2 Stupid Dogs

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!!!!!

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

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 another one of the best cartoons on Cartoon Network. I thought it was funny that the Little Dog is scared of the cat and every time when the Little Dog backs off, the Big Dog comes in and just barks once and then the cat drops to the ground with fear! Plus also on this show we also got to have some new episodes of Super Secret Squirrel and like wise his sidekick, Morocco Mole. Plus I thought all the episodes were funny and all of 2 Stupid Dogs and some of the new episodes Hanna-Barbera made of Secret Squirrel. Hanna-Barbera still knows how to make good cartoons and never fails to entertain me. This was also one of my favorite cartoons from the 1990's.

First of all, Ren & Stimpy was about a dog and a cat, not two dogs. Second, both animals in this show were stupid, while Ren was not stupid (not smart either) and also very malicious. Second of all, this show was also much cleaner and child-oriented, while Ren & Stimpy was more appropriate for older audiences. Third of all, i'm tired of typing this review.