Ren and Stimpy

Ren and Stimpy are the eponymous characters of two cartoon television series created by Canadian animator John Kricfalusi. Ren Höek, a neurotic "asthma-hound" chihuahua, and Stimpson J. Cat, a fat simpleton (but occasionally intelligent) cat, wander around in nonsensical adventures reminiscent of the . Kricfalusi created the characters in 1979 while working for low-budget TV cartoons after moving to the USA.

The Firing of Spümcø

Ren and Stimpy was written, directed, and produced by Kricfalusi and his animation studio Spümcø only in the first two seasons. During this time, he was constantly harassed by Nickelodeon over content issues, of which he often pushed the limits. The last straw, so to speak, was the episode entitled "Man's Best Friend," in which Ren and Stimpy are bought by George Liquor and put through a cruel and unusual training session, which ends with Ren bludgeoning George. The brutal violence, and the overall theme of animal cruelty in the episode, were deemed unairable by Nick.

Related Topics:
Spümcø - Violence

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Kricfalusi was soon fired from the show, and his ownership of the characters was revoked. Billy West took over his role as the voice of Ren. Animation duty was taken from Spümcø and given to Games Animation. Many fans felt the quality of the show suffered greatly from the loss of its creator and original animation studio, though others still enjoyed the show regardless.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After his separation from Nick, Kricfalusi retained ownership of George Liquor and has used him extensively in projects by Spümcø. He was a major character in John K.'s short-lived comic book, simply titled "Comic Book." Of note: One of the conditions of retaining ownership of George Liquor was that he couldn't become "a child molester or mass murderer." Kricfalusi reportedly responded by asking how many murders he would need to commit to make him a mass murderer.

Related Topics:
Comic book - Child molester - Mass murderer

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~