The Ripping Friends
Encyclopedia
The Ripping Friends was an American
/Canadian
animated
television
series, created by John Kricfalusi
. The show premiered September 22, 2001 on Fox Kids
, but was cancelled in September 2002. Adult Swim
later picked up the show. The series occasionally airs in Canada on Teletoon
. The series also aired briefly in the UK
on the CNX channel
.
created the Ripping Friends before they created the similar superhero Powdered Toast Man for The Ren & Stimpy Show. After Nickelodeon fired Kricfalusi from The Ren & Stimpy Show in September 1992, he had plans to make a feature film starring the world’s "manliest men". The feature film plan was scrapped, but the characters were used in The Ripping Friends. Also, as early as a 1987 story session for the Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures
, Kricfalusi had proposed using a wad of gum as a character, an idea which was employed to create the first villain for the new series, the Indigestible Wad.
The Canadian Studios hired to do the layouts used the same poses over and over again, and made the artwork look less like the usual Spümcø
style. The Canadian studios hands were tied as there were no style or design agenda. Artists were expected to recreate the atmosphere of an antiquated 1940's production process, while still trying to maintain a schedule. Hastily written scripts and storyboards were provided, further demonstrating the unpreparedness of the production. This generated much criticism, most notably from John Kricfalusi
himself. The Ripping Friends lasted for thirteen episodes.
brothers who attempt to fight crime from their base, RIPCOT (the Really Impressive Prototype City Of (Next) Tuesday): Crag, Rip, Slab, and Chunk, Crag being the leader. Friends of the four include Jimmy The Idiot Boy, a mentally-challenged drooling child, and their foster mother He-Mom (the name speaks for itself). The villains range from the Indigestible Wad (a wad of gum
who sucks moisture out of people), to Flathead (an invertebrate
in search of a spine
), to their own underpants.
Each episode was usually tagged with a short episode which Kricfalusi says was composed of “left overs”. These segments were called “Rip Along with the Ripping Friends” and usually portrayed the Ripping Friends solving the problems of fans. These included: addressing the fact that hot dogs come in packs of 8 and the buns in packs of 12; “ripping” the man who creates insane video game controllers and the man who writes the instructions for them; and finding out why toys no longer come in cereal boxes, among others. In each segment viewers (referred to as "kids") are asked to “rip along” with the action by ripping pieces of paper up in front of the television when coaxed to.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
/Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
animated
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series, created by John Kricfalusi
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...
. The show premiered September 22, 2001 on Fox Kids
Fox Kids
Fox Kids was the Fox Broadcasting Company's American children's programming division and brand name from September 8, 1990 until September 7, 2002. It was owned by Fox Television Entertainment airing programming on Monday–Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings.Depending on the show, the...
, but was cancelled in September 2002. Adult Swim
Adult Swim
Adult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...
later picked up the show. The series occasionally airs in Canada on Teletoon
Télétoon (Canadian TV channel)
Télétoon is a Canadian French language Category A specialty channel that specializes in animation programming. Télétoon is owned by Teletoon Canada Inc; a 50/50 partnership between Astral Media and Corus Entertainment...
. The series also aired briefly in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
on the CNX channel
CNX
CNX was a channel operated by Turner Broadcasting in the UK and Ireland aimed at the 12-34 male audience, first started broadcasting on October 14, 2002 and lasted until September 8, 2003 when it was changed to the Toonami channel. The station was based around three key ingredients—Action,...
.
History
Kricfalusi and his long-time partner Jim SmithJim Smith (animator)
Jim Smith, , is an American animator and musician. He worked on Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures with his long-time working partner John Kricfalusi...
created the Ripping Friends before they created the similar superhero Powdered Toast Man for The Ren & Stimpy Show. After Nickelodeon fired Kricfalusi from The Ren & Stimpy Show in September 1992, he had plans to make a feature film starring the world’s "manliest men". The feature film plan was scrapped, but the characters were used in The Ripping Friends. Also, as early as a 1987 story session for the Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures
Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures
Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures is a 1987 revival of the classic Mighty Mouse cartoon character. Produced by Bakshi-Hyde Ventures , it aired on CBS on Saturday mornings from fall 1987 through the 1988-89 season...
, Kricfalusi had proposed using a wad of gum as a character, an idea which was employed to create the first villain for the new series, the Indigestible Wad.
