02.06
Ren & Stimpy and I have a complicated history. As a kid, I never really liked it. It’s hard to remember why exactly, but back in the day I would much rather watch Nicktoons like Rocko’s Modern Life or Doug than Ren & Stimpy. The show never really got along with my tastes as I much preferred a well timed joke or visual gag over toilet humor, no matter how well done it was. Well, my cohorts over at AR tried to test my patience by forcing me not only to experience this show again, but also to experience every era of it! That’s right, I’m going to be watching the highs and the lows from day one, to day… uh, zero?
Yes, it’s true, I never really had much positive to say about the work of John K. It also doesn’t help that everything he has done since leaving Ren & Stimpy has made me wretch. However, I’ve always been curious to experience what I missed back then, as the show is still talked about today and still fondly remembered (for the most part), and thanks to this feature I am able to go in with a fresh opinion on this show and to watch episodes from every era.
I was given select episodes to watch from the early episodes, the Games’ episodes, and the APC episodes. All episodes are universally considered the best of the series and the worst of the series, in order to give myself a whole experience of what the show had to offer. I will try to explain exactly what I feel does and doesn’t work with this show as I watch them in chronological order.
Now the thing with Ren & Stimpy is that it’s a visual show, which is the way its creator would have it, of course. That being said, it is hard to pinpoint what exactly it is I’m talking about without either going into great detail (and ruining whatever joke there might be) or assuming you know the material. And given the idea of this piece, I’m fairly certain anyone reading this has more experience with the show than I do, so you know what I’m referring to. Remember, this is not a review, so if you want background on this show, there’s always Wikipedia. With that out of the way, let’s move on to the show.
Something tells me I’m going to need one of these.My first impressions after not really knowing much of the show since vague feelings of a kid of not liking it, is really more of the same. The show is not for me, as I’m the type who prefers good writing above all else, however I am able to appreciate what I see. The pilot episode Big House Blues is very unique in its style, and the opening narration that uses the dog catcher as both the storyteller as well as antagonist is a very clever idea. The infamous gross out humor is at a minimum, and relies instead on the wacky happenings of its plot. For a pilot it’s very impressive and it is easy to see why it was made into a series. It’s a damn good cartoon.
But while Big House Blues was a solid introduction, nothing prepared me for the out of this world wackiness that was Space Madness. Space Madness is just a great cartoon, as it starts out rather simply and slowly snowballs the crazy as it goes on culminating in the erasing of the entire universe. It’s very well structured and paced, with some cleverly written gags, and some really great voice performances from John K and Billy West. Moving on from that, it doesn’t get weirder than Powdered Toast Man, I mean just look at him! Not to mention the absolutely odd combination of traditional cartoon humor with 90s sensibilities really help this otherwise cliche cartoon stand out among others. That ending is just… Wow. Stimpy’s Fanclub is also an enjoyable episode, where the gross out is kept to a minimum, the jokes are clever, and the plot is funny in both how it progresses and skews off the beaten path. At it’s best, Ren & Stimpy really is a fun and enjoyable cartoon that deserves the kudos it regularly received back in the day. At it’s worst… well, I’ll get to that later. The point is that early in the show’s run, there was some fun to be had here.
It’s… good?!?However, of all the best moments, the real highlight is Stimpy’s Invention. Well timed jokes, hilarious gags that the animation really sells, and easily the best voice work I’ve heard so far in the show. Watching Ren try out Stimpy’s weird inventions is both hysterical and intriguing in how they will fail next bringing us to the hat that makes you happy… Whether you want to be or not. Everything works here, both in presentation and in execution. They knew exactly what they wanted in a cartoon and while they achieved it before, this one feels like the staff behind the show knew exactly how to progress with the Ren & Stimpy formula and, with the right direction, this is where the show would head. The gross out and the gags are both balanced in great and unexpected moments, and the animation (the poses and expressions) and soundtrack (both in effects and music) are just bang on culminating in the classic moment people remember most about this show. Surely, after all the skill and craft shown in this episode, the show can get even better than this, right?
It doesn’t.
Not even close.
Unfortunately, it’s not all gold here as some cartoons like Black Hole fall into the camp of just being gross than actually trying to be funny. They aren’t necessarily terrible, but a clear step down from what the show has to offer at it’s best. This is the type of material I unfortunately remember from my time with the show as a kid, so it’s pretty easy to tell which direction the show would inevitably sink to. You know, naked guys and all (I hope that’s not some kind of premonition)… At least the log bit between episodes was fun. Sven Hoak is another example of stupidity happening because… Well, because it happens. There’s no real set up this time, just Ren’s cousin coming over and being an inbred idiot. Truly classic material. Sigh.
But that’s not the worst of it. Son Of Stimpy (or Stimpy’s First Fart if you like alternate titles) has got to be the single longest fart joke in the history of cartoons. The cartoon itself offers little to the viewer except alternate ways of explaining to the viewer a description of what a fart is and having Stimpy mope about missing his first ever fart.
For 20 freaking minutes.
And I mean, it doesn’t really go anywhere. It’s basically a contest of how low brow and pointless each joke can get. While I don’t mind low brow humor, there’s also nothing happening in the show to keep me engaged with it. There’s no real character interaction outside of random yelling, no sort of goal being worked towards, it’s just there. Sure, he talks to boogers who think he’s crazy, Ren yells at him as usual, and he cries… But it all happens for no real reason and is completely forced. If I’m not being given some sort of an explanation of why I should be invested in a cartoon cat crying over a fart for twenty damn minutes, then I sure as hell am not going to look for one.
Still, the real issue here is that the majority of the episodes I have seen are like this one, and not like the better episodes like Stimpy’s Invention. Random crap happens, nothing is worked towards, boring gross out gags occur, there’s a gay joke or two, episode ends, and I wonder why I’m not drinking myself into a stupor. We’re far away from quality episodes like Fire Dogs here, and into some really poorly written junk. Watching episodes like this makes me wonder how this show could possibly get worse from this point. Yet, deep down, I know it’s not that bad yet… and it scares me.
This is what an episode of this show typically offers.For a show I haven’t seen in years, I was almost ready to eat my words at what a terrible show I thought this was. I mean, the first season is surprisingly fresh and creative, for the most part, and anyone can see why this attracted quite the audience in it’s early days. However… it begins to lose a lot of it’s luster by the second season, and becomes more or less a generic gross out gag-fest which is basically what I remember of it as a kid.
It’s actually worse for me now, because at one point this show did seem like it had promise beyond what it ultimately degenerated into. However, I’m not going to be too hard on it here since at it’s best it’s a very funny cartoon, and it’s worst it’s simply as bad as every other low brow cartoon from the era. And as much as I hated some of it… I want to save my hate for when the show truly deserves it.
So keep reading this series, because I’m not done yet, we still have two thirds of this show to go. Here’s hoping it will get better… because otherwise this is just a big waste of my time, and at this point I think I’m all out of places to hit my head into.
Up next: Fun and Games(?)…
Sorry.
Originally posted on Monday, January 31, 2011.