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** Nick on [[Star TV (Turkey)|Star TV]] (1994-1997) and Nick on [[CNBC-e]] (2003-2006)
** Nick on [[Star TV (Turkey)|Star TV]] (1994-1997) and Nick on [[CNBC-e]] (2003-2006)
* '''Australia'''
* '''Australia'''
** ''The Ren and Stimpy Show'' formerly aired on [[Nickelodeon Australia]] in the early hours of the morning (before this, it aired spontaneously and on weekend nights). It has aired on the channel ever since Nickelodeon Australia was created in 1995. The Ren & Stimpy Show is now aired on Nickelodeon Australia in the channel's 7pm feature "Nicktoon's at Night". The show used to air in the 1990s on [[free-to-air]] [[Network Ten]]'s morning program ''The Big Breakfast'' in various timeslots, but the show was canceled many years ago, therefore ''The Ren and Stimpy Show'' was not shown anymore. The show was also shown on the Nine Network for an amount of time before being taken off the air in late 2004.
** ''The Ren and Stimpy Show'' formerly aired on [[Nickelodeon Australia]] in the early hours of the morning (before this, it aired spontaneously and on weekend nights). It has aired on the channel ever since Nickelodeon Australia was created in 1995. The Ren & Stimpy Show is now aired on Nickelodeon Australia in the channel's 7pm feature "Nicktoon's at Night". The show used to air in the 1990s on [[free-to-air]] [[Network Ten]]'s morning program ''The Big Breakfast'' in various timeslots, but the show was canceled many years ago, therefore ''The Ren and Stimpy Show'' was not shown anymore. The show was also shown on the Nine Network for an amount of time before being taken off the air in late 2004.In 2009 it returned on [[Nickelodeon Australia]]at 10.00pm on weekends.

** ''Ren and Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon"'' formerly aired on [[Pay television|pay TV]] channel [[The Comedy Channel]] (throughout 2005), and on the free-to-air network [[Nine Network]] in the early hours of the morning (around the time that ''The Ren and Stimpy Show'' aired on the network).
** ''Ren and Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon"'' formerly aired on [[Pay television|pay TV]] channel [[The Comedy Channel]] (throughout 2005), and on the free-to-air network [[Nine Network]] in the early hours of the morning (around the time that ''The Ren and Stimpy Show'' aired on the network).The Ren and Stimpy Adult Party Cartoon
now is off tv since 2005.

* '''New Zealand'''
* '''New Zealand'''
** [[Television New Zealand|TVNZ]] Channel 2 (1992-1996)
** [[Television New Zealand|TVNZ]] Channel 2 (1992-1996)

Revision as of 06:49, 20 December 2009

The Ren & Stimpy Show
File:The Ren and Stimpy Show Title Card.jpg
Title card
Created byJohn Kricfalusi
Written byJohn Kricfalusi
Bob Camp
Jim Smith
Vincent Waller
Jim Gomez
Will McRobb
Richard Pursel
Elinor Blake
Ron Hauge
Peter Avanzino
Steve Mellor
Chris Reccardi
Bill Wray
Lynne Naylor
Vince Calandra
Billy West
Directed byJohn Kricfalusi
Bob Camp
Vincent Waller
Tom McGrath
Creative directorRick Krogmann
StarringJohn Kricfalusi (1991 - 1993, 1996-7)
Billy West
Cheryl Chase
Harris Peet
Gary Owens
Bob Camp
Jack Carter (1993 - 1996)
Alan Young (1994 - 1996)
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons5
No. of episodes52 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producerVanessa Coffey
ProducersJohn Kricfalusi
Christine Danzo
Bob Camp
Jim Smith
Jim Ballantine
Running time22 minutes approx. (11 minutes per episode)
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseAugust 11, 1991 –
November 14, 1996

The Ren and Stimpy Show is an American animated television series created by animator John Kricfalusi.[1] The series concerns the adventures of the titular characters: Ren Höek, a psychotic "asthma-hound" chihuahua, and Stimpson J. Cat, a dimwitted Manx cat.[citation needed] They wander around having nonsensical adventures in a style reminiscent of the Golden Age of American animation, especially the 1940s cartoons by Bob Clampett and Tex Avery.[2]

The Ren and Stimpy Show premiered on CBS on Sunday, August 11, 1991 and aired new episodes on the channel from 1991 to 1996. The Ren and Stimpy Show had a reputation for indecent humor. The controversy was mainly a result of imagery and cartoon violence.[2] Episode names included “Stimpy’s First Fart.”[3] In 1992, CBS dismissed Kricfalusi and production moved from Kricfalusi's Spümcø studios to Games Animation,[4] where it stayed until its cancellation for Nickelodeon in 1996. Reruns are broadcast currently by CBS and also, as of June 1, 2009, MTV2 [1].

