Happy Happy Joy Joy - The Ren & Stimpy Story

It's Itchy and Scratchy.

What should have been a movie about a great cartoon wasn't.Sure Ren & Stimpy put the previous 10+ years of animation to shame and set the stage where cartoons would go.I won't make a list. You know what they are.I was in my mid twenties visiting my parents when Ren & Stimpy first aired. (I didn't have a tv nor wanted one.) Hadn't watched Nickelodeon since You Can't Do That On Television. I liked the weird stuff.Ren & Stimpy were part of my odd world. That's why I loved them.Soon I visited more people that had tv.The Ren & Stimpy Story was filled with incredibly talented people who loved what they were creating. It must have been a crazy ride. For a while.Those interviewed seemed full of glee when talking about the show. All of the crazy times at Spümco.But when they talked more about John that glee turned to sorrow. Time can heal some wounds.I don't know the guy so I won't judge him. He had a vision that made lots of people happy.He also had some serious control issues and a penchant for very young girls. These things are well documented.His micro micro managing cost him his show...for awhile.The Ren & Stimpy Adult Party Cartoon nearly lost my love for the characters. I have the dvd watched 1 and part of another cartoon and that was more than enough for me. I'm surprised Viacom ever let it on the air.Back to the movie, sorrow. Yep that pretty much somes it up.Now there is talk about bringing it back, again. I don't think it would ever be the same or as good. Maybe good for new viewers, but no matter how good it will still have the taint of the sordid back story. Original viewers may reject.Ren & Stimpy entertained and shocked (some) and brought codependency to animation. It brought big laughs to things we shouldn't laugh at but we laughed anyway. Many realised they were in a similar, but not as colorful, situation. I think of stinky gum holes every time I visit the dentist. My daughter still laughs at the Rubber Nipple episode. Why. It's very dark. And she gets it.I'll probably watch the bluray again. There is a host of extras that gives some insight to the show. Some of those extras went on way too long and could have used heavy editing.Why was is so difficult for John K to say he is sorry? Cause he's not.

As a society, we seriously need to stop glorifying people like John K. I guarantee there were a million other creators at the time who were probably even better than he was who absolutely had none of his personal failings.Abusers aren't special "tortured" geniuses- they always fail, and end up sinking whatever ship they manage to build through the stolen resources they've acquired from more capable people they've managed to manipulate.

If you're looking for a review, you can find several fine examples elsewhere. I agonized over choosing the pressed DVD over the MOD Blu-ray because I knew the Blu-ray had over an hour of extra interviews. I found an excellent price on the DVD and purchased it. Happily, all the Blu-ray extras are on the DVD. For what it's worth, it is an amazing documentary. ANY fan of "The Ren & Stimpy Show" needs to see this film. John K. and crew were able to catch lightning in a bottle, but only for a moment. But what a glorious moment it was.

John Kricfalusi has something wrong with him. Whether it's due to the medical reasons he gives or due to intrinsic character defects is left up to the viewer. And trust me, your evaluation of and feelings towards Mr. K. will change when watching this documentary, especially when the people who were on the receiving ends of his actions are given an opportunity to speak.And yet, "Ren & Stimpy" was groundbreaking. Besides just being funny, its humor was transmitted in wonderfully chaotic and fresh ways. Mr. K's contribution here needs to be acknowledged, but so do the contributions of Bob Camp, Lynne Naylor, Vanessa Coffey, and the many, many artists who worked at Spumco. All of this is brought forth here, including the tremendous sense of fun it must have had back when the cartoon was first being produced.Henry Ford was a notorious anti-Semite. And yet many people drive cars made by his company without ever knowing it. Is it possible to love "Ren & Stimpy" while not even feeling remotely at ease with Mr. K.? Can you love the work without loving the creator?

There is some really good stuff in here, lots of insights, lots of cool details about how R&S came to be. And just like any other classic story of meteoric rise and success, there is the second half of the film, about the inevitable fall and fail.I love me some R&S, always have. And we learn how these two characters came to be, minor characters in a larger pitch which were singled out and developed to form a show. So, it was Jon K AND others who brought R&S to life, but as you can tell very early on in surprisingly candid interviews with Jon K, there was always a level of obsessiveness and mania, which slowly bled into R&S and ultimately killed it.Jon K comes across as fascinating and also flawed, a man far beyond just dedicated to his work, more like possessed by his work. So, compromise and change were not well entertained, and it all just spun right on out of control. And then there were the sexual exploitation problems and all of that. Not good.In the end, it's really just a downer. It's a slo-mo car crash that you can't turn away from, a fascinating story of American success, the rise and inevitable fall. It'll make you yearn for simpler days, when it was just a ratty little sociopathic dog and a dim, lovable cat.