Ren and Stimpy Show characters
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Over its five seasons, The Ren and Stimpy Show featured a varied cast of characters, some who appeared in as little as one episode, and some who were practically regulars. The following is an in-depth guide to these characters.
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[edit] Mr. Horse
Mr. Horse is a fictional character from the cartoon The Ren and Stimpy Show. Mr. Horse was anthropomorphic, similar to the title characters - he is physically a full-sized male horse, but he usually stands on two legs and speaks (He rarely ever says anything aside from: "No, sir, I didn't like it."). Mr. Horse was one of the most popular characters from the show, appearing in many episodes in a wide variety of non-continuous roles. Mr. Horse is typically depicted as a straight-talking, thoughtful and serious character, though not always. He can also be cynical and disgruntled, and on occasion is merely a horse.
Mr. Horse was voiced by John Kricfalusi originally. After Kricfalusi's departure from the show, Mr. Horse was voiced by Billy West.
[edit] Appearances of Mr. Horse
- Mr. Horse first appeared on The Ren and Stimpy Show in the episode "The Big Shot" as a tester for Gritty Kitty Litter, a brand of kitty litter endorsed by Stimpy. After doing "his business", Mr. Horse greatly preferred Gritty Kitty over the other leading brand, proving that Gritty Kitty could stand up to use by a horse.
- He next showed up in "Fire Dogs", as part of the heavy-set woman's animal menagerie that needed saving; when she dropped him out of her high-rise apartment window, Ren and Stimpy attempted to catch him with a lifesaving net. Due to his size, Mr. Horse's fall was not softened by the net and both his legs were broken. He dragged himself away (to the tune "Battle Hymn of the Republic") and was then interviewed by a reporter. When asked about his feelings on the fall, Mr. Horse uttered his famous catch-phrase, "No, sir, I didn't like it".
- When Svën Hoëk came to visit Ren, Mr. Horse had a brief cameo. Upon depositing a quarter in a slot in the living room wall, Stimpy was treated to a powerful leg kick from Mr. Horse to his head that sent him careening across the room.
- When Ren and Stimpy were peddling rubber nipples, Mr. Horse was one of the prospective customers they spoke to. Mr. Horse was shown breaking character here, as his usual straightforward, stern demeanor was replaced by a nervous, panicky paranoia. He was seen wearing pants, gloves and a cap made of rubber, and was concerned that the FBI had sent Ren and Stimpy to find him. It appeared that he had a walrus captive with him, as the walrus whispered "call the police" to the salesmen.
- Mr. Horse was featured in two shorts at the beginning and end of the "Anthony" episode. In the first, he plays a GI (at the rank of Private E-1) returning from an unspecified war. He is interviewed by Ren Hoëk, Ace Reporter, who asks him a series of questions about the war. When asked by the reporter if the sheep in his arms is his fiancé, Mr. Horse snaps back, "No, man, it's my sheep!" In the second, he plays the spokesman for the United Nations, which highlights the complete lack of continuity between any Mr. Horse roles. The entire short is a set-up for him to say his catchphrase, but instead he says "Cockroaches check in, but they don't check out" in Spanish, which his translator repeats as "No, sir, I didn't like it".
- Mr. Horse appears as the horse of Abner and Ewalt when Ren and Stimpy travel out west. Abner and Ewalt are seeking horse thieves to hang, so they convince the pair to steal their horse. However, indicating that he's been stolen many times before, Mr. Horse grumbles about the "horse-stealing thing again" when the pair mount him and trudges on two legs (with Ren and Stimpy still on his back) to Abner and Ewalt, where he must carefully remind them he is stolen, and therefore the dog and cat duo are horse thieves.
- Mr. Horse returns in two Adult Party Cartoon episodes, appearing in major roles as a psychiatrist in "Ren Seeks Help", and a doctor in "Stimpy's Pregnant".
[edit] Powdered Toast Man
Powdered Toast Man is a fictional spokesman for "Powdered Toast", a product featured on the cartoon The Ren and Stimpy Show. Additionally, he is a superhero of sorts, possessing traditional superpowers (such as flight) and some decidedly non-traditional ones (flatulence, the ability to scrape toast shavings from his head). Powdered Toast Man appeared in various Powdered Toast commercials within The Ren and Stimpy Show, and starred in one episode of the show. His catch phrase/call to action is the shouting of his name, with significant stress on the "man."
"Powdered Toast MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!"
Powdered Toast Man's voice was provided by voice actor and disc jockey Gary Owens.
[edit] Powers and abilities
Powdered Toast Man is endowed with various abilities, and like many superheroes, has a mysterious background and an alter ego.
