John K. - Your thoughts???

[Fallout Boy]

I might be reading too much into things, but it seems to me that John K. is one of the most polarizing figures in animation over the last 20 years at least. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of middle ground when it comes to his work - people love it or hate it. So I was wondering, what do you think of John K.? I'm taking his whole body of work into account here - Mighty Mouse, Ren & Stimpy, Ripping Friends, the Yogi and Jetsons shorts as well as all the web cartoons aired on the Spumco website (and anything else I may be missing).

[jeffrey 228]

Well Ren & Stempy are the most favorite ones around.

[Fallout Boy]

It figures that since I said there is no middle ground with John K. that most of the votes are in the "average" category. D'oh! :D

[JDuncan]

I would have to say average. Ren and Stimpy was good, the original concept for Ripping Friends was good, and the "**** her gently" video was excellent. The Ripping Friends 1st season was not to my liking and strayed to much from the concept. His shorts, IMO, are horrible. So, average.

[Mr.Glass]

Cartoon God.

What makes great cartoon shows is originality, and even the most staunch Kric-basher must admit he is a true original. He revolutionized cartoonish exaggeration, picking up where Tex Avery left off. He is absolutely fearless with what he does, which is admirable and rare for this day and age.

[drippynmeatwad]

i'm sorry, but why doesn't he just give up already? :confused: :eek: :confused:

[jeffrey 228]

Well, I don't think so, on some cases.

[Calhoun07]

I would say average. Not everything the man touches is gold. But he's got some great stuff out there, so I can forgive his misses in light of his hits.

[rmarti3926]

Well, give John K. credit where credit is due. If it weren't for his Ren & Stimpy, we would not have Two Stupid Dogs, Dexter's Lab, Cow & Chicken, the Powerpuff Girls, and most of ASC.

BTW, where's Spumco's site again?

[Allen's Nickname.]

Originally posted by rmarti3926
BTW, where's Spumco's site again? Down. The webmaster said why once, but I forgot. Normally it's at www.spumco.com.

And I agrre with you rmarti, John K. has had a very positive effect on animation, allthough some of his other work (coughrippingfrindscough.) is somewhat sub-par.

[Joe Tully]

Originally posted by rmarti3926


BTW, where's Spumco's site again?

It went down months ago and never showed back up. You could try using the Wayback machine to get to an old version of it. That's the best you'll get.

I liked Ren & Stimpy and the New Mighty Mouse, but the internet stuff, Boo Boo Runs Wild, and Ripping Friends hasn't impressed me much. So I voted for average.

[candy17]

Originally posted by Mr.Glass
Cartoon God.

What makes great cartoon shows is originality, and even the most staunch Kric-basher must admit he is a true original. He revolutionized cartoonish exaggeration, picking up where Tex Avery left off. He is absolutely fearless with what he does, which is admirable and rare for this day and age.

Right on! :D

I also agree that if it weren't for R&S, the ASC cartoons (including the cancelled cartoons from WB that were brought to CN), the Cartoon Cartoons (especially the ones on my old signature), and other cartoons that have the testicular fortitude to follow in his footsteps would either be bashed by religious types or not come into existence at all.

However, even I must admit that the only bad cartoons John K. has done were the Yogi Bear and Jetsons shorts.

So John K is a cartoon demi-god, meaning he's human (read: he makes some cartoons that suck, blow, bite, and reek), but he's not afraid to go off the deep end, unlike most cartoons these days.

[Millions Knives]

What I can't stand is how John K. makes one good cartoon then people consider him to be a cartoon legend.

[Mynd Hed]

It's not just "one good cartoon." Ren and Stimpy wasn't just fun to watch (although it was VERY fun to watch), it was also very influential. As someone noted before, dozens of cartoons have been directly or indirectly influenced by it. Does that make John K a cartoon legend? Eh... I'd prefer to call Ren and Stimpy a cartoon legend, and John K one of many very creative people who worked on it. Still, it's understandable that people call him a legend. Certainly his work on R&S was legendary.

[The Tentacle of DOOM]

I'd just like to say that John K's influence on Ren & Stimpy was hardly the deciding factor--contrary to the popular legend, the show did not immediately degenerate into unwatchable garbage the moment he left. (Am I the only one who remembers "Hermit Ren"?) That came several years later. A part of me wonders if his stormy exit didn't actually spare the show from an even earlier decline....

Anywho, a pretty average artist, with hits or misses. Personally, I think K.'s got good ideas, but lacks the discipline to make them that funny when he's the one in complete control...

[joshualane]

To me, John K is in the same group as Mike Judge in the sense that both of their creations were very original and influential to others out there. However, I never liked either of their shows, Beavis & Butthead and Ren & Stimpy and don't care much for any of their other stuff, King of the Hill and Ripping Friends. I didn't really find any humor in any of their series and just didn't care to watch them.

[Samurai Rocko]

I think what made Ren and Stimpy popular is because when it showed up animation was in the dark