I found it disturbing, but I loved it at the same time. They were really bold by showing these stuff. By the way, I'm seventeen, so I didn't watch it when it was originally aired, but I watched it for the first time as a kid too.
I was 7 when it came out and watched it constantly. Of course back in those days you had to walk 15 miles barefoot in the snow to the nearest television, which back in those days they were called teletubbies. Anywho we used to love tossing that stick across the clothesline. The end.
+Paul South never was too much, i mean, was always too much. but that was the genius!!! this show was absolutely epic in every way. Wayyyyy ahead of its time. A true timeless classic. I lived the new episode when i was a child. was like Christmas once a week! :-):-):-):-)
If you put your nerve endings under your pillow tonight, the nerve ending fairy will come and take them away. And she'll leave you hundred dollar bills!
It's not just the animation it's the writing. Some of those quotes just stay with you like "I told you I'd shoot but you didn't believe me. Why didn't you believe me?" or "Call the police".
What makes this more hilarious, is the parody of Burl Ives ,Who did great serious Acting, and Children music, So The happy happy joy joy song is a Burl Ives clone, Now Burl Ives is singing a kids song , then Morphs's into the character he plays in the film "A Big Country (1958) " where he kills his son for not fighting fair in a duel " I told you I'd Shoot" watch the film and Stimy's invention, together
Eddie King Not at all :). and yes, you are completely right. And double yes, I did remember that one occasion prior to mentioning it, but assumed you made a mistake rather than quoted that one particular occasion.. hehe.. R&S kru unite :)
+C̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶J̶o̶h̶n̶s̶o̶n̶ Happy happy happy happy happy happy happpy happy happy happy Joy JOY JOY!! *NOOOO! Don't Touch the SHINY RED BUTTON!* *THE JOLLY RED CANDY LIKE BUTTON!!* =D My life in cartoons in college/working =D
Then again... I wouldn't be surprised if there really were that many people like that in the world. It seems the worst people always end up on top. Oh, well. I'm getting tired of always having to separate the art from the artist, but it continues to be necessary.
Billy West spoke at my University. He asked everyone who had a tape recorder (yes TAPE recorder) to come up front, where he proceeded to do a voice message for their answering machines...
@Johnny Morphine stop lying. It was just ACCUSED, not sentenced guilty. Then again, why does it matter to you? Judge the artist from his art, not from his personal life and his mistakes!
I remember seeing Stimpy's Great Invention when it first aired. My friends and I were coming down from a night of partying and we were rolling on the ground clutching our bellies from laughing to the point of pain. God that was a really great laugh. I wish I could laugh like that more often.
Hard to work with from the studio's perspective, as well as for other people that had as much if not more control over the works being produced as John K. had. As an animator, working for someone is easy enough; you do your work and turn it in, then make revisions or corrections if need be. Unless your boss is a total jackass, animating for someone is just fine, and he was no different... He was hard to work with when it came to decision making and producing films as the people that made decisions alongside him, as well as the people that were above him, had to go with his ideas as he would refuse to work otherwise.
I think his point is that when this rumor of him being hard to work with is brought up, the comments seem to either involve saying "yeah, but that's because he spends too much time trying to make it perfect" or "WELL, geniuses are known for not working well with others! Probably their problem!". It's a complete avoidance of acknowledging him being hard to work with if the reasoning is saying "JUST A PRODUCT OF HIS GREATNESS!". I love Ren and Stimpy and have always admired the risks it took for "children's cartoons", but any mention of a bad reputation isn't resolved by claiming it was always actually for good reasons. Maybe he had a temper and was overly controlling (not claiming he was, idk), but according to these comments, any criticisms of his work ethic are secretly admirable things like "he just works too damn hard". It comes across as excuses to continue to call him great. Maybe he was hard to work with outside of factors relating to him being a genius, and people pretending that isn't or couldn't be the case is obnoxious and dishonest.
I'm so happy with the inclusion of Log, Powdered Toast Man and the happy happy joy joy song. That nerve ending scene will always be seared into my brain.
I did NOT see this analysis coming, but it's great! Ren and Stimpy stands out as such a bizarre anomalous blip upon my childhood. It is etched deeper into my psyche not just because it got to me in my formative years, but because it was so aggressive in its mission. While other shows try to negotiate and entreat a place in my memory through subtlety and clever characterization, Ren and Stimpy hacked down the door to my brain with a conspicuously bloody fire axe, cackling, shrill and oozing various fluids rendered in loving detail.
LMAO I remember that walrus whispering "call the poliiiiice" and I kept rewinding the VHS I recorded it on over and over again. so funny. That and the Log song
NemRaps That scene almost has to be one of the most disturbing scenes for a children's cartoon in the history of all network television. When Ren is recoiling in terror, chattering, "PLEASE, I THINK ONE MISTAKE IS ENOUGH!!!" , I was saucer-eyed and didn't sleep right ever since. That was 30 years ago too.
hell yeah, the log song was awesome, like the muddy mud-skipper too. It's the randomness, the sobering, stark randomness, that just kills me every time. I am just on the floor with it.
It really was a gem that gave kids a glimpse into a world that wasn't covered in family-friendly jokes and lighthearted fun. It treated kids like adults in a sense; it didn't pull punches for showing graphic and disturbing content, because in real life, right next to that sunny day and picnic in the park, there were the dark nights and the scary people. There was violence in the real world, and by trying to shield kids from it as much as possible, people were ultimately hurting them when those kids grew up and didn't know how to cope. It's like an immune system; you need to introduce the bad stuff to build up a reaction. Ren and Stimpy gave us a hint at that bad stuff, next to gross humor that made us laugh.
I guess if more kids watched Ren and Stimpy then we wouldn't have to suffer from safe spaces, trigger warnings, and Twitter warriors cracking down on every kind of offensive speech
i use to sneak outve bed at 2am to get up in watch this as a kid when my parents went to bed, thats what time it aired in new zealand, i remember being so mesmerised by it, never saw anything like it
Ryan Cowan that’s fucking dumb. some kids go through trauma you know and need trigger warnings... a fucking cartoon won’t change that. sorry that you can’t seem to understand that
E. L. no it's sad that yall have no fucking empathy. the real world doesn't have trigger warnings yes and??? does it really bother you weirdos that much to warn someone?? kids get fucking raped and abused and you people think a cartoon is gonna make them tougher youre all sick.
I am so glad someone fibally made something enlighting the genius of John K. His talent is so highly forgotten and underestimated. This cartoon revolutionized animation by working with storyboard based cartoons instead of scenario based ones that were real pain in the asses in the production. He pushed the boundaries of what could be acceptable beyond the erotic and swearings by tackling with pure, raw insanity (not some stereotypical pre made goo, but rather the unfiltered pulsions and pain of his troubled creator. (yes, John K did Ren voice.) and very few artist actual decide to show it directly through the speech and action of a character, and not through abstract forms like a cubist per example. )Every second of his show is a piece of art hidden with the most outrageous and violent topics. Thank you guys so much for sharing this with the world.
The reason why his talent was forgotten and dismissed is because his style was not original. Bob camp literally did exactly the same, to the point that he actually replaced John K when Nickelodeon fired him.
I always loved the 50's flavor of the show and how oddly that mirrored my childhood. This show hit the mark with me at a time when I entered my teen years and gave me satire of my own youth to laugh at. And strangely gave me a connection to my father who also loved the show.
I will never forget the first time I saw the episode "Stimpy's Invention" something tells me that Ren & Stimpy was moved to S.N.I.C.K on Saturday nights for some reason and my parents were out and my little brother and I had a baby sitter, so we were able to sneak and watch the show because they were gone... that's all, just was something I'll never forget for many reasons.
This was a great video. My sister and I grew up with Ren and Stimpy's insanity. We love it to this day. We question it now...but we still love it. This was also good insight into the TV series. I also heard one of the show's problems was the delayed and missed deadlines, like with what you mentioned with Stimpy's Invention.
This was one of my favorite shows in the early 90s and I was in my '30s at the time. I never knew it was made for kids! It was just such a subversively wicked romp! Thank you for breaking it down for us and making me appreciate it all over again.
