58-407: Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon" is an animated television series created by John Kricfalusi for TNN / Spike TV . The series was developed as a more "extreme" revamp and spin-off of Nickelodeon 's The Ren & Stimpy Show , which Spümcø produced the first two seasons. The series premiered on June 26, 2003, and was removed from the network on July 24, after airing only three episodes;
116-457: A pejorative which was later used by others to criticize a widespread 2010s cartoon aesthetic. In 2018, Kricfalusi was accused by two former Spümcø artists of grooming and sexually abusing them in the late 1990s, when they were teenagers. Kricfalusi released an apology for his behavior, blaming his mental health and "poor impulse control". He has since declared his withdrawal from the professional animation industry. Michael John Kricfalusi
174-404: A Cartoon! , also known as World Premiere Toons for Cartoon Network . Seibert approached Kricfalusi for advice and for recommendations for personnel to head the shorts, among them David Feiss , Tom Minton , Pat Ventura, and Eddie Fitzgerald. Kricfalusi directed Icelandic singer Björk 's animated music video for the song " I Miss You " in 1997, which features Björk and the character Jimmy
232-406: A cartoon short entitled Cans Without Labels , starring the character George Liquor (with Michael Pataki reprising the role for the final time before his death in 2010, having recorded his lines beforehand), with the initial delivery date of February 2013. The cartoon was due to be screened at the 2016 Annecy International Animated Film Festival for the first time; however, at the last minute it
290-576: A child, and by studying cartoons and their production systems from the 1940s and 1950s. His main influence is Bob Clampett , and he also names Chuck Jones , Frank Sinatra , Kirk Douglas , Milt Gross , Tex Avery , Peter Lorre , The Three Stooges , Al Jolson , Bing Crosby , Dean Martin , Elvis Presley , Don Martin and Robert Ryan . Michael Barrier , an animation historian , said that Kricfalusi's works "testify to his intense admiration for Bob Clampett's Warner Bros. cartoons" and that no cartoonist since Clampett created cartoons in which
348-588: A deep impression on Kricfalusi. After he was expelled from Sheridan College at the end of 1978, Kricfalusi moved to Los Angeles, California, intending to become an animator. After moving to Los Angeles, Kricfalusi was introduced to Milt Gray by Bob Clampett , suggesting he should join Gray's classical animation class. Gray was working for Filmation at the time, and soon Kricfalusi found work there as well, getting his start on shows like Super Friends and The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show . His first independent cartoon
406-470: A lawsuit filed by Carbunkle Cartoons for failing to pay the animation studio for their services. In 2005, he announced that all of the Adult Party Cartoon episodes that were fully produced were coming to DVD , which was released on July 18, 2006. All episodes of the series were directed by series creator John Kricfalusi , credited as "John K." for the first five episodes and "M. John Kricfalusi" for
464-484: A presentation by Kricfalusi. The show came to garner high ratings for Nickelodeon, and at the time was the most popular cable TV show in the United States, but the network disagreed with Kricfalusi's direction of the show, and disapproved of his missed production deadlines. Kricfalusi points specifically to the episode " Man's Best Friend ", which depicts the character George Liquor as an abusive father figure, as
522-420: A team of Taiwanese animators to draw characters more emotive and wild, which at the time was considered radical. He recalls being "saved" from having to work on these cartoons by director Ralph Bakshi , who had worked with him before in 1980 and 1982. They began working on the designs for the film Bobby's Girl , which was sold to TriStar Pictures but was later cancelled. Under Bakshi, Kricfalusi directed
580-420: Is a 2008 adult animated comedy film directed by Gábor Csupó . It is also known as L.A. Dolce Vita or Immigrants: L.A. Dolce Vita . It is the fifth and (to date) final feature-length film from the studio Klasky Csupo , and the first and only feature-length animated movie that was directed by Csupo. The characters and story line in this film were the basis for a new animated series for Spike TV , which
