My childhood cartoons were a rather different breed of animation, when I stop to think about it. While many children these days are watching “Spongebob Squarepants”, “The Fairly Oddparents”, or “My Little Pony”, I was raised on a different stock of cartoon, one that was a bit more…strange, to put it mildly. I remember watching classic “Looney Tunes” episodes, where Bugs would dress as a woman or Wily E. Coyote would suffer horrible amounts of pain in his pursuit of the Road Runner. I remember catching “Tales from the Cryptkeeper” and “Beetlejuice” and delighting in their (at my age) perversely twisted sense of humor. And it was the same with “Aaahh!!! Real Monsters”.
Hell, does anyone else remember the “Dead by Dawn” episode of “ReBoot” that featured a reference to Ash from Evil Dead? Or what about the “Darkwing Duck” episode “Twin Beaks“, which was a nod to David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks”? These were the cartoons and episodes that embedded themselves in my memory, helping create the horror-loving person that I am today.
But one show really stood out for me and was something that I found myself constantly revisiting whenever the opportunity presented itself: John Kricfalusi’s “Ren & Stimpy“. Following Ren the chihuahua and Stimpy the cat, the show was a nod to the cartoons and themes of the ’50s and ’60s. From the commercials for “Log from Blammo” and “Powdered Toast Man” with their delightful voiceovers to the sci-fi episodes “Space Madness” and “Marooned”, which played almost like demented “Star Trek” episodes, “Ren & Stimpy” was a show that was well ahead of its time, basing its charm on the past while using modern humor.
But that doesn’t mean the show wasn’t without its fair share of controversy. Parents were vocal about their distaste and some episodes went through some forms of censorship. I mean, when a show introduces a folk singer by the name of “Stinky Wizzleteats”, you can probably understand why parents didn’t think it was appropriate for their children. Hell, Mr. Wizzleteats promised to teach the listener’s grandmother to, “…suck eggs” in a song called “Happy Happy, Joy Joy”. I thought that was the funniest thing ever when I was a kid but now I find it incredibly surreal and oddly placed…and still rather humorous. But as an adult, I can see why parents wouldn’t want their kids watching such a show.
But I digress. I’m here to talk about the wonder of “Ren & Stimpy”, a show that “never used the same face twice“. This was a show that, at least in my mind, was one of the very best cartoons I’d ever seen. It wasn’t just the stories, which made me laugh hysterically time and time again. No, it was also the incredibly unique and engaging visuals. There were faces I’d never seen before, body contortions that seemed impossible, and closeups that were as revolting as they were disgustingly captivating.
Kricfalusi and his team created magic, pure and simple, when it came to “Ren & Stimpy”. The show has been an inspiration ever since it aired and it’s one of those cartoons that I can see myself returning to at any age and enjoying. And even though I may find some of the content disturbing and odd, you damn well better believe that I’m going to show it to my kids.
