Ren and Stimpy Adult Party Cartoon
Encyclopedia
Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon" is an animated television series created by an american animator John Kricfalusi
for the cable network Spike (formerly TNN). The series was an adults-only
-revival and spin-off of the original animated series, The Ren & Stimpy Show, which had previously aired on the American children's cable network Nickelodeon. It aired from June 26 to August 14, 2003, and was officially cancelled a month after it debuted.
, Eddie Fitzgerald, and Jim Smith, but most of the animation and writing team were a new team of artists, specifically instructed and headed by Kricfalusi himself.
Many of the original voice cast members returned with the exception of Billy West
, which led to Eric Bauza
filling the role of Stimpy. West shared the role of Stimpy with Eric Bauza for one episode, but the show in question, "Man's Best Friend", was produced during the Spümcø
era of Nickelodeon, when West was still with the show. Cast members Harris Peet and Cheryl Chase
also returned, and Kricfalusi's father Mike Kricfalusi and long-time childhood friend Tom Hay provided some voices. West said in an interview that when Kricfalusi asked him to voice Stimpy, West replied by saying that he did not wish to voice Stimpy in this cartoon. West said in an interview that he believed that the cartoon lacked humor and that voicing Stimpy in it would damage his career.
All of the episodes were animated at Carbunkle Cartoons, the studio that Kricfalusi would send his best episodes to be animated at during the Nickelodeon years (including "Space Madness", "Black Hole" and "The Royal Canadian Kilted Yaksmen"), in association with Big Star Productions. In June 2003, the new series began airing as part of an animation block also featuring Gary the Rat
, This Just In
, Stripperella
, and digitally remastered
episodes of the original Ren and Stimpy series, subtitled "Digitally Remastered Classics". Kricfalusi wrote the first episode, "Onward and Upward", based on requests from fans from the Nickelodeon era. The episode portrayed the characters as bisexuals
: In one scene, Ren informs Stimpy, "I'm the pitcher, you're the catcher."
and summer
2004, Kricfalusi completed 2 new episodes (each an hour-long), and those episodes (along with "Naked Beach Frenzy") were shown at film festivals and special screenings. The network had planned to start Adult Party Cartoons second season in August 2004, but canceled that plan.
The network officially canceled Adult Party Cartoon around November 2004 (Kricfalusi shut down his studio in Canada shortly thereafter following a lawsuit by Carbunkle filed against Spümcø in the Canadian court system), but in 2005, Kricfalusi announced that all of the Adult Party Cartoon cartoons were coming to DVD
, and that the possibility exists for new The Ren & Stimpy Show episodes to be produced off the back of successful sales. Kricfalusi has stated to have great interest in making direct-to-video
episodes to avoid the TV censorship constrictions that have plagued his work in the past. A TV movie is said to be in the works; titled Life Sucks, it is said to explore Ren and Stimpy's outlooks on life and their differences. John Kricfalusi claims that it is the best Ren & Stimpy episode he has ever written and the Spümcø staff agree. The entire run of cartoons was released in July 2006 as Ren and Stimpy: The Lost Episodes. As of 2011, it is still unknown when Life Sucks will be completed and released onto DVD, if at all.
John Kricfalusi
Michael John Kricfalusi , better known as John K., is a Canadian animator. He is creator of The Ren & Stimpy Show, its adults-only spin-off Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon", The Ripping Friends animated series, and Weekend Pussy Hunt, which was billed as "the world's first interactive web-based...
for the cable network Spike (formerly TNN). The series was an adults-only
Adult animation
Adult animation is a term used to describe animation that is targeted at adults. Animated films and television shows may be considered adult for a number of reasons. Some productions are noted for experimental storytelling and animation techniques, or sophisticated storytelling...
-revival and spin-off of the original animated series, The Ren & Stimpy Show, which had previously aired on the American children's cable network Nickelodeon. It aired from June 26 to August 14, 2003, and was officially cancelled a month after it debuted.
History
The original series was known to be controversial, and its creator had been known for disputing content with censors. When Nickelodeon fired Kricfalusi in 1992, the Nickelodeon-owned studio Games Animation took over the series, leading many animators to quit the series. The Ren and Stimpy Show was canceled in 1996. In 2002, Viacom hired John Kricfalusi to produce a new version of his series for an updated version of the TNN network devoted specifically to programming for male audiences. Kricfalusi said that TNN wanted an "extreme" version of The Ren & Stimpy Show. TNN gave Kricfalusi greater control of the writing and contents of the episodes than the control given by Nickelodeon. Kricfalusi produced seven new cartoons aimed at adult audiences. A few of the head storyboard artists, screenwriters, and animators returned from the original Ren and Stimpy series, such as Vincent WallerVincent Waller
Vincent Waller is a writer, artist and animator. He was writer and director for The Ren & Stimpy Show , directing the popular episodes Rubber Nipple Salesmen and Big Baby Scam....
, Eddie Fitzgerald, and Jim Smith, but most of the animation and writing team were a new team of artists, specifically instructed and headed by Kricfalusi himself.
Many of the original voice cast members returned with the exception of Billy West
Billy West
William Richard "Billy" West is an American voice actor. Born in Detroit but raised in the Roslindale neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, Billy launched his career in the early 1980s performing daily comedic routines on Boston's WBCN. He left the radio station to work on the short-lived revival...
