What could be said about John Kricfalusi's short-lived Ren & Stimpy show that hasn't been said by the other commentators? Well, for one thing, and this is just personal opinion- for what it tries to accomplish, up to a point, it works, sort of. It's also a kind of un-Godly evolution years after the original series on Nickelodeon started. The thing is that one can't really look at this in the same context as the original show, especially if you're going into it- like me- having been a young kid being a fan of the original Nickelodeon show, and now grown-up. John K's limitations on the old show had him dealing with really bizarre, surreal, deranged, unique, whatever-you-want-to-call-it type of ideals and comedy in a format that was meant for a kids network. And it worked through its zany abandon of all logic, which is what cartoons above all else need to do. The Adult Party Cartoon series, of what I've seen anyway, still do that too, but this time it's not for the kiddies- pretty much at all. Sure, you may want to approach this if you're, say, under 13 and already a fan of the 90s show, but it's the kind of experience that might introduce you to a few new words and explicit sexual details. Yes, sexual; there's even a homosexual undercurrent to many gags that end up giving what South Park does a run for its money.
And in a way this time John K pushes even further what might've only been hinted at in the original series- the influence of real, gritty underground comics, particularly to my knowledge Bob Crumb, who was all about the proverbial innuendo and just outright outrageousness of his creations. This time though if there has been just the little sense of innocence among the mania and stupidity and cruelties of the cat and chihuahua, it's now nearly all but lost in these episodes. Among the episodes I've seen, such as Stimpy's Pregnant and Altruists, we now see the pair as being dirtier with their language, much more on the side of being abstracted but almost becoming TOO much into its own reckless need to gross out and be depraved. You know things are a little 'off' when just when you think you knew things about the duo's genitalia, that comes into question. This being said, I did still find a lot of the material funny, sometimes hysterically so; the Altruists episode especially had a great fondness for Three Stooges shorts, as the pair go to great lengths to steal money and also build a house for a lady with a headless husband (I think it was her husband, I could be wrong, who cares).
Yet through the ambition that John K and his animation team has with these new "lost" episodes, which may or may not have been intended originally for the Nickelodeon show (for the most part I'd really guess not, but I can also see where in the episodes it could have actually completely worked for the old show, which adds to its hidden, dark charm), there's something missing to it. It's not merely that the tone of the banter of the two is off, mostly due to John K having an odder, more crazed voice for Ren and a new replacement for Billy West as Stimpy. It's that what was a really awe-inspiring, as a child and even today, in seeing such debauchery in such a way that wasn't meant to outright offend (even if some did get offended by the original show), and was unique in its brand of random asides, product placements, and subtle, weird touches to Ren & Stimpy's bond. Here though the episodes are much longer, loaded with jokes that sometimes do fall flat, very flat, and now it's more fun as a simple 'after-hours' cartoon show then as something groundbreaking. The Adult Party Cartoons are raunchy, crude, practically X-rated trips into the twisted mind of John Kricfalusi and his team; that it isn't anything too special goes to show that, in an ironic way, restraint does work a little in the favor of Ren & Stimpy.
And in a way this time John K pushes even further what might've only been hinted at in the original series- the influence of real, gritty underground comics, particularly to my knowledge Bob Crumb, who was all about the proverbial innuendo and just outright outrageousness of his creations. This time though if there has been just the little sense of innocence among the mania and stupidity and cruelties of the cat and chihuahua, it's now nearly all but lost in these episodes. Among the episodes I've seen, such as Stimpy's Pregnant and Altruists, we now see the pair as being dirtier with their language, much more on the side of being abstracted but almost becoming TOO much into its own reckless need to gross out and be depraved. You know things are a little 'off' when just when you think you knew things about the duo's genitalia, that comes into question. This being said, I did still find a lot of the material funny, sometimes hysterically so; the Altruists episode especially had a great fondness for Three Stooges shorts, as the pair go to great lengths to steal money and also build a house for a lady with a headless husband (I think it was her husband, I could be wrong, who cares).
Yet through the ambition that John K and his animation team has with these new "lost" episodes, which may or may not have been intended originally for the Nickelodeon show (for the most part I'd really guess not, but I can also see where in the episodes it could have actually completely worked for the old show, which adds to its hidden, dark charm), there's something missing to it. It's not merely that the tone of the banter of the two is off, mostly due to John K having an odder, more crazed voice for Ren and a new replacement for Billy West as Stimpy. It's that what was a really awe-inspiring, as a child and even today, in seeing such debauchery in such a way that wasn't meant to outright offend (even if some did get offended by the original show), and was unique in its brand of random asides, product placements, and subtle, weird touches to Ren & Stimpy's bond. Here though the episodes are much longer, loaded with jokes that sometimes do fall flat, very flat, and now it's more fun as a simple 'after-hours' cartoon show then as something groundbreaking. The Adult Party Cartoons are raunchy, crude, practically X-rated trips into the twisted mind of John Kricfalusi and his team; that it isn't anything too special goes to show that, in an ironic way, restraint does work a little in the favor of Ren & Stimpy.