Memories

"Ren and Stimpy" broke new ground in the concept of a creator driven animated show during the emerging Animation Renaissance. When the show first premiered back in 1991 on the then fledgling Nickelodeon network it was like nothing that had been seen on television before. Its use of surrealism, distinctive animation style, and adult humor set it apart from other children's animated shows of the day. It broke the perception that an animated TV cartoon geared towards younger demographics would only appeal to children as the show in its peak years had crossover appeal from college students to young adults.

While on the surface the cartoon may have appeared to be a harmless animated show about cute animals it was far from that imagery as it quickly established itself as a purely outrageous cartoon in the spirit of the old cartoons from "The Golden Age of Animation”. If the main objective for the series in its first two seasons was to show what would happen if Tex Avery on Acid making their cartoons then he truly succeeded. It was because of this emphasis that the cartoon became a break out hit that propelled Nickelodeon not only to the spotlight but also in the hot seat as well.

John K., a protege of his mentor Ralph Bakshi, advocated through his studio Spumco a very progressive style of animation that rejected what was commonly being applied to television cartoons of the day. As an animator who cut his teeth in the industry, he strongly felt that the current crop of cartoons relied too heavily on fixed poses and generic expressions to keep the assembly line going. So the animators put an emphasis on extreme poses and facials for the characters to fully exaggerate their emotions. Take for instance the scene in which Ren is confronting his cousin Sven and Stimpy. Notice in the animation how expressive Ren’s movements are. His grotesque facials are not on model as we would know it, yet we are still drawn to the visuals as they move from one extreme to the next. You can see the influence of Milt Kahl in that respect with the graphic appeal of the design and the expressive movement of his hands. The animation was also significantly better as the show experimented in digital ink and paint, a relatively new process at the time where the drawings and the layouts are all done by the hand but the ink and paint are done on the computer. Studios like Hanna Barbera had done this before in the 80’s on their shows but only for the sake of austerity which is why those products looked very cheap and washed out. This was not the case however with this series as John K. and Carbunkle Cartoons worked very hard to make show that the time and money was spent on the technology. The final result gave the show a more vibrant, polished, and bold look to it that easily placed it above its competitors. If you look at the art direction you will find touches of Mary Blair and Hanna-Barbera from the 1950’s. This romanticized look was established by the beautifully painted backgrounds of Bill Wray and Scott Wills. You can’t help but fall in love with their paintings. They vary from suburban Middle America to flashes of Jackson Pollack, taking their cue from the great Bob Clampett cartoon, “The Great Piggy Bank Robbery” (1946). Some shows look dated with the passage of time, but the look of this series remains timeless after all these years.

The music is probably one of the things that will be most remembered about the show. The series, much to my surprise in later years, actually did not use original music at all. Instead the crew relied on production music from various composers of different genres to give the cartoon its very unique musical score. Included in the catalogue were well known composers like Raymond Scott, whose music was used for some of the classic Looney Tunes shorts, and Claude Debussy of the famed “Clair De Lune”. The animators were able to take advantage what was essentially a treasure chest that would provide them with any moment that needed drama, romance or comedy. As a result the cartoon became a melting pot of music for its viewers. Even contemporary cartoons use some of the same production music because of the powerful effect the music had on the action or emotion over the scene.

The stories and bits of the show often parodied or paid homage to the rules of the genres Ren and Stimpy found themselves in. The Space Cadet episodes were clearly inspired by Chuck Jones "Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2th Century" (1953). Walt Disney's "The True Life Adventure Films" were a source of parody for the Untamed World Sequences. The crew even made loving tributes to the animated commercials of the 1950’s and 60’s with faux ads like “Log”, “Sugar Frosted”, and “Dog Water”. The “Log” ad is especially memorable because of its simplistic designs and wonderful jingle which perfectly evoke the bygone era of American suburbia.

The show was at its best when it explored Ren and Stimpy's relationship. Several of the series best episodes dealt with that subject, but it was always done in a twisted yet personal level. Stories like “Stimpy’s Big Day”, “Stimpy’s Invention”, and "Stimpy's Fan Club" are perfect examples of this. The best episode of the series for me was "Son of Stimpy", which deals with Stimpy's search for his lost son (which happened to be his first fart) as Ren ignores his plights to help find him. Ren and Stimpy were not just one dimensional, but fully three dimensional beings as one depended on the other for survival in a society that always rejected them at every corner. They live off each other and support one another despite their polarizing attitudes and outlooks on life. This psychological and fascinating exploration was the hallmark of the show during its first two seasons.

The conceit of “Ren & Stimpy” was that it was an adult show in the guise of a children's cartoon. It’s for that reason why the show’s content is honestly shocking and grotesque. How the animators got away with their antics is still astounding even with today’s standards. There are so many instances where we have to scratch our heads and wonder what transpired in John K’s demented imagination. Remember the perverted ranger who chased the duo down in the forest…in the nude? Or how about the jokes the animators would playfully throw around with the ambiguous relationship between Ren and Stimpy? What about the hilarious moment when the duo sing the Royal Canadian Yachtsmen anthem with the word "hell" bleeped off, yet you know what they are saying because the word is clearly seen when it is crossed out in red.

