Creator, fans get another take on 'Ren & Stimpy'
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By G. Michael Dobbs
Managing Editor
Talk to people in the animation industry today and ask them about their influences. You'll hear names such as Max and Dave Fleischer, Chuck Jones, Bob Clampett, Tex Avery and among the younger generation, John Kricfalusi.
Kricfalusi is the creator of "Ren & Stimpy," a cartoon that was a phenomenon in the early 1990s. An outspoken advocate of creativity, Kricfalusi rejected the state of animation in the 1980s television programs produced by committees that recycled tired gags and premises and revived the concept of a strong director who worked with a team of artists and writers.
For the first time in many years, Kricfalusi established a style and look that was singular. Like them or not, there was no mistaking a Kricfalusi cartoon.
Conflicts with "Ren & Stimpy's" cable home, Nickelodeon, led to his being removed from his own series. His team of Ren, the psychotic Chihuahua, and his soul mate Stimpy, the affable but idiotic cat, maintained a loyal fan base and influenced a new generation of animation fans and professionals.
In 2003, Kricfalusi was asked by Spike, the cable channel devoted to programming for men, to bring the series back, only this time there would be no restrictions on content. The show would be part of an "adult" animation block that included "Stripperella" and "Gary the Rat."
The network only aired a handful of the new "Ren & Stimpy," shows before cancellation and there were completed shows that never saw broadcast.
Now, however, "Ren & Stimpy" fans will get a chance to see what Spike didn't want them to see. The new two-disc "Ren & Stimpy: The Lost Episodes" has just been released by Paramount Home Video. The collection contains three episodes seen on Spike and three that were not aired. Kricfalusi, as well as some of his animators, introduce each cartoon.
The introductions are funny and pull no punches. Kricfalusi speaks his mind about the shows and about the status of animation today.
There are also some great extras that show Kricfalusi's animation process such as storyboards and pencil animation tests.
The cartoons themselves are a mixed bag. The strengths of the original "Ren & Stimpy" shorts rested in their outrageousness and liberal use of non-sequitor humor. Anything could happen in a "Ren & Stimpy" short.
Kricfalusi loves the Three Stooges and explained in one of the introductions he always liked how the lives and professions of the Stooges could change from short to short something he adopted for his characters.
Kricfalusi didn't shy away from gross-out humor in his original shorts remember the Magic Nose Goblins? and with the network's initial encouragement he pulled out the throttle on these type of gags in the new cartoons. From nudity to body functions, the new shorts have it all.
These Ren & Stimpy shorts were not designed for children, make no mistake.
If that kind of humor puts you off, then this collection is not your cup of tea. There are some great "Ren & Stimpy," moments in the collection, though, and "Firedogs 2" has the distinction of featuring another bad boy of animation, Kricfalusi's mentor Ralph Bakshi, as an animated character.
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In an interview with Reminder Publications, Kricfalusi said that the very thing Spike executives wanted him to do caused the series to be cancelled.
"The executives told me to make them as outrageous as possible," he said.
He said that, unlike other networks with in-house censorship offices, Spike didn't offer him any parameters for content.
Their method of censorship, he added, was to pull the show off the air. That move surprised him as he pitched all of the story ideas to the network execs and "they laughed all through it."
Kricfalusi took many of the new cartoons from story ideas that had been rejected by Nickelodeon and produced them with no-holds-barred.
He's proud of the quality of animation in the series, some of which was done by Carbunkle Productions in Canada. A studio in Korea completed other animation. Kricfalusi said he had to have re-takes done, as the Korean studio animators didn't understand his method of animation.
Kricfalusi based his animation on "poses" key drawings that begin and end an action that carry a lot of dramatic or comic impact. This technique mirrors how animators made cartoons in the 1930s and '40s, the height of theatrical animation.
The popularity of Ren & Stimpy cartoons in the 1990s spurred a revival in creator-driven animation but Kricfalusi sees a big change in the animation scene today.
"It's a lot worse the way I see it," he said.
He noted that "stars" the creative people used to have the power in the entertainment industry. Today, though, "the exectuives are in control."
"I see a lot of sad faces in animation today," he said.
Today he thinks that animated shows are "bland." He added that today the characters can swear, though.
"Bland characters telling immoral stories" is his conclusion.
He admitted with a laugh that probably this is "partly my fault."
While many people working in animation today have embraced trying to be outrageous, they've "left out characterization, good drawing and pleasant music," he said.
Will there be more "Ren & Stimpy?" Kricfalusi said he has at least 100 more story outlines and has done considerable work on a half-hour Ren & Stimpy special titled "Life Sucks." He said that his production staff has told him the new special is the "best 'Ren & Stimpy' ever."
Kricfalusi sees the future of the characters on direct-to-DVD productions. He noted that the previous collections have been "selling lots of DVDs."
"Yes, I'd like to make lots more," he said.
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