The Ren & Stimpy Show (also known simply as Ren and Stimpy) is an American animated television series and a ViacomCBS multimedia franchise created by John Kricfalusi and originally produced by Spümcø for Nickelodeon that premiered on August 11, 1991, and ended on October 20, 1996. The series follows the adventures of the title characters: Ren Höek, an emotionally unstable and sociopathic Chihuahua; and Stimpy, a good-natured yet dimwitted cat.
The Ren & Stimpy Show was one of Nickelodeon's first original animated series – known as "Nicktoons" – alongside Rugrats and Doug. In contrast with other shows on the network, the series is considered controversial for its dark humor, sexual innuendos, adult humor, violence and shock value. This controversy contributed to the production staff's altercations with Nickelodeon's Standards and Practices department. The series ended its original run on Nickelodeon on December 16, 1995, with a total of five seasons and 51 episodes. In addition, Spümcø's failure to deliver episodes on time and their deteriorating relationship with the network led to Kricfalusi's termination from the show in 1992, with Games Animation producing the remainder of the series. One episode was initially left unaired until it was broadcast on MTV on October 20, 1996.
Nonetheless, The Ren & Stimpy Show received very positive reviews during its original run and quickly developed a cult following. It is considered by many to have had a long-lasting influence on television animation. As of 2021, 37 episodes are available to watch on Paramount+.
A reboot series for adult audiences, Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon", was produced by Kricfalusi and Spümcø and aired in 2003 on Spike TV. Receiving negative reviews from critics and fans, with many considering it as one of the worst animated TV shows of all time, the series aired only three episodes before it was cancelled, with three additional episodes being released straight to DVD. On August 5, 2020, Comedy Central announced that they had ordered a second revival of the series to be produced without the involvement of Kricfalusi.
Premise[]
Set in the 1950s and 1960s, the series centers on Ren Höek (voiced by John Kricfalusi in seasons 1–2; Billy West in seasons 3–5), a short-tempered, psychotic, "asthma-hound" Chihuahua, and Stimpson J. "Stimpy" Cat (also voiced by Billy West), a dimwitted and happy-go-lucky cat. The duo fill various roles from episode to episode, including outer-space explorers, Old West horse thieves, and nature-show hosts, and are usually at odds with each other in these situations. While the show was sometimes set in the present day, the show's crew tended to avoid "contemporary" jokes about current events. The show extensively features off-color and absurdist humor, as well as slapstick.
The show features a host of supporting characters. Some appear only in one episode, while others recur and occasionally appear in different roles. They may either be part of the storyline or make cameo appearances with little bearing on the plot. Some, such as Mr. Horse, are exclusively cameo-based, spontaneously appearing as a running gag.
Development and history[]
Conception[]
According to animator William Wray, John Kricfalusi created the characters Ren and Stimpy in 1978 for "personal amusement" while studying at Sheridan College in Ontario, Canada. He was inspired to create Ren by an Elliott Erwitt photograph, printed on a postcard, called "New York City, 1946", showing a sweatered chihuahua at a woman's feet. Stimpy's design was inspired by a Tweety cartoon called A Gruesome Twosome where the cats in the animation had big noses.
When Nickelodeon approached Kricfalusi, he presented three shows, among them a variety show titled Your Gang or Our Gang with a live action host presenting different cartoons, each cartoon parodying a different genre. Ren and Stimpy were pets of one of the children in Your Gang, serving as a parody of the "cat and dog genre". The network's vice president of animation production Vanessa Coffey was dissatisfied with the other projects but liked Ren and Stimpy, singling them out for their own series. Production of the series' pilot episode began in 1989 after Kricfalusi pitched and sold The Ren & Stimpy Show to Nickelodeon. The pilot was produced by Kricfalusi's Los Angeles-based animation company, Spümcø, and screened at film festivals for several months before the show was announced in Nickelodeon's 1991 cartoons line-up.
Spümcø (1991–1993)[]
The series premiered on August 11, 1991, alongside Doug and Rugrats. Spümcø continued to produce the show for the next two years while encountering issues with Nickelodeon's Standards and Practices. The show was known for its lack of early merchandising; according to Wray, the initial lack of merchandise was "the unique and radical thing" about The Ren & Stimpy Show, as no toy company planned ahead for any merchandise for the show, and Nickelodeon did not want to use "over-exploitive" merchandising.