, which led to Eric Bauza
Eric Bauza
Eric Adrian Bauza is a Canadian-American voice actor and artist. His notable roles include Stimpy of Ren and Stimpy Adult Party Cartoon and Slip & Slide D'Peel of Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island. He also voices Rodolfo/White Pantera for El Tigre on Nickelodeon, Storm Shadow, Destro, and Tunnel...
filling the role of Stimpy. West shared the role of Stimpy with Eric Bauza for one episode, but the show in question, "Man's Best Friend", was produced during the Spümcø
Spümcø
Spümcø, Inc. was an American animation production company based in Los Angeles, California. The studio produced three traditionally animated series, two Flash-animated cartoon series, two music videos, five animated shorts, and a comic book. The company also went on to produce content for a few...
era of Nickelodeon, when West was still with the show. Cast members Harris Peet and Cheryl Chase
Cheryl Chase
Cheryl Chase is an American voice actress best known as the voice of Angelica Pickles on Rugrats, All Grown Up! and Angelica and Susie's Pre-School Daze...
also returned, and Kricfalusi's father Mike Kricfalusi and long-time childhood friend Tom Hay provided some voices. West said in an interview that when Kricfalusi asked him to voice Stimpy, West replied by saying that he did not wish to voice Stimpy in this cartoon. West said in an interview that he believed that the cartoon lacked humor and that voicing Stimpy in it would damage his career.
All of the episodes were animated at Carbunkle Cartoons, the studio that Kricfalusi would send his best episodes to be animated at during the Nickelodeon years (including "Space Madness", "Black Hole" and "The Royal Canadian Kilted Yaksmen"), in association with Big Star Productions. In June 2003, the new series began airing as part of an animation block also featuring Gary the Rat
Gary the Rat
Gary the Rat is an American television program adult-oriented animated series animated by Spike Animation Studios, produced by Grammnet Productions and distributed by Cheyenne Enterprises that was originally broadcast on Spike in 2003. The program lasted one season before cancellation...
, This Just In
This Just In!
This Just In! is an American animated television series that follows the misadventures and exploits of reporter Brian Newport. It was shown on Spike TV in 2004....
, Stripperella
Stripperella
Stripperella was an American animated series created by Stan Lee. The main character, voiced by and based on Pamela Anderson, is a stripper named Erotica Jones who is also the superheroine/secret agent Stripperella. The series was produced by The Firm and Spike Animation Studios...
, and digitally remastered
Remaster
Remaster is a word marketed mostly in the digital audio age, although the remastering process has existed since recording began...
episodes of the original Ren and Stimpy series, subtitled "Digitally Remastered Classics". Kricfalusi wrote the first episode, "Onward and Upward", based on requests from fans from the Nickelodeon era. The episode portrayed the characters as bisexuals
Bisexuality
Bisexuality is sexual behavior or an orientation involving physical or romantic attraction to both males and females, especially with regard to men and women. It is one of the three main classifications of sexual orientation, along with a heterosexual and a homosexual orientation, all a part of the...
: In one scene, Ren informs Stimpy, "I'm the pitcher, you're the catcher."
Trouble with advertisers
Advertisers objected to some of the new show's content, particularly that of the risqué episode "Naked Beach Frenzy" (which was finished in 2003, but hasn't aired on American television due to scenes of extensive nudity and heavy sexual innuendo), and, along with the network's entire animation block, the show was taken off the air.Cancellation
In the springSpring (season)
Spring is one of the four temperate seasons, the transition period between winter and summer. Spring and "springtime" refer to the season, and broadly to ideas of rebirth, renewal and regrowth. The specific definition of the exact timing of "spring" varies according to local climate, cultures and...
and summer
Summer
Summer is the warmest of the four temperate seasons, between spring and autumn. At the summer solstice, the days are longest and the nights are shortest, with day-length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice...
2004, Kricfalusi completed 2 new episodes (each an hour-long), and those episodes (along with "Naked Beach Frenzy") were shown at film festivals and special screenings. The network had planned to start Adult Party Cartoons second season in August 2004, but canceled that plan.
The network officially canceled Adult Party Cartoon around November 2004 (Kricfalusi shut down his studio in Canada shortly thereafter following a lawsuit by Carbunkle filed against Spümcø in the Canadian court system), but in 2005, Kricfalusi announced that all of the Adult Party Cartoon cartoons were coming to DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, and that the possibility exists for new The Ren & Stimpy Show episodes to be produced off the back of successful sales. Kricfalusi has stated to have great interest in making direct-to-video
Direct-to-video
Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
episodes to avoid the TV censorship constrictions that have plagued his work in the past. A TV movie is said to be in the works; titled Life Sucks, it is said to explore Ren and Stimpy's outlooks on life and their differences. John Kricfalusi claims that it is the best Ren & Stimpy episode he has ever written and the Spümcø staff agree. The entire run of cartoons was released in July 2006 as Ren and Stimpy: The Lost Episodes. As of 2011, it is still unknown when Life Sucks will be completed and released onto DVD, if at all.
Episode notes
"Man's Best Friend" was originally to be aired in the second season, but the episode was banned by Nickelodeon for excessive violence, reference to tobacco, and several scatological jokes. The episode did not see airtime until Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon". Spike's official episode lineup on their website seemed to suggest that they consider "Man's Best Friend" a part of the Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon" series, but this episode in general is not counted as one of the three episodes from this series that did not air in the U.S.- "Naked Beach Frenzy" and the episodes "Altruists" and "Stimpy's Pregnant" were not aired on television in the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(although "Onward and Upward", "Ren Seeks Help", and "Fire Dogs 2" did air), but are finished episodes released on the Ren and Stimpy: The Lost Episodes (a collection of the episodes of Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon") DVD set. Despite this, the complete series aired on various networks in other countries. - Details of the series on several sites online list various numbers of episodes. Some state that the series has nine episodes, including "Man's Best Friend" and the two parts of "Fire Dogs 2".