+Kevin Liang Not sure I can agree there. Ren and Stimpy is a children's show, it's just a wonderfully animated, incredibly gross one. Adult Party Cartoon is what happens when you try to make it a show for adults. To be fair, the intended audience for Ren and Stimpy does skew a bit older, and it does have more disturbing content in it than most people would consider a children's cartoon to have. That's part of why it left such a mark. South Park, on the other hand, is absolutely loaded with gratuitous, detailed violence, profanity, sexual references and imagery, as well as cultural references which most children wouldn't understand or find funny. None of that is meant in a negative way; the show just has a different target audience. There's nothing wrong with enjoying a children's show, or animation in general. A children's show doesn't necessarily have to be brainless or lower quality. It doesn't lessen the product that it is aimed toward children in the same way that it doesn't lessen South Park or Rick and Morty that they're aimed for adults. But those are just my thoughts, so whatever.
Bombshell Courtney I'm fairly certain that what you're talking about is what happened to Ren and Stimpy after it left Nickelodeon and lost a good deal of its charm (to me, anyway)-- Adult Party Cartoon. Adult Party Cartoon was an attempt to make an 'adult cartoon' based off of Ren and Stimpy and often went for extreme gross-out and sexual humour, as well as straying into some very dark and disturbed territory. The original version of the show never went as far as Adult Party Cartoon, but it definitely toed a line in animation that we still stay safely behind in cartoons aimed at kids.
Close, but not quite: "Otto: Whoa! A talking dog! What were you guys smoking when you came up with that one?Itchy and Scratchy writer (in reality, the Simpsons universe version of episode writer David S. Cohen): We were eating rotisserie chicken."
"it rolls down stairs, alone or in pairs, over your neighbors dog, " "It's great for a snack!" "It fits on your back!" "It's log! log! log!" "It's log, logggggg!" "It's big, it's heavy it's wood." "It's log, looogggg!" "it's better than bad, it's good!" "come on and get your log" "your going to need a log!" "everyone loves a log!" "Log" from "BLAMmO!"
I absolutely LOVED Ren & Stimpy as a kid! Every episode brought on waves of hallucinogenic laughter, I was a really happy kid cause of it. Anyone remember "Old Man Hunger" ? 😂😭😂😂
When I found my six year old child watching something called "Ren & Stimpy" in 1991, I was immediately enthralled. Even though I was 36 years old at that time, I was hooked. It was an unbelievably great, twisted, warped, and entertaining show (at least for the first two years, after which the great creator was fired/left, and things got grosser and far less amusing).
cottersay I thought the later episodes were tolerable and had their own charm too. But personally I found the first two seasons much more entertaining.
he was occasionally involved later on. 'Ren's Brain' I think was one of his and is up there with the classic early episodes, of you ask me. One of the most demented of the whole series.
I just realized why I love the Filthy Frank Show. It has that same quality Ren & Stimpy have where it's terrifying, hilarious, disturbing, clever, disgusting, and memorable in equal parts. I'm forcing myself not to look away while laughing my ass off.
+Bryan McCormick Well, for one, I don't entirely understand what you're talking about. But, I feel that, somewhere, a cartoon has the aesthetics of Ren and Stimpy, and it carries on the legacy of the cartoon. It may not air on Cartoon Network, but it's out there.
Ertain1 well... i mean all cartoons (unless they're entirely commercial and devoid) should have some attachment to the principle of form if not vulgarity and R&S just extended that form to permeate each frame invader zim was a long time ago, and i feel like it and ahh real monsters did things to pander to vulgarity that R&S was afraid would become the third rail and thats fine... um, Kids Next Door was a cartoon i thought was more inventive less "Spongebob" but that might even be how i'd depict the venn diagram would be Kids Next Door on the Left, Spongbob on the right and ren and stimpy as the middle genndy tartakovksy is pretty amazing too #thecritic [()] [ spongebob ( Billy/Mandy < R&S > Powerpuff Girls ) Codename:KND ] ultimately... i was only the audience for these shows during R&S, but i'd still (to an extent) admired the others
Man, I'm so glad you made a video on this cartoon. One my favorite parts of childhood was watching VHS tapes of random Ren & Stimpy episodes my parents taped for my sister and I to watch when we were growing up. I think you did it justice with your review, and I'm glad you cared enough to put this much thought in. You gained a subscriber in me.
Yea, I gotta say that while I never really enjoyed Ren and Stimpy, I do highly respect the series for the depth of creativity and ingenuity that was put into it.
Very nice video. As an animator working in television, I've come to understand why that level of perfectionism shouldn't interfere with getting a show done on time, or how to build relationships with other creators and directors. Ren and Stimpy will always hold a special place in my heart (1991-1995 only), especially in the facial expressions, but John K was a bad influence to the animation community with his toxic views of modern cartoons and his 1 dimensional stance on how cartoons should be made. Don't ever loose your voice as a creator, but learn to roll with the punches with higher ups. It's worth it in the end.
nathan papp the plot he's been rehashing is literally the human experience... Hard to fault a subject so all encompassing as a "rehash" without being willfully reductive and obtuse.
see this is the first time where i've seen someone compare ren and stimpy to spongebob. i've been trying to tell people that for years. spongebob really is very similar to ren and stimpy in a lot of ways which is probalby why i love it since ren & stimpy was one of my favorite cartoons ever.
Very cool. Yet again, you hit another important topic responsible for what I have become (for better or worse). As disturbing as R&S is, it is undeniably fascinating. The only element I felt you kind of missed out on, was the whole soundtrack aspect, which I think is very important to set the mood. Some of Ren's best rampages are underlined by Mussorgski's "Night on Bald Mountain" to name just one of many examples.
This is one of John K's philosophies I understand the principles of, but never agreed with as an animator. I understand the need for varied expressions, and agree with that sentiment, but rather than removing an arbitrary limitation it creates a new limitation and stifles creativity in the name of being more creative. Some characters naturally have expressions they gravitate towards, it's part of what creates a visually cohesive character. Due to this restriction, John K's characters are emotive and distinctive, but are only ever recognizable because of their overall design. The only cohesiveness his characters have is through the efforts of the voice actors. which may be his personal style, but ended up being a headache for the artists who worked under him, who he notoriously mistreated.
At 6:33, it's a historical moment. Why? We now know who, when, and where twerking was created. It wasn't brought to the masses by Miley Cyrus. It was Stimpy that 1st showed the world twerking. Overall, I knew I was going to love this show when I 1st saw it. Stimpy married the fish corpse (that was really and simply just a dead fish). What about when Stimpy's fart ran away. Such drama and beauty, all wrapped in one delicious show.
Thank you for this Mr. Nerdwriter sir. Delirious and mind altering a show as Ren & Stimpy was it has always held a dark, deviant and booger filled space in my heart. Love your productions.
Very nice essay. Ren and Stimpy was such an avante garde show that influenced many of that generation. My friends and I were in middle school at the time and had to sneak behind our parents' backs to watch it. We'd meet at school the next day and regale our peers with the best moments from each episode. I'd also like to add that I think a lot of the facial expressions used in the show came from the books by Jack Hamm, such as "Cartooning the Head and Figure." Many artist and animators have this classic in their library. The minute you flip through it, especially the spread of expressions toward the middle, you think, "wow here are all the faces used in Ren and Stimpy!" I don't know if others have made that connection, but because I never hear people give him credit I wanted to now. :D
You wouldn't be able to make a show like Ren and Stimpy today, and even if you did, you WOULD NOT get away with it. It has nothing to do with morality or censorship, but with the cultural shift that shows like Adventure Time, Regular Show, Steven Universe and Gravity Falls have established in the animation world. Every popular cartoon (John K. probably wouldn't call them 'cartoons', more like 'animated sitcoms' or 'animated action adventures') these days has seemingly fallen into a 'twee-hole': very 80s/90s culture-informed, very Anime-informed, shipping a-plenty, and highly layered to appeal to kids and adults on a slightly more weighty level than just humor (incorporating a fair amount of socio-political commentary in places). If something like this arrived on today's CN (and, to a smaller extent, present-day Nickelodeon), parents AND kids would drag it across the floor for being too 'stupid', 'immature' and 'gross' in comparison to the polish of AT, SU, et. al. as if the current state of TV animation as described above is the only one of worth. We've seen creator-driven shows like 'Uncle Grandpa' and 'Pig Goat Banana Cricket' be treated like the brain-dead cashgrabs that they most likely aren't mainly because they don't fit the mold of what's celebrated, despite the endless outward cries of 'it's immature' and 'it's stupid'. For the level of growth and positive evolution TV animation has gone through, the public's insistence of the popular clique has outright shafted other voices.
