The REN AND STIMPY Show
Presented by Tanner Hendrickson
Origins
-
Creator: John Kricfalusi
- One of the first three Nicktoons, along with Rugrats and Doug
- Ran from August 11, 1991 to November 14, 1996
Ren Höek
Stimpson J. Cat
Format
- Ren and Stimpy find themselves in a variety of surreal situations
- Essentially classic cartoons stretched even farther
- Violence is more extreme, more verbal and visual innuendo
- Sense of humor is bizarre and off-color. Many adult references, gruesome images
- Controversy over content w/ public and execs
Style
- John K. was annoyed by cheap TV animation
- Extreme squash 'n stretch
- Emotive
- Little-to-no "stock poses"
- Grotesque close-ups
- Expensive and time-consuming to produce
Reception
- Was successful in the ratings
- Found a hip older audience
- The extremeness of the show drew criticism
- John K. clashed with Nickelodeon Standards and Practices over content
-
Beyond content, animation quality created delays
- The violent conclusion of "Man's Best Friend" was the tipping point, and John K. was fired from his own show
"Man's Best Friend"
Aftermath
- With John K. gone, Nick could do what they wanted with the show
- The show became tamer, rehashing jokes and easing off the innuendo
- Season 3 onward is pretty bad as a result
- John K. never reaches the same success as those first two seasons, becomes outspoken animation critic
Lessons
- Target audience: own it, don't market it to the wrong one
- The importance of the creator
- There is a place for quality animation on television
Influence
- Grotesque Closeups: Flapjack, Spongebob
- Surreal Plots: Adventure Time, Homestar Runner
- Innuendos: Adventure Time, Spongebob
- Creator-controlled: Adventure Time, Regular Show
The end
Ren and Stimpy
By tannerdactyl