Man's Best Friend (The Ren & Stimpy Show)
A banned episode that ended Kricfalusi's involvement with the series.
"Man's Best Friend" was made for the second season of The Ren & Stimpy Show. Nickelodeon planned to air it on August 22, 1992, but pulled it before broadcast, swapping in a censored version of "Big House Blues" instead. The episode finally aired on Spike TV's soft launch on June 23, 2003. In it, Ren and Stimpy learn obedience after George Liquor takes them home, vowing to turn them into champions. The episode sparked controversy over a scene where Ren beats George with an oar, plus tobacco references and a joke about feces. Nickelodeon refused to air it as made, leading to the firing of creator John Kricfalusi and his company Spümcø from 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 stands outside a pet store watching Ren and Stimpy sleep in the 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 containing a goldfish and forces Ren and Stimpy to live in it; the goldfish flops out and leaves 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 using their buttocks on a newspaper; Ren fails, but Stimpy succeeds and receives a cigar-shaped dog treat resembling feces as a reward, then dances for joy. George then teaches them to disobey in order to learn discipline, instructing them not to go near the couch and then ordering them to do so for punishment. George then compliments Stimpy for following orders and gives him another treat. George instructs Ren to ask for punishment, but instead humiliates him by giving him 20 dollars and allowing him to entertain himself with the money, distressing Ren.
Ren snidely points out that the fish already took the car, and George gives him another 20 dollars for backtalking. Finally, George teaches them to protect their master by attacking him while he wears a padded suit. Stimpy refuses, but Ren picks up an oar and maniacally beats George 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 clamped between their teeth.
Production
The episode's story was crafted by Vincent Waller, a storyboard artist who later worked on SpongeBob SquarePants, alongside series creator John Kricfalusi, who also directed. Chris Reccardi provided the storyboards, and Carbunkle Cartoons handled animation, with founder Bob Jaques serving as animation director. This marks the debut of Michael Pataki as the voice of George Liquor, replacing Harris Peet, who instead voiced a goldfish in a brief scene where it drives away in Liquor's car.
The episode was designed as a lead-in to "Dog Show," implying George had already trained the duo. A planned leg-wrestling sequence between George, Ren, and Stimpy never made it past the storyboard stage. Production faced significant challenges: Carbunkle animators struggled to match Kricfalusi's layouts, and his dissatisfaction caused repeated delays. He fired his protégé Michael Kim for failing to submit layouts.
After Spümcø's contract ended, Games Animation completed the scene using archived audio and Rough Draft Korea's services. The show's move to Nickelodeon slowed production further, and Nickelodeon fired Kricfalusi, blaming him for the delayed episodes. Kim and several Spümcø staff were quickly hired by Warner Bros. Animation for Batman: The Animated Series before returning to Games. A legal settlement granted Kricfalusi ownership of George Liquor, permanently barring Nickelodeon from broadcasting the footage.
Controversy
The episode was scheduled to air on Nickelodeon on August 22, 1992, but executives resisted due to the violent scene where Ren beats George with an oar, the way George yelled at Stimpy, and the dog treats drawn to resemble cigars and feces. Following the ban, Nickelodeon fired John Kricfalusi and a number of Spümcø employees. Kricfalusi believed this was done to make the show appropriate for younger viewers, while Nickelodeon stated the primary reason was Kricfalusi missing deadlines.
Games Animation handled the show from its third season, with Billy West replacing Kricfalusi as the voice of Ren, as West had intended to do so before Kricfalusi insisted on voicing Ren. The controversy highlighted inconsistency in Nickelodeon's censorship: a dog treat resembling feces was scrutinized, while a bloody intestine passing feces in "The Royal Canadian Kilted Yaksmen" was not. Games Animation was allowed risqué content and occasional graphic violence in later episodes, 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 what would become Spike TV, with a TV-MA rating. The episode was also released on the Ren & Stimpy first and second season DVD boxset as a bonus feature.
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