The Canadian Studios hired to do the layouts used the same poses over and over again, and made the artwork look less like the usual 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...
style. The Canadian studios hands were tied as there were no style or design agenda. Artists were expected to recreate the atmosphere of an antiquated 1940's production process, while still trying to maintain a schedule. Hastily written scripts and storyboards were provided, further demonstrating the unpreparedness of the production. This generated much criticism, most notably from John Kricfalusi
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...
himself. The Ripping Friends lasted for thirteen episodes.
Description
The show centred on a group of four superhumanSuperhuman
Superhuman can mean an improved human, for example, by genetic modification, cybernetic implants, or as what humans might evolve into, in the near or distant future...
brothers who attempt to fight crime from their base, RIPCOT (the Really Impressive Prototype City Of (Next) Tuesday): Crag, Rip, Slab, and Chunk, Crag being the leader. Friends of the four include Jimmy The Idiot Boy, a mentally-challenged drooling child, and their foster mother He-Mom (the name speaks for itself). The villains range from the Indigestible Wad (a wad of gum
Chewing gum
Chewing gum is a type of gum traditionally made of chicle, a natural latex product, or synthetic rubber known as polyisobutylene. For economical and quality reasons, many modern chewing gums use rubber instead of chicle...
who sucks moisture out of people), to Flathead (an invertebrate
Invertebrate
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
in search of a spine
Vertebral column
In human anatomy, the vertebral column is a column usually consisting of 24 articulating vertebrae, and 9 fused vertebrae in the sacrum and the coccyx. It is situated in the dorsal aspect of the torso, separated by intervertebral discs...
), to their own underpants.
Each episode was usually tagged with a short episode which Kricfalusi says was composed of “left overs”. These segments were called “Rip Along with the Ripping Friends” and usually portrayed the Ripping Friends solving the problems of fans. These included: addressing the fact that hot dogs come in packs of 8 and the buns in packs of 12; “ripping” the man who creates insane video game controllers and the man who writes the instructions for them; and finding out why toys no longer come in cereal boxes, among others. In each segment viewers (referred to as "kids") are asked to “rip along” with the action by ripping pieces of paper up in front of the television when coaxed to.
Episode listing
- The Indigestible Wad: A young girl’s wad of chewing gum, that she has been chewing since before she was born, is granted sentienceSentienceSentience is the ability to feel, perceive or be conscious, or to have subjective experiences. Eighteenth century philosophers used the concept to distinguish the ability to think from the ability to feel . In modern western philosophy, sentience is the ability to have sensations or experiences...
/sapience from a dentist’s x-rayX-rayX-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
machine. The wad wanders the streets at night, sucking up people’s moisture to sustain himself, turning them into “flavourless” zombies. - The Infernal Wedding: Citracett, a villainous dictator from the fictional country of Euroslavia, decides to seduce He-Mom in an effort to get close to, and rid himself of, the Ripping Brothers, eventually asking He-Mom to marry him. The Ripping Brothers must now follow his orders "as if they were [He-Mom's] own". [Never aired on Fox Kids due to scenes that would be considering in bad taste following the September 11th attacks; aired on Adult SwimAdult SwimAdult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...
]. - Flathead’s Revenge: When the boys go swimming in the local water hole Chunk finds that he has a flatwormFlatwormThe flatworms, known in scientific literature as Platyhelminthes or Plathelminthes are a phylum of relatively simple bilaterian, unsegmented, soft-bodied invertebrate animals...
attached to his armpit. After being removed, the flatworm decides to take one of the brothers’ back bonesVertebral columnIn human anatomy, the vertebral column is a column usually consisting of 24 articulating vertebrae, and 9 fused vertebrae in the sacrum and the coccyx. It is situated in the dorsal aspect of the torso, separated by intervertebral discs...
and then wreaks havoc on the town with some of his invertebrate brethren. - Frictor: Frictor, the master of frictionFrictionFriction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and/or material elements sliding against each other. There are several types of friction:...
, is created when the brothers' callusCallusA callus is an especially toughened area of skin which has become relatively thick and hard in response to repeated friction, pressure, or other irritation. Rubbing that is too frequent or forceful will cause blisters rather than allow calluses to form. Since repeated contact is required, calluses...
es are exposed to radiationRadiationIn physics, radiation is a process in which energetic particles or energetic waves travel through a medium or space. There are two distinct types of radiation; ionizing and non-ionizing...
