Man's Best Friend (The Ren & Stimpy Show)
A banned episode that ended a creator's involvement.
"Man's Best Friend" is an episode from the second season of the American animated television series The Ren & Stimpy Show. It was pulled before its intended airdate on Nickelodeon and eventually aired on the soft launch of Spike TV in 2003. The episode is notable for its controversial content, which led to the termination of series creator John Kricfalusi and his production company Spümcø from further involvement in the series.
Quick Facts
- Series
- The Ren & Stimpy Show
- Season
- 2
- Episode
- 2b
- Air date
- 23 June 2003 (Spike TV)
- Story
- Vincent Waller; John Kricfalusi
- Director
- John Kricfalusi
Facts from the source article.
Plot
George Liquor sees Ren and Stimpy sleeping in a pet store window and decides to adopt them. Ignoring a warning on the glass, he bangs on it, waking and frightening the duo. At home, he empties a fish bowl, forces them to live in it, and the goldfish escapes in George's car. The next day, George dresses as a drill instructor to train them. He teaches house training by having them do push-ups with their buttocks on a newspaper; Ren fails, but Stimpy succeeds and receives a cigar-shaped dog treat resembling feces as a reward. George then instructs them to disobey in order to learn discipline, telling them not to go near the couch before ordering them to do so for punishment. When they fail to follow his orders, Ren collapses sobbing, and Stimpy jumps onto the couch as instructed, only to be yelled at. George then compliments Stimpy and gives him another treat. George orders Ren to ask for punishment; when Ren does, George humiliates him by giving him twenty dollars and allowing him to entertain himself with the money, which distresses Ren. Ren snidely remarks that the fish already took the car, and George gives him another twenty dollars for backtalking. Finally, George teaches them to attack while wearing a padded suit. Stimpy refuses, but Ren, fed up with George, picks up an oar and beats him with it. Believing he has killed George, Ren is satisfied, but George emerges unharmed and expresses being impressed. The episode ends with the three dancing with the cigar-shaped treats in their mouths.
Production
The story was written by storyboard artist Vincent Waller and series creator John Kricfalusi, who also directed. Storyboards were provided by Chris Reccardi. Animation was done by Carbunkle Cartoons, with Bob Jaques as animation director. This episode marked the first time Michael Pataki voiced George Liquor; previously the character was voiced by Harris Peet, who briefly voiced the goldfish in one scene. The episode was intended as a predecessor to "Dog Show", with George having trained the duo by that point. A planned scene where George leg-wrestles with Ren and Stimpy never progressed beyond storyboards. Production was troubled: animators at Carbunkle were pushed to their limits replicating Kricfalusi's layouts, and his dissatisfaction caused delays. Kricfalusi fired his protégé Michael Kim for failing to submit layouts. After Spümcø's contract was terminated, Games Animation produced the scene using archive audio and Rough Draft Korea's animation services. Production slowed dramatically as the show transitioned to Nickelodeon. Nickelodeon fired Kricfalusi, claiming he caused episodes to air late. Kim and some Spümcø employees were quickly hired by Warner Bros. Animation to work on Batman: The Animated Series before returning to Games. The legal settlement gave Kricfalusi the rights to George Liquor, preventing Nickelodeon from ever airing the footage.
Controversy
The episode was scheduled to air on Nickelodeon on August 22, 1992, but executives resisted due to a violent scene where Ren beats George with an oar, the way George yelled at Stimpy, and dog treats drawn to resemble cigars and feces. After the ban, Nickelodeon fired John Kricfalusi and several Spümcø employees. Kricfalusi believed this was done to make the show appropriate for younger viewers, while Nickelodeon stated the primary reason was missed deadlines. Games Animation handled the show from season three, with Billy West replacing Kricfalusi as the voice of Ren. The controversy highlighted inconsistency in Nickelodeon's censorship: a dog treat resembling feces was scrutinized, while a bloody intestine passing feces in the episode "The Royal Canadian Kilted Yaksmen" was not. Games Animation was later allowed to include risqué content and occasional graphic violence, despite the oar scene featuring no blood. In 2002, Kricfalusi was hired by Viacom's TNN to produce the short-lived Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon". The episode aired on June 23, 2003, along with the uncut version of the pilot "Big House Blues", three days before the premiere of Adult Party Cartoon on the network later renamed Spike TV, with a TV-MA rating. The episode was also released on the first and second season DVD boxset as a bonus feature.
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