Powdered Toast Man can fly, either by releasing flatulence, by inserting his head into a special toaster and launching from it, or merely by pushing off from the ground. Importantly, he flies backwards. He can also hover in mid-air. His powers include some offensive weapons: high-velocity raisins shot from his mouth, hyper-corrosive croutons fired from his armpit, butter pats that are launched from the top of his head, and hyper-acidic marmalade from his navel. There are several signals that alert Powdered Toast Man to danger - his tongue phone, the inflation of his briefs, the dissipation of the toast particles in his head, or the reading of emergency messages encoded in slices of olive loaf.
He is apparently made entirely of Powdered Toast, as he can produce fully formed Powdered Toast by flicking his wrist or by separating his head (which is made of two pieces of toast) and scraping the interior with a butter knife. His head is therefore depicted as being made of two identical pieces of toast, each complete with a face.
By day, Powdered Toast Man is Pastor Toast Man, a "cool youth deacon". His disguise is composed of a pair of thick black spectacles and a pastor's collar, a possible parody of Superman's thinly-disguised alter ego, Clark Kent. Pastor Toast Man's office also serves as his headquarters, and he is served by a female assistant simply named "Lovely Assistant".
[edit] Accomplishments
- He saved a kitten from being run over, at the cost of an airliner (which he shot down), and a truck (which was flattened by the airliner). It appears no one was killed in the crash, as the occupants of the plane seem cheerful and happy to see Powdered Toast Man despite their wounds. Responding to another mission, he threw the kitten off-screen, where it was presumably run over by another vehicle, causing another big crash.
- He fought Spider-Man once.
- He saved the pope (voiced by Frank Zappa) from the clutches of Muddy Mudskipper. Why or how Muddy kidnapped the pope is unclear, but it is clear that after Powdered Toast Man freed the pope from the barrel of TNT he was strapped to, he placed Muddy there in his stead and tied him up. Muddy was killed in the ensuing explosion.
- When the President of the United States gets caught in his fly, Powdered Toast Man frees him. Though grateful, the President is incapacitated, and Powdered Toast Man steps in as Commander-in-Chief. While in office (having somehow avoided the entire line-in-wait to fill in for the Chief Executive), he heats the Oval Office with some dusty old papers, which include Bill of Rights and the Constitution.
- Powdered Toast Man responded on numerous occasions to the plight of Ren and Stimpy when the dog and cat duo had run out of Powdered Toast, producing more for them with a flick of his wrist or a scrape of his head. It is implied that this is the usual method that Ren and Stimpy get Powdered Toast when they run out, because it doesn't "taste right" unless Powdered Toast Man exits with his traditional passing of gas.
- He is also a very popular figure with children. Responding to a request from sickly "Little Johnny" about being able to meet the President, he actually manages to bring the President to him. Unfortunately in trying to get to Little Johnny on time before his nap, the President was vaporized by the massive speed of Powdered Toast Man. He also managed to save the child out of the hands of his apparent archnemesis "Waffle Woman", at the cost of destroying most of the Earth.
[edit] Powdered Toast
The product named after Powdered Toast Man (or vice versa) is true to its name - toast in powder form. Why anyone would want to eat powdered toast is unknown - after eating some, one character notes how "it tastes just like sawdust." Further throwing doubt as to its appeal, toast is usually served warm, but powdered toast is room temperature.
Powdered Toast comes in a can with an aerated top, allowing the toast to be "sprinkled" out in a manner similar to that of shredded Pamesean cheese. Amazingly, the powder somehow comes together, forming a piece of toast that can be consumed. Perhaps itself a commentary on the obsession of American culture with quickly prepared pre-made foods, it seems to take less time to "make" a piece of cold, sawdust-tasting Powdered Toast than it would to toast a piece of bread.
Powdered toast is never seen being consumed with butter, jam, or cream cheese, possibly because the fragile nature of the toast could not support such spreads.
[edit] Muddy Mudskipper
Muddy Mudskipper is a television star within Ren and Stimpy's universe. Muddy is an archetype—the old, jaded comedian who is outstanding at being "on" when on stage but sour and dissatisfied off-stage. There are certain parallels between Muddy and Krusty the Clown from The Simpsons—both have television shows that may or may not be for children, both shower their co-stars with abuse, and behind the scenes they are less than pleasant to be around.
[edit] Appearances
- In Stimpy's Big Day, Muddy is the namesake star of The Muddy Mudskipper Show. After Stimpy's epic Gritty Kitty Litter poem lands him the co-star slot on the show, the actual cartoon is revealed to be a direct rip-off of Yogi Bear, with Stimpy as Yogi and Muddy as Ranger Smith. It is unknown what Muddy's role on the show was before or after Stimpy's arrival.
- In Powdered Toast Man, Muddy plays (is?) a villain who has kidnapped the Pope.