@@locha2581 It's a profound animation. I'm 57 now, but I saw it when it was new. In any case, popular culture is worth keeping an eye on so there is an understanding of what makes contemporary issues and people tick. The more eclectic one's interests, the greater the volume of life experience. Yes, even in a brilliantly crafted cartoon.
@@locha2581 The shows humor is timeless, and it was way ahead of it's time. When people look at Ren and Stimpy, they only look at the surface stuff, such as the grossout segments, and the disgusting closeups. This show was a carefully crafted masterpiece.
John K doesn't get all the praise he deserves. Besides being one of the most creative American animators since Chuck Jones, he was the first to make a cartoon using Flash. And now virtually every show on TV is made with that software.
First of all, he certainly does get the praise, at least within the animation community, of being one of the most talented and creative TV animators in our modern era. Like, certainly he himself tended to work in a way that openly defied the usual expectations of networks from cartoons back then, and for that there are a lot of people in the industry who are thankful. For a lot of people he really is a hero, or at least an idol. Unfortunately, his is the kind of creative genius that burns bridges, and became unpalatable once his work became less relevant. He's a good example of what happens to talent in the animation industry without professionalism. (of which his sins are many.) I mean, you can't really be the kind of guy who had as extreme opinions as he did and end up 'beloved' in the traditional sense like Glen Keene or Richard Williams. However, he has definitely carved out his place in the Hall of Big Animator Names, though perhaps as more of an inspiration to people determined to stay off the beaten path.
ren and stimpy was so innovative, this video captures all the beautiful eccentricities that the creators painstakingly captured and reminds us that this is a show that will never die because they took the time to make it great!
Born in 84. Was there for the first airing of Ren and Stimpy as a kid. Can't tell you all enough how awesome the show was as a kid. The intro music alone!! Blew everything out of the water. Even when "Stimpy's Invention" aired for the first time I knew as a kid I was witnessing some kind of history in animation. It's amazing to see the enormous impact John K. has on the entire animation industry to this day.
I stand by it. Ren and Stimpy is the best satirical animated series to ever be conceived. And I think John K. knows how to animate in an interesting fashion. Each frame is not the same as the last in every way, but it works, it flows nicely, quickly, and aggressively at times, which does add a bit of . . . emotion to every movement a character makes. And most importantly the characters are on scale with such an obscure animating style. Seriously, Rebecca Sugar should take some hints from the best because she sucks at all of this, and a week's worth of lessons from John would probably set her show on the right track, and make it more enjoyable for adults and children alike. The parents I know hate Steven Universe for lacking any values an animated series had in their time, in fact, some of them just prefer cartoons like . . . Ren and Stimpy. And their children don't often understand most of the implications of Steven Universe, at least the eight year old audience, whom at this point aren't looking for morals to be strictly driven into their heads, even though Steven Universe fails to do so . . . which is one of the purposes it is supposed to serve . . . Okay . . . It also has adult themes it is inconsistent with, and are there just so they can say it has adult themes but they're pointless innuendos that don't even leave you laughing like Ren and Stimpy, it makes you want Rebecca Sugar in a padded cell . . . because the show is targeted towards 8-12 year-old children and the head of it seems to not understand what "child" means, or the mere implication of an innuendo and how it's done so no one wants to completely black list you for being weird. John K. had these problems with Ren and Stimpy, but let's face it, more thought and care was put into it and when I watch it I feel like I'm watching the tormenting thoughts of a schizophrenic man, which I like. And the jokes just made it all the more enjoyable, and a bit relatable for beginning artists who wish to push the envelope with animation and writing. Steven Universe however . . . feels like serious indoctrination, and in the process the writers had to become indoctrinated themselves just so they could make the show. Indoctrinated into what ideals? No clue! Which might be Steven Universe's problem . . . The director had no idea what the show's purpose would be. John K. might not have had a full idea for Ren and Stimpy, but he wasn't a preachy guy with absolutely nothing to say, and something tells me that him and his cast at the time had more fun doing the show, and were nearly not as toxic as the staffs working behind these mediocre modern day shows that end up with odd air times and are just in general . . . uninspiring . . . I watched Ren and Stimpy and the whole time I thought "I would like to do something like this, but my own way". Steven Universe made me think "Who the fuck wasted time and money producing this boring pile of trash? Like, halfway into it even they realized it was bad and just went with it"! I would rather be remembered for making Ren and Stimpy. Not friggin Steven Universe, Teen Titans Go!, or fucking Clarence. Ren and Stimpy doesn't use the same face twice. Everyone on Cartoon Network has to have at least one Peter Griffin looking motherfucker now. Steven is one of them. Yeah . . . John K. was hard to work with . . . but seriously . . . after Rebecca Sugar and her team of acid spraying scorpions how bad could he really be at this point? I think after we ran out of brilliant animators the standard was "look for weird people, we might get another John K.". That didn't go too well of course. I know John K. wasn't the only animator at the time . . . but damn did he do what others wouldn't. He was the true edgy guy who did what others wouldn't in a kid's cartoon. Which is another reason why I dislike Rebecca Sugar. She acts like she's the first to push the bounds of kid's cartoons when she barely even gets close to pushing anything but a crappy agenda and she's on Cartoon fucking Network . . . John K. was on Nickelodean. Jeez, talk about wasted potential, she had all kinds of freedom and fucked it up with a lot of still scenes and boring nothing. I know she participated in Adventure Time, but to be honest the show did have a nice goofiness to it. That's it. In my opinion I found it odd the show went on as long as it did because it was pretty much Spongebob. It was good at first, then it out visited its welcome, much like Spongebob. But something tells me her place on Adventure Time made her feel overconfident in herself and decided to make Steven Universe, which ended up being Adventure Time, but worse. Mostly because Steven Universe was centered around a story that was ultimately pointless. Adventure Time was simply adventure time, it was a show for simply wondering at the aesthetic sights and action, like an adventure, with an occasional mention of a backstory . . . which didn't progress enough for me to get interested or for it to have an affect on the show or its audience (Hm, wonder who wrote up the backstory). My point is don't act like the show is *revolutionary* when really creative people came before it. Not saying John K. could write a deeply ingrained story, but his animating style and jokes were just the staple he needed. That is what I'm getting at. You need something to be actually unique to make it your staple, your image, your . . . creation. And John K. did just that. People will remember him for his oddities, either because they liked him or not. Whereas with people like Rebecca Sugar at some point everyone would wish they could forget her (mostly fans who got attacked for *"fat shaming"* an SU character). Social media has really ruined people for little reason . . . Just . . . *"ugh"* to all of it. Ugh . . . Ugghhh . . . . UGGGHHHHAAAUUHHHH . . . .
Excellent video retrospective! Mom had no idea how warped it was! My favorite moments: 1. Mr. Horse- bottom to top panning shot in “Rubber Nipple Salesmen” , “Who sent you? Did my wife send you??? How do I know you’re not with the FBI?”, “Don’t shoot! I’m unarmed! Oh, it IS a nipple!”, “what you must think of me...” 2. (Happy Happy Joy Joy) “I TOLD YOU I’D SHOOT! But you didn’t believe me! WHY DIDN’T YOU BELIEVE ME?!?!” Can you imagine anyone attempting that these days? 3. Firedogs! Mr. Horse’s fall w/excruciating sounds of his legs being crushed after falling several stories- then to “When Johnny Comes Marching Home”, he drags his shattered legs behind him with his front hooves, moaning “It hurts! It hursts! Oh God!” Then asked by a reporter “How do you feel about that fall?”, Mr. Horse, suddenly calm, a contemplative look in his eyes, and the EPIC, casual twitching of his tail, “Hmmm... No, Sir, I didn’t like it.” Then continues to the song dragging his legs behind, moanin “It hurts! Oh God! it hurts!!!”.
