Multiple Allegations of Sexual Misconduct Against Ren & Stimpy John Kricfalusi

[NickyG]

@Brainspore

I’ll always have a soft spot for Spongebob just for the obscure art history jokes.

I also like SpongeBob, although it’s not like I’ve watched a ton of it. I just like how it’s obviously odd, and makes it OK to be odd. I mean there’s a squirrel who lives at the bottom of the ocean, among a million other funny weird things. Def compatible with this Happy Mutant ™!

[ChuckV]

@hecep

Then there’s Kricfalusi’s reference to Peter Lorre’s child-rapist character in Fritz Lang’s film “M”, in his cartoon “Big baby Scam” wherein a leering naked old man whistles Peer Gynt’s “The Hall of the Mountain King” while sitting in a bathtub shared with Ren & Stimpy (censored by Nickelodeon).

Seems suspicious, but I recall from an article (Film Threat, I think) back in the '90s, that Kricfalusi didn’t want to go with Peer Gynt, but something else instead. The music was chosen by someone higher up.

[hecep]

@ChuckV

Seems suspicious, but I recall from an article (Film Threat, I think) back in the '90s, that Kricfalusi didn’t want to go with Peer Gynt, but something else instead. The music was chosen by someone higher up.

I’ll have to look that up, but my recollection is that Kricfalusi was not happy with Nickelodeon censoring out the old man in the tub portion of the cartoon. Again, I’ll jump back into it. (At this sorry point, I’m not sure if any ‘someone else decided to do that… not me’ from Kric should be automatically accepted.)

[hecep]

@Melz2

The gross-out humor and hyperactive tone of the cartoon just never really appealed to me.

It’s interesting that guys liked Kric’s stuff more than gals; same story with The Three Stooges (who Kric referenced more than once in his cartoons).

[Melz2]

@hecep

same story with The Three Stooges

I actually adore Larry, Moe and Curly (but not Shemp.) I liked Laurel & Hardy as well…

[Brainspore]

@hecep

It’s interesting that guys liked Kric’s stuff more than gals

The explanation for that isn’t exactly one of the great mysteries of our time.

[ChuckV]

@hecep

I’ll have to look that up, but my recollection is that Kricfalusi was not happy with Nickelodeon censoring out the old man in the tub portion of the cartoon.

Hmmm… but, I’m sure I saw the old man in the tub on Nickelodeon. He could have been cut in the initial airings of course.

ETA:

Nick has gone back and edited the original shows. Some, like “Visit To Anthony” and “Royal Canadian Kilted Yaksmen,” have had bumpers taken out for time constraints. =( “Big Baby Scam” has had its bathtub scene removed totally (mainly due to Nick’s insistance using “Hall of the Mountain King” for Grampa’s whistle; this song was used in “Dial ‘M’ For Murder” during the killing scenes apparently).

http://www.angelfire.com/wi/RenStimpy2000/rnsfaq21.txt

So, according to this, it was later runs that got cut but it was Nick’s idea to use Peer Gynt. Allegedly.

(Obviously I have too much time on my hands.)

[hecep]

@Melz2

I actually adore Larry, Moe and Curly (but not Shemp.) I liked Laurel & Hardy as well…

You have EXCELLENT taste. (Shemp has always been a bit of a problem for most fans, including me.)

[GoatCheezInfrno]

He must have whizzed on the electric fence one too many times.

[Otherbrother]

@Brainspore

The visual style was still massively influential on later work by other animators though, most notably Spongebob Squarepants.

Don’t forget the latest incarnation of Mickey Mouse shorts.

[LurksNoMore]

Well. I’m glad now that I never liked John K., and always felt that he was a too-edgy blowhard asshole.

Early Ren & Stimpy are still pretty good, if very weird and occasionally off-putting.

[nungesser]

@Brainspore

The visual style was still massively influential on later work by other animators though, most notably Spongebob Squarepants.

Absolutely – Ren & Stimpy is easily one of the most influential cartoons of the last 30 years or so. It completely changed the face of television animation and opened the doors to dozens of cartoons and cartoonists who never would’ve gotten on the air before then. A lot of it was pretty bad (uh, Schnookums and Meat) but there’s a direct line between what John K and his collaborators did with Ren & Stimpy and everything on Adult Swim today, not to mention everything Genndy Tartakovsky and Craig McCracken have done.

That said, it’s very telling to look at Kricfaluci’s career after the one single season of Ren & Stimpy he worked on. On his own, it’s a string of failed shows that he abandoned and crap that’s just gross for the sake of being gross. Ripping Friends? Weekend Pussy Hunt? Ren & Stimpy Adult Party Cartoon (aka “what if the joke is that they’re gay and screw a lot?”) It looks like a guy with one joke he keeps recycling who nobody wants to work with.

[Mangochin]

Plus any show which keeps Clancy Brown employed is alright by me.