Were the Later Episodes of Ren and Stimpy Really THAT Bad?
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- čas přidán 17. 09. 2021
- Once John K left, many fans became extremely divided on whether Ren and Stimpy was still good anymore. Time for us to weigh in!
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I honestly think the Games Animation era was good overall. Bob Camp deserves a lot more credit for keeping Ren and Stimpy fresh during that time.
Which is ironically cathartic, given how Adult Party Cartoon turned out.
Yeah, a precursor to Nickelodeon Animation Studio.
Fun Fact about Stimpy's Cartoon Show: that episode was originally written by Spumco and John K
However instead of Ren being portrayed as he was in the episode instead it made Ren seem like a good guy and Stimpy the villian
After John was kicked off the Games team took the script and rewrote it to make it a commentary about how John K treated the animators leading to the final version of that episode
Honestly, making Ren the berating antagonist for the episode was a better call. Some people love their work as a cartoonist, but there will always be someone who has a serious attitude over how the cartoon should be made. And Stimpy works better as someone who is passionate about their craft, since Ren doesn’t even like the idea of Stimpy of having cartoons for entertainment.
I was gonna say! When I saw John K in the credits, I thought to myself that there’s no way he would let this slide! 😅
The reason why a lot of the games episodes feel so rushed is because Nickelodeon actually ordered 4 seasons not 5. They basically ordered a HUGE amount of episodes and then split them into 2 seasons. Bob Camp, Criss Riccardi and a lot of the other people from the first 2 seasons didn't have the time or the budget according to the dvd commentaries to direct them all correctly. So they hired new people that were not as familiar with the characters as them to direct and write a lot of season 4 episodes (school mates,dog tags ect). The crew had so little time to finish them that some episodes didn't even use layouts and when they did they were done by overseas studios, Nickelodeon gave the directors only 4 hours to check the layouts for an entire cartoon. I think games could have turned out truly great if the network gave the crew a few more months to train the newcomers and one more year to finish season 4. Season 3 looks great in my opinion and that's because the crew had more time to work on these since half of the season was written/storyboarded by Spumco
That actually makes a lot of sense. I guess Nick overworked the crews all the way back then.
sounds like nickelodeon tried killed their goose to get all their golden eggs at once
Just want to add that "Lair of the Lummox" was the only S3 ep storyboarded at Spumco. The rest of the leftover Spumco material only existed in outline form. This is significant because the storyboard could drastically change the material from the outline, which some of the S3 eps did.
@@mediamementosofficial They had to replace people whne Spumco was an already under-staffed crew and many Spumco employees refuse to work on the show.
@@wallowlight Likely also them wanting to make up for lost time after John K's antics seriously delayed production.
Coincidentally enough I actually got to see Billy West today at Fanexpo.
Really? Tell me about it
@@TheCowofIdeas I also got to meet him at a convention. I asked the Question was he really made about not voicing Bugs Bunny in Loony Tunes Back in Action? He said (He was) but he got over it.
Stimpy's Cartoon Show was secretly Brilliant all this time! Mind blown!
I was never really that big a Ren and Stimpy Fan, but Stimpy's Cartoon show is one of the episodes I remember seeing as a kid, and I remember liking it. I'm actually tempted to go back and rewatch it to see if it's better than I remember.
It is the show's magnum opus in my opinion
Not gonna lie. The majority of my favorite Ren & Stimpy episodes are from the Games era. And I'm not ashamed to admit it.
They had some duds, but so did the original lineup. Like you said, just because it’s a little different doesn’t mean it’s bad.
We should get all media mementos videos to at 1k views because damn these guys cover the most interesting video ideas and probably the most original
There are a lot of iconic episodes from the later seasons.
I was a Teenage Stimpy, Egg Yolkeo, Ren Needs Help, Hermit Ren, Jerry The Bellybutton Elf Ft. Gilbert Gottfried R.I.P., Stimpy's Cartoon Show, Ren's Pecs, Circus Midgets, Ren's Bitter Half, I love Chicken, etc.