There weren't a lot of kid's shows back in the 90s that I could sit and watch with my daughters and enjoy as much as they did. And seldom did I ever feel such joy as the time when my 8 year old called me a "Fat bloated eeediot!". I was so proud.
Ren and Stimpy is one of my all time favorite cartoons! I grew up in the 2000's, but I'm glad I was exposed to it through reruns on Nicktoons Network. I remember staying up late at night just to catch 1 episode of this Beautiful demented show.
great video. there is so much that John K. did that has never been done before or since. There's definitely a relationship between his humor and the adult swim sensibility that followed. I think one of the main differences is that John K. was and is a serious student of animation, actually in his own right probably a world expert. He was fascinated with cartoons of the 1940s, claiming that they were superior in art, storytelling and execution. You can see that Ren and Stimpy themselves inhabit a sort of bizarro world of the 40's, 50's. All the music is big band/Sinatra style stuff. John K had a hilarious way of bringing all that stuff from the past into the future. Personally I think the other groundbreaking cartoon of the 90's was Space Ghost, but it was the complete opposite, made with like a combined 5 minutes of animation that they just re-used over and over and over. Being a true visual artist, John K gave Ren and Stimpy's characters such a greater range of emotion, and so it really hits you a lot harder when you see Ren writing on the floor in agony or stimpy picking his nose, etc.
You can actually see a lot of the same style in Spongebob because multiple people who did Ren and Stimpy, made the early seasons of Spongebob
spongebob was also created by a guy that worked on Rocko's Modern Life, which was a peer of R&S for a while. same with Phineas and Ferb.
@@PowerRangersFanAntiDinoFury i didnt say it did.
@@PowerRangersFanAntiDinoFury it was jeff marsh that worked on P&F, not joe murray
Vincent Waller worked with John K in the Spumco era, to make episodes like Man's Best Friend. Vincent also worked on the early seasons of Spongebob.
Ren Höek hes also the current showrunner
It hurts so much when he... ugh... pulls the nerve endings out.
I found it disturbing, but I loved it at the same time. They were really bold by showing these stuff. By the way, I'm seventeen, so I didn't watch it when it was originally aired, but I watched it for the first time as a kid too.
Sp_Zo ugh reminds me when I went to the dentist and pulled out the nerve ugh I will never forget that pain
I was 7 when it came out and watched it constantly.
Of course back in those days you had to walk 15 miles barefoot in the snow to the nearest television, which back in those days they were called teletubbies. Anywho we used to love tossing that stick across the clothesline. The end.
Sp_Zo why is this such a big deal to people.
*wet heave*
oh god, the nerve endings...
remember, they were for the nerve ending fairy?! :-):-):-)
+Paul South never was too much, i mean, was always too much. but that was the genius!!! this show was absolutely epic in every way. Wayyyyy ahead of its time. A true timeless classic. I lived the new episode when i was a child. was like Christmas once a week! :-):-):-):-)
*lived for
Paul South I guess it got on your nerves
If you put your nerve endings under your pillow tonight, the nerve ending fairy will come and take them away. And she'll leave you hundred dollar bills!
It's not all about John K. Let's not forget the genius of co-creator Bob Camp!!
+Will Hopkins
Genius?
Jim Smith, im Gomez, Lynne Naylor, they all contributed to the creation and development of the show.
John K. was actually only part of Ren and Stimpy’s first 2 seasons, it had 5 seasons
If only if the show was revived and was like season 1 and 2 level without john.k.
Mind if I ask what Camp contributed to the show?
(I actually don’t know; never watched the show)
Dude. I swear. Watching some R&S episodes was like taking an acid trip. LOL
LONG LIVE REN & STIMPY
It's not just the animation it's the writing. Some of those quotes just stay with you like "I told you I'd shoot but you didn't believe me. Why didn't you believe me?" or "Call the police".
It is not I who am crazy... IT IS I WHO AM MAD!
Oh shit I had no idea that it said "I told you I'd shoot", I thought it said "I told you I'd do it". Thats fucking hilarious
What makes this more hilarious, is the parody of Burl Ives ,Who did great serious Acting, and Children music, So The happy happy joy joy song is a Burl Ives clone, Now Burl Ives is singing a kids song , then Morphs's into the character he plays in the film "A Big Country (1958) " where he kills his son for not fighting fair in a duel " I told you I'd Shoot" watch the film and Stimy's invention, together
Oh.my beloved ice cream bar....
It is DISCIPLINE that begets LOOOVE!
The horse always got me. "No sir, didn't like it. "
no, it was "no sir, I don't like it".
+diggity pap it was the scene where the horse jumped from a building. he did say, no sir I didn't like it. research it.
Eddie King yup, there was one occasion.
+diggity pap Hope I didn't come off sounding snarky. Have a great one.
Eddie King Not at all :). and yes, you are completely right. And double yes, I did remember that one occasion prior to mentioning it, but assumed you made a mistake rather than quoted that one particular occasion.. hehe.. R&S kru unite :)
"Happy happy, joy joy"
It's still stuck in my head after all these years
+C̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶J̶o̶h̶n̶s̶o̶n̶ It's a song about a whale
+C̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶J̶o̶h̶n̶s̶o̶n̶ Happy happy happy happy happy happy happpy happy happy happy
Joy JOY JOY!!
*NOOOO! Don't Touch the SHINY RED BUTTON!*
*THE JOLLY RED CANDY LIKE BUTTON!!* =D
My life in cartoons in college/working =D
Try actually paying attention to the lyrics. They're awesome. I recited them to some coworkers a while back. They were floored.
Allen Babylon - "I told you I'd shoot, but you didn't believe me! Why didn't you believe me!?"
I'm shocked you weren't fired.
C̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶J̶o̶h̶n̶s̶o̶n̶ I had totally forgotten about that song-needless to say for at least the rest of today I DEFINITELY won't forget it lol
"MY DINOSAUR DROPPINGS......PAINTED LIKE EASTER EGGGGGS"
"MY COLLECTION OF.....INCUREABKE DISSEASES"
Bubble gum all over my opera records...
@@ShatteredGlass916 VIOLATED!
John K spoke to my school at an assembly in Grade 8... he was fantastically weird and driven. It was refreshing
Wait a minute. . . WHAT THE FUCK!!!
Then again... I wouldn't be surprised if there really were that many people like that in the world. It seems the worst people always end up on top. Oh, well. I'm getting tired of always having to separate the art from the artist, but it continues to be necessary.
Billy West spoke at my University.
He asked everyone who had a tape recorder (yes TAPE recorder) to come up front, where he proceeded to do a voice message for their answering machines...
He was driven to do something...
@Johnny Morphine stop lying. It was just ACCUSED, not sentenced guilty. Then again, why does it matter to you? Judge the artist from his art, not from his personal life and his mistakes!
Courage the cowardly dog is also messed up.....gave me nightmares man
+BabyFESUS Return the slaaaab!
+TheAmazingTwist ♪ It's Doc Gerbil's wooooorld! It's Doc Gerbil's Wooooorld!
+BabyFESUS Courage is Kafka for kids. Really great show too.
+Tesla-Effect true , courage was good but still gave me nightmares as a kid:/
H.O.S Same, but still it was a great show.
I remember seeing Stimpy's Great Invention when it first aired. My friends and I were coming down from a night of partying and we were rolling on the ground clutching our bellies from laughing to the point of pain. God that was a really great laugh. I wish I could laugh like that more often.
"Call the police" was extremely unsettling for some reason.
damascus21 Maybe because they used the ending music from Night of the Living Dead.
He's being held hostage
Don't forget that that the theme songs at the front end and back end were brilliant.
I remember that one of the things I like the most of the show was the intro...
John K. was fired because he could never make deadlines and was notoriously hard to work with.
Don DeSilva Yeah, kinda sucks that John was a bit too much of a perfectionist. Especially in the TV business.
