South Park's 5 Best Kenny McCormick Moments, Ranked

Kenny McCormick may just be the best character in the "South Park" universe. Muffled by his traffic cone orange parka, Kenny's words — typically voiced by either Matt Stone or Eric Stough — aren't always clear, which means no inspiring Broflovski-esque moralizations or appalling Cartmany insults to give a window into his personality.

But actions speak louder than words, even in 2D. Far from just a silent member of the show's central quartet that could easily be reduced to the running gag of Kenny's tragic "South Park" deaths, Kenny is an essential member of his friend group with a complex and evolving personality. And in the show's nearly three decades of airing, he's been responsible for some of the funniest and most heartwarming moments in "South Park." As one Reddit user put it, "In a show filled with idiots, psychopaths, and extremists, he feels the most normal and is the most selfless character in the show, even with all the death he goes through." And lest we forget, Kenny is the "South Park" universe's actual secret superhero.

Between his adorable personality and his unwavering kindness and empathy towards everyone, even the undeserving (we see you, Cartman), Kenny is proof that "show, don't tell" yields some of the best character writing. From world's best brother to the world's cutest kawaii princess, here's a breakdown of the best Kenny McCormick moments in "South Park."

Of all the boys in "South Park," only Kenny is sensitive and cultured enough to develop a gift for the operatic singing style of Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli after listening to a cassette tape course, turning a subplot of "Quintuplets 2000" into one of fans' favorite moments in all of "South Park." Not only is Kenny's short-lived musical career proof that he's hands-down the most precious little guy in all of South Park, but it also shows exactly where he gets his natural goodness from: his mom.

Kenny develops his interest in music after watching the final performance of the Cirque du Cheville, an artsy Cirque du Soleil-style tent performance. Although Kenny and his friends are bored through most of the performance, they are fascinated by the acrobatics of the show's Romanian quintuplets. Determined to create their own show as a quick cash grab, the boys start practicing, but quickly decide Kenny's background singing is subpar.

Not one to give up easily, Kenny picks up a handful of books on singing, including the cassette-book combo "Singing Like Andrea Bocelli for Dummies." With the help of the tape, he quickly picks up "Con te Partirò," better known to English-speaking audiences as "Time to Say Goodbye" — belting out his heartfelt, adorable, muffled rendition. And that charming Kenny moment is just the beginning for his promising future as an opera singer. When a voice instructor suggests he'll always be a hack until he attends a European conservatory, Kenny's mother even agrees to help him busk to earn his way. There, he hones his abilities, wowing Romanian audiences until the U.S. government arrives to demand he come home, a request that doesn't end well for either party.

Kenny might be a sweet little guy, but he's certainly no square — something we learn in "Major Boobage" when he tries huffing cat urine to get high after Mr. Mackey warns the boys' class against substance use by explicitly detailing how it's done. After his first time trying "cheesing," as it's known on the show, Kenny hallucinates an elaborate "Heavy Metal"-style universe where big breasts are everywhere.

The episode quickly evolves into a Very Special Episode about drug abuse that sees Kenny descend into a hellish cheesing addiction as his friends struggle to help. But the scenes where Kenny returns to the elaborate fantasy kingdom, eventually joined by Gerald Broflovski (Matt Stone), who has fallen off the wagon from his own cheesing habit after finding a cat in Kyle's drawer, are hilarious and fascinating. From the Itty-T**ty fairies of Mammary Mountain and the Boobgoblin of the Gazongas Cave to the Fountains of Varnoth and the Breastriary, the "South Park" creators imagine a truly creative fantasy world, and it's easy to see how Kenny got sucked in.

By the time "The Poor Kid" aired in Season 15 of "South Park," South Park's local superhero Mysterion had already appeared in a handful of episodes, with his true identity revealed to be Kenny in "Mysterion Rises." But his moonlighting as a superhero can't save Kenny and his sister from getting split up by Child Protective Services when their parents are arrested on the exploitative live TV show "White Trash in Trouble" thanks to his big brother and dad fighting while drunk on PBR.

After the McCormick kids are placed in an "agnostic" foster home with a bunch of other kids, Kenny's little sister Karen is sobbing in her bed when Mysterion suddenly appears in the window. When she sees him, Karen calls him her guardian angel, remarking that she's been expecting him because he always comes when she's sad. Mysterion reassures her, telling her she'll be okay and he'll always be here for her. He later returns to confront Karen's bully, telling her, "Karen McCormick is off-limits. Do you understand? Make sure everyone in this school knows."

Fans love this storyline and Kenny's use of a tough, heroic alter ego to protect and comfort his baby sister — not to mention Karen's comment implying Mysterion's protection is a consistent, safe presence in her life. As one Reddit user wrote of the scene, "My favorite thing about Kenny is how much he loves Karen. Kenny is one of the most multifaceted and complex characters in the entire series."

An even better Kenny and Karen "South Park" moment appears in "The City Part of Town," a Season 19 episode that sees South Park rehabbing its image problem after getting roasted by Jimmy Fallon. The solution, Randy Marsh (Trey Parker) feels, is gentrification — specifically, transforming the area around Kenny's home into SoDoSoPa (South of Downtown South Park), a trendy arts district designed to lure Whole Foods-type shops. But when the hipster neighborhood pops up, much to the chagrin of Kenny's dad, it takes customers from City Wok.

But once again, Kenny gets the best moment in the episode wrapped up in a B-plot. After watching his dad tell Karen they can't afford $10 ice cream, Kenny takes a child labor job at City Wok, working below minimum wage. He works so hard that he's the last child to leave work each night, inspiring Mr. Kim (Trey Parker) to remark that he wishes he could pay "Dennis" more, but he's afraid they may have to close down. Kenny's big idea to revitalize the now-rundown area around City Wok, rebranding it CtPaTown (City Part of Town), ultimately fails, and he quits his job. But he manages to spend what little money he made on a doll for his sister, who exclaims excitedly, "This is mine?"

The entire incident is a reminder of how humble and good Kenny is. When his neighborhood becomes a hotspot, he goes to work someplace that feels like the world he came from — and he truly appreciates the job. Although he could easily use his meager earnings to buy something nice for himself, Kenny's only thought is of how he could improve his little sister's depressing existence. It's one of the most emotional moments in the series and one of Kenny's finest.  

Of all the great Kenny moments in "South Park," the one that fans just can't seem to get enough of — not to mention hands-down the most adorable in the series — is Kenny's transformation into an adorable half-orc, half-elf kawaii princess in the "Black Friday" trilogy ("Black Friday," "A Song of Ass and Fire," and "Ti**ies and Dragons"). A "console wars"-themed trilogy parodying "Game of Thrones," the episodes find the boys pitted against each other in warring fantasy role-playing factions ahead of the Black Friday release of the latest gaming consoles. For his character, Kenny insisted on role-playing the Daenerys Targaryen-inspired Princess Kenny, wearing a white-and-lilac Princess Zelda-inspired dress and blonde braided wig topped with a crown over his usual orange parka.

At the beginning of "Ti**ies and Dragons," "South Park" transforms into an anime called "Princess Kenny." As two corporate execs at Sony HQ are discussing their concerns about Black Friday shipments (in Japanese, of course), a kawaii Princess Kenny bounces into the room, wide anime eyes gleaming adorably with a glowed-up version of Kenny's LARP cosplay right down to the white ribbons wrapped around his braids. Fans went absolutely nuts for this cutified Kenny. As one Reddit user put it, "I will gladly lay my life for Princess Kenny!! Her cuteness will [unify] the world!! ALL HAIL PRINCESS KEEEEEENNY."