I love all of em
Oh my god I just remembered egg yolkeo hahahaha
Ren needs help is one of the best games episodes imo. The premise of Ren being sent to a mental hospital is a pretty interesting one and it manages to keep the charm and animation of the spumco episodes pretty well (the cream corn scene imo was pretty funny)
I honestly love these seasons, they're so rewatchable. Although season 4 is clearly the worst season due to nick rushing them. Season 4 had some of the best episodes Games made, Hermit Ren, Double Header, Insomniac Ren, Ren Needs Help! and Superstitious Stimpy are to name a few. Season 3 is in the middle, it has some really great episodes but season 3 was just really short. Season 5 is my favorite out of Games because it's the most Games that Games got... if that makes sense. What I'm trying to say is that season 5 just feels comftorable being different from the Spumco episodes (Not saying that season 4 wasn't). Also, a few of the endings show Ren and Stimpy being great friends which is always nice. The only 2 things are is that for some reason, the spumco episodes had a sense of charm, season 1 especially, but it doesn't ruin it for me. The other thing is that the animation quality dropped obviously and some of the storyboards for some episodes (A Friend In Your Face!, Farm Hands, Scotsman In Space, School Mates) look lazy and barely have detail. They sometimes don't even look like the twisted duo!
Several comments:
-"Stimpy's Cartoon Show" was written by JK and Elinor Blake (they're listed on the closing credits of that episode). However, JK intended the episode to satirize the modern animation industry, not himself, natch.
-IMO, the Games eps had 3 major problems: 1) Ren was a less interesting character and lost a lot of the chemistry he had with Stimpy. 2) Bob Camp didn't do storyboards (at least not a whole cartoon) and Stephen DeStefano's style didn't fit the characters very well. 3) Many plots were blatantly hacked-out rubbish that used R&S only because they had to - this goes for eps by the core Games crew and outsourced ones.
-But they had a lot of strengths as well: Episodes focused on Stimpy were usually good, the animation was expressive and they still captured much of the charm of old theatrical cartoons. Plus the show kept its own distinct sense of humor without resorting to topical jokes (like Southpark). I basically like 1/3-1/2 of the episodes starting with the 3rd season.
Glad to see you do another Ren and Stimpy video! It’s always good to see these.
Not exactly. They didn’t really seem all that bad. In fact, a couple of episodes taught us how horrible it was to work with and for John K. They’re especially better than the Adult Party Cartoon shows.
It ranges from Jimminy Lummox to Aloha Hoek. So great to poor. But on the whole, I’d say they’re mostly good.
This video was released at the perfect time (as the showcase, and revival trailer being released recently)
Spongebob cosmic shake looks incredible I think! The reveal trailer yesterday was so nostalgic to me!
I was going to rewatch your "Nicktoons Versus the Network" video when you just uploaded this.
Great episodes, i went through and rewatched the entire ren and stimpy show since i never saw it in its entirety and once i reached season 4 I've already heard bout the negative comments and was ready to be disappointed, finishing it i was like "... what was the big deal?" i freakin loved all of em with a few exceptions from season 5 and would definitely rewatch em all.
It is true that other cartoons had much worse declines than Ren and Stimpy (AND SpongeBob). Some episodes in the Games era were better than others. But some of them are actually better than some Spumco episodes -and I'm refering to episodes originated by Games. Some of my favorites from this era (such as An Abe Divided and Insomniac Ren) are among my favorites of the entire show!
Imagine someone thinking APC is better than Seasons 4 and 5!
APC is underrated in my opinion. It has the look, feel, and charm of some of the early Ren and Stimpys if just a little more vulgar than usual. Ultimately, I think APC had a lot of potential but people watched a few episodes and lost their minds at it. Especially Ren Seeks Help.
@@sandwichgod692 Billy West Said that he refused to be involved in that show.
Rocko's Modern Life on the other hand is one of the exceptions. Rocko's Modern Life is consistently great throughout the whole 4 Seasons of the show. Even the new TV movie Rocko's Modern Life Static Cling is great. Ren & Stimpy clearly showed a decline ever since John K and Spumco left. The first 2 seasons of Ren and Stimpy are great, but the Seasons afterwards are clearly inferior. They're still pretty good though, so the decline is not dramatic. SpongeBob's decline is dramatic. I disagree about there are worst declines than SpongeBob since SpongeBob is one of those cartoons I can't think of worst declines. After 3 Seasons, SpongeBob became terrible and unwatchable. And it somehow gets worst. I'm not a SpongeBob fan myself, but based on what I've seen, even the majority of the SpongeBob fans even agree with this. At-least ones who did not grew up with the new episodes. There are exceptions of fans in that regard of course.
Big Potshot on Cow and Chicken; I dare you to review this and tell us whether it's good or not.
Stimpy's Cartoon Show (the original version) is an absolute classic. If you've never seen the show, and you're not too into the gross out stuff, this is a wonderful entry. I showed to my class on Animation, and the group loved it. It's a celebration of the old school Animation process and classic cartoons in general.
It’s a shame it isn’t included on the dvds; it’s way better than the edited version
The Games episodes definitely had more heart than the Spumco ones
Ren and Stimpy was definitely my all time favorite show. Even now as an adult I still enjoy the episodes.
