This page contains trivia for "Pre-School". Remember, trivia must be factual, provable, and it is always best to cite your source for not-so-obvious trivia. If you would like to dispute a trivia point, please discuss it in the talk page.
According to the commentary, Matt Stone and Trey Parker state that even though the child was not actually speaking profanity, they purposefully bleeped Trent Boyett's preschool voice to make it appear he had said something offensive.
The character of Miss Claridge has appeared in two episodes other than this one, specifically "The Death of Eric Cartman", where Eric attempts to atone for his actions by giving her a fruit basket, and "Erection Day", watching Jimmy perform his stand-up comedy.
This episode features children being sent to the hospital after falling victim to school pranks. Made-up pranks are the Polish bike ride and the Texas chili bowl (the latter involving Tabasco sauce, a telephone, and the anus and the former having no cure).
This episode added a new variety of bully 6th graders, with an all-new body shape, to the riverbed scenes, which later go on to be used as background characters in the show. Something similar happens later in the episodes "Erection Day" and "Breast Cancer Show Ever", which added an even greater variety of sixth grade characters to the background. These are the 6th graders added in this episode:
This is one of the few episodes in which the boys very clearly have not learned anything from their adventure by the end; despite having been told flat-out that they "can't hide from their pasts" by Shelly, the boys readily make the same mistake at the end of the episode they did five years earlier.
Trey Parker and Matt Stone discuss making this episode on the DVD commentary for the episode, "Cripple Fight", which, if accurate, was recorded on Friday, November 5, 2004, when this episode was being made.
A preschool version of Wendy is visible in the flashback, standing between two art easels near the chalkboard and is also seen in the crowd of kids watching Ms. Claridge as she is taken to the hospital.
Cartman, Kyle, Stan and Kenny do the exact same victory dance both times Trent is arrested.
In the scene where Ms. Claridge is being loaded into the ambulance in front of the school, the cop car in back of the ambulance has "To Patronize and Annoy" on its rear door.
References to Popular Culture[]
Trent Boyett's character and his quest for revenge are both references to the 1962 film Cape Fear and the 1991 remake of the same name.
The police's misunderstanding of two beeps meaning "yes, yes" was previously parodied in an episode of Futurama titled "Where No Fan Has Gone Before". In that episode, Zapp Brannigan tells Fry that one beep means "yes", two beeps means "no", and then when asking Fry if he is guilty, pronounces "a double yes" after Fry's two beeps.
In DVD commentary for this episode, Parker and Stone indicated they were not aware anyone else had done such a joke at the time, but were disappointed when they learned someone else had done it. Humorously, neither one of them could remember which show had used the joke, thinking it might have been The Simpsons. Both Futurama and The Simpsons were created by Matt Groening.
The "Little Gas Shack" into which Miss Claridge's out-of-control wheelchair crashes sells "Propane and Propane Accessories", a reference to Hank Hill's job at Strickland Propane in the animated series King of the Hill.
Mike Judge, creator of King of the Hill, is a close personal friend of South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and previously provided the undistorted voice of Kenny in South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. Judge's previous animation, Beavis and Butt-head, was part of the inspiration for South Park, and the characters - and the controversy that surrounded them - is spoofed by 'Terrance and Phillip' in South Park.
Trent's release from prison mimics Jake Blues' release from prison in The Blues Brothers, specifically the mentioning of items on his person.
In order to make the photograph of the breasts, the boys consult Madonna's book, Sex, a coffee table book released by the singer in the early 1990s which was controversial due to its depiction of nudity and various sexual acts.
The theme of an escaped prisoner taking his revenge on the people who falsely accused him, as well as a paralyzed person using a "once for yes, two for no" system was pioneered by Alexandre Dumas in his classic novel The Count of Monte Cristo.
The tattoo on Trent's right arm, "Vengeance Is Mine Sayeth The Lord" is a partial quote taken from the bible (Romans 12:19).
The tattoo of the skull on Trent's left arm bears a strong resemblance to the skull emblem used by Marvel Comics vigilante, The Punisher. Both Trent and The Punisher are similar in that they are depicted as seeking justice against those who have wronged them, believe in the concept of "Eye for an Eye" and use intimidation and extreme violence against those who stand in their way.
At the beginning of the episode, Clyde Donovan mentions the 1970s television show Man from Atlantis and notes that the lead character had webbed fingers.
The boys have previously been seen younger in "Summer Sucks".
Cartman immediately bringing up condoms in response to Stan stating the need for protection could be seen as a callback to "Proper Condom Use", given that, in that episode, the boys used condoms in the context of perceived protection.
Goofs[]
A comparison between the revised airing (HD) and the original airing of Pre-School.
There are three Nates, two copies of the boy with red shirt and blue pants and two Esthers watching Ms. Claridge being taken away, and the second Esther's mouth is missing. Several of the kindergarteners are also duplicated.
During the boys' flashback, it shows that there were several police officers when they arrest Trent, while during that time Officer Barbrady was the only police officer and that event was long before the series even began.
When Trent is being released from Juvenile Hall, a prison guard pours out an envelope containing several items including some small coins that clearly fell onto the table. Yet, after listing off each item and handing them back to Trent, the coins are never read nor given back to him.
The shot where the boys are walking down the sidewalk holding ice cream cones contains a visual goof in the floor of the ice cream shop. This was later fixed in HD airings.
When Trent Boyett started the fire in preschool, he used a lighter. He was arrested the same day. However, when Trent got out of juvenile hall, his lighter was not returned.
Dubbing Changes[]
International Titles[]
Language
Title
Translation
Czech
Stíny minulosti
Shadows of the Past
French
Maternelle
Kindergarten
German
Vorschule
Pre-School
Hungarian
Ovi-Sokk
Italian
Asilo
Kindergarten
Japanese
あぶない消防士ごっこ (Abunai shōbō-shi-gokko)
Pretending to be a firefighter
Polish
Przedszkole
Pre-School
Common[]
Clyde's story of Man from Atlantis is removed and replaced with other subjects in the following dubs:
French: "And then she smiled and said, 'Yes, but I was sick.'"
Italian: "I had been questioned by Mr. Garrison after raising his hand to stretch".
French[]
The Polish bike ride, one of the tortures borne by Butters, is translated as the "Polish plumber".
