Ren & Stimpy - The Complete First and Second Seasons

Rating:
Summary: Special Edition DVD??
Review: So I bought this set which is really great, but where is "Man's Best Friend" the banned episode, it's supposed to be on the DVD right? Is it hidden? What's the deal? I've watched the entire set and nothing. I 've looked through every menu on each DVD and nothing. Did I get an incomplete set or is there something I don't know?

Rating:
Summary: "SEE HOW I LOVE TO CLEAN FEELTHY CAT BOXES!!!"
Review: Ah, to be a kid again, growing up in the early '90s. I remember every Saturday night, at 9:30 PM, my parents had to stop whatever they were doing, so I could run out and watch my favorite show, Ren & Stimpy. All these classic episodes, which Nickelodeon would NEVER show now (Hard to believe the same network that showed this as recent as a decade ago now specializes in crapola such as All Grown Up... ugh)... they're now on DVD - with restored cuts! Happy happy, joy joy!

So how does this DVD set measure up? Well, pretty damn well, I have to say. It's definitely a step up from the old VHS tapes I had recorded years ago... the sound is good, the picture is good, and we get the classics, such as "Space Madness", "Stimpy's Invention", "Sven Hoek", "Stimpy's Big Day/The Big Shot", et cetera, not to mention the "banned" episode, "Man's Best Friend". What more could you want?

If you remember the good old days where kids shows didn't have to be politically correct (can someone please explain Dora the Explorer?!?!?), and instead of kid's shows having kids force-fed another language, they showed the wacky, goofy adventures of a short-fused chihuahua and a fat, dopey cat, then definitely get this boxed set. It's great to slap "The Fairly Oddparents" in the face with! Now get Rocko's Modern Life, Tiny Toon Adventures, and Old Doug on DVD box sets and I'll be a happy camper.

And, IMHO, Ren's insane laugh while cleaning Stimpy's litter box in "Stimpy's Invention" is the best 30 seconds in the show's history.

Rating:
Summary: "Uncut" is a lie! But what other choices do you have?
Review: I can't beleive that they say it's uncut! But it has a great interview w/John K, good commentary on some of the episodes and other extras (pencils, storyboards, etc...). Sorta strange though that nobody mentions Bill Wray at all - since I thought he had a big part of the early episodes? It does piss me off that they say it's uncut though, but there's really no other choices out there and as I mentioned it does have some good extras! Hopefully you have the uncut episodes on video tape.

Rating:
Summary: DVD Mystery
Review: I have enjoyed this DVD apart formt he fact that there are some mysterious production flaws with my copy and I'm curious whether this slipped by quality control. About 3/4 through "Sven Høek" there is a brief (30 seconds or so) of time code that accompanies the show. Also the cartoon "Man's Best Friend" is not present at all. Is this a limited edition mistake version or are all of them like this? I still give it good marks beause it is so good.

Rating:
Summary: This a Damn CLASSIC!
Review: I love Ren and Stimpy ever since I was a sick and perverted child I watched this show. [...]. The banned episode is on their it's in the special features on disc 2 dumbass look next time.

Rating:
Summary: The Ren and Stimpy I Love: The Season 1 and 2 DVD Boxed Set
Review: I was so happy when I found out from a co-worker that this DVD set had come out. I was even happier when I discovered John Kricfalusi had taken the time to put some personal touches on the set. Heck, I was pleased as punch to find Paramount's studio label, not Nick's, on the box.

What pleases me most is that this collection is an opportunity to experience again all the (you'll pardon me) happy joy I felt when I discovered these cartoons during their early runs on MTV and Nickelodeon, as well as the sense I got, somewhat disconcerting and strange, of a changing world as "The Ren and Stimpy Show" began to mature.

"Nature's first hue is gold,
Its hardest hue to hold." -- Robert Frost

One trait of Season One that caught my eye and thrilled my heart was the essentially unpolished, unfinished, uneven nature of some of the work. I'm a composer, visually and sonically, by avocation, and when these jolts and impediments to any sort of slick, corporate flow resulted in a frequent tearing down of the fourth wall -- that to me was near-Heavenly. It was as if I could see the veins and hairball glands and snot and smell the blessed stinkiness of the creative process itself. I could see what seemed to me to be tendencies toward laziness and whim in the cartoon's creator and director (tendencies that comforted me because I myself exhibit them in abundance) -- alternating with a finger-blistering work ethic visible in the meticulous individually-drawn sequence frames and the lack of traditional repetition or reuse of frames. And I laughed riotously at how funny the lumpy, jerky finished product could be. "Untamed World" is still my wife's favorite, and "Robin Hoek" is mine.