AfroNinja360 hard to work with is matter of opinion I'd imagine most comedians aren't normal co-workers
Hard to work with from the studio's perspective, as well as for other people that had as much if not more control over the works being produced as John K. had. As an animator, working for someone is easy enough; you do your work and turn it in, then make revisions or corrections if need be. Unless your boss is a total jackass, animating for someone is just fine, and he was no different... He was hard to work with when it came to decision making and producing films as the people that made decisions alongside him, as well as the people that were above him, had to go with his ideas as he would refuse to work otherwise.
that happens with geniuses
I think his point is that when this rumor of him being hard to work with is brought up, the comments seem to either involve saying "yeah, but that's because he spends too much time trying to make it perfect" or "WELL, geniuses are known for not working well with others! Probably their problem!". It's a complete avoidance of acknowledging him being hard to work with if the reasoning is saying "JUST A PRODUCT OF HIS GREATNESS!".
I love Ren and Stimpy and have always admired the risks it took for "children's cartoons", but any mention of a bad reputation isn't resolved by claiming it was always actually for good reasons. Maybe he had a temper and was overly controlling (not claiming he was, idk), but according to these comments, any criticisms of his work ethic are secretly admirable things like "he just works too damn hard". It comes across as excuses to continue to call him great. Maybe he was hard to work with outside of factors relating to him being a genius, and people pretending that isn't or couldn't be the case is obnoxious and dishonest.
I'm so happy with the inclusion of Log, Powdered Toast Man and the happy happy joy joy song. That nerve ending scene will always be seared into my brain.
+Kalliste +1 for the nerve ending scene.
I did NOT see this analysis coming, but it's great!
Ren and Stimpy stands out as such a bizarre anomalous blip upon my childhood. It is etched deeper into my psyche not just because it got to me in my formative years, but because it was so aggressive in its mission. While other shows try to negotiate and entreat a place in my memory through subtlety and clever characterization, Ren and Stimpy hacked down the door to my brain with a conspicuously bloody fire axe, cackling, shrill and oozing various fluids rendered in loving detail.
+Pol Subanajouy If you don't write, you need to start.
+Ronark Heh, well I don't write, so I apparently I now must. Haha.
Pol Subanajouy couldn't have said it better pal!
Your comment reads like Ginsberg's Howl LOL
LMAO I remember that walrus whispering "call the poliiiiice" and I kept rewinding the VHS I recorded it on over and over again. so funny. That and the Log song
+NemRaps ever see the ultra-disturbing film 'Tusk'? That guy was definitley a Kricfalusi fan.
+Brian Hensley, it's a crime that the network forced them to add "rubber".
NemRaps That scene almost has to be one of the most disturbing scenes for a children's cartoon in the history of all network television. When Ren is recoiling in terror, chattering, "PLEASE, I THINK ONE MISTAKE IS ENOUGH!!!" , I was saucer-eyed and didn't sleep right ever since. That was 30 years ago too.
I've literally just sang the log song to the guy I sit next to at work. It's what brought me here.
hell yeah, the log song was awesome, like the muddy mud-skipper too. It's the randomness, the sobering, stark randomness, that just kills me every time. I am just on the floor with it.
It really was a gem that gave kids a glimpse into a world that wasn't covered in family-friendly jokes and lighthearted fun. It treated kids like adults in a sense; it didn't pull punches for showing graphic and disturbing content, because in real life, right next to that sunny day and picnic in the park, there were the dark nights and the scary people. There was violence in the real world, and by trying to shield kids from it as much as possible, people were ultimately hurting them when those kids grew up and didn't know how to cope. It's like an immune system; you need to introduce the bad stuff to build up a reaction. Ren and Stimpy gave us a hint at that bad stuff, next to gross humor that made us laugh.
I guess if more kids watched Ren and Stimpy then we wouldn't have to suffer from safe spaces, trigger warnings, and Twitter warriors cracking down on every kind of offensive speech
are you a writer or something? Not to over-react or anything but that paragraph was incredibly well-put
i use to sneak outve bed at 2am to get up in watch this as a kid when my parents went to bed, thats what time it aired in new zealand, i remember being so mesmerised by it, never saw anything like it
Ryan Cowan that’s fucking dumb. some kids go through trauma you know and need trigger warnings... a fucking cartoon won’t change that. sorry that you can’t seem to understand that
E. L. no it's sad that yall have no fucking empathy. the real world doesn't have trigger warnings yes and??? does it really bother you weirdos that much to warn someone?? kids get fucking raped and abused and you people think a cartoon is gonna make them tougher youre all sick.
I am so glad someone fibally made something enlighting the genius of John K. His talent is so highly forgotten and underestimated. This cartoon revolutionized animation by working with storyboard based cartoons instead of scenario based ones that were real pain in the asses in the production. He pushed the boundaries of what could be acceptable beyond the erotic and swearings by tackling with pure, raw insanity (not some stereotypical pre made goo, but rather the unfiltered pulsions and pain of his troubled creator. (yes, John K did Ren voice.) and very few artist actual decide to show it directly through the speech and action of a character, and not through abstract forms like a cubist per example. )Every second of his show is a piece of art hidden with the most outrageous and violent topics. Thank you guys so much for sharing this with the world.
The reason why his talent was forgotten and dismissed is because his style was not original. Bob camp literally did exactly the same, to the point that he actually replaced John K when Nickelodeon fired him.
My little sister's first words were "Happy Happy Joy Joy".
joy (stimpy voice)
Ola Olu Oh Joy!
I think that beats mine, which was apparently 'Persil'
Oh fu-
I remember watching Ren & Stimpy on occasion, I can't remember any episodes or plots but a lot of imagery is burned into my brain.
Man, I remember happy happy joy joy like it was yesterday after hearing it
Same
I always loved the 50's flavor of the show and how oddly that mirrored my childhood. This show hit the mark with me at a time when I entered my teen years and gave me satire of my own youth to laugh at. And strangely gave me a connection to my father who also loved the show.
I will never forget the first time I saw the episode "Stimpy's Invention" something tells me that Ren & Stimpy was moved to S.N.I.C.K on Saturday nights for some reason and my parents were out and my little brother and I had a baby sitter, so we were able to sneak and watch the show because they were gone... that's all, just was something I'll never forget for many reasons.
This was a great video. My sister and I grew up with Ren and Stimpy's insanity. We love it to this day. We question it now...but we still love it. This was also good insight into the TV series. I also heard one of the show's problems was the delayed and missed deadlines, like with what you mentioned with Stimpy's Invention.
I never realized how dark this show was during the 1990s.
lol it is dark comedy 👿👽😤but cool
It was interesting in its insanity
The only kids show ive seen since that has reached the same level of disgusting was "The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack"
Or "Mr. Meaty" but for all the wrong reasons
+Mason Brown *"Invader Zim"
Flapjack was fucked up as hell but Ren and Stimpy is... something else.
Rin Lockhart The lepers episode is unforgettable
Mason Brown it was scary and gross, but ren and stimpy was worse.
“Don’t forget to wash in places where the sun don’t shine!!”
This was one of my favorite shows in the early 90s and I was in my '30s at the time. I never knew it was made for kids! It was just such a subversively wicked romp! Thank you for breaking it down for us and making me appreciate it all over again.
My Favorite show to trip too. From the colors to animation style to straight grotesque scenes. It makes my skin crawl and i love it.
Ren & Stimpy is as much a children's show as South Park is a children's show.
+Kevin Liang Not sure I can agree there. Ren and Stimpy is a children's show, it's just a wonderfully animated, incredibly gross one. Adult Party Cartoon is what happens when you try to make it a show for adults. To be fair, the intended audience for Ren and Stimpy does skew a bit older, and it does have more disturbing content in it than most people would consider a children's cartoon to have. That's part of why it left such a mark.
South Park, on the other hand, is absolutely loaded with gratuitous, detailed violence, profanity, sexual references and imagery, as well as cultural references which most children wouldn't understand or find funny. None of that is meant in a negative way; the show just has a different target audience.
There's nothing wrong with enjoying a children's show, or animation in general. A children's show doesn't necessarily have to be brainless or lower quality. It doesn't lessen the product that it is aimed toward children in the same way that it doesn't lessen South Park or Rick and Morty that they're aimed for adults.
But those are just my thoughts, so whatever.
Bombshell Courtney I'm fairly certain that what you're talking about is what happened to Ren and Stimpy after it left Nickelodeon and lost a good deal of its charm (to me, anyway)-- Adult Party Cartoon. Adult Party Cartoon was an attempt to make an 'adult cartoon' based off of Ren and Stimpy and often went for extreme gross-out and sexual humour, as well as straying into some very dark and disturbed territory.