The Games Era was way too overhated
Do they have some stinkers? Yeah, but Spumco also had one or two that didn't worked as much as the others
And given the production issues that plagued the show in general, I'm surprised most of the run is still well made. And it's miles better than John K's own attempt of reviving these characters (though that's beating on a dead Mr. Horse, isn't it?)
Honestly the best thing about animation, especially a show/studio created by a controversial figure is if the thing can hold its own after the main figure associated with it gets tweezered out of the process (see: The Loud House, which fell apart *three seasons in* and has to rely on gimmicky crap to stay afloat after Chris Savino got fired or Pixar, which already showed signs of fading away in Lasseter's later film tenure with Brave and shit - now nearly arrogant enough to think that they won't leave public consciousness after the bland mediocrity of the last couple years since they tweezed Lasseter.) and Games Animation nearly kept Ren and Stimpy alive after Spümcø caved in and died unceremoniously sixteen years ago because John had rigged it so the studio literally *couldn't survive* without him once someone finally sued his ass.
The trademark is up in the air now and no one wants to touch it according to Wikipedia but Games Animation is now Nickelodeon Studios, so that's one positive thing out of this mess.
Update: This goes for live-action, too. The Goldbergs are stumbling around like a drunk cowboy after they lost both the creator, the grandpa, the dad and the high school coach on sex harassment charges, Sean Giambrone stopped looking "cute", his onscreen mom turned into a psycho - yeah, things aren't looking too hot.
The only Ren and Stimpy I actively dislike is Adult Party Cartoon; for the most part I thought the post-John K episodes were pretty good. Maybe not as surreal as the earlier eps, but still a good Nicktoon.
Are you gonna do a video on the upcoming R&S reboot for Comedy Central soon? (Since it was confirmed recently that Billy West will be reprising his roles as the titular duo)
I don't care what people say. The Games Era of Ren & Stimpy is better than the era with John K. (Even though Seasons 1-2 are also still good)
Despite creating it John K. disgraced the show with it's Adult Spin-Off. One of the rarest examples where the creator should not get ahold of their creation.
I heard it got bad and was worried, but when I was watching I was just like...huh? Because I really enjoyed the later seasons! I didn't see anything wrong with them. You could say it's a mixed bag or that there's a few that aren't as memorable or funny, but I thought that was the case for s1 and 2 as well, personally. Nothing's going to be 100% perfect. I think the show as a whole is just fun, hilarious and deeply unique, no matter the season! 💗
Why is all the scenes in the beginning backwards?
I like the later episodes of Ren and Stimpy including the early ones.
Games animation is a really weird name for a cartoon company? Might as well be making video games at this point. Lol
ANOTHER REN AND STIMPY
To be honest I feel that there was a pretty substantial decline, but not until the latter part of Season 3. To me, many Season 4/5 episodes, and a few in the back end of Season 3, started off well but then descended into being gross for the sake of being gross, being mean for the sake of being mean, and making Ren a punch bag. When I watched the later episodes for the first time as a child I got into a pattern of enjoying the early part of these episodes but dreading how they were most likely going to go downhill. It's certainly consistent with the episodes having been rushed as others have mentioned.
I do agree that the decline in quality has often been exaggerated over the years, not helped by John K's own writings about this which were latched onto by many fans. John also managed to convince many people that the decline set in as soon as he left, when in reality it seems to me that the decline set in much later and possibly for reasons that had little to do with John's departure. While some of the early Season 3 episodes were started at Spumco and finished at Games, for example "An Abe Divided" sticks out for me as an out-and-out Games episode which was right up there with the better Spumco ones.
I love those episodes perhaps even more than the Spumco Episodes! Especially the Dinosaur, Zoo and Farm episodes!
A majority of Season 4 (a) & 4b (aka 5) feels a little bit more weaker, but there was still great episodes.
It’s a mixed bag for me, some are pretty good while others not so much and in some of the later ones the animation really suffers, the worst ones for me are No Pants Today, Lair of the Lummox, School Mates, and Weiner Barons.
I discovered a Ren and Stimpy fan that found good episodes in the later seasons. Hermit Ren, Blazing Entrails, Ren's Brain, Diner Party, Big Flakes, and especially Everend Jak might be hidden gems.