Kricfalusi described his early period with Nickelodeon as being "simple", as he got along with Coffey, the sole executive of the program. When another executive was added, they wanted to alter or discard some of the Ren & Stimpy episodes, but Kricfalusi says the episodes stayed intact since he did a "trade" with Coffey: he would have some "really crazy" episodes in exchange for some "heart-warming" episodes. Kricfalusi also said that the program was the "safest project [he] ever worked on" while explaining the meaning of "safe" as "spend a third of what they spend now per picture, hire proven creative talent, and let them entertain." He estimated Spümcø's run of The Ren & Stimpy Show cost around $6 million to produce.
The relationship between Kricfalusi and Nickelodeon deteriorated to the point where Kricfalusi would communicate with Nickelodeon only through his lawyer. News outlets and several of the series' staff ascribe the tension to episodes not being delivered in a timely manner. Author Andy Mangels, writing for Wizard magazine, commented that "Kricfalusi's lax treatment of deadlines angered not only the networks, but his loyal viewers as well." However, some of the delays were attributed to Nickelodeon's prolonged approval process and withdrawal of approval from scenes and episodes that had been previously approved. Another point of contention was the direction of the series. Kricfalusi cites the episode "Man's Best Friend" as the primary reason for his dismissal; the character George Liquor is depicted in the episode as an abusive father figure, and Nickelodeon did not want the show to be so frightening and dramatic.
Games Animation (1993–1996)[]
Nickelodeon terminated Kricfalusi's contract in late September 1992 and offered him the position of consultant for Ren & Stimpy, but he refused to "sell out". The network moved production from Spümcø to its newly founded animation studio, Games Animation, which later became Nickelodeon Animation Studio. Bob Camp replaced Kricfalusi as director, while West, having refused Kricfalusi's request to leave along with him,voiced Ren in addition to Stimpy.
Fans and critics felt this was a turning point in the show, with the new episodes being a considerable step down from the standard of those that preceded them. Ted Drozdowski, resident critic of The Boston Phoenix, stated that "the bloom faded" on Ren & Stimpy. Animation historian Michael Barrier writes that while the creators of the Games episodes used crude jokes that were similar to those used by Kricfalusi, they did not "find the material particularly funny; they were merely doing what was expected".
The series ended its original run on December 16, 1995, with "A Scooter for Yaksmas", although one episode from the final season, "Sammy and Me/The Last Temptation", remained unaired. Almost a year later, the episode aired on Nickelodeon's sister network, MTV, on October 20, 1996.
Production[]
Process[]
The animation production methods used in The Ren & Stimpy Show were similar to those found in Golden Age cartoons of the early 20th century, where a director supervised the entire process. These methods are in contrast with animation production methods in the 1980s, where there was one director for animation and a different director for voice actors, and the cartoons were created with a "top-down" approach to tie in with toy production.
Animator Vincent Waller compared working on Ren & Stimpy and SpongeBob SquarePants in an interview: "Working on Ren and Stimpy and SpongeBob was very similar. They're both storyboard-driven shows, which means they give us an outline from a premise after the premise has been approved. We take the outline and expand on it, writing the dialogue and gags. That was very familiar." According to Kricfalusi, Ren & Stimpy reintroduced the layouts stage, and reemphasized the storyboard stage. Eventually, the production staff drew larger storyboard panels, which allowed for the stories to be easily changed according to reactions from pitch meetings, and for new ideas to be integrated.
Animation[]
The show's aesthetics draw on Golden Age cartoons, particularly those of animator Bob Clampett from the 1940s in the way the characters' emotions powerfully distort their bodies. The show's style emphasizes unique expressions, intense and specific acting, and strong character poses. One of the show's most notable visual trademarks is the detailed paintings of gruesome close-ups, along with the blotchy ink stains that on occasion replace the standard backgrounds, "reminiscent of holes in reality or the vision of a person in a deep state of dementia". This style was developed from Clampett's Baby Bottleneck, which features several scenes with color-cards for backgrounds. The show incorporated norms from "the old system in TV and radio" where the animation would feature sponsored products to tie in with the cartoon, but in lieu of real advertisements, it featured fake commercial breaks advertising nonexistent products, most notably "Log".
Kricfalusi cited Carbunkle Cartoons, an animation studio headed by Bob Jaques and Kelly Armstrong, for beautifully animating the show's best episodes, improving the acting with subtle nuances and wild animation that could not be done with overseas animation studios. Some of the show's earlier episodes were rough to the point Kricfalusi felt the need to patch up the animation with sound effects and "music bandaids", helping the segments "play better, even though much of the animation and timing weren't working on their own". KJ Dell'Antonia of Common Sense Media describes the show's style as changing "from intentionally rough to much more polished and plushie-toy ready."
