Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon"

Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon"
Created by John Kricfalusi
Directed by John Kricfalusi
Voices of John Kricfalusi
Eric Bauza
Country of origin United States
No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 6 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time 22-30 minutes
Production company(s) Spümcø
Release
Original network Spike
Audio format Dolby Digital 5.1
Original release June 26, 2003 (2003-06-26) – August 14, 2003 (2003-08-14)
Chronology
Preceded by The Ren & Stimpy Show

Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon" (a.k.a. "Ren & Stimpy's All New Adult Party Cartoon") is an animated television series created by Canadian animator John Kricfalusi for the cable network Spike. 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, 2003 to August 14, 2003, when Spike's entire animation block was discontinued. The series is rated TV-MA for explicit sexual dialogue and sexual references, hence the name.

History

The original Ren and Stimpy series was controversial, and Kricfalusi had been known for disputing content with censors. When Nickelodeon fired Kricfalusi in 1992, Nickelodeon's 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.[1] 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.[2] A few of the head storyboard artists, screenwriters, and animators returned from the original Ren and Stimpy series, such as Vincent Waller, 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, who said the new series wasn't funny and he believed being in it would affect his career.[3] Eric Bauza was hired to replace West as Stimpy. West had previously shared the role of Stimpy with Bauza for one episode of the original series, "Man's Best Friend", produced during the Spümcø era on Nickelodeon. 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.

All of the episodes were animated at Carbunkle Cartoons, in association with Big Star Productions. Kricfalusi had previously relied upon Carbunkle during the Nickelodeon years, and he subcontracted animation of many original series episodes (including "Space Madness", "Black Hole" and "The Royal Canadian Kilted Yaksmen") to that studio.

In June 2003, the new series began airing as part of an animation block also featuring Gary the Rat, 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.[2] The episode portrayed the characters as bisexual: In one scene, Ren informs Stimpy, "I'm the pitcher, you're the catcher." Advertisers objected to some of the new show's content, particularly that of the risqué episode "Naked Beach Frenzy" which did not air in the show's original run, causing trouble with scheduling.[4] The show stopped airing when Spike's animation block was "put on hold",[5] but it was only officially canceled around November 2004.

Kricfalusi shut down his studio in Canada shortly thereafter following a lawsuit filed by Carbunkle against Spümcø in the Canadian court system.[6] 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 if DVD sales are successful.[7]

Episodes

No. Title Directed By Story by Original air date
0"Man's Best Friend"/ Big House BluesJohn KricfalusiVincent Waller & John Kricfalusi
John Kricfalusi, Bob Camp, & Jim Smith		June 26, 2003 (2003-06-26)

Man's Best Friend: Ren and Stimpy learn the true meaning of obedience when George Liquor takes them home with him and swears to make them "champions".

Big House Blues: Ren and Stimpy get caught by a dogcatcher and are sent to the pound and their lives seem to be on a thin thread until a sweet girl adopts them both.
1"Onward and Upward"John KricfalusiVincent WallerJune 26, 2003 (2003-06-26)
Tired of living inside a homeless man's mouth, Ren and Stimpy move to classy new digs: the inside of a spittoon after Stimpy pools his secret stash of money into it.
2"Ren Seeks Help"John KricfalusiJohn Kricfalusi & Richard D. PurselJuly 3, 2003 (2003-07-03)
During a huge (off-screen) argument with his housemate Stimpy, Ren realizes how cruel he can be to his beloved pal and was tried to help something out for him, but Stimpy refused to get help and wanted Ren to help himself, seriously. After a depressing walk from places to places, he walks to the "help" apartment and seeks psychiatric help from Dr. Mr. Horse, to whom he tells his traumatic past, and the roots of his desire to inflict pain upon others.
3"Fire Dogs 2"John KricfalusiJohn Kricfalusi, Richard D. Pursel, Eddie Fitzgerald, Vincent Waller, & Jim SmithJuly 17, 2003 (2003-07-17)
The fire chief was so impressed with Ren and Stimpy's heroic deeds from the first "Fire Dogs" cartoon that he decides to become Ralph Bakshi and move in with them; however, Ren and Stimpy are disgusted by his habits.
4"Naked Beach Frenzy"John KricfalusiJohn Kricfalusi, Mike Kim, Jeff Amey, & Caroline J. AlvarezJuly 31, 2003 (2003-07-31)
Ren and Stimpy enjoy a day at the beach. Ren shows his respect to the superiority of the female form, forcing Stimpy to find succor in the bosom of a large foreign huckster, due to feeling offended by Ren showing attraction to a nearby female. The girls at the beach, however, seem to prefer Stimpy, causing jealousy to rage within Ren.
5"Altruists"John KricfalusiVincent Waller, John Kricfalusi, Mike Kerr, Eric Bauza, Jeff Amey, & Richard PurselAugust 7, 2003 (2003-08-07)
Ren Hoek, renowned lover of humanity, and his friend Stimpy decide that they must do everything in their power to help a couple of misfortunates; a woman and her handicapped (headless) son, by building a house for them.
6"Stimpy's Pregnant"John KricfalusiJohn Kricfalusi, Jeff Amey, Richard Pursel, Matt Roach, Steve Stefanelli, & Warren LeonheardtAugust 14, 2003 (2003-08-14)
Stimpy becomes pregnant with Ren's baby, causing Ren to at first abuse, and then respect Stimpy as a partner. Ren is at first disgusted with Stimpy's pregnancy, as he is forced to deal with his incessant loving moments with his child, such as attempting to explicitly eat for two. When Stimpy goes into labour, Ren is forced to start a driveby with other people on the highway. With help from the police, Ren and Stimpy successfully get to the hospital, where their child is delivered by Dr. Horse, only to learn that Stimpy was just constipated, although Mr. Horse does not have the heart to tell the anticipated 'parents' this and so the waste is made to behave like an infant male, and was named "Ricky".

Broadcast and DVD release

"Man's Best Friend" was originally set to air in the original series' second season, but the episode was rejected by Nickelodeon.[8] The episode did not air on television 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 air in the US. "Naked Beach Frenzy", "Altruists", and "Stimpy's Pregnant" did not originally air on Spike TV. They were released on the Ren and Stimpy: The Lost Episodes DVD set. Though it did air on other networks overseas, including Fox in Italy.

References

  1. ↑ "John K Stuff: Bio In Progress". Johnkstuff.blogspot.com. 2007-11-10. Retrieved 2015-11-08.
  2. 1 2 Lenburg, Jeff (2006). Who's who in Animated Cartoons: An International Guide to Film & Television's Award-winning and Legendary Animators. New York: Applause Theatre & Cinema Books. pp. 187–188. ISBN 9781557836717. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  3. ↑ "Billy West Interview". UnderGroundOnline.
  4. ↑ http://archive.wgnradio.com:8080/ramgen/wgnam/shows/digilio_nick/audio/kricfalusi030819nd.rm
  5. ↑ James Hibberd (November 2003). "Spike Retooling Its Toon Strategy". TelevisionWeek. Archived from the original on June 3, 2004. Retrieved 2010-12-21.
  6. ↑ "ottawabusinessjournal.com". Archive.ottawabusinessjournal.com. Retrieved 2015-11-08.
  7. ↑ "The Ren and Stimpy Show DVD news: John K. chats: talks about APC & other show DVDs, says R&SS to get 'Ultimate' DVDs with more extras!". TVShowsOnDVD.com. 2005-04-24. Retrieved 2015-11-08.
  8. ↑ Mangels, Andy (January 1993). "Hollywood Heroes". Wizard (Wizard Entertainment) (17): 32.

External links

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