Fox plans to air an episode despite its inclusion of a cartoon likeness of Muhammad. This leads Kyle to give a short speech about the ethics of censorship, which reiterates Parker and Stone's sentiments of "Either it's all okay, or none of it is" in regards to whether any subject should remain off-limits to satire. Both Cartman's commentary and the commentary resulting in response to his actions have been interpreted as statements Parker and Stone are attempting to make to the viewing public, and these opinions have been subject to much critical analysis in the media and literary world.

The book South Park and Philosophy: You Know, I Learned Something Today includes an essay in which Johnson uses Cartman's actions and behavior as examples when discussing the logical problem of moral evil, and another essay by College of Staten Island professor Mark D. White cited the season two (1998) episode "Chickenlover", in which Cartman is temporarily granted law enforcement powers, in its discussion regarding the command theory of law and what obligates a citizen to obey the law. Essays in the books South Park and Philosophy: Bigger, Longer, and More Penetrating, Blame Canada! South Park and Contemporary Culture, and Taking South Park Seriously have also analyzed Cartman's perspectives within the framework of popular philosophical, theological, political, and social concepts. Parker and Stone downplay the show's alignment with any particular political affiliation, and deny having a political agenda when creating an episode. In response to the focus on elements of satire in South Park, Parker has said that the main goal of the show is to portray Cartman and his friends as "kids just being kids" as a means of accurately showcasing "what it's like to be in in America".

Recognition

TV Guide ranked Cartman at number 10 on their 2002 list of the "Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters", 24th on TV Guide's "25 Greatest TV Villains", 198th on VH1's "200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons", and 19th on Bravo's "100 Greatest TV Characters" television special in 2004. When declaring him the second-scariest character on television (behind only Mr. Burns of The Simpsons) in 2005, MSNBC's Brian Bellmont described Cartman as a "bundle of pure, unadulterated evil all wrapped up in a fat—er, big-boned—cartoony package" who "takes a feral delight in his evildoing". In 2014, IGN ranked Cartman first place on their list of "The Top 25 South Park Characters", commenting that he was "the obvious choice" of number one and that "sometimes the obvious choice is also the right one". The website stated that despite Cartman being "one of the worst human beings in the history of fiction ... he's the most loathsome character we've ever loved." IGN concluded by calling him "the biggest contribution to the world of animated characters that South Park has made – and that's saying something." In 2020, Paste ranked Cartman as #17 of their "The 50 Best Cartoon Characters of All Time".

In other media

  • Cartman has a major role in South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, the full-length film based on the series, and appeared on the film's soundtrack singing the same musical numbers performed in the movie. As a tribute to the Dead Parrot sketch, a short that features Cartman attempting to return a dead Kenny to a shop run by Kyle aired during a 1999 BBC television special commemorating the 30th anniversary of Monty Python's Flying Circus. Cartman is also featured in the documentary film The Aristocrats, telling his version of the film's titular joke to Stan, Kyle, and Kenny, and in "The Gauntlet", a short spoofing both Gladiator and Battlefield Earth that aired during the 2000 MTV Movie Awards.
  • Cartman is a central character in South Park: Post COVID, the first television special made for Paramount+. In the special, which takes place 40 years after the events of the series, Cartman is depicted as having converted to Orthodox Judaism, becoming a rabbi with a wife and three children, much to the chagrin of Kyle.
  • Cartman returns in the follow-up special South Park: Post COVID: The Return of COVID. In it, Cartman has thoroughly convinced his family that Kyle is out to break them apart on the grounds of being anti-Jewish (in reality, Kyle intends to go back in time to try and alter the events of the COVID outbreak and Cartman is concerned that this will cost him his family). In retaliation, Cartman organizes a rebellion group consisting of Butters, Clyde and Scott Malkinson with the sole purpose of going back in time and killing him. After a brief altercation with Kyle himself, Cartman changes his mind about the plan and kills an adult Clyde in the past, who volunteered to attempt to kill Kyle, allowing Stan and Kyle to help their younger selves save their friendship before the pandemic kicked off. In the now-altered future, Cartman is shown to be alcoholic, homeless, and bitter.
  • For their 2007 Snakes & Arrows tour, the rock band Rush commissioned a short, video introduction for the song "Tom Sawyer". Cartman, dressed in a long wig to look like singer Geddy Lee, sings his own, personal, version of the song's lyrics prompting the usual outrage from Kyle. The video can be seen on the band's Snakes & Arrows concert video.
  • In 2002, Cartman became the main protagonist of a series of promotional videos for the Los Angeles Kings of the NHL, which are played on the big-screen TVs inside of Staples Center where the character ridicules the mascots of rival teams and reacts to various aspects of the game.
  • Short clips of Cartman introducing the starting lineup for the University of Colorado football team were featured during ABC's coverage of the 2007 match-up between the University of Colorado and the University of Nebraska.
  • In 2008, Parker, as Cartman, gave answers to a Proust Questionnaire conducted by Julie Rovner of NPR.
  • Parker performs as Cartman on tracks for Chef Aid: The South Park Album and Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics. Cartman also appears in six South Park-related video games: In South Park, Cartman is controlled by the player through the first-person shooter mode who attempts to ward off enemies from terrorizing the town of South Park. In South Park: Chef's Luv Shack, a user has the option of playing as Cartman when participating in the game's several "minigames" based on other popular arcade games. In the racing game South Park Rally, a user can race as Cartman against other users playing as other characters, while choosing to place him in any of a variety of vehicles. In South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play!, Cartman can be selected as a playable character used to establish a tower defense against the game's antagonists. In South Park: The Stick of Truth, Cartman is the leader of one of two tribes in South Park, at war over the Stick of Truth. He plays a similar role in this game's superhero themed sequel, South Park: The Fractured but Whole, where he leads the Coon & Friends team.

See also

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