. The Ripping Friends eventually track him to the moonMoonThe Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
. - Rip’s Shorts: Rip's shorts alter at the molecular level after being thrown into space. The shorts become evil and take control of Jimmy and then Pooperman, causing them to do “evil” things. The other three brothers mobilize to stop the shorts.
- The Ovulator: The boys discover that there is a shortage of beefBeefBeef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...
and they send Slab out to rectify the situation, as he is the only one not affected by the lack of beef in his system. He soon discovers that a mad chicken, calling himself the Ovulator, is holding cows hostage. - Manman and Boyboy: A duo of supposed crime fightersVigilanteA vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....
called Manman and Boyboy are wandering around “solving crimes” with flesh coloured accessories. Their brand of crime fighting is soon revealed to be simply putting Boyboy in peril for no good reason. Crag sets out, because he has not had his own episode yet, to foil the duo and save Boyboy by dressing himself up as Man Friend and Jimmy as Boy Pal to save Boyboy. - Stinky Butt: Citracett, is banished to the nether regions of the Earth by the Ripping Friends after attempting to destroy it. There, due to some mystical energy, Citracett gains the ability to control his flatulenceFlatulenceFlatulence is the expulsion through the rectum of a mixture of gases that are byproducts of the digestion process of mammals and other animals. The medical term for the mixture of gases is flatus, informally known as a fart, or simply gas...
with destructive results. - The Muscle Magician: Chunk is being made fun of by the other, 36-year-old brothers for only being 35 and a half, and therefore a “kid”, so he runs away and attends a circusCircusA circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
performance where he finds a magician who controls people’s muscles. The magician, realizing the potential that Chunk poses, possesses his muscles and has him commit robbery of the many national banks in town. - Jimmy’s Kidnapped: Citracett and a gorilla (named "Gorilla Friend" in an organ grinder monkey outfit, later "Anaxamander - the Noble Primate" in a "PericlesPericlesPericles was a prominent and influential statesman, orator, and general of Athens during the city's Golden Age—specifically, the time between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars...
helmet") kidnap Jimmy the Hapless Idiot Boy after Rip harasses him into running away. The Ripping Friends track him down to find that they are torturing Jimmy so Rip knocks out the gorilla, steals his fur, and infiltrates Citracett’s basement to rescue Jimmy. [Never aired on Fox Kids] - Dr. Jean Poole: The four boys get a lesson on “girls” from He-Mom and, as a final lesson, sets them up on a date with a Dr. Jean Poole. All five of them go out on the date together to the drive-inDrive-inA drive-in is a facility such as a bank, restaurant, or movie theater where one can literally drive in with an automobile for service. It is usually distinguished from a drive-through. At a drive-in restaurant, for example, customers park their vehicles and are usually served by staff who walk out...
. - The Man from Next Thursday, Part One: Someone breaks into RIPCOT’s secret vault and steals the Ripping Friends' "perfect" DNA, which he turns into "RiptoniteKryptoniteKryptonite is a fictional material from the Superman mythos —the ore form of a radioactive element from Superman's home planet of Krypton. It is famous for being the ultimate physical weakness of Superman, and the word kryptonite has since become synonymous with an Achilles' heel —the one weakness...
" in order to kill the Ripping brothers. The intruder is revealed to be a man with an enormous thumb protruding from his chest, who claims to be a time travelTime travelTime travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
er from "next Thursday". - The Man from Next Thursday, Part Two: The man from next Thursday relates his plan to his intelligent cat, revealing that his attempts to kill the Ripping Friends is based on revenge; the Ripping Friends ripped the nail off his giant chest-thumb and then re-attached it on the wrong side, making him a freak in the world of next Thursday.
Censorship
- In a segment where Rip is asked by a fan to find out why hot dogs come in packs of twelve and hot dog bunHot dog bunA hot dog bun is a type of soft bun shaped specifically to contain a hot dog. The original purpose of this bun was to make it possible to eat hot dogs without burning ones hands....
s come in packs of eight, Rip beats up a male hot dog and a female bun and asks them to “hug”. The hot dog begins to slip inside the bun, and the segment immediately fades to black.