2 Stupid Dogs

One of the earliest productions that Cartoon Network ever made for themselves and in my view one of the most successful. Genndy Tartakovsky worked on this before coming up with "Dexter's Laboratory," and his offbeat art style and sense of humor are evident here. The show is also notable for the fact that Big Dog was voiced by Brad Garrett (later to become Robert Barrone on "Everybody Loves Raymond"). John Kricfalusi, creator of Ren and Stimpy, guested on several episodes and is credited with "tidbits of poor taste."

The characters basically consist of Big Dog and Little Dog, with a few recurring characters like Red (Little Red Riding Hood), the nerdish Kenny, and Hollywood (whose trademark line is, "Isn't that cute...BUT IT'S WRONG!!!"). The art style is deceptively simple and the plot lines are as well. However, little hidden surprises come when you least expect it, particularly in the form of Big Dog's utterly unexpected words of wisdom in various episodes, particularly in "The Rise & Fall of Big Dog," where Big Dog is somehow mistaken for an ambassador, and "Love Doctors," where Big Dog dispenses advice to the lovelorn Kenny.

Several of the episodes are classic in my opinion. My favorite has to be Vegas Buffet, in which Big Dog and Little Dog venture forth looking for the "Super Cheap Economy Style One Pound Hot Dog Buffet" and get caught up in gambling craziness, but almost all the episodes have something going for them. Some of the best satire and parody that CN cartoons has ever done is found here, especially in "Cartoon Canines," "Hobo Hounds," and "Let's Make a Right Price," as well as "Family Values." The comparisons to Ren and Stimpy are not quite justified, I think, simply because 2 Stupid Dogs is more low-key. The dementia of Ren & Stimpy is in your face, whereas 2 Stupid Dogs is, overall, gentler and more surrealistic.

Personally I think that this is one of the "lost classics" of 90's children's TV, right up there with Nick's "The Adventures of Pete and Pete" and "Rocko's Modern Life." A DVD of the collected "2 Stupid Dogs" is long overdue.

I discovered today a hidden gem in my collection, which reminded me of one of my favorite Cartoon Network shows: it was the "Stupid Bowl", a 2-hour marathon of 2 Stupid Dogs.

This cartoon is still amazingly fresh to my eyes, and the humour is fast and furious. This one was the father of the World Premiere Toons, and thus, the What a Cartoon! series. It sets the example that Dexter´s Lab, PowerPuff Girls, Johnny Bravo, Dumb and Dumber and other cartoons would soon follow.

The only bad thing this series had was its length; I think that 2 hours of them is all that was made, judging from the re-runs on Cartoon Network. Still, those two hours are classic. There are some episodes which stand out, such as the "Red" trilogy and the Brady Bunch rip-off (which have been mentioned before), but worthy of mention are "Hollywood's Ark" (a take-off on Noah's Ark, which explains why unicorns are extinct), "Love" (starring Kenny Fowler, a kid that would appear in a couple more cartoons), and "Bone" which might just be the most surreal cartoon I've ever seen.

Actually, this cartoon has philosophical high points too. Listening to the Big Dog telling Kenny that "Love is the only chance you will ever have for happiness in this life, and if you are going to let a little thing like rejection stand in your way, you just might as well stay on the ground, because people will walk all over you for the rest of your life" is uplifting, to say the least.

2 Stupid Dogs is a great cartoon. It is one of the first cartoons to be made that was directly influenced by the style of Ren and Stimpy without being a clone of it like so many that came out in this era. It was Hanna Barberra's first cartoon that was creator driven in 30 years and it was the show that began HB's current animation craze with Dexter's Lab, Cow and Chicken, Johnny Bravo, Powerpuff Girls, and others. Created by Donavan Cook, this is a very funny and at times rude show. The best episodes are the 3 involving "Red", 3 episodes mocking and mixing up old the old fairy tales the 3 Bears, Little Red Riding Hood, and Hansel and Gretle. These episodes were written by a former writer for Ren and Stimpy, Richard Pursel, and R&S creator John Kricfalusi is credited with "tidbits of bad taste". I would recommend this show to anyone who likes funny cartoons. It is a very influential show because as I stated earlier, it began Hanna Barberra's drive back to creator driven shows. And of course it's worth watching for the show's famous tag line....Isn't that cute....BUT IT'S WRONG!!!!!

I never could decide which of the charcters I liked better, I would have to say the dacshund, or what ever breed the small dog is. These two airheads argue over and ponder the dumbest things, like who will get possession of a broken toilet seat, and how to open an automatic door. They figure out that perhaps the boots on people's feet are what opens the door, so they run around stealing shoes and boots from people. I really cannot believe that Teletoon has stopped running this show for the sake of stupid programs like "Billy the Cat".

What? a Ren and Stimpy rip-off? isn't that cute... BUT IT'S WRONG!

If at all, this is a *parody* of that kind of cartoons and it appeals to a different (and probably smaller) audience. This is obvious in "Cartoon canines" episode: the two dogs learn how to be "funny", Ren and Stimpy way, in an army camp (Drill Sergeant: "No cutesy in my corp, only funny cartoons! You know, lots of butt jokes!").

If i recall correctly, at one time the dogs even morph into something very close to Ren and Stimpy! From the drawing style i suspect this is one of the first episodes to be conceived, even if it was aired later.

2 stupid dogs was made with a deceptively innocent animation style: smooth shapes, reassuring colors, attention to detail. The jazzy soundtrack is perfect, and the sound effects are purposefully unrelated to the action they try to describe.

The stories are not silly, but minimal (some episodes can be narrated in one sentence) with exaggerated particulars. They can be poetic, satyric, just plain silly and, parents beware, with some extremely sick or revolting details. Usually i can't stand revolting stuff that I usually perceive as a cheap way to make things interesting by tickling istinct, but here it's just the authors' fantasy running amok. I enjoy every single episode. Nobody dare to miss the one in black and white!

Little Dog is the best characterization of a little dog i have ever seen. Big Dog, my personal fave, seems just a lazy glutton, but when he decides to talk... listen to him as a foreign ambassador ("Drop all cares about politics, business, and the foreign situation. You will be astonished to find the world will manage to struggle on, somehow.") The big man and Red are awesome too! gee... better i stop writing this and watch a Two stupid dogs videotape for the hundredth time.

Vote: 10/10