Characters

Main article: List of characters in The Ren and Stimpy Show

Ren Höek is an Asthma hound Chihuahua. Martin "Dr. Toon" Goodman of Animation World Magazine described Ren as "scrawny," "dyspeptic,"[5] and "violently psychotic."[6]

Kricfalusi originally voiced Ren, using what he described as "a bad imitation of Peter Lorre" 53[dead link‍]. When Nickelodeon fired Kricfalusi, 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"[2] for the rest of the Nickelodeon run. Kricfalusi returned to the voice for the Nickelodeon series and Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon" on Spike TV.

Stimpson "Stimpy" J. Cat is a three year old,[7] fat, untailed, red and white Manx cat with a blue nose, purple eyelids, human-style buttocks, and flat feet. Martin "Dr. Toon" Goodman of Animation World Magazine described Stimpy as "obese," and "brain-damaged."[5] West voiced Stimpy for the Spümcø and Games Animation episodes, basing the voice on an "amped-up" Larry Fine.[3] Eric Bauza portrayed the character in Adult Party Cartoon.

The show features a host of supporting characters; some are recurring characters while others make single episode appearances. Ren and Stimpy are the only characters to appear in every episode, sometimes as various different pseudonyms, such as "Robin Höek" (a play on Robin Hood[4]). Some of the supporting characters factor directly into the storyline (such as George Liquor) while others make brief cameos. Other characters, such as Mr. Horse, are exclusively cameo-based, appearing in many episodes in bits that have little bearing on the plot as a running gag.

Conception

In a 1993 interview, Bill Wray stated that he believed Kricfalusi created the Ren and Stimpy characters around 15 years prior, for Kricfalusi's personal amusement during his years in Sheridan College in Canada.[8] According to commentary in the DVD box set of the show's first two seasons, Kricfalusi was inspired by a 1946 photograph called "New York City, 1946" of a chihuahua in a sweater by Elliott Erwitt on a postcard to create Ren. Kricfalusi combined the two cats in Bob Clampett's "A Gruesome Twosome" (1945) short to create Stimpy with the Jimmy Durante cat's coloring and nose and the stupid one's girth and personality.[citation needed] Wray said that he had initially "forgotten about" the characters. When Nickelodeon requested new series, Kricfalusi assembled a presentation called "Our Gang", similar to a children's show with a live action host presenting various cartoons. Each cartoon parodied a genre, and Ren and Stimpy parodied the "cat and dog" genre. Vanessa Coffey, the producer of the show, said that she did not like the general idea but that she liked Ren and Stimpy.[8]

Spümcø 1991-1992

In 1989, Kricfalusi pitched and sold The Ren and Stimpy Show to Nickelodeon. Kricfalusi's own animation house, Spümcø, finished the pilot in October 1990 and the first episode of the show properly aired on August 11, 1991, premiering alongside Doug and Rugrats.[9] Spümcø continued to produce the show for the next two years while encountering issues with Nickelodeon standards and practices. Over the years a number of episodes were censored.[10]

According to West, at one point Nickelodeon considered him for the voice of Ren. Spümcø says that Nickelodeon did not consider him for the part.[11]

Kricfalusi described Nickelodeon in the earliest period as being "simple" as there was one executive; Kricfalusi said that he got along with her. Kricfalusi said that another executive, who came at a later period, tried to can some of the Ren and Stimpy episodes produced. According to Kricfalusi the episodes stayed intact since Kricfalusi did a "trade" with the executive he liked; he would have some "really crazy" episodes in exchange for some "heart-warming" episodes.[12]

Wray stated that on some occasions Kricfalusi completed an episode in eight months, and on some occasions he completed an episode in "two or three" months. Wray described Kricfalusi's ideal production period per episode as four half-hour cartoons per year and added that the arrangement would not "jibe with our production schedule."[13]