I remembered bouncing on the sofa 13 years ago and making my infant daughter gleeful by singing along with Stinky Wizzleteats. I remembered buying a Nick magazine that came out when Season Two was ready to issue forth, and when John K. was, at least to public report, still on the Nickelodeon personnel list. I remember reading therein about the fan contest, "A Visit to Anthony", and John's Dad's honored request that no more Commander Hoek and Stimpy episodes be done. I remember seeing the Powdered Toast Man adventure that brought Nickelodeon complaining phone calls. And I remembered noticing the drastic difference in both style and substance when Games finished the cartoons instead of Spumco, even those cartoons John himself had written and had begun constructing before his departure. I remember the photo, in an animation magazine of the time, of a Spumco artist proudly showing off his clean hand which had not sullied itself by shaking Bob Camp's own, had shown more loyalty to John K. than to Vanessa C.

This set brings all that back. What a wonderful journey through almost archetypal processes of creation, splendor, languishment, decay, bureaucracy, chaos.

Thank you, John Kricfalusi. Who knows? This set may even inspire me to check out your Adult Party Cartoon.

Rating:
Summary: And you know what else?
Review: I'm gonna hit yah, and your gonna fall, and I'm gonna look down, and I'm gonna laugh.

This is one of those shows that are a guilt pleasure. You don't really go around work telling people, hey, did you like Ren and Stimpy? Yeah, all through Middle School I could never miss an episode. I even recorded the marathons they ran on Nickelodeon, making sure I cut out the commercials. Then every so often, during summer vacation, I would spend one day watching every episode when it was raining outside. Yeah, I don't recommend telling your coworkers you watch those crazy cartoons, with the nerve ending fairy, and the yak in the canoe that leaves you shaving scum. Nope, Ren and Stimpy is not your most mature cartoon.

Despite the fact it may not be the most secure cartoon to watch in front of your parents, and may be a little disgusting sometimes (especially these unedited versions), it is still an all time animated classic, and a must have in your DVD collection. Remember, I did call it a guilty pleasure, and there is no way I could give this series less then a five star rating.

Cartoons like Ren and Stimpy opened the door for other great cartoons, like my new favorite, Aqua Teen Hunger Force. You are now allowed to show sick, twisted cartoon, that you can't help but laugh at. Yes Ren and Stimpy is an all time classic, but make sure you watch it before you run out and buy it. It is definitely not for the faint at heart, and is not for everyone. It still remains one of my favorites all time cartoons.

Grade: A


Rating:
Summary: Gross Humor Takes its Advantages
Review: If you are looking to my specific review to see if I can tell you whether every edit was done away with, then you need to get a life. It's disgusting, the people reviewing this. I would have purchased this dvd whether it said uncut or not, because I have such fond memories of watching Ren and Stimpy as the weird child that I was and being simply enthralled with it. Watching it now, I like it more than I did then, because I get all of the subtle and sick undertones which was something that was relatively unprecedented in cartoons. The fact that it's even partly uncut is just this sweet tasty icing on top of this fluffy, delicious cake. Hell yeah.

This box set is absolutely worth the money, because everytime I come home, I want to watch another episode. I have yet to get tired of it. I always want to watch an episode. This isn't saying much to anyone who's taped every episode and spends much of their life crying about small glitches. But I assure all reasonable human beings that this was the best 30 dollars I've ever spent.

If it's the way John K. presents it, then so it shall be. Stop complaining.

Rating:
Summary: I'd Love It If It Weren't For The Stupid Black Outs!
Review: It really is nice to see this series again. I've been a huge fan of this series ever since it first aired and it feels really good to have the first two seasons in my DVD collection.

The extras on this DVD are very good. I particularly like the "In the Beginning" documentary that gives a brief history of how the show got started and the characters designs and how they came up with the characters.

The only thing that bugged me about this collection is that we got the Spike TV versions, and the forced commercial breaks became irritating over time. In the middle of a scene, it goes black screen and then cuts back on and continues to finish the scene. They should have taken the commercial "black outs" out. That's my main gripe about this DVD. Besides that, I really do like it and look forward to them releasing the third and fourth season this year, hopefully.