The original version of the show never went as far as Adult Party Cartoon, but it definitely toed a line in animation that we still stay safely behind in cartoons aimed at kids.
Kevin Liang but South Park wasn't a children's show though.
I'm aware. I was using it as a contrasting example of what a more adult animated show looks like in comparison with Ren and Stimpy.
Kevin Liang ikr xD
I swear, the people who made this show were on some shit.
Or just....Creative....
Imagine how boring you have to be to associate all creativity with mind-altering substances....
+Alumirust but LE WEED XDDD
Nah, animators are pretty square for the most part. A lot Ren and Stimpy was made in Ottawa, which is BORING SQUARED.
Close, but not quite:
"Otto: Whoa! A talking dog! What were you guys smoking when you came up with that one?Itchy and Scratchy writer (in reality, the Simpsons universe version of episode writer David S. Cohen): We were eating rotisserie chicken."
Quay Tgang and now they use this... It's like a pun
"it rolls down stairs,
alone or in pairs,
over your neighbors dog, "
"It's great for a snack!"
"It fits on your back!"
"It's log! log! log!"
"It's log, logggggg!"
"It's big, it's heavy it's wood."
"It's log, looogggg!"
"it's better than bad, it's good!"
"come on and get your log"
"your going to need a log!"
"everyone loves a log!"
"Log" from "BLAMmO!"
I absolutely LOVED Ren & Stimpy as a kid! Every episode brought on waves of hallucinogenic laughter, I was a really happy kid cause of it.
Anyone remember "Old Man Hunger" ? 😂😭😂😂
mutalix yes
Loved it as a kid, but appreciated it even more as an adult.
When I found my six year old child watching something called "Ren & Stimpy" in 1991, I was immediately enthralled. Even though I was 36 years old at that time, I was hooked. It was an unbelievably great, twisted, warped, and entertaining show (at least for the first two years, after which the great creator was fired/left, and things got grosser and far less amusing).
cottersay I thought the later episodes were tolerable and had their own charm too. But personally I found the first two seasons much more entertaining.
he was occasionally involved later on. 'Ren's Brain' I think was one of his and is up there with the classic early episodes, of you ask me. One of the most demented of the whole series.
@@BrianBlessedsBumhole The episode was written by him, but that's all the involvement he had.
Ren and Stimpy are way existential.
Clueless
I just realized why I love the Filthy Frank Show. It has that same quality Ren & Stimpy have where it's terrifying, hilarious, disturbing, clever, disgusting, and memorable in equal parts. I'm forcing myself not to look away while laughing my ass off.
Yeah, same. Insanity is an art form in of itself.
Ren & Stimpy certainly stayed in my memory. Also explains my slight obsession with such vulgar intense imagery. I love it.
Ren & Stimpy is a masterpiece. Let me be very clear about this. This era for hand to canvas drawings is long past. Nothing shall ever top it.
It always feels like a great injustice when a show's creator is fired by the new, clueless owners.
+hawaiidispenser I hear ya'. Anyone remember Invader Zim?
+Bryan McCormick Well, for one, I don't entirely understand what you're talking about. But, I feel that, somewhere, a cartoon has the aesthetics of Ren and Stimpy, and it carries on the legacy of the cartoon. It may not air on Cartoon Network, but it's out there.
Ertain1 well... i mean all cartoons (unless they're entirely commercial and devoid) should have some attachment to the principle of form if not vulgarity and R&S just extended that form to permeate each frame
invader zim was a long time ago, and i feel like it and ahh real monsters did things to pander to vulgarity that R&S was afraid would become the third rail
and thats fine... um, Kids Next Door was a cartoon i thought was more inventive less "Spongebob" but that might even be how i'd depict the venn diagram would be Kids Next Door on the Left, Spongbob on the right and ren and stimpy as the middle
genndy tartakovksy is pretty amazing too #thecritic
[()]
[ spongebob ( Billy/Mandy < R&S > Powerpuff Girls ) Codename:KND ]
ultimately... i was only the audience for these shows during R&S, but i'd still (to an extent) admired the others
Yes, agreed, you're right. It just feels morally wrong that a story can continue without the creator's control.
Actually the Invader Zim thing had more to do with the studio finding out that Jhonen Vasquez did Johnny the Homicidal Maniac.
Happy, happy, joy, joy!
I like your postmodernist outlook on culture. You go from analysing experimental poems to 90's kids cartoons in the space of a week.
+asderc1 Ha! I try to keep a wide scope.
I adore every aspect of this channel. I love you. No hetero.
I’d be more inclined to label it as meta-modernist, if anything
I remember me singing this happy happy joy joy song when I was a kid 24/7... Ren and Stimpy its incredible. Great video!
Man, I'm so glad you made a video on this cartoon. One my favorite parts of childhood was watching VHS tapes of random Ren & Stimpy episodes my parents taped for my sister and I to watch when we were growing up. I think you did it justice with your review, and I'm glad you cared enough to put this much thought in. You gained a subscriber in me.
Hmm.. now I'm really wondering if watching Ren & Stimpy as kid is why I am a crazy person today, lol.
I love home movies
+joey4track ... YES... more that likely...... thats my story... and I am sticking to it...
joey4track home movies, hell yeah buddy
Yea, I gotta say that while I never really enjoyed Ren and Stimpy, I do highly respect the series for the depth of creativity and ingenuity that was put into it.
congratulations, you've dug up my repressed terrified childhood memories of this show
I used to watch it with my mom when I was a teen. Good times.
Very nice video. As an animator working in television, I've come to understand why that level of perfectionism shouldn't interfere with getting a show done on time, or how to build relationships with other creators and directors. Ren and Stimpy will always hold a special place in my heart (1991-1995 only), especially in the facial expressions, but John K was a bad influence to the animation community with his toxic views of modern cartoons and his 1 dimensional stance on how cartoons should be made. Don't ever loose your voice as a creator, but learn to roll with the punches with higher ups. It's worth it in the end.
hack
I agree with you ☺☺☺🙂🙂🙂☺☺☺☺😄😄😄
Yup. Abandon your artistic integrity and freedom for the money!
God I miss ren and stimpy. Totally raising my future kids on it someday.
When you share a name with a cartoon cat.....
Ha😊😂
The guy who made the famous anime movie 'Howl's moving castle' also said that they should never make the same expression twice,
+Jason Schneijder mister Hayao Miyazaki
Thats funny because Miyazaki has been rehashing the same plot in every movie for his entire career.
nathan papp the plot he's been rehashing is literally the human experience... Hard to fault a subject so all encompassing as a "rehash" without being willfully reductive and obtuse.
+nathan papp
Miyazaki is a genius
see this is the first time where i've seen someone compare ren and stimpy to spongebob. i've been trying to tell people that for years. spongebob really is very similar to ren and stimpy in a lot of ways which is probalby why i love it since ren & stimpy was one of my favorite cartoons ever.
I’m so glad my young mind watched this masterpiece of a show
Very cool. Yet again, you hit another important topic responsible for what I have become (for better or worse). As disturbing as R&S is, it is undeniably fascinating. The only element I felt you kind of missed out on, was the whole soundtrack aspect, which I think is very important to set the mood. Some of Ren's best rampages are underlined by Mussorgski's "Night on Bald Mountain" to name just one of many examples.
I also think Ren and Stimpy was one of the few Nicktoons that kinda gave Nickelodeon their rep for having dark or gross out humor, well, at the time.
Yeah, besides Korra I can't think of any show they've made in the past 5 years that's worth watching
CrimsonNineTail Nick owes a lot to this show and they'll never admit it.
It's not the kids that are soft - it's the parents. Curiously, they are part of the original Nickelodeon generation
Yes and then came rockos modern life
"Don't pee on the Electric Fence"🎤
Im 72 and I recognised Peter Lorres voice in Ren.
Ren & Stimpy. . . Forever my favorite childhood cartoon
Im from Argentina and here was broadcasted with the latin dub made in México, and it was excelent. Really great. Look it up
"Don't whiz on the electric fence"
This is one of John K's philosophies I understand the principles of, but never agreed with as an animator. I understand the need for varied expressions, and agree with that sentiment, but rather than removing an arbitrary limitation it creates a new limitation and stifles creativity in the name of being more creative.
