Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon" (also known as "Ren & Stimpy's All New Adult Party Cartoon") is an American short-lived adult animated television series created by Canadian animator John Kricfalusi for the cable network TNN. The series is an adults-only-sequel and spin-off to 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 July 24, 2003, when TNN's entire animation block was discontinued. The last 3 episodes remained unaired on the network, and originally intended to end on August 14, 2003, but the 3 episodes are available on Ren & Stimpy "The Lost Episodes" DVD and on a variety of digital platforms and 6 episodes were ultimately cancelled. The series was produced by Spümcø for Spike Animation Studios.
Video Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon"
History
The original Ren & Stimpy Show premiered alongside Rugrats and Doug on children's network Nickelodeon in 1991. The show's creator, John Kricfalusi, had many altercations with the network, eventually culminating in his termination. In 2002, about a decade after Kricfalusi's termination, Viacom contracted him to produce a new version of his series for an updated version of the TNN, Spike TV, which was devoted to programming for male audiences. Kricfalusi said that TNN wanted an "extreme" version of The Ren & Stimpy Show. TNN gave Kricfalusi greater control of the writing and contents of the episodes, and he produced six new cartoons aimed at adult audiences. Some 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.
Some of the original voice cast members returned, with the notable exception of Billy West, original voice of Stimpy, who turned down the role and said the new series wasn't funny and that participating in it would damage his career. He strongly disliked the first script he was sent and predicted that the new show would be cancelled quickly (and his prediction came true, much to his surprise). Eric Bauza was hired to replace West as Stimpy, while Kricfalusi reprised his roles as Ren and Mr. Horse. 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.
The new series began airing in June 2003 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. The episode portrayed the characters as bisexual. 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. The show stopped airing after three episodes when TNN's animation block was "put on hold".
Kricfalusi shut down his Canada studio thereafter following a lawsuit filed by Carbunkle against Spümcø in the Canadian court system. In 2005, he announced that all of the Adult Party Cartoon cartoons that were fully produced were coming to DVD.
Maps Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon"
Episodes
Cancelled episodes
The show was originally going to have a second season. However, due to criticism the series had, the show only lasted for one season and only 6 episodes were fully produced before the show's cancellation, but these episodes were never fully produced. Like "Onward and Upward" and "Ren Seeks Help", certain episodes were based off scripts written for the Spümcø era of the original series.
- Life Sucks - Ren explains to Stimpy that life sucks, much to Stimpy's horror. After that, they have an extensive look at life's past tragedies like the Children's Crusade. According to John Kricfalusi, this was meant to be a prequel episode to "Ren Seeks Help". This is suggesting that this episode was the cause of Ren and Stimpy's argument, as it is never stated in "Ren Seeks Help" what Ren had done. Production had begun on this episode, with some voice work and roughly a third of the storyboard, at the time of the cancellation.
- The Big Switch - Stimpy can't tolerate Ren's abuse any longer and the two argue over which is better: to be an idiot or a "psychotic asshole". They finally settle the argument by making a bet that they can switch roles for a day. The episode's basic premise was loosely made in the Games Animation era (the season 5 episode "Who's Stupid Now?").
- Fishing Trip - Ren & Stimpy go on a fishing trip in search of the elusive foul-mouthed bass. The episode's basic premise is loosely related to the season 3 episode "Bass Masters" and the unproduced Spümcø episode "The Wilderness Adventure."
- The Wilderness Adventure - George Liquor takes Ren & Stimpy hunting in the deep woods. The episode was originally written for Nickelodeon, but was rejected several times. Michael Pataki was to reprise his role as George Liquor. The storyboard for the rejected episode, however, were completed in the 90s and one of the ideas would later used in the season 2 episode The Great Outdoors.
- My Little Ass - A fake commercial. The script for the commercial was written during when Kricfalusi was working on the new episodes for TNN, but it was never made. (Source: John K. Interview - 08/19/03, WGN Radio)
- Powdered Toastman's Rolling Tobacco - A second fake commercial. The commercial was going to mark the return of Powdered Toastman. The idea for the commercial was conceived, but the commercial itself was never fully produced. (Source: John K. Interview - 08/19/03, WGN Radio)
Broadcast and DVD release
The episode "Man's Best Friend" was originally set to air in the original series' second season, but the episode was rejected by Nickelodeon due to disturbing violence and references to tobacco. The episode did not air on television until 2003. TNN's official episode lineup on their website seemed to suggest that they consider the episode "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. The first new episode that aired on TNN was "Onward and Upward", and "Ren Seeks Help" was the second. The episode "Fire Dogs 2" was the last episode to air on TNN. The three episodes "Naked Beach Frenzy", "Altruists", and "Stimpy's Pregnant" did not originally air on TNN, though they did air on other networks overseas, including Fox in Italy and MTV in Poland. They were also included in the Ren & Stimpy: The Lost Episodes DVD set that was released on July 18, 2006.
Reception
Ren & Stimpy: Adult Party Cartoon was universally panned by critics and fans of the original Ren and Stimpy Show and even by people who never watched the original. DVD Talk wrote that "the animation and character designs show that John K. and company really have a passion for animation, but the weak stories epitomize empty, heavy-handed shock value. [...] All in all, only a few of these six uneven adventures show sparks of promise, while others fall victim to the same problems that arose when Games Animation took over: the balance between sick humor and controlled chaos just wasn't treated with respect. [...] Even with a few bright spots," the website called it "a mostly dismal affair that will sharply divide fans of the series. It's nice to know that creators can occasionally give their twisted imaginations free reign [sic], but these six misadventures offer sufficient proof that a little restraint can go a long way." PopMatters was more favorable, writing: "With snot as side dishes and vomit as gravy, the foulness is overwhelming, yet also clever. Kricfalusi's satire may be obvious, but he's not just making puke jokes for nausea's sake."
Adult Party Cartoon's overwhelmingly negative reception severely damaged John Kricfalusi's and Ren and Stimpy's reputation, and is considered the primary reason why Ren & Stimpy will not get a reboot or revival from Nickelodeon, meaning that Ren & Stimpy will not be featured in the Nicktoons movie. It also means that Paramount Pictures has scrapped the idea for a Ren and Stimpy theatrical cartoon for the third SpongeBob SquarePants movie.
See also
- "Man's Best Friend" (The Ren & Stimpy Show)
References
External links
- Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon" on IMDb
- Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon" at TV.com
Source of article : Wikipedia
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