John Kricfalusi severely bruised the conceits of mainstream animation with his iconic dog-cat duo, Ren and Stimpy. Provocative and daring, the show frustrated Nickelodeon’s business-chiefs by championing a sense of humour based on snot, violence and subversion.
The Ren & Stimpy Show’s characters performed like real actors, their antics were portrayed via a highly stylised aesthetic throughout and it was all accompanied by a buoyant and psychedelic soundtrack. As a result of this immense attention to detail paired with crude and freakishly funny themes, the canine-feline couple set the scene for a new strain of cartoons which entertained adults as well as children and contributed to providing the groundwork for a cavalcade of twisted toons - the inhabitants of Adult Swim owe much to Kricfalusi, as do the creators of contemporary classic Spongebob Squarepants.
Kricfalusi is a man who genuinely loves the art of cartoons. In his blog, All Kinds of Stuff, he successfully intellectualises cartoon culture without detracting from their inherently zany quality. He discusses how Ren and Stimpy’s success owed greatly to the classical principles of animation rather than to the targeting of market demographics and argues fiercely that these fundamental principles are being retired, or broken, by today’s industry. And for animation-enthusiasts, Kricfalusi’s keen analysis of animation and animators - Tex Avery, Chuck Jones, Bob Clampett (even branching out into live-action via 1950s comedy, The Honeymooners) - is enlightening.
Drop by Kricfalusi’s blog and spare some time today for an irritable dog, a dumb cat, some magic nose goblins, and a talented and utterly devoted animator.
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