Voice acting[]
Kricfalusi originally voiced Ren, styled as a demented Peter Lorre. When Nickelodeon terminated Kricfalusi's contract, Billy West, already the voice of Stimpy, took the role using a combination of Burl Ives, Kirk Douglas, and a slight "south of the border accent" for the rest of the Nickelodeon run. West voiced Stimpy for the Spümcø and Games Animation episodes, basing the voice on an "amped-up" Larry Fine. Some notable artists and performers who voiced incidental characters on the show are Frank Zappa, Michael Jordan, Bill Murray, Randy Quaid, Gilbert Gottfried, Whitney Houston, Ellen DeGeneres, Rosie O'Donnell, Annie Lennox, Fergie, Ray Bumatai, Dom DeLuise, Phil Hartman, Mark Hamill, and Soleil Moon Frye.
Music[]
The Ren & Stimpy Show features a wide variety of music, spanning rockabilly, folk, pop, jazz, classical music, jingles, and more. The opening and closing themes are performed by a group of Spümcø employees under the name "Die Screaming Leiderhôsens". Three Ren & Stimpy albums have been released: You Eediot!, Crock O' Christmas and Radio Daze. In 1993 a compilation album, You Eediot!, was released as a soundtrack album. The album's front cover is a parody of The Beatles' 11th studio album Abbey Road.
Stimpy's rousing anthem titled "Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy" was composed by Christopher Reccardi and written by Charlie Brissette and John Kricfalusi. A cover of this song, performed by Wax, is included on the 1995 tribute album Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits, produced by Ralph Sall for MCA Records.
Controversy and censorship[]
The program's staff did not want to create an "educational" series, a stance which bothered Nickelodeon. Parent groups criticized the series. Some segments of the show were altered to exclude references to religion, politics, alcohol, and tobacco. The episode "Powdered Toast Man" had a cross removed from the Pope's hat and the credit was changed to "the man with the pointy hat". The same episode had a segment featuring the burning of the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights which was removed, while in "Dog Show", the last name of the character George Liquor was removed, being changed to "George American". Many other episodes included someone smoking a cigar, pipe, or a cigarette.
Several episodes had violent, gruesome, or suggestive scenes shortened or removed, including a sequence involving a severed head, a close-up of Ren's face being grated against a man's stubble, and a scene that was shortened where Ren receives multiple punches to the stomach from a baby. One episode, "Man's Best Friend", was banned by Nickelodeon for its violent content. The show's spin-off, Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon", debuted with this banned episode, even receiving a TV-MA rating.
Series' origins[]
Pilot[]
- Main article: Ren and Stimpy: Big House Blues
The theatrical pilot shows Ren and Stimpy getting caught by the dogcatcher and are sent to the pound, where they meet Jasper and briefly Phil until he has to take "The Big Sleep". Ren initially doesn't understand, but after Jasper explains this to Ren, their lives seem to be on a thin thread until a sweet girl adopts them both. The pilot was made before the series went on-air on the Nickelodeon channel.
TV Series[]
- Main article: Ren and Stimpy
The tv series was shown after the events taken from the pilot. The Ren & Stimpy Show was one of Nickelodeon's first original animated series – known as "Nicktoons" – alongside Rugrats and DougIn contrast with other shows on the network, the series is considered controversial for its dark humor, sexual innuendos, adult humor, violence and shock values.
Adult-Animated series[]
- Main article: Ren and Stimpy: Adult Party Cartoon
In 2003, Kricfalusi headed the relaunch of the series as Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon". The new version was aired during a late night programming block on Spike TV and was rated TV-MA. The series explores more adult themes, including an explicitly homosexual relationship between the main characters, strong profanity, graphic violence and female nudity.
Billy West declined to participate in the show, saying that the show "wasn't funny" and that joining it would have damaged his career. Eric Bauza voiced Stimpy, while Kricfalusi reprised the roles of Ren and Mr. Horse. The show began with the "banned" Nickelodeon episode "Man's Best Friend" before debuting new episodes. Fans and critics alike were unsettled by the show from the first episode, which featured the consumption of bodily fluids such as nasal mucus, saliva, and vomit. Like the original series, Kricfalusi showed apparent disregard for meeting production deadlines, with only three of the ordered nine episodes being completed on time. After three episodes, Spike's entire animation block was removed from its programming schedule. Three more episodes, already in production by the time the series was cancelled, were subsequently completed and released directly to DVD in 2006.