638-436: Is a Canadian illustrator, blogger, and former animator and voice actor. He is the creator of the animated television series The Ren & Stimpy Show , which was highly influential on televised animation during the 1990s. From 1989 to 1992, he was heavily involved with the first two seasons of the show in virtually every aspect of its production, including providing the voice of Ren Höek and other characters. In 2009, he won
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#1732869443853696-522: The Looney Tunes Golden Collection volumes 2 , 3 and 5 , for cartoons directed by Bob Clampett and Chuck Jones . On February 13, 2006, Kricfalusi started his own weblog , John K Stuff , posting about cartoons and the animation industry. The site was originally intended for other artists and entertainers, and specifically other cartoonists. Kricfalusi directed commercials for Comcast and Voice over IP company Raketu in 2007. He
754-460: The Los Angeles Times criticized the show as "'adult' only in the sense that you wouldn’t want kids watching them." Tucson Weekly and Exclaim! both labeled it "disastrous". DVD Talk praised the show's animation, "but the weak stories epitomize empty, heavy-handed shock value." Matt Schimkowitz of Splitsider opined that the show's intended audience was "the 16-year-olds who grew up on
812-700: The Inkpot Award . Born in Quebec, Kricfalusi spent his early childhood in Germany and Belgium before returning to Canada at age seven. He acquired his skills largely by copying cartoons from newspapers and comic books as a child, and by studying cartoons and their production systems from the 1940s and 1950s. His main influence is Bob Clampett . After moving to Los Angeles in 1978, he collaborated with Ralph Bakshi and worked for Filmation , Hanna-Barbera , and DIC Entertainment on various shows. In 1989, Kricfalusi co-founded
870-590: The Cat . The second music video was for Classico by Tenacious D, starring the band members as cartoon characters. He animated them again in a THX logo parody for the band's feature film, The Pick of Destiny . Kricfalusi served as art director for a musical segment in the show Class of 3000 entitled Life Without Music , which first aired on November 3, 2006. In 2014, he produced art for Miley Cyrus ' Bangerz Tour . Venturing into Internet cartoons, Kricfalusi created Weekend Pussy Hunt in 1996 for MSN , which
928-455: The Idiot Boy. Jack Black of Tenacious D approached Kricfalusi to produce a music video for the song " Fuck Her Gently " from their debut album , released in 2001. Black browsed Kricfalusi's website and, since both he and his bandmate Kyle Gass held Ren & Stimpy in high regard, he asked Kricfalusi to produce the video. The costs amounted to $ 40,000. Initially, Sony Music did not allow
986-517: The Man , A Day in the Life of Ranger Smith and Boo Boo Runs Wild , and two Jetsons parody cartoons he produced, The Jetsons: Father & Son Day and The Jetsons: The Best Son . Kricfalusi contributed several articles in 1993 and 1994 for the magazines Film Threat and Wild Cartoon Kingdom under various aliases. Kricfalusi appears in several bonus featurettes and provides audio commentaries for
1044-523: The Rat , Stripperella , and digitally remastered episodes of the original Ren & Stimpy series, subtitled "Digitally Remastered Classics". Kricfalusi directed the first episode, "Onward and Upward", based on requests from fans from the Nickelodeon era; Vincent Waller wrote the episode for the original series but was rejected. The episode portrayed the characters as bisexual . Advertisers objected to some of
1102-507: The Roosevelts ", which aired in October 2011 and " Treehouse of Horror XXVI ", which aired in October 2015. He collaborated with streetwear brand Stüssy to create a short series of apparel based on his designs in 2012, which he promoted with a commercial featuring some of his characters. The advertising agency Muhtayzik-Hoffer hired Kricfalusi in 2013 for an ad campaign for F'real milkshakes. He
1160-426: The [original] show and are ready to handle such hilarious topics as spousal abuse and eating boogers." PopMatters , however, was more favorable, writing: "With snot as side dishes and vomit as gravy, the foulness is overwhelming, yet also clever. Kricfalusi's satire may be obvious, but he's not just making puke jokes for nausea's sake." Thad Komorowski, a historian on the original series and this series, noted that
