Bell Hops

Plot

Ren and Stimpy work as bellhops at a hotel under the Announcer Salesman, who, acting unusually serious, assigns them to guard a celebrity guest named Mr. Noggin from paparazzi. During their daily duties, they assist tourists with luggage, most notably the morbidly obese Mrs. Buttloaves, who is so heavy they must use a rocket under the elevator to move her. She gives them two dirty breath mints; Ren takes one reluctantly while Stimpy eats his gratefully.

The Salesman later orders them to deliver a confidential package to Mr. Noggin’s room, warning them not to open it. Ren opens it anyway and finds only a normal hat. Stimpy explains that Mr. Noggin is a wealthy man who built the hotel on sacred Indian burial grounds and has not been seen in years. They deliver the hat to his room and receive more dirty breath mints as tips, which enrages Ren.

The duo then vandalizes Mrs. Buttloaves’ room after she leaves, claiming it is part of their daily room-cleaning routine.

While Stimpy takes out the trash, a mysterious man hiding in a rubbish bin offers him money for a photo of Mr. Noggin. Stimpy refuses out of loyalty and attacks the man with garbage, upsetting him. Meanwhile, Ren works at the swimming pool, applying sunscreen to Mrs. Buttloaves. He accidentally falls onto her, leaving her sunburnt in that spot.

Later, Ren takes out the trash and accepts the man’s offer of five dollars, but Stimpy scolds him for the betrayal. Ren then jumps into Mr. Noggin’s room, with Stimpy following to stop him. Inside, Ren discovers that Mr. Noggin is literally just a head with no body. He tries to photograph him, but Stimpy intervenes.

Mr. Noggin explains that his condition forced him into seclusion, but Ren persists. Stimpy and Mr. Noggin jump out a window, landing on Mrs. Buttloaves, which saves them. Mr. Noggin and Mrs. Buttloaves fall in love and marry. Ren finally gets his photograph and earns one million dollars, but the Salesman takes the money, leaving Ren saddened.

Production

Bell Hops was produced for the series' fourth season and aired during a Nickelodeon-'commissioned' fifth season. It was storyboarded at Character Builders in Ohio, a less costly alternative to most animation studios such as Rough Draft Studios by Jim Kammerud to save costs. The low quality of its storytelling was made worse by the fact director Ken Bruce was assigned the responsibility to direct the episode after it had been animated at Mr. Big Cartoons. Mark Hamill was recruited by showrunner Bob Camp to be the guest star of the episode in multiple attempts by Camp to reinvigorate discussion on the series.