South Park Title Sequence

The South Park tile sequence is the film segment that opens the show. Generally, it starts with the disclaimer, lasts 30 - 40 seconds, and always has the theme song over the top.

So far, the titles have undergone four major overhauls, although there are always minor tweaks made to them every season. Very few episodes ("Pip" and "Starvin' Marvin In Space", for example) has skipped the titles to go straight into the episode.

Season 1 - Season 4
The first title sequence started with various pieces of character and scenery coming in from off-screen, then a lanky man, based off singer Les Claypool, with an acoustic guitar sings the theme song (with Kyle, Stan, Cartman and Kenny singing their own lines) while the boys headed to school on the bus. Various characters and events briefly appear in the background - for example, the volcano and the Chef Aid concert can both be seen, and among the appearing characters are the Mayor, Tweek, Jesus, and Mr. Hankey. The song style used was very basic - it involved vocals, a guitar and rudimentary percussion.

Season 4 - Season 5
From the episode "4th Grade", the titles were completely redesigned. They began as the old ones did, with pieces of character and scenery drifting in, then the original song slowed down to a halt. The words "4TH GRADE" then burst out of the ground, and various clips of previous episodes are played in the background. During each character's line, a rotating 3D model of them appeared, with various labels and stats running down the side of the model, including "Snackyvision" and "Stealth motion". Along the bottom of the screen were various different appearences - for example, Stan can be seen dressed as Raggedy Andy ("Pinkeye"), Kyle can be seen in a Chewbacca mask (also "Pinkeye"), Kenny can be seen in a wig ("Cartman Joins NAMBLA") and Cartman as a sumo wrestler ("Tweek vs Craig"). Text flickering between character quotes and random punctuation can be seen along the right hand side of the screen (except for Kenny, who's quotes are all along the lines of "Mmph mmffr mmf mph ph"). At the end, Timmy can also be seen. The titles finish with live-action shot of a man jumping over a crate with an explosion behind him.

The music for these new titles was also revamped, to a modern hip-hop style, with various sound effects (including Cartman saying "West siyeedah!" from "Cartman's Mom is a Dirty Slut") throughout. As well as the guitar part being redone with the various sound effects, heavy use of drumkit was used.

Season 6 - Season 11
The titles were redesigned again as of Kenny's "permanent" death at the end of Season 5. For Season 6, his segment of lines were done by Timmy. The titles started with a sped up film of someone making Stan out of construction paper from scratch. Clips from previous episodes were again utilised. This time, the character intermissions involved the singing person being re-created with construction paper. This was also the first titles to have a full "crowd" at the end of the titles - for season 6, the crowd was different to what it had been previously due to Kenny's absence. For the first half of the series, Butters comes and holds a sign saying "The Butters Show" in front of the South Park sign. After he was ejected from the group and replaced with Tweek, Professor Chaos, Butters' evil alter ego, arrives and knocks the sign over. As of Season 7, though, the crowd shot reverts to the old style one, with Kenny climbing over the South Park sign while the others stand next to it.

The new music was done in a country, "bluegrass" style with a banjo, harmonica and a more basic drumbeat. The music was changed to a rock version of the song, again performed by Les Claypool, for season 10.

Season 12 - Season 13
The opening of the titles reverted to the early style of pieces of the scene drifting in, the most conspicuous difference being Stan's head, instead of coming from the bottom right corner, actually provides the black screen after the disclaimer - the camera "zooms out" of his eye. The titles continue with clips from old episodes. The character intermissions involve the people singing coming into shot from seemingly random angles, then changing angle for their second line (Cartman, for example, starts off upside down from the top of the screen for "Ample parking day or night", then he flips to the right way up for "People shouting 'howdy neighbour!'"). This is also the first titles since season 4 where Stan and Kyle have their intermission at the same time.

The music remains the rock version used in Season 11, with electric guitar and heavy use of drumkit.

Season 14 - Current
The title opening remains the same as that of Season 12 and 13, with the camera zooming out from Stan's head, then once again stock clips are used. The character intermissions, though, are based from old clips as well. Stan and Kyle appear in their number at the end of "Elementary School Musical" while singing their title lines, Cartman slides down a ladder as "The Coon" from the episode of the same name, and Kenny appears next to his then-girlfriend Tammy Warner at the Jonas Brothers Concert in "The Ring". As they complete their lines, everything in the shot turns to monochrome aside from the singing characters. The monochrome background falls away, and the character moves closer. This sequence is notable since, aside from Kenny, none of the characters are wearing their usual garb - Kyle's ushanka is missing, Stan is not wearing his brown coat, and Cartman is wearing his superhero outfit.

Once again, the rock style of theme song is retained.

Theme song
The theme song was written by Les Claypool and originally performed by PRIMUS. Aside from the style of the song, the only thing to change has been Kenny's lines, which generally change at the same time as the style. For his absence in season 6, Timmy filled in for his lines.

Characters Featured in the Crowd

 * Eric Cartman
 * Kyle Broflovski
 * Stan Marsh
 * Kenny McCormick
 * Woodland Critters
 * Wendy Testaburger
 * Jimmy Valmer
 * Timmy
 * Ike Broflovski
 * Butters Stotch (as Professor Chaos)
 * Dougie
 * Towelie
 * Lexus
 * Paris Hilton
 * Michael Jackson (as Michael Jefferson)
 * Herbert Garrison
 * Mr. Slave
 * Chef (as Darth Chef)
 * Mayor McDaniels
 * Terrance and Phillip
 * Sparky
 * Jimbo Kern
 * Ned Gerblansky
 * Starvin' Marvin
 * Mr. Hankey, Autumn, and their children
 * Gordon Stoltski
 * Filmore Anderson
 * K-10
 * A Member of the UAL
 * William Connelly
 * Jesus Christ
 * Officer Barbrady
 * Michael
 * Harrison Yates
 * Principal Victoria
 * Mr. Mackey
 * Scott Tenorman
 * Dr. Doctor
 * 9/11 conspiracist from "Mystery of the Urinal Deuce"
 * Krishna
 * Hardly Boys
 * Satan
 * Barbra Streisand (as Mecha-Streisand)
 * Joseph Smith
 * Liane Cartman
 * Randy and Sharon Marsh
 * Nathan
 * Mimsy
 * Taco from "Cancelled"
 * Bat Dad from "The Losing Edge"
 * Muhammad
 * Chief Runs With Premise
 * Santa Claus
 * KoRn
 * Jennifer Lopez (not Mitch Connor)
 * Thomas Tucker
 * Big Gay Al
 * A Visitor