Happy Happy Joy Joy: The Ren & Stimpy Story

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 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.

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.

A look into the development and legacy of Red and Stimpy but also the story of John K and his... issues.

There's lots to like here with a look at how the cartoon was created, pitched, made, and received. Although it skips out on talking much about the seasons after John K left and how those were taken. It's really a love letter to the show but then you have to address the story of what happened with John K and the allegations of his actions. This only briefly touches on them and probably should have done more, but I can see why they didn't want to soil the movie with too much of that. Overall a strong watch for those that loved the show.

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.