1218-408: The animation for The Rolling Stones ' 1986 music video " Harlem Shuffle ". The team's most successful project was Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures for CBS , based on the classic Terrytoons character. The series was well-received, and it is considered the forerunner of creator-driven cartoons. Kricfalusi directed eight of the twenty-six episodes and supervised the series. At the beginning of
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#17328694438531276-433: The animation studio Spümcø , with which he remained until its dissolution in 2005. Nickelodeon fired Kricfalusi from Ren & Stimpy due to creative differences and his failure to meet production deadlines; the show continued for three additional seasons without his involvement. Following this, he directed and produced animated television commercials and music videos for entertainers such as Björk and Tenacious D . In
1334-517: The animation. Mighty Mouse was cancelled amidst controversy for allegedly depicting the main character snorting cocaine . Bakshi maintained that neither he nor Kricfalusi had the character sniffing cocaine, and that the character was sniffing the crushed petals of a flower, which were handed to him in a previous scene in the cartoon. In 1994, Kricfalusi pitched a revival series of Mighty Mouse to Paramount , which would have featured other Terrytoons characters such as Deputy Dawg , but they rejected
1392-437: The cartoon, but remained supportive of Kricfalusi. ABC canceled the show after six episodes, finding the humor not suitable for children's programming. Kricfalusi formed Spümcø animation studio with partners Jim Smith , Bob Camp and Lynne Naylor . They began working on a pilot for The Ren & Stimpy Show on behalf of Nickelodeon , after the eponymous characters were favored by Nickelodeon producer Vanessa Coffey in
1450-501: The emotions of the characters "distort their bodies so powerfully". In March 2018, former Spümcø employees Robyn Byrd and Katie Rice told BuzzFeed News that Kricfalusi sexually harassed and groomed them while they were underage. Byrd told the website that she was in a sexual relationship with Kricfalusi in 1997 at age 16, and flew to California to live with him when she was 17. Rice said that Kricfalusi had flirted with her and made overt sexual comments towards her starting when she
1508-489: The episode remains unproduced. After leaving The Ren & Stimpy Show , Kricfalusi consulted, and other Spümcø animators worked for Donovan Cook 's 2 Stupid Dogs , which was put into production by Hanna-Barbera president Fred Seibert . The cartoon's credits read "Tidbits of Poor Taste Supplied by John Kricfalusi" for the three "Little Red Riding Hood" episodes: "Red", "Red Strikes Back", and "Return of Red". In 1994, Hanna-Barbera and Seibert started production on What
1566-543: The episode was rejected by Nickelodeon due to disturbing violence, a brief joke about feces and references to tobacco. The episode did not air on television until 2003. Unlike its predecessor, "Adult Party Cartoon" was universally panned by critics and audiences, as well as fans of the original series. Rob Owen of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette described it as "just plain gross. ... They don't pay me enough to watch cartoon characters eating snot." Charles Solomon of
1624-532: The final episode. A scrapped episode called "Life Sucks" was going to be on the DVD, but it was never produced on time. Only the first half was finished, while the other two acts remain unproduced. In the episode, Ren states his dislike of life, much to Stimpy's horror. After that, they have an extensive look at their lifes' past tragedies, such as Ren's experience with the Children's Crusade . According to John Kricfalusi, this
1682-496: The idea. Kricfalusi left Bakshi's studio to work on The New Adventures of Beany and Cecil for ABC , where he teamed up with many of the people who would later work with him on many of his Spümcø projects. ABC had been negotiating for the production of the show with the Clampett family, who insisted that Kricfalusi be part of the production as he was a strong proponent of Bob Clampett's cartoon style. The long negotiations delayed
1740-507: The late 1990s, he created the first cartoons made exclusively for the Internet: The Goddamn George Liquor Program and Weekend Pussy Hunt . He returned to television with The Ripping Friends and the adult animation spin-off Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon" . Since 2006, Kricfalusi has maintained a personal blog dedicated to cartoons and animation. There, he popularized the term " CalArts style ",