Some characters naturally have expressions they gravitate towards, it's part of what creates a visually cohesive character. Due to this restriction, John K's characters are emotive and distinctive, but are only ever recognizable because of their overall design. The only cohesiveness his characters have is through the efforts of the voice actors. which may be his personal style, but ended up being a headache for the artists who worked under him, who he notoriously mistreated.
Except his work is famous and important and yours is worthless pretentious trash!
At 6:33, it's a historical moment. Why? We now know who, when, and where twerking was created. It wasn't brought to the masses by Miley Cyrus. It was Stimpy that 1st showed the world twerking.
Overall, I knew I was going to love this show when I 1st saw it. Stimpy married the fish corpse (that was really and simply just a dead fish). What about when Stimpy's fart ran away. Such drama and beauty, all wrapped in one delicious show.
#1 Favourite TH-cam channel. You're doing great work, Evan.
One of the greatest animated series, ever! I was a young mother when this first showed, and my son watched it.
Shit no wonder that episode was so damn good, spent a whole year making it!
Do a Hey Arnold! one someday
+Lucas Garibaldi Ok.
Nerdwriter1
yay
+Nerdwriter1 YAY for Hey Arnold! :D
football head! YES!! touchdown! :D
+Lucas Garibaldi I always preferred Doug
You gotta do an analysis on Watership down man!
Thank you for this Mr. Nerdwriter sir. Delirious and mind altering a show as Ren & Stimpy was it has always held a dark, deviant and booger filled space in my heart. Love your productions.
Very nice essay. Ren and Stimpy was such an avante garde show that influenced many of that generation. My friends and I were in middle school at the time and had to sneak behind our parents' backs to watch it. We'd meet at school the next day and regale our peers with the best moments from each episode. I'd also like to add that I think a lot of the facial expressions used in the show came from the books by Jack Hamm, such as "Cartooning the Head and Figure." Many artist and animators have this classic in their library. The minute you flip through it, especially the spread of expressions toward the middle, you think, "wow here are all the faces used in Ren and Stimpy!" I don't know if others have made that connection, but because I never hear people give him credit I wanted to now. :D
i loved ren & stumpy so much.
dont wiz on the electric fence!
+Corey Corey Best episode in the series tbh
You wizzed on the electric fence, didn't you?
I'm not a kid and I AM terrified
+Yelena Antipova Hahah I am way more scared now than I was then.
I like it more now. I liked it as a kid too
You wouldn't be able to make a show like Ren and Stimpy today, and even if you did, you WOULD NOT get away with it. It has nothing to do with morality or censorship, but with the cultural shift that shows like Adventure Time, Regular Show, Steven Universe and Gravity Falls have established in the animation world. Every popular cartoon (John K. probably wouldn't call them 'cartoons', more like 'animated sitcoms' or 'animated action adventures') these days has seemingly fallen into a 'twee-hole': very 80s/90s culture-informed, very Anime-informed, shipping a-plenty, and highly layered to appeal to kids and adults on a slightly more weighty level than just humor (incorporating a fair amount of socio-political commentary in places).
If something like this arrived on today's CN (and, to a smaller extent, present-day Nickelodeon), parents AND kids would drag it across the floor for being too 'stupid', 'immature' and 'gross' in comparison to the polish of AT, SU, et. al. as if the current state of TV animation as described above is the only one of worth. We've seen creator-driven shows like 'Uncle Grandpa' and 'Pig Goat Banana Cricket' be treated like the brain-dead cashgrabs that they most likely aren't mainly because they don't fit the mold of what's celebrated, despite the endless outward cries of 'it's immature' and 'it's stupid'. For the level of growth and positive evolution TV animation has gone through, the public's insistence of the popular clique has outright shafted other voices.
could possibly get away with it as a show for adults
adult animation is actually making a pretty good comeback. I mean, now we get animated shows were a talking horse deals with serious depression
randomguy6679 Archer.
randomguy6679 all well and good but I was talking about cartoons that are directly aimed at kids when I meant a show like R+S wouldn't fly today.
Some of GF's best visual ideas were horrifying and funny at the same time in a way that echoed R&S. And built upon it.
My dad got us Log for Christmas 1992! It was hilarious. A real log lol we were a big ren and stimpy house
I was in my late 20's when it came out and I never missed an episode. All my twisted humor buddies at work would discuss the show too...
I absolutely loved Ren And Stimpy, that song "varicose veins" is a favorite.
John K. was the Mozart of animation; he got a raw deal. I still watch Ren & Stimpy and I'm 57.
I’m genuinely interested to know what a 57 year old likes about ren and stimpy. I felt it didn’t really aim for that demographic
@@locha2581 It's a profound animation. I'm 57 now, but I saw it when it was new. In any case, popular culture is worth keeping an eye on so there is an understanding of what makes contemporary issues and people tick. The more eclectic one's interests, the greater the volume of life experience. Yes, even in a brilliantly crafted cartoon.
@@locha2581 The shows humor is timeless, and it was way ahead of it's time. When people look at Ren and Stimpy, they only look at the surface stuff, such as the grossout segments, and the disgusting closeups. This show was a carefully crafted masterpiece.
John K doesn't get all the praise he deserves. Besides being one of the most creative American animators since Chuck Jones, he was the first to make a cartoon using Flash. And now virtually every show on TV is made with that software.
I'm making a show in Flash right now.....it's like animating while wearing oven mits. Pretty hard to do Ren and Stimpy sorts of drawings i tell you.
Erratum,huge erratum: John is Canadian.
There's an excellent article about that topic on John's blog.
First of all, he certainly does get the praise, at least within the animation community, of being one of the most talented and creative TV animators in our modern era. Like, certainly he himself tended to work in a way that openly defied the usual expectations of networks from cartoons back then, and for that there are a lot of people in the industry who are thankful. For a lot of people he really is a hero, or at least an idol.
Unfortunately, his is the kind of creative genius that burns bridges, and became unpalatable once his work became less relevant. He's a good example of what happens to talent in the animation industry without professionalism. (of which his sins are many.) I mean, you can't really be the kind of guy who had as extreme opinions as he did and end up 'beloved' in the traditional sense like Glen Keene or Richard Williams.
However, he has definitely carved out his place in the Hall of Big Animator Names, though perhaps as more of an inspiration to people determined to stay off the beaten path.
He's great animator but he was never great as story-teller.
Ren & Stimpy + Rocco's Modern Life are lost masterpieces, i'm so glad I was a child in that era.
I watched it as a 10-12 year old in 90-92...I watched it all.
Best cartoon ever.
I guess you could say he really liked kids
jalilkochai23 fuck
He respected kids as something worth putting effort into.
@@Krystalmyth www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/03/ren-and-stimpy-john-kricfalusi-allegations
Krystal Myth r/whoosh
Jalil Kochai especially litte girls. -_-
Best R & S episodes:
- Space Madness
- In the Army
- The cat that Laid the Golden hairball
- Sven Hoek
- The Great Outdoors
JW3HH
res and stumpy is timeless. another cartoon from the 90s that i wish would get more love nowadays was 2 stupid dogs on cartoon network.
Lars Amble Well ain't that cute....BUT IT'S WRONGGGGG!!!
haha... hollywood is possibly the best side character in any cartoon ever.
Lars Amble great show. Definitely underrated.
Lars Amble two stupid dogs is caetoon networks ren
I was 13 when Ren & Stimpy first aired on Nickelodeon. I'm pretty sure kids my age at the time were the ideal demographic for the show.
The classic Ren and Stimpy series would always be a humorously amazing masterpiece.
My mom's favorite episode was always the one when Stimpy marries chicken, and then Ren eats the chicken.
+Shari Christine King Love it.
Shari Christine You Mean The Episode "I Love Chicken"
God the nerve endings. Never will I forget that.
+Thabiso Mhlaba me either, it's one of the first things I think of when remembering ren and stimpy, that and the Log song.
oh my god that one too. That nerdwriter is correct when talking about how long those images stick in our minds.
I miss this cartoon. The good ol days.
ren and stimpy was so innovative, this video captures all the beautiful eccentricities that the creators painstakingly captured and reminds us that this is a show that will never die because they took the time to make it great!