In his blog, Kricfalusi described The Ren and Stimpy Show as the "safest project I ever worked on" while defining "safe" as "spend a third of what they spend now per picture, hire proven creative talent, and let them entertain" in that instance. Kricfalusi said that The Ren and Stimpy Show cost around six million United States dollars to produce and generated "a billion bucks or more" in revenue.[14]

Firing of John Kricfalusi

Nickelodeon fired Kricfalusi in 1992. Without Kricfalusi, Nickelodeon moved production from Spümcø to Games Animation.[15] Kricfalusi said that the main sticking points for the Nickelodeon executives seemed to be the level of violence in the show, and Kricfalusi points specifically to the episode "Man's Best Friend", which features Ren beating the character George Liquor with an oar, for his firing.[16] Nickelodeon banned the episode from airing; the episode did not air in North America until Adult Party Cartoon began in 2003.[16]

Wray described the main issues regarding Kricfalusi's friction with Nickelodeon as stemming from episodes not being produced in a "timely" manner. Wray stated that Kricfalusi attributed the delays to Nickelodeon not approving "things fast enough" and the Nickelodeon staff members "changing their minds." Wray describes Kricfalusi's statements as containing "some truth."[13] According to Wray, Nickelodeon would not have "minded" if the shows exceeded their budgets; therefore Wray did not see going over budget as the issue. Wray said that Kricfalusi believed that the product's quality holds more importance than meeting deadlines, and that he perceived Nickelodeon as "slowing him down."[17] According to Wray, Kricfalusi believed that "every step after the storyboards weakens the process" and that he "fought for the integrity of the storyboards" and lengthened production time because he wished to salvage the quality of the series.[18] Wray stated that the children forming the audience of Ren and Stimpy tolerated episodes when "things get gross" but that the audience did not want "a frightening, dramatic show." Wray cited a "father figure verbally abusing animals" in "Man's Best Friend." Wray disagreed with the sentiment formed after the firing that portrayed Kricfalusi as a protagonist and Nickelodeon as an antagonist, citing the fact that Kricfalusi sold the rights to Ren and Stimpy to Nickelodeon. Wray attributes the sentiment to people liking the show "wanting to look at everything in black and white." Wray believes that "everyone has not been perfect" regarding the Ren and Stimpy scenario.[19]

Bob Camp stated in a USA Today article that Kricfalusi was not "really suited for TV because of the rigors of scheduling. He'll be much happier doing a feature film or some kind of special." The article stated, "Camp says no one is at fault."[20] John Staton, writer of a 1992 article for The Daily Tarheel of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said that Nickelodeon fired Kricfalusi for missing deadlines.[21]

West also said that Nickelodeon fired Kricfalusi for exceeding deadlines. According to West, when Kricfalusi asked West to leave Nickelodeon and join his team, West refused.[11]

Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, a storyboard writer for Rocko's Modern Life, believes that Kricfalusi "got what he asked for." Describing the Ren and Stimpy creator as a "gifted animator with a great deal of genius" and that "his business skills are sadly lacking," Marsh reasons that Kricfalusi ought to have catered to Nickelodeon's demands and treated the network with respect since he chose the network as a client. Marsh says that Kricfalusi ought to have used a theater release for a short animated film, a direct-to-video release system, or "some pay-cable medium." Marsh describes his opinion as placing him "in the minority" after debating the issue with other animators.[22]

Games Animation 1993-1996

Bob Camp wrote and directed the episodes for Games Animation when Nickelodeon took over the show.[4] Since Kricfalusi previously voiced Ren, West took the role.

Wray said that the producers of the Games episodes did not attempt to "reflect John's vision. We can't — because we are not John." Wray answered "pretty much" to an interview question asking if the third season will "sort of wrap up John's ideas for the show." Wray added that the producers asked themselves "What can we do to make funny REN & STIMPY cartoons?" instead of "What would John have done?" In 1993, Wray said that the Games Animation episodes would "have the flavor of REN & STIMPY" since Camp had served as a writer for the show. Wray added that Nickelodeon wanted a "lighter, but funny type of show" instead of "truly frightening" episodes.[17]

The Games episodes introduced several characters, including Victor and his father and Mr. Cow.[23]

Kricfalusi described the Games Animation team as having "spent way more money" to produce the series and having "killed" The Ren and Stimpy Show.[14]

Nickelodeon canceled the show in 1996, ending its run with a Christmas episode ("A Scooter For Yaksmas").