1798-426: The middle of a school season, and Kricfalusi spent much of his time that year at home, watching Hanna-Barbera cartoons and drawing them. Kricfalusi's interest in golden-age animation crystallized during his stay at Sheridan College , where he attended weekly screenings of old films and cartoons at Innis College held by film archivist Reg Hartt , among them the cartoons of Bob Clampett and Tex Avery , which left
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1856-444: The network, eventually culminating in his termination. The series continued until 1995 at Games Animation, with issues prevalent during Kricfalusi's tenure still present; it eventually ended with a single episode airing on MTV in 1996. In 2002, about a decade after Kricfalusi's termination, Viacom (which owns Nickelodeon) contacted him to produce a new version of his series for an updated version of sister network TNN /Spike TV, which
1914-611: The new show's content, particularly that of the risqué episode "Naked Beach Frenzy", which did not air in the show's original run, causing trouble with scheduling. The show stopped airing after three episodes when TNN's animation block was "put on hold". The remaining episodes were set to resume in August 2004 along with the premiere of Spike's new animated series Immigrants (developed by fellow Nickelodeon partner Klasky Csupo ) but both shows were pulled and never aired. Kricfalusi shut down Spümcø shortly on July 18, 2005, thereafter following
1972-485: The new show. While he was initially pleased with the added freedom afforded to him by Spike, he later expressed disappointment in the series due to its slow pacing and overuse of toilet humor . Only three episodes aired before Spike's entire animation block was "put on hold", and the complete series was ultimately released in 2006 on DVD including three additional episodes that never aired. Kricfalusi also wanted to release an episode titled "Life Sucks" straight to DVD, but
2030-549: The nine episodes ordered by the network being completed on time at the cost of the entire nine-episode budget initially allocated by Spike. Several alumni from the original series returned to work on the new episodes, most notably co-developer Jim Smith , director and writer Vincent Waller as well as production assistant and writer Richard Pursel . Animation studio Carbunkle Cartoons returned to provide animation services, with Bob Jaques serving as animation director. Most Ren & Stimpy alumni who had joined Games Animation in
2088-444: The police, they could neither arrest nor investigate Kricfalusi because the statute of limitations had passed. In response, Kricfalusi's lawyer confirmed that "for a brief time, 25 years ago, he had a 16-year-old girlfriend", but denied that Kricfalusi's "avid pursuit" of Rice was sexual harassment or that he had ever possessed child pornography. Kricfalusi released an apology to the women and his fans for his behavior, which he said
2146-533: The reboot's poor performance originated from too many factors at play, and its reputation as one of the worst animated series of all time as an exaggeration; he stated that the lack of involvement from individuals like Bob Camp and Chris Reccardi as well as its utilization of rejected episodes from the series contributed to its downfall. John Kricfalusi Michael John Kricfalusi ( / ˌ k r ɪ s f ə ˈ l uː s i / krihs-fuh- LOO -see ; born September 9, 1955), known professionally as John K. ,
2204-465: The remaining episodes were released on DVD . During its run, Adult Party Cartoon was heavily panned by critics, audiences and fans of the original series. It has been referred to as one of the worst animated series of all time . The original Ren & Stimpy Show premiered alongside Rugrats and Doug as one of the original Nicktoons on children's network Nickelodeon in 1991. The show's creator, John Kricfalusi , had many altercations with
2262-445: The second season, Kricfalusi left the show. The production of Mighty Mouse was very different from other cartoons at the time, gaining creative and artistic leeway thanks to the success of the irreverent Pee-wee's Playhouse on CBS a year before. The animators had much more creative input, driven by Kricfalusi's production system that emphasizes artistic contribution in every step of the process, from outline to storyboard to layout to