Reboot[]
- Main article: Ren and Stimpy (2020 reboot)
In February 2016, Deadline.com reported that Ren & Stimpy was scheduled to appear in an upcoming Nicktoons film reboot. Three months later, Variety reported that Nickelodeon was in negotiations with Kricfalusi about a revival of the characters. Bob Camp and William Wray stated in an April 2016 panel discussion that Kricfalusi was developing a Ren & Stimpy short that would screen along with the third SpongeBob SquarePants film. They later said that they were "not invited to that party" and would not be involved with the production. However, Kricfalusi denied on Twitter that he was making such a cartoon. An animatic of the short was released as an Easter egg on the Cans Without Labels DVD in May 2019.
On August 5, 2020, it was a reported that a new Ren & Stimpy reboot had been greenlit by Comedy Central (along with Daria and Beavis and Butt-Head). Though a new creative staff has been employed, Billy West is expected to return along with a few of the original series' writers. John Kricfalusi will not be involved with the reboot or receive any compensation from it due to the sexual assaults allegations made against him in 2018. The series is set to be produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studio. According to West, development was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, contrary to earlier rumors that the project had been cancelled.
Other media[]
Video games[]
Seven action games based directly on the television series were released between 1992 and 1995.
- The Ren & Stimpy Show: Space Cadet Adventures was developed by Imagineering, published by THQ and released for the Game Boy in November 1992. The game's premise centers on Stimpy attempting to rescue a stranded Ren, who is simultaneously traversing alien worlds attempting to return to their ship. The game received middling reviews and was praised for its faithful humor and visuals, but criticized for its repetitive and unimaginative gameplay.
- The Ren & Stimpy Show: Veediots! was developed by Gray Matter, published by THQ and released for the SNES and Game Boy in October 1993. The game is composed of four stages based on episodes from the television series. Both versions of the game received middling reviews. The SNES version was praised for its faithful visuals and audio, but criticized for its repetitive stages, standard gameplay and sluggish controls. Nintendo Power commented that the Game Boy version had good graphics, but poor controls and challenge.
- The Ren & Stimpy Show: Stimpy's Invention was developed by BlueSky Software, published by Sega and released for the Sega Genesis in November 1993. The game's premise follows Ren and Stimpy as they travel through their neighborhood and collect scattered pieces of Stimpy's latest invention, the Mutate-O-Matic. The game features a two-player mode in which each player controls one of the two titular characters. The reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly praised the game's faithful and humorous visuals and audio, but derided the two-player mode as "more aggravating than fun" and "twice as hard as a one-player [game]".
- Quest for the Shaven Yak Starring Ren Hoëk & Stimpy was developed by Realtime Associates, published by Sega and released for the Game Gear in November 1993. It was also released for the Master System in Brazil in 1995. The game's premise centers on Ren and Stimpy's mission to return the hooves of the Great Shaven Yak. Scary Larry of GamePro praised the music as "worth the price of admission" and the graphics as "very good by Game Gear standards".
- The Ren & Stimpy Show: Buckeroo$ was developed by Imagineering, published by THQ and released for the NES in December 1993, and for the SNES in April 1995. The game features three levels based on the television episodes "Space Madness", "Out West", and "Robin Höek". Nintendo Power noted that the NES version's graphics "capture the artistic flavor of the cartoon series", but criticized the poor controls and unengaging game elements. Conversely, the SNES version was commended for having more gameplay variety than previous Ren & Stimpy titles, but the graphics were described as "[not] very Ren & Stimpyish".
- The Ren & Stimpy Show: Fire Dogs was developed by Argonaut Games, published by THQ and released for the SNES in March 1994. The game is split into two distinct parts; in the first part, the player controls Stimpy, who must traverse through a firehouse and gather all the equipment for a firetruck in a limited time while avoiding the Fire Chief, while the second part puts the player in control of both Ren and Stimpy, who must catch items that are thrown out of a burning building. Nintendo Power commended the game's graphics, humor, audio, and inclusion of a password feature, but criticized the lack of variety, limited time allotted for collecting items and repetition of the two levels.
- The Ren & Stimpy Show: Time Warp was developed by Sculptured Software, published by THQ and released for the SNES in October 1994. The game's premise centers on Ren and Stimpy's efforts to navigate through time and stop Muddy Mudskipper from ruining history. The reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly praised the game's animations and various attacks, but stated that the controls "could be tweaked up a little more". Next Generation reviewed the game, rating it one star out of five, and stated that "When Nickelodeon fired creator John Kricfalusi, the heart and soul were sucked out of the pair. This game puts the final nail in the coffin."
