Merry Christmas Charlie Manson!/Trivia

Trivia

 * The only members of the Cartman family not overweight are Liane Cartman and Cartman's cousin, Alexandra.
 * All the Cartmans talk the way Eric does (e.g. "authoritah", "myah" instead of "here") implying he inherited it from his family. Elvin Cartman sounds nearly exactly like Eric only his voice is higher pitched and childish. Only the men in the family seem to have this vocal inflection.
 * The Cartman family appears one more time in "Cartmanland" for his grandma's funeral.
 * Despite Mr. Hankey having a part in the movie "Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls" as a monkey, all merchandise plus events involving Mr. Hankey display him as a piece of poo.
 * This is the first Christmas special to not feature the real Mr. Hankey.
 * All of the third grade students, excluding Wendy Testaburger and Pip Pirrup, are re-used and appear as kids in the Nebraska mall, waiting to see Mr. Hankey.
 * Craig Tucker appears multiple times throughout the episode. And it also shows the Orange version of Craig.
 * Red, Annie Faulk,Token Black and Kevin Stoley are also seen in the crowd.
 * There is also a blonde-haired boy, similar to Clyde, seen in the crowd.
 * The Boy with Blue Cap is seen several times, although sometimes he can be seen with an olive coat.
 * A red-haired boy, similar to Butters, and a brown-haired boy, similar to Kevin, are shown at the mall crowd scene.

References to Popular Culture

 * The title "Merry Christmas Charlie Manson!" (and when the characters shout it to Charles Manson later in the episode) is referencing "A Charlie Brown Christmas" special and the phrase "Merry Christmas Charlie Brown!" from the cast.
 * Mrs. Cartman and Eric sing a variation of the song "Over the River and through the Woods" substituting "river" with "meadow" and "grandfather" with "grandmother". The song originally was a poem written by Vanyel Willis-Parker in 1844.
 * The Cartman's are watching a football game featuring The Nebraska Cornhuskers of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. They are playing against The Arkansas Razorbacks; both are real college football teams.
 * "The Grinchy Poo" Christmas special that is playing on TV is a parody of the 1966 animated Christmas special "How the Grinch Stole Christmas".
 * The Terrence and Phillip Christmas special that they watch on TV features a scene where Terrence and Phillip are taking turns farting on Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
 * At the end of the episode, the boys and the Cartman family shout "Merry Christmas Charlie Manson!" and begin singing "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing", much like the end of A Charlie Brown Christmas.
 * Manson and Uncle Henry sit down and begin to watch the 1946 film "It's a Wonderful Life". However, this version uses lines not in the actual film, making the family holiday movie seem edgier.

Charles Manson

 * Charles Manson is known as the leader of the Manson Family commune who instructed the serial murders by his followers in 1969.
 * Charles Manson really has a Swastika engraved on his forehead that was modified from an X.
 * Manson says "Folks need to understand that I am terror! I am fear!" This is paraphrasing his interviews on television talk and news programs. He has never referred to himself as "terror" or "fear" however.
 * Charles Manson has a heart-to-heart talk to Stan about family where he tells them that he had a "family" once and all they were was "a gang of people I thought were my friends. Ah after we killed a bunch of people together, I realized that my real family was who took care of me and who took the time to care about what I did". This is quite the interpretation of the events surrounding the Manson murders. Manson had a group of followers that were dubbed the "Manson Family" who he had authority over and ordered to go out and kill people.
 * Charles Manson uses the 1960s slang term for police and normal citizens when he says "I can't wait to get out among the pigs". This also references the word painted with blood at the crime scene.
 * One of the books that Charles Manson has written since his "reformation" is "Are you There God? It's Me Charlie." which is a parody of the Judy Bloom novel "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret". The story is of a young girl coming of age.

Goofs

 * Kids from South Park Elementary appear in the mall, even though it is based all the way in Nebraska.
 * During dinner, when Cartman says "amen" by himself he is wearing the shirt his Grandmother got him. But in the next scene, when everyone says "amen" he is wearing his normal outfit.
 * Cartman first says the drive from South Park to the Cartman's house in Nebraska is 6 hours long, however Charles Manson says it is 9 hours.
 * There's a normal, and black haired version of Butters in the same frame.
 * When the sunscreen is advertised, it says "your gonna..." instead of the appropriate "you're gonna."

Kenny's Death
Kenny is shot to death by the police, while trying to wave a white-flag, ironically in the hopes that the police would not kill them.

Hidden Visitor(s)
Charlie Manson's tattoo turns into a visitor's head during the car chase scene.