2320-491: The series to be funny and felt that participating in it would damage his career. Eric Bauza was hired to replace West as Stimpy, while Kricfalusi reprised his roles as Ren and Mr. Horse. Cast members Harris Peet and Cheryl Chase also returned, and Kricfalusi's father Mike Kricfalusi and long-time childhood friend Tom Hay provided some voices. The new series began airing in June 2003 as part of an animation block also featuring Gary
2378-580: The sexual abuse allegations made against him the previous year. However, some praised Pataki's voice acting performance. In the 2020 documentary Happy Happy Joy Joy: The Ren and Stimpy Story , Kricfalusi stated in an interview that he was "officially retired" from the animation industry, "though not by choice". Kricfalusi says he is mostly self-taught, having only spent a year in Sheridan College , barely attending class. He acquired his skills largely by copying cartoons from newspapers and comic books as
Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon" - Misplaced Pages Continue
2436-457: The show was directing the voice-actors, which he "really worked-out" so much that he was afraid he'd give one of them a heart attack. In 2003, Spike TV produced a new show featuring Ren & Stimpy, which was written and directed by Kricfalusi. The first three episodes were based on fan ideas and scripts that were rejected by Nickelodeon during the original show's run. According to Kricfalusi, Spike pushed for more South Park -like themes in
2494-460: The start of production to mid-July, causing much of the animation to be rushed in order to meet the September deadline. Tensions rose between Kricfalusi and ABC over the tone of the show, leading to an uncomfortable atmosphere for the show's crew. The more ABC strove to soften the show, the more Kricfalusi pushed for shocking and offensive material. The Clampett family were ultimately not very happy with
2552-496: The television series The Ripping Friends in 2001, created by Kricfalusi and Jim Smith. Kricfalusi had previously tried pitching the show in the late 1980s, but networks considered it "too extreme" so did not pick it up. Kricfalusi felt the show's supervisors were doing away with the Spümcø style and was displeased with the direction of the show. He considers the episodes he was involved in to be experimental. One of his contributions to
2610-521: The turning point in his relationship with Nickelodeon. One of the episodes, "Nurse Stimpy", did not meet Kricfalusi's approval because of the low quality of the rough cut of the episode that they received from the overseas studio, leading him to use the alias Raymond Spum in its credits. Nickelodeon terminated Kricfalusi's contract late September 1992, leaving it to Nickelodeon's Games Animation studio, which continued producing it for three more seasons before its cancellation. Fox Kids started airing
2668-514: The video to be placed on Tenacious D's website and instead placed it on the record label Grand Royal 's website, but later relented. In 2006, Kricfalusi directed two music videos, and served as art director for an animated musical segment. The first music video, for Close but No Cigar by "Weird Al" Yankovic , was released in September, on the DVD side of the DualDisc album Straight Outta Lynwood , which features Kricfalusi's character Cigarettes
2726-483: The wake of Kricfalusi's 1992 firing, most notably series developer Bob Camp , had become estranged from Kricfalusi and thus were not involved with the revival; Vincent Waller, having joined the studio after the original series ended, was an exception. Some of the original voice cast members returned, with the exception of Billy West , original voice of Stimpy and second voice of Ren and Mr. Horse, who turned down offers to reprise his role as Stimpy as he did not consider
2784-436: Was 14, and sexually harassed her when she turned 18 and began working at his animation studio, Spümcø. Documents Rice and Byrd had saved from those years corroborate their stories, and several people who worked with Kricfalusi referred to his sexual harassment as an open secret in the animation industry. Kricfalusi was also reported to possess child pornography on his computer. Though the allegations were eventually reported to
2842-404: Was a short called Ted Bakes One , which he produced with Bill Wray in 1981 for a cable channel. From 1979 to the mid-1980s, Kricfalusi worked for Filmation and later Hanna-Barbera and DIC Entertainment on various shows that he once described as "the worst animation of all time". However, he did enjoy his work as a layout artist on the 1985 series of The Jetsons as he was able to train