Aside from these dedicated titles, Ren, Stimpy, and other characters from the series make appearances in the Nickelodeon 3D Movie Maker, Nicktoons Racing, Nicktoons MLB, and Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2: Grand Prix. A Ren & Stimpy game by Acclaim Entertainment was planned for the Atari Lynx but never released.
Comic books[]
- Main article: Ren and Stimpy (comics)
Marvel Comics optioned the rights to produce comic books based on Nickelodeon properties in 1992. The initial plan was to have an anthology comic featuring several Nicktoons properties. Marvel produced 44 issues of the ongoing series, along with several specials under the Marvel Absurd imprint. Most of these were written by comic scribe Dan Slott. One Ren & Stimpy special #3, Masters of Time and Space, was set up as a "Choose Your Own Adventure" and with a time travel plot, took Slott six months to plot out in his spare time. It was designed so that it was possible to choose a path that would eventually be 20 pages longer than the comic itself. Issue #6 of the series starred Spider-Man battling Powdered Toast Man. The editors named the "Letters to the Editor" section "Ask Dr. Stupid", and at least one letter in every column would be a direct question for Dr. Stupid to answer. This comic series lasted from December 1992 – July 1996.
Issues
| Issue # | Caption | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | THE REN & STIMPY SHOW | December 1992 |
| 2 | January 1993 | |
| 3 | MAKE WAY FOR EL SUPREMO REN! | February 1993 |
| 4 | CRASH DUMMIES | March 1993 |
| 5 | IN SPACE | April 1993 |
| 6 | THE AMAZING SPIDER MAN VS. POWDERED TOAST MAN | May 1993 |
| 7 | KID STIMPY | June 1993 |
| 8 | THE MALTESE STIMPY! | July 1993 |
| 9 | NATIVE SON | August 1993 |
| 10 | BUBBLE BATH? | September 1993 |
| 11 | October 1993 | |
| 12 | I SCREAM CLONES! | November 1993 |
| 13 | HOKEY HALLOWEEN HORROR! | December 1993 |
| 14 | WANTED BRAIN DEAD OR ALIVE | January 1994 |
| 15 | BLACK MAIL, WHITE CHRISTMAS, GREEN MOULAH | February 1994 |
| 16 | RETURN TO SENDER | March 1994 |
| 17 | THIS YEAR'S MODEL | April 1994 |
| 18 | WAR IS HECK | May 1994 |
| 19 | June 1994 | |
| 20 | HERE'S MUDDY! | July 1994 |
| 21 | I'M THE CAT | August 1994 |
| 22 | BADTIME STORIES | September 1994 |
| 23 | MADCAP RASSLIN' ISSUE! | October 1994 |
| 24 | BOX TOPS! | November 1994 |
| 25 | December 1994 | |
| 26 | January 1995 | |
| 27 | RAIDERS OF THE LOST YAK | February 1995 |
| 28 | REN AND STIMPY MATCH WITS WITH AN APE...GUESS WHO WON? | March 1995 |
| 29 | DEFECTIVE DETECTIVE ISSUE STARRING SHERLOCK HOEK | April 1995 |
| 30 | REN'S BIRTHDAY | May 1995 |
| 31 | WEINER BARONS | June 1995 |
| 32 | CIRCUS SMIRKUS | July 1995 |
| 33 | August 1995 | |
| 34 | I'M FEELTHY RICH! | September 1995 |
| 35 | HISTORY OF SPORTS | October 1995 |
| 36 | CRABBY CABBIES | November 1995 |
| 37 | ALIENS ABDUCT | December 1995 |
| 38 | TOILET TROUBLE | January 1996 |
| 39 | IMPERSONAL HYGIENE! | February 1996 |
| 40 | March 1996 | |
| 41 | April 1996 | |
| 42 | May 1996 | |
| 43 | June 1996 | |
| 44 | LAST ISSUE (as seen on TV) | July 1996 |
Film adaptation attempts[]
Nickelodeon and 20th Century Fox signed a two-year production deal in May 1993 for the development and production of animated and live-action family films, based on new or existing properties. Ren & Stimpy was mentioned as a possible property for development, along with Rugrats and Doug; however, the show's "cynical and gross humor" was a poor fit for a conventional, "warm and fuzzy" family film. The deal expired with no movies produced. Nickelodeon would later start its own film studio after parent company Viacom purchased Paramount Pictures.
At the Wizard World Cleveland convention in March 2017, Camp said that Paramount Pictures rejected a pitch for a Ren & Stimpy feature film because of the "sour taste" left by Adult Party Cartoon, and they did not want any further connection with the characters.
External Links[]
- Nickipedia
- The Ren & Stimpy Show wiki
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ren_%26_Stimpy_Show
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