The further
adventures of the aggressive Chihuahua and stupid Cat.
CRITIQUE
The third and (sorta)
fourth seasons of Ren and Stimpy proved why eliminating Spumco
from the creative process was a bad idea. After creative disagreements
between creator John Kricfalusi and Nickelodeon ended with Kricfalusi
(and most of Spumco) leaving the show, another production company
(Games Animation) took over. The end result is that the content of
these episodes starts to lean towards the sadistic rather than the
bizarre.
Some of the
episodes from this season are silly, like “House of Next Tuesday” in
which Ren and Stimpy are given a free trial of the “house of
tomorrow.” However, other episodes, like “Circus Midgets” (in which
Ren and Stimpy are abducted by two psychotic clowns that proceed to
torture them for laughs,) and “A Yard to Far” (in which Ren and Stimpy
must avoid being mauled by a ravenous baboon who is protecting a
potential feast of Hog Jowls,) are far more sick and twisted than fun
and strange.
THE VIDEO
The video transfer
of Ren & Stimpy is both very good and very poor. The crisp and
clear quality of DVD ends up making the poor quality of the animation
stick out like a sore thumb. The audience can easily see the flaws in
the animation and it becomes very distracting from time to time.
THE AUDIO
Ren & Stimpy
is mixed in Dolby Digital 2.0. The mix is good, but nothing to speak
of.
THE EXTRAS
Commentary on
Select Episodes by John K. and Animators:
An okay commentary track, though it seems odd to have John K. and the
Spumco animators talk about shows that they have never even seen.
Commentary by Ren &
Stimpy:
Don’t bother. Ren and Stimpy on Ren and Stimpy. Sounds bad, is bad.
FINAL THOUGHT
No real features
and poor content bring this collection down. This is good for fans of
the series, but those just starting out with Ren & Stimpy would
do best to stay with the first two seasons.