I hope someone does a documentary about Games Animation's Ren & Stimpy
I’m kind of nostalgic for it seeing as how it’s still part of the 90’s and I think it has more good than bad episodes. Of course it’s not perfect and it does have it’s terrible episodes like Ren’s Brain, Alona Hoek and It’s A Dog’s Life being the worst example. But for the most part I enjoyed the episodes there. Even Seasons 1-2 have had their bad episodes like Nurse Stimpy, Big Baby Scam and The Cat That Laid The Golden Hairball
I mainly had these episodes taped off TV, so saw them more than the earlier ones. For the most part I quite like the Games ones, though I don’t really remember ‘Reverend Jack’ and ‘A Scooter for Yaksmas’ all that much. But ‘Stimpy’s Cartoon’ is great for the Wilbur Cobb ending and the cartoon itself, and a lot of them are pretty memorable for me. For some reason, in the Jerry episode, when he turned giant and was after them, he legitimately scared my child self 😅
I never understood Spongebob and I was the target demographic. I wish more people understood that Ren & Stimpy influenced Spongebob in many ways.
Never cared about the show until I found out the creator was a creep.
2:45 John K Actually liked Cow & Chicken... You can decide if that's good or not
When do you think the Ren and Stimpy reboot will be released?
2 years
I'm guessing sometime early next year since it was confirmed that Billy West will be reprising his roles as the titular duo. :)
@@brycefourn2001 Awesome inc is now looking for character designers and storyboard artists so probably in 1-2 years
@@dorkymations4432 I was referring to the one for Comedy Central FYI.
@@dorkymations4432 Nvm. I see what you're talking about now. I thought you were referring to some fan-made company. LOL 😆🤣
I love Season 3-5 the most
No creo que los episodios de la era de Games animation sean tan malos. Por lo menos son mejores que la atrocidad de Adult Party Cartoon
honestly i love both the games and spumco era (ren and stimpy is the only good thing john k and spumco ever made) and i think games took a lot of dares with the characters
Having watched every episode recently, I will agree that there were some good episodes during the Games era, with some of my favorites being "I Love Chicken", "Jiminy Lummox", "Ol' Blue Nose", and "Stimpy's Cartoon Show". However, throughout seasons 3-5, there were episodes where I was just staring blankly at the screen without uttering a single chuckle. Episodes like "The Last Temptation", "A Scooter for Yaksmas", "Dinner Party", and "Reverend Jack" felt boring to me because I didn't find any of the jokes funny or the premise of the episodes just felt lost to me, whereas episodes like "Hermit Ren", "Road Apples", and "Ren's Pecs" have a good premise, but a weak payoff in both the humor and storytelling. It also doesn't help that the episodes "Ren's Brain", "Lair of the Lummox", and "Stimpy's Cartoon Show" were episodes that were written by John Kricfalusi prior to Spümcø's termination from the show and while "Stimpy's Cartoon Show" turned out pretty great, "Ren's Brain" and "Lair of the Lummox" lacked the humor to elevate these episodes's premises. All in all, while there were some great hits during the later seasons of Ren & Stimpy, I felt that there were more misses in the mix.
Honestly, I've seen some of the Games episodes on Nicktoons back in the day and liked them, especially Ol Blue Nose and Jerry the Belly Button Elf. There are some solid episodes in all seasons imo alongside some duds.
I was just thinking about watching these episodes to see what I missed out on. I loved Cow & Chicken btw
Ren's Pecs is one of my favorite episodes
Wen koms te reboot
I gave up on the show with Monkey See Monkey Don't (which aired on Nickelodeon shortly after Son of Stimpy premiered on MTV). Ren's voice sounded horrible and it didn't have the same feel. I didn't care anymore because the dream was over.
I think there's as many good Games episodes as there are Spumco ones, but the problem there is that there's nearly twice as many Games ones. Allegedly after John K left, Nick started laying down the law harder with shorter deadlines and less ambitious premises. The animation also took a blatant nosedive in some episodes, it wasn't ALWAYS bad, but there was never anything on the same level as the lavish Carbunkle episodes of Season Two. The chemistry wasn't quite as fun either, the two didn't have their cute but twisted friendship in focus as much anymore and in some cases the meaner or grosser jokes were just spammed for no rhyme or reason (which is saying something considering how the show was from day one).
I do agree however that it wasn't this disasterous nosedive that many stated it to be. We just got more mediocre episodes and a bit less of the earlier magic, a lot of shows do that, sad as it is, and Ren and Stimpy still had some fun episodes wedged in there.
Before 2003 I would've said yes the Games episodes weren't as great as the Spumco ones. But after APC, I think Bob Camp is vindicated for how he was able to keep the show going without John K.
2:45 Please do a Cow & Chicken video
Wait jimmy neutron experienced seasonal rot?
Yeson Entertainment and Rough Draft Korea should come back to animate The Ren and Stimpy Show revival. Yeson also animated ren and stimpy alike show: Ed, Edd n Eddy. Rough Draft Korea animated heaps of good and bad shows.
0:53 - We never forget SuperMarioLogan for having a decline since season 9 in 2017
I personally thought Danny Phantom's final season was a good ending to the series, but to each their own. Still, I do agree that the games era of Ren and Stimpy are enjoyable. In fact, they are what I grew up with the most and like most of them better than some of John K's episodes.
I agree with you, the entire show is not much decline, their spirit still exist like Travellers' Tales Crash Games despite being still canon and having mixed reviews by metacritic.
It’s like a wild card You can be good or sometimes it can be bad, but some of them are good, but a lot of them are kind of bad, but I’m fine with them
In my opinion the Games Animation era was very mixed. Hermit Ren, Insomniac Ren, Sammy and Me, Bellhops, and A Yard too Far stand alongside the first 2 seasons in quality. But episodes like A Friend in your Face, Magical Golden Singing Cheeses, Aloha Hoek, and A Hard Day's Luck are practically unwatchable.
I really liked the episode where ten retires!
Edit:sorry I mean ren
The Games Animation were just as impressive as the Spumco era. Also, they didn't even lowered the tone in being gross and disturbing, just see Ren Needs Help (not to be confused by the infamous "Ren Seeks Help")
All of the episodes of the original Ren And Stimpy show including the episodes from seasons 3-5 are great.
Honestly i think some of the best episodes were from the games era. Hermet ren, stimpys cartoon show, double header, are a few i can name.
Not to be a nit pick here, but you spelled were wrong XD
No he didn’t
@@itelyuwhut1590 yes he did, he spelled it we're instead of were
Best cartoon EVER
I'm not gonna say the Games era's bad, it's just decent and mild, love or hate John K, his perfectionism and crazy edge pushin' shock humour was satisfyin' and came with memorable results in the end, Mr. Horse and George Liquor didn't return after he got fired, characters that made the show funny, Billy did an OK impression but Ren's voice was better left with John, wished their could've been one more Spumco season but it was great while it lasted.
Mr horse is in a few episodes after John was fired actually, but he’s voiced by billy west
Seasons 1-2 were good
Seasons 3-5 were good
There both equally good in my opinion sure the games wasn’t that funny and the spin o eyes was weird but I’m my eyes they were equal also because I watched more of Rockos modern life so maybe I just don’t see it
their kinda meh for me but i watched a bit of ren and stimpy and dont have a bit of knowledge about the show but ok
Game’s animation Ren and Stimpy is better than Adult party cartoon because John Kricfalusi deserved to be fired at Nickelodeon but then shortly after that in 1993 Rocko’s modern life came along and it was better than Ren and Stimpy in my opinion
I can't really enjoy ren & stimpy anymore after what John did..
Early Ren and Stimpy = Bob Camp/Games seasons >>>>>>> Adult Party Cartoon.
I like all different Stampy episodes I think Billy West sounds better than John K. I think Billy West voice for Ren and stimpy is really funny and hilarious
He started the ren voice really good but by seasons 4 and 5 there’s a lot of instances of him barely even attempting to do any voice, and he especially stops sounding like ren
In my opinion, season 3 - 4 had some decent episodes, but season 5 was utter crap. Well, except for "Ren's Brain", but that was the exception that proves the rule. The animation quality definitely declines towards the end, the gags are much cruder and grosser without sophistication of humor, Ren and Stimpy end up getting even more brutalized (ironic considering the censorship in the early seasons) and Billy Wests' Ren sounds like he has his nose clogged. And the plots become more formularic too. Also, most every episode has stupid guest characters that just kind of make the show less funny by doing the same dumb joke (like the old guy rotting as he rambles nonsense, funny the first time but gets old fast). Overall there were some good episodes but definitely a mixed bag compared to the first 2 seasons.
The animation took a downgrade... of course. But it can be good at times. The show is too hit and miss overall.
I rather watch those "later" episodes than watch the whole "APC era" series🤢
I can't watch Ren and Stimpy. The art is too ugly and grotesque. I've seen less disturbing imagery in Family Guy.
Try to grow up that's why people like it
@@SportsFan-vq9kk I just can't I'm sorry. I do know its one of the influences for Spongebob one of the best cartoons ever made.
@@icecreamhero2375 Spongebob was my favorite when I was younger but now it's starting to get boring
@@SportsFan-vq9kk Still is my favorate. Some of the newer ones are my all time favs.
modern family was NEVER good. not one episode.
Family guy just plain sucks! I’ve never seen an animated show going so downhill within the past 10 years or so. Even the Simpsons is still more enjoyable by today’s standards mostly.