REN & STIMPY
THE LOST EPISODES

"I can't believe you said that to me Ren!"

Stimpy

Naked Beach Frenzy
Ren and Stimpy are bathroom attendants in the girls' shower room at a topless, sometimes bottomless beach. Ren's lusts are kept in check by the hairiest, most outraged lifeguard in the world. Special appearance by Shampoo Master and his magic spurting dispenser.

Altruists
Ren and Stimpy help a poor widow and her idiot child in distress. John K's tribute to The Three Stooges has more jokes per second than any other Ren and Stimpy cartoon.

Stimpy's Pregnant
This just might be the greatest moment in television history. Stimpy delivers the long-awaited full-onscreen birth of Ren's child. Probably Ren's child. Full of trauma, love and sincere disregard for the FCC.

Firedogs 2
Stinky Wizzleteats gives a brief description of what happened in part one of FIREDOGS 2. We continue with the story, showing the bachelor life with the fire chief. The chief asks Ren and Stimpy to be roommates with him. They agree. Back at his apartment, the fire chief makes Ren and Stimpy promise that when he gets old, they'll take care of him until he dies. They promise.

Ren Seeks Help
During a huge argument with his housemate, Stimpy, Ren realizes how cruel he can be to his beloved pal. He seeks psychiatric help from Dr. Mr. Horse.

Onward and Upwards
Tired of living inside a homeless man's mouth, Ren and Stimpy move to classy new digs, the inside of a spittoon.

After finishing on Nickelodeon in the early 90s, fans of Ren Höek and Stimpson J. Cat have been crying out for their return and now their biggest wish has come true. Joy.

When series creator John Kricfalusi (or John K as he better know as) was asked by Spike TV (formally TNN) to develop and produce some new episodes of the cult classic animated cartoon 'Ren & Stimpy' he jumped at the chance but took an unusual approach. Knowing that the fans of the series had now grown up, he saw this as the opportunity to produce some of the episodes that were too rude or crude for a kid's audience.

Now the violence is increased ten fold, the toilet humour upped beyond belief and sex becomes an integral of most of the stories. Stimpy gives birth's to Ren's love child, we discover the extremely violent childhood of Ren and Ren and Stimpy supplying a service to beach babes. While some fans may rejoice at this acceleration into adult status but for true fans of the mischievous pair this might be a little too much.

The original series always suggested that the show was teetering on the edge of decency, with double- entendres abound and always been slightly risqué. This gave the show broad appeal across the age groups, with kids loving and adults been just as big fans. In fact without 'Ren & Stimpy' you would have never had had hits like 'Cow and Chicken', 'Dexter's Lab', 'Animaniacs' or 'SpongeBob Squarepants' but breaking down all the barriers takes something away from your favourite dog and cat combo.

These six cartoons are no holds barred adult entertainment. With homosexuality, bestiality and numerous bodily fluid gags running rampant throughout, all of the innocence of the show has completely disappeared and with it a lot of the humour. By relying far too much on the gross out element, John K and his creative team have removed most of the charm and near the knuckle gags that made the show a hit in the first place. By showing everything, the power of suggestion is gone and with it most of the cheekiness that made fans adore it so much.

There is still some fun to be had here however and the inventiveness of the scripts are never in question. These are the darker sides of Stimpy and mostly Ren, as we explore the psyches of each of the characters as they travel through their even more bizarre world. The laughs are very hit and miss however but there are many moments when you remember why you loved the show in the first place.

By catering the show to a more adult audience the appeal of the cartoon has been diminished. Die-hard fans will be ecstatic to see their heroes back however and they will probably get the most out of these never seen before episodes but the rest of us will be thinking that they could have remained lost.

(For Die-Hard Fans)

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in 4x3 full screen with Dolby Digital 5.1, the animation looks great.

BONUS FEATURES

Disc 1

Weird Al and John K Introduction (9.19 mins)
Comedian Weird Al and show creator John Kricfalusi introduce the lost episodes of 'Ren & Stimpy'. They reveal how they came about and how Spike TV (TNN) wanted to bring the show back but let them do what ever they wanted. John K also talks about his career and what Ren & Stimpy meant to him.

Introductions
Creator John K is joined by some of his creative team to introduce the six cartoons on the DVDs. He tells you the story behind the episode, how it came to be written and what they wanted to achieve with it. With his usual energetic style, he reveals how watchers wrote in with ideas for the show back when it was showing on Nickelodeon and how they were turned down by the network, leaving them waiting until now.

Naked Beach Frenzy

Interview (7.46 mins)
Cow and Chicken creator Dave Feiss, character artist Katie Rice, layout artist Luke Cormican, original series layout artist Eddie Fitzgerald and music editor Stephen Worth talk about 'Naked Beach Frenzy'. They reveal how the cartoon sets the standard for the Adult Party Cartoons and what they thought of the episode. They also talk in detail about the shower sequence and what they liked about the show.

Animatics (10.57 mins)
Watch the animated storyboards for the Ren watching Babes, fighting over Stimpy and in the bathroom sequences.

Pencil Tests (2.43 mins)
Watch pencil tests for the Ren and the Ladies and the Babes freshening up sequences. Character Drawings View the individual character drawings for your favourites from the episode.

Stimpy's Pregnant

Interview (12.49 mins)
The voice of Stimpy Eric Bauza, character artist Katie Rice, layout artist Luke Cormican and original series layout artist Eddie Fitzgerald talk about the episode and how they contributed to it. They also talk about their favourite scenes and how the Adult Party Cartoon's where made.

Altruists

Interview (4.49 mins)
Storyboard artist Vincent Waller, original series layout artist Eddie Fitzgerald and the voice of Stimpy Eric Bauza talk about the homage to the Three Stooges and the sheer about of gags in the show. They also discuss John K's influence on the show and how he shaped modern cartoons.

Trailers
Previews of 'South Park: Season 7', 'Drawn Together: Season 1', 'Ren & Stimpy: Season 3, 4 and 5' and 'Wondershowzen: Season 1'

Disc 2

Ren Seeks Help
Pencil Test and Episode Side by Side Watch the full episode and the pencil test side by side for comparison

'Frog Torture' animatic (1.38 mins)
Watch the animated storyboard for Ren torturing the poor frog to the edge of death.

Interview (18.26 mins)
Cow and Chicken creator Dave Feiss, original series layout artist Eddie Fitzgerald and music editor Stephen Worth and the voice of Stimpy Eric Bauza try and figure out what Ren actually did to make Stimpy so upset. They discuss the animation style of the show and how it influenced everything that followed.

Character Drawings
Viewing the individual character drawings for your favourites from the episode.

Firedogs 2

Interview (16.43 mins)
Original series layout artist Eddie Fitzgerald, music editor Stephen Worth and storyboard artist Vincent Waller talk about the legendary cartoonist Ralph Bakshi and what he brought to his vocal performance as the Fire Chief. They also talk about his career and stories about his career.

Onward and Upward

Interview (5.57 mins)
Original series layout artist Eddie Fitzgerald and storyboard artist Vincent Waller talk about the second Three Stooges influenced show and how they predicted it wouldn't work.

OVERALL

The DVD package for 'Ren & Stimpy: The Lost Episodes' is very good and a must watch for all fans of the show. The interviews are informative and very funny with John K living up to his legendary status. Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy.

DVD

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