Ted Drozdowski of The Boston Phoenix stated in a 1998 article that "the bloom faded on Ren & Stimpy."[24]

Ren and Stimpy Adult Party Cartoon 2003-2004

Main article: Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon"

In 2003, Kricfalusi relaunched 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, as the title implied, explored more adult themes, including a more explicitly homosexual relationship between the main characters[25] and an episode filled with female nudity.[26]

The show began with the "banned" Nickelodeon episode "Man's Best Friend" before debuting new episodes. Kricfalusi produced three of the ordered nine episodes on time.[27] After three episodes, the entire animation block was removed from Spike TV's programming schedule.

Development

Writing style

Kricfalusi said that he refined the "Director-Unit system" for The Ren and Stimpy Show.[28]

Bill Wray said that he and Kricfalusi met to "sit around and discuss how really good cartoons died in 1961." Kricfalusi and Wray attributed the decline to the rise of parent groups asking for cartoons to take "educational" approaches. He added that the creators of Ren and Stimpy did not want to create an "educational" series and that the stance bothered Nickelodeon.[29]

Wray added that the creators did not try to "be contemporary" regarding jokes. When Charles S. Novinskie, an interviewer for David Anthony Kraft's Comics Interview, asked Wray if the show would not have "Waco, Texas, jokes or anything like that," referring to the Waco Siege, Wray answered that the show would rarely reference current events. Wray described a scenario involving a ration card reference in an "old Warner Bros. cartoon" as "confusing" to a 1990s audience.[18]

Kricfalusi said that when he "got to do everything [his] way on Ren and Stimpy" the group "eventually" created storyboards with larger panels in order to allow for introduction of continuity and new ideas, alteration of the sequences of the stories, and to "sculpt the stories into shape" via input from "other good story artists" and feedback from pitch meetings.[30]

Kricfalusi said that he created commercials for nonexistent products because the Federal Communications Commission would not allow for him to place real commercials in the series.[31] The FCC has no jurisdiction over cable channels such as Nickelodeon; he may have meant the channel's internal Standards & Practices department.[citation needed]

Animation style

In Kricfalusi's words, "weird, blotchy" backgrounds on occasions replace the standard backgrounds. Kricfalusi said that this originates from "Baby Bottleneck," a Bob Clampett cartoon that lacks backgrounds. Kricfalusi said that, in The Ren and Stimpy Show, he altered backgrounds to evoke certain moods.[32]

KJ Dell'Antonia, a reviewer for Common Sense Media, described the "evolution" of show as portrayed by the animation, which she describes as changing "from intentionally rough to much more polished and plushie-toy ready."[33]

Editing

According to Kricfalusi, since he controlled the editing, he "patched up" the first group of episodes with sound effects and "music bandaids." He describes the alterations as causing the films to "play better, even though much of the animation and timing weren't working on their own."[34]

Voice actors

Kricfalusi and West provided the majority of character voices in the series' first two seasons. After Kricfalusi was fired, West took over the voices of both main characters, as well as those of several supporting characters. Other voice actors in the show's main cast included Harris Peet, Gary Owens, Jack Carter, Alan Young, and Cheryl Chase. Many high-profile actors performed cameos on the show, including Phil Hartman, Rosie O'Donnell, Randy Quaid, Dom DeLuise, Gilbert Gottfried, Frank Gorshin, and musician Frank Zappa.

Music

The Ren and Stimpy Show and Ren and Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon" featured a wide variety of music, ranging from folk to pop to jazz. The opening and closing themes were performed by a group of Spümcø employees under the name "Die Screamin' Lederhosen"[35] as a comic reconstruction of German band Die toten Hosen. "Ren and Stimpy" have also released three albums: Crock O' Christmas, You Eediot!, and Radio Daze.

The character’s rousing “get happy” anthem titled Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy, was written by Charlie Brissette, John Kricfalusi, and Christopher Reccardi. 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.

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy is sung by a character named Stinky Wizzleteats who is a parody of Burl Ives. Several references to famous songs and movie quotes are sprinkled through the song giving it its surreal air including:

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