2900-534: Was announced that it was not ready. However, on August 6, 2017, the Kickstarter was updated, announcing the film's completion. On May 27, 2019, Kricfalusi announced the DVD masterings' completion and released it on his MyShopify store within a week or two, with backers receiving first priority. The short received negative reviews for its animation, humor, sound design, storyline and repeatedly delayed production, as well as Kricfalusi's decision to release it following
2958-528: Was billed as "the world's first interactive web-based cartoon". The cartoon, which was released in segments, was scheduled to be completed in June 1997, but production under MSN stopped before it was finished. Production later resumed under Icebox.com after the release of Spümcø's own web-based Flash cartoon, The Goddamn George Liquor Program . Between 1998 and 2001, Kricfalusi worked on several Hanna-Barbera cartoons for Cartoon Network: three Yogi Bear parody cartoons he directed and animated, Boo Boo and
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#17328694438533016-717: Was born on September 9, 1955, in Chicoutimi , Quebec , Canada to Michael Kricfalusi, who was of Ukrainian descent, and Mary Lou Kricfalusi (née MacDonell), who was of Scottish and English descent. He has one sister named Elizabeth. He spent his early childhood in Germany and Belgium while his father was serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force . He would watch weekend screenings of European feature-length cartoons such as The Snow Queen at Air Force cinemas. At age seven he returned with his family to Canada . After their return they moved from Montreal to Ottawa in
3074-503: Was developing a series of cartoon commercials in 2008 for Pontiac Vibe starring George Liquor and Jimmy The Idiot Boy , but the series remained unreleased after General Motors discontinued the Pontiac Vibe auto line in 2009. He developed and animated a series of bumpers using Toon Boom Harmony for Adult Swim in 2011 and again in 2015. He animated the opening couch gags of two episodes of The Simpsons , " Bart Stops to Smell
3132-526: Was devoted to programming for male audiences. Kricfalusi said that TNN wanted an "extreme" version of The Ren & Stimpy Show . TNN gave Kricfalusi greater control of the writing and contents of the episodes, and he produced six "new" episodes aimed at adult audiences; of the episodes only Altruists was not a leftover from the original series, being an original idea from Eric Bauza . As in the original series, Kricfalusi ran into problems with meeting production deadlines and budgetary limits, with only three out of
3190-427: Was going to be the prequel episode to "Ren Seeks Help". This was the cause of Ren and Stimpy's argument, as it is never stated in "Ren Seeks Help" what Ren had done exactly. Production had begun on this episode, with some voice work and roughly a third of the storyboard completed at the time of the show's cancellation. The episode " Man's Best Friend " was originally set to air in the original series' second season, but
3248-509: Was involved in the early development of many Reel FX projects such as the 2013 film Free Birds , a pitch for a film adaptation of the Dr. Seuss book Happy Birthday to You! and a pitch for a film he created with Jim Smith. He posted the concepts for these projects on his blog. He partnered with animator Mike Judge to produce a series of shorts for UFC that aired on Adult Swim throughout 2016. In 2012, Kricfalusi funded through Kickstarter
3306-668: Was motivated by then-undiagnosed bipolar disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), as well as "poor impulse control". Byrd and Rice criticized Kricfalusi's statement as a non-apology and an attempt to deflect the blame. Due to the allegations, Kricfalusi will not be involved in Comedy Central 's upcoming revival of The Ren & Stimpy Show , nor will he receive any financial compensation from it. [REDACTED] Quotations related to John Kricfalusi at Wikiquote Immigrants (2008 film) Immigrants ( Hungarian title: Immigrants - Jóska menni Amerika )
3364-470: Was scheduled to debut in August 2004. However, despite scheduling a two-hour marathon for the series premiere and ordering an additional six episodes, the series never aired due to the decline of animation programming on Spike TV. It was later compiled into a film and released on October 30, 2008, in Hungary . In America, the film was released on Region 1 DVD in 2009 by Echo Bridge Home Entertainment . Jóska,
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