Big House Blues

Ren and Stimpy is one of the best cartoons ever made. Everything about it is surreal, the situations characters get into are bizarre and funny, and the characters are great.

Big House Blues was the pilot that would later start the legacy of Ren and Stimpy. The two main characters are Ren Hoek, a scrawny, hyperactive chihuahua, and Stimpson J. Cat(Stimpy), an overweight, idiotic cat who is generally the dumb character, but has his occasional smart moments later on in the series.

In the story, Ren and Stimpy are brought to the "big house" along with other dogs. At first, they are told they will have fun, and they do have fun for a while with the other dogs, but not all goes well when they realize that they will eventually get "the big sleep." There are a few things that were just small details at the time, but when the series started, they would be more noticed. In this pilot, we see how Stimpy receives his beloved litter box, the music playing when the dogs are having a party is what would become the opening them music, and many clips from this episode end up being shown during the introduction in each episode.

This might just be a short pilot episode, but it is how Ren and Stimpy were introduced to television.

Any Ren and Stimpy fan should see this episode. If you want to see it in its entirety, the DVD has the uncut version that is worth watching.

I remember first seeing this at the "Animation Celebration" (or annual "Tournee"?); it was my first glimpse into the world of Ren and Stimpy! One treat; I'd invited a work buddy to "come with," and he was completely won over--he became a R&S fan to beat all. So it was a special honor to be party to his initiation.

The coolest thing was seeing this 35mm, on the "big screen," where you could enjoy attention lavished on graphic detail work, such as in the scene where Ren is incensed at some perceived slight to his personal hygiene, and promptly rushes over (good dog that he is) to rinse his mouth in the collectively used prison toilet. I remember that the artist did some very creative texture work on the nicely modulated brown scum ringing the bowl. In this same vein, my buddy was tickled pink by the scene in the '50s retro home which was to be their new home; the combination of the tastefully "period" sharp edges and music touched him deeply.

Ah! Art!