Imitation they say is the best form of flattery, and none was more the case than with “Ren & Stimpy”. As soon as the show broke out of the gate competitors took notice and joined the bandwagon. Hanna Barbera tried it with “2 Stupid Dogs” and even Disney shocking got in the game with “The Shnookums and Meat Funny Cartoon Show”. Yet the shows failed because they fundamentally misunderstood what made “Ren & Stimpy” work. The Spumco crew wanted to create a series that was innocent in appearance but deep rooted in its twisted nature. If you take away that ingenious concept or the strong accompanying visuals and leave behind just the shock humor, then the series would have nothing to stand on. These cartoons appeared to only focus on copying the “Ren & Stimpy” technique under a corporate mandate at the expense of creating a unique vision that would have elevated those works to a whole new level.

That realm belongs to the shows that were truly influenced by “Ren & Stimpy” and sought to carry out some of the show’s techniques within their own unique artistic perspective. “SpongeBob SquarePants” is a perfect example of this sincerity as Steven Hillenberg’s nuanced and hilarious observation of marine biology made great use of detailed backgrounds, extreme character expressions, adult humor, and production music for their stories. That’s no surprise given that some people on the show once worked on “Ren & Stimpy” and did not wish to see the series’ artistic innovations be forgotten over time. Even today we continue to see the legacy of the show live on. Pendleton Ward’s “Adventure Time” contains mature and often psychological content that is similar to the kind “Ren & Stimpy” would often deploy during its early years. It all goes to the heart of what a creator driven show truly represents.

What ultimately distinguishes today's shows from its inspiration is how they go about that grey area of knowing when enough is enough. “SpongeBob SquarePants” and “Adventure Time” display a consistent awareness of how far they can go even at its most risqué. By contrast, “Ren and Stimpy” seemed not to be aware of its own limits which added to the fun and insanity of the show. Yet there were a few moments when you wondered to yourself whether the show had actually gone too far in its goals, which is why those scenes will likely never be repeated by today’s programs. The banned Nickelodeon episode “Man’s Best Friend” seemed to crystallize that dilemma as George Liquor, the bastard son of the frightening Clint Clobber from Gene Deith’s awful Tom & Jerry cartoons, abuses our main characters through a series of cruel and unusual practices. It contains some of the best animation in the entire series, yet at times we still wonder. It’s perhaps fitting that the episode was selected to precede the terrible Adult Party Cartoon episodes a decade later. The brief moments of uncertainty foreshadowed the many disturbing encounters that would come about throughout the revival as a consequence of throwing all caution to the wind which John K. himself acknowledged was a mistake. If anything, the revival showed by contrast just how much discipline John K. put into making the subversive aesthetic of the original series work soo well. It’s easy to have a style of your own on paper, but it is another thing entirely to make it work in execution. We tend to take for granted this aspect of production, but the fact we don’t even think about this at first viewing shows how gifted John K. was in making that unique style sell in the original episodes.

John K. and the network bitterly parted ways for three reasons. The first factor was that the channel was freaking out over the show's content and its constant habit of pushing the button. It put the network in the hot seat as a kids’ network showing a program that was not really a children’s show underneath the surface. Secondly, in light of the show’s success John K. had begun to think of himself too highly which put him at odds not only with the channel but also with his own peers in the field. At the time he took cheap shots in the press at fellow Animation Renaissance cartoons like “The Simpsons” and “Tiny Toon Adventures” by not acknowledging the artistic achievements they contributed to the emerging as only he saw fit. In turn, these shows rightly fought back in their own biting wit by highlighting (01:27-02:16) his narrow mindedness which seemed to reflect a growing aloofness the series was showcasing both publicly and privately. The final straw that ultimately broke the camel’s back was that the episodes were simply becoming more expensive to churn out due to the amount of labor and technology used by the crew. The episodes were actually running way behind schedule because as John K. tended to submit them on his own schedule which made his relationship with the network all the more tenuous. As much as the network enjoyed the attention they received from “Ren & Stimpy”, the suits never asked for a ground breaking animated series…all they wanted was a simple inexpensive cartoon. This thinking fatally wounded the series once John K. departed as the show gradually limped towards its end as a shadow of its former shelf. (Which will be covered in two future posts) “Ren & Stimpy” may have had a short lived life, but you can still see to this day its influence through its spiritual successors. They continue to carry out what the show brought to the table, which speaks in itself to its ultimate legacy. Ren and Stimpy will never be forgotten so long as that happens, and I bet you the duo are still kicking it to the tune of “Happy Happy Joy Joy” knowing that as well.

Happy Happy Joy Joy PS: John K. has changed his thoughts on "The Simpsons" over the years as he animated a few couch gags for them in his animation style.