"Ren and Stimpy" was the cartoon that broke the mold and pulled cartoons into the present day. Along with "The Simpsons," R&S were responsible for reviving TV animation. Ren the chihuahua and Stimpy, the extremely stupid cat, undergo various adventures, none of which is easily explained. You have to see Ren and Stimpy to believe it. Some of their humor involves things like rotten teeth, belly button lint and "nose goblins," and they built an entire "Christmas Special" around Stimpy's case of flatulence, so these are NOT for the easily offended. But for many Ren and Stimpy are a benchmark of 90s humor. (Funnier than Seinfeld, as far as I am concerned.) Nickelodeon currently sells videotapes of the show, and in my opinion the earlier episodes (1991 to about 1993) where John Kricfalusi was still in charge of the show are the best. Later shows after Kricfalusi left lapse into standard cartoon fare with the occasional gross-out joke, but the initial episodes with John K. (as he is known) in charge are pure genius. This cartoon was highly influential in both animation style and subject matter, and paved the way for others such as Beavis and Butthead, Cow and Chicken (whose theme music even echoes Ren and Stimpy's) and South Park. The original episodes still stand up over time and will still be funny a hundred years from now. "Why does everybody want my ICE CREAM BAR!?!??" Tune in and find out.
Review of The Ren & Stimpy Show