Born in 84. Was there for the first airing of Ren and Stimpy as a kid. Can't tell you all enough how awesome the show was as a kid. The intro music alone!! Blew everything out of the water. Even when "Stimpy's Invention" aired for the first time I knew as a kid I was witnessing some kind of history in animation. It's amazing to see the enormous impact John K. has on the entire animation industry to this day.
John K. for life! :) Ren and Stimpy made me the person I am today :)
I stand by it.
Ren and Stimpy is the best satirical animated series to ever be conceived.
And I think John K. knows how to animate in an interesting fashion. Each frame is not the same as the last in every way, but it works, it flows nicely, quickly, and aggressively at times, which does add a bit of . . . emotion to every movement a character makes. And most importantly the characters are on scale with such an obscure animating style.
Seriously, Rebecca Sugar should take some hints from the best because she sucks at all of this, and a week's worth of lessons from John would probably set her show on the right track, and make it more enjoyable for adults and children alike.
The parents I know hate Steven Universe for lacking any values an animated series had in their time, in fact, some of them just prefer cartoons like . . . Ren and Stimpy. And their children don't often understand most of the implications of Steven Universe, at least the eight year old audience, whom at this point aren't looking for morals to be strictly driven into their heads, even though Steven Universe fails to do so . . . which is one of the purposes it is supposed to serve . . . Okay . . . It also has adult themes it is inconsistent with, and are there just so they can say it has adult themes but they're pointless innuendos that don't even leave you laughing like Ren and Stimpy, it makes you want Rebecca Sugar in a padded cell . . . because the show is targeted towards 8-12 year-old children and the head of it seems to not understand what "child" means, or the mere implication of an innuendo and how it's done so no one wants to completely black list you for being weird. John K. had these problems with Ren and Stimpy, but let's face it, more thought and care was put into it and when I watch it I feel like I'm watching the tormenting thoughts of a schizophrenic man, which I like. And the jokes just made it all the more enjoyable, and a bit relatable for beginning artists who wish to push the envelope with animation and writing. Steven Universe however . . . feels like serious indoctrination, and in the process the writers had to become indoctrinated themselves just so they could make the show. Indoctrinated into what ideals? No clue! Which might be Steven Universe's problem . . . The director had no idea what the show's purpose would be. John K. might not have had a full idea for Ren and Stimpy, but he wasn't a preachy guy with absolutely nothing to say, and something tells me that him and his cast at the time had more fun doing the show, and were nearly not as toxic as the staffs working behind these mediocre modern day shows that end up with odd air times and are just in general . . . uninspiring . . . I watched Ren and Stimpy and the whole time I thought "I would like to do something like this, but my own way". Steven Universe made me think "Who the fuck wasted time and money producing this boring pile of trash? Like, halfway into it even they realized it was bad and just went with it"!
I would rather be remembered for making Ren and Stimpy. Not friggin Steven Universe, Teen Titans Go!, or fucking Clarence. Ren and Stimpy doesn't use the same face twice. Everyone on Cartoon Network has to have at least one Peter Griffin looking motherfucker now. Steven is one of them.
Yeah . . . John K. was hard to work with . . . but seriously . . . after Rebecca Sugar and her team of acid spraying scorpions how bad could he really be at this point? I think after we ran out of brilliant animators the standard was "look for weird people, we might get another John K.". That didn't go too well of course.
I know John K. wasn't the only animator at the time . . . but damn did he do what others wouldn't. He was the true edgy guy who did what others wouldn't in a kid's cartoon.
Which is another reason why I dislike Rebecca Sugar. She acts like she's the first to push the bounds of kid's cartoons when she barely even gets close to pushing anything but a crappy agenda and she's on Cartoon fucking Network . . . John K. was on Nickelodean. Jeez, talk about wasted potential, she had all kinds of freedom and fucked it up with a lot of still scenes and boring nothing.
I know she participated in Adventure Time, but to be honest the show did have a nice goofiness to it. That's it. In my opinion I found it odd the show went on as long as it did because it was pretty much Spongebob. It was good at first, then it out visited its welcome, much like Spongebob. But something tells me her place on Adventure Time made her feel overconfident in herself and decided to make Steven Universe, which ended up being Adventure Time, but worse. Mostly because Steven Universe was centered around a story that was ultimately pointless. Adventure Time was simply adventure time, it was a show for simply wondering at the aesthetic sights and action, like an adventure, with an occasional mention of a backstory . . . which didn't progress enough for me to get interested or for it to have an affect on the show or its audience (Hm, wonder who wrote up the backstory).
My point is don't act like the show is *revolutionary* when really creative people came before it. Not saying John K. could write a deeply ingrained story, but his animating style and jokes were just the staple he needed.
That is what I'm getting at. You need something to be actually unique to make it your staple, your image, your . . . creation. And John K. did just that. People will remember him for his oddities, either because they liked him or not. Whereas with people like Rebecca Sugar at some point everyone would wish they could forget her (mostly fans who got attacked for *"fat shaming"* an SU character).
Social media has really ruined people for little reason . . .
Just . . . *"ugh"* to all of it.
Ugh . . .
Ugghhh . . . .
UGGGHHHHAAAUUHHHH . . . .
Ren & Stimpy still hands down the best cartoon of its time... PERIOD
- of ALL time. Still holds up well today.
Excellent video retrospective! Mom had no idea how warped it was! My favorite moments:
1. Mr. Horse- bottom to top panning shot in “Rubber Nipple Salesmen” , “Who sent you? Did my wife send you??? How do I know you’re not with the FBI?”, “Don’t shoot! I’m unarmed! Oh, it IS a nipple!”, “what you must think of me...”
2. (Happy Happy Joy Joy) “I TOLD YOU I’D SHOOT! But you didn’t believe me! WHY DIDN’T YOU BELIEVE ME?!?!” Can you imagine anyone attempting that these days?
3. Firedogs! Mr. Horse’s fall w/excruciating sounds of his legs being crushed after falling several stories- then to “When Johnny Comes Marching Home”, he drags his shattered legs behind him with his front hooves, moaning “It hurts! It hursts! Oh God!” Then asked by a reporter “How do you feel about that fall?”, Mr. Horse, suddenly calm, a contemplative look in his eyes, and the EPIC, casual twitching of his tail, “Hmmm... No, Sir, I didn’t like it.” Then continues to the song dragging his legs behind, moanin “It hurts! Oh God! it hurts!!!”.
There weren't a lot of kid's shows back in the 90s that I could sit and watch with my daughters and enjoy as much as they did.
And seldom did I ever feel such joy as the time when my 8 year old called me a "Fat bloated eeediot!". I was so proud.
I remembered the log as soon as you mentioned it, like war flashbacks
Yes, log!
It's Log, from Blamo!!
+nemesis962074 YESSS - that's the perfect way to put it.
+Nerdwriter1 Btw was the background music choice starting at 2:39 an intentional parallel to Kubrick's Clockwork Orange by any chance?
Ren and Stimpy is one of my all time favorite cartoons! I grew up in the 2000's, but I'm glad I was exposed to it through reruns on Nicktoons Network. I remember staying up late at night just to catch 1 episode of this Beautiful demented show.
The Green Hill Zone Same! I was lucky enough to meet Billy West!
best cartoon.
great video. there is so much that John K. did that has never been done before or since. There's definitely a relationship between his humor and the adult swim sensibility that followed. I think one of the main differences is that John K. was and is a serious student of animation, actually in his own right probably a world expert. He was fascinated with cartoons of the 1940s, claiming that they were superior in art, storytelling and execution. You can see that Ren and Stimpy themselves inhabit a sort of bizarro world of the 40's, 50's. All the music is big band/Sinatra style stuff. John K had a hilarious way of bringing all that stuff from the past into the future. Personally I think the other groundbreaking cartoon of the 90's was Space Ghost, but it was the complete opposite, made with like a combined 5 minutes of animation that they just re-used over and over and over. Being a true visual artist, John K gave Ren and Stimpy's characters such a greater range of emotion, and so it really hits you a lot harder when you see Ren writing on the floor in agony or stimpy picking his nose, etc.
Born in ‘85 and “ren & stimpy” is my fav cartoon of all time...next to Saturday morning X-men 😂