Happy Happy Joy Joy: The Ren & Stimpy Story

It was really entertaining. I was a kid when the show came out and watched it religiously. It was cool getting the inside perspective on the show. Unfortunately it was new to me hearing about the abuse by John. It does take away from the nostalgia of the show for me because what he did was disturbing. Hearing him acknowledge what he did only made it worse.

I think everyone can contend that John K. is 'old school'. He loves his old cartoons, movies, music, fashion, etc. Struggling through the 80's, John did manage to become allied with the infamously controversial Ralph Bakshi. In and around this time, John K. also gets commissioned by The Rolling Stones to make a video for their song 'Harlem Shuffle'. A handsomely geeky Canadian that seems to be the modern day Robert Crumb that everyone wants a piece of. And through the myriad of odd, sexual, stereotypical, and subversive characters John could conjure up - a funny little cat and dog was noticed. Can it be capitalized upon? Can it be cross marketed for kids and adults? Can animation resort to the 'old ways', and can John K. be trusted to steer the ship and avoid icebergs...? Could Jimmy Page produce a record for Mr. Rogers? Could Gore Vidal write a children book? Technically 'yes' Professionally... Why would anyone dare entertain the notion? So whether you knew of John K. before, or newly experience his history with this movie, it's plain to see John K. was a 'bull in a china shop' from the get go. A fierce and visionary talent demanding control of his own style and substance. And Nickelodeon wisely and/or foolishly took a chance on him and his crew. And much to everyone's surprise, Ren & Stimpy became a overnight success! But what was failed to see by all involved is this seemingly simple product of cartoon cat and dog could not be easily delivered overnight. Uniqueness, boundaries, fame, and ego's were all soon to clash. And regrettably, Ren & Stimpy got fused into a rope for a game of 'Tug O' War' that pitted creation against product, control over freedom, and integrity over merit. Personally, I don't think anyone was to blame. Nickelodeon exec's may have been short sighted, but John K. certainly didn't get easier to work with. And thus Ren & Stimpy became a headless chicken to go on living for the sake of entertainment - which didn't last long. Amazingly, nearly ten years later - Spike TV had the audacity to let the now even bigger and angrier bull loose in the china shop! New station, new millennium, new and more open minded audience. Take it away John.... And he took it to where they could've never imagined - or wanted to. So again, whose to blame? Over exigent on both parties, but that's the world of art and profit. Now where the movie fell for me is painting John K. as this evolving tyrannical predator that literally painted himself into a corner he couldn't get out of. Although aging and bitter by this point, John K. is still an attractive and fit man. And young girls saw him as an idol still. Really young! And John K. took a liking to them - liking them a little too much. BUT - he can't be fully blamed or ostracized, as these girls literally gave themselves to him. For years! And to now say what a monster he was and how he damaged them I just don't buy! Where was their sense? Where was their parents sense? Where was anyone's sense when this was going down? John K. was merely riding out the fantasy he was Robert Plant or Hugh Hefner that liked the comfort and carefree nature of young girls. We ALL do - to certain extents! And it's truly sad to see John's sudden trajectory, misunderstandings, lack of discipline (or maybe too much of from his father and others...?) Now whittled down to this perverse failure that doomed everyone. Meanwhile Robert Crumb gets more admiration and sympathy for his art and eccentricities with supposed understanding. I don't fully defend John K. But regardless of this movie - I think I fully understand him to this day!

Happy Happy Joy Joy: The Ren and Stimpy Story is a huge love letter to everyone, and everything involved with The Ren and Stimpy Show. The movie starts off slow in the beginning but speeds up when it starts talking about the production of the show. It gets a little slow again when they interview fans and celebrities like Jack Black, or Bobby Lee, a Weird Al interview was also recorded but didn't make the cut, the celeb interviews seem a little forced for runtime, but I get why they were added in. There is many controversies or other news involved with John K. (like his relationship with Billy West, his kickstarter cartoon, and suing the South Park creators for their poop character) that didn't make the cut due to the documentary already being almost 2 hours long, and I get why, they are only focusing on stuff related to Ren and Stimpy, and they only go for the major controversies. The main focus of the movie is the legacy Ren and Stimpy created, if we didn't have Ren and Stimpy, we wouldn't have Spongebob, The Simpsons, Adventure Time, Gravity Falls, almost every current show is influenced by Ren and Stimpy, and that's the message the movie signs off with. If Ren and Stimpy didn't exist, I wouldn't be a cartoonist and draw as much as I do daily. This whole movie is perfect for any fan of animation, tv, or comedy, I absolutely adore this movie, and everyone who just thinks about John K.'s terrible life decisions when Ren and Stimpy is mentioned, give this a watch and learn that John K. isn't the only person who worked on this show. So please give this a watch, it's $0.99 to rent and it's arriving on DVD and Blu-Ray later this year.

I enjoyed the first half, maybe even first 3/4'th of this the most. It really did a good job of touching on the background of John K, his influences, how the show got started, and the creative talent that helped make the show what it was. That's all good, but then as it gets to the downfall of the show, I think it learned too heavily into being focused on John K's personal issues, from the sympathetic standpoint of people who more or less bult themselves up off the allegations they raised against him. Now I don't want to take sides, but it seems obvious how some people who led to his downfall had something to gain from the controversy and attention they pursued. Especially the corporate executive who basically tried to stake claim to the shows creation, when it's obvious how she was just someone sitting on an executive board approving this and that.

In the end I guess it presents a good picture on why the show ultimately fell apart in the end, but I don't think what I got out of it was what they intended for me to get out of it. Based off everything they presented going over the show's creation, it's clear where the real talent was and why nobody else managed to accomplish anything meaningful after. It's basically a presentation on how success can affect people, making some people think they're greater than they are, or corrupting people who were truly great.

It's odd how many times someone faces accusations of something horrible around the time of a reboot. It's almost as if major companies want more profits so they know the court of public opinion quite often removes the word "alleged" and pronounces people guilty immediately. Turns out most people are terrible so they need to believe anyone successful is worse to feel better about themselves.

Some things John admits to doing and some are just allegations and should be taken as such. You would not want people believing everything people say about you so give others the same courtesy.

That said, it's a good documentary from an age when cartoons weren't trying to indoctrinate children but letting them be kids and enjoy being silly.