I Was a Teenage Stimpy

Did You Know?

• American journalist Thad Komorowski gave the episode four and a half out of five stars, calling it the single best episode of the series produced by Games Animation.
• The episode was originally produced as part of the series' fourth season.

Plot

In this episode, Ren and Stimpy are depicted as foster father and son, with Ren having adopted Stimpy when he was very young. While checking the mail, which is mostly addressed to Stimpy, Ren finds his own subscription: a pornographic magazine called Husk, thinly disguised as a corn magazine. He heads to the bathroom to masturbate but finds the door locked by Stimpy, who is panicking over pimples that have just appeared on his face. Ren is delighted, realizing Stimpy has entered puberty, meaning he can eventually take care of Ren in his old age. Ren gives Stimpy the Höek family grooming kit, which includes odd tools like a leech and pliers. Stimpy uses the pliers on a pimple, and the resulting pus hits Ren in the eye, giving him a black eye.

Ren consults a book on cat puberty and observes Stimpy exhibiting every symptom listed: his voice cracks, he becomes clumsy, and his baby teeth fall into the mush he made for Ren’s dinner. Overwhelmed by stress, Stimpy has a sudden growth spurt and runs from the room, refusing to accept his changing body. The next day, Stimpy finds a single chest hair in a shape that suggests an erection. He returns to the bathroom and hands Ren a bucket, much to Ren’s annoyance.

Stimpy then monopolizes the phone, chatting with friends, blocking calls meant for Ren, and making prank calls. He openly makes fun of Ren with his friends, and Ren tolerates it while reading about discipline. Stimpy asks Ren if he wants to go out, and Ren eagerly agrees, only for Stimpy to invite his friends and ask Ren to leave because he is embarrassed by him. Ren later catches Stimpy with a group of delinquents, kicks them out, and grounds Stimpy for associating with them.

Production

Tom McGrath directed only one episode of the series, "I Was a Teenage Stimpy," after joining as a newcomer. He proved highly skilled at storyboarding and frequently salvaged troubled episodes, turning them into well-received installments. This earned him the director credit for "Stupid Sidekick Union" instead of Ron Hughart. His work here later led to directing Madagascar, Megamind, and The Boss Baby at DreamWorks. For this episode, McGrath insisted on being the sole layout artist, with Stephen DeStefano assisting on storyboarding—similar to how Chris Reccardi handled "Ren's Brain" as his final episode. Although produced for the fourth season, the episode aired during a fifth season that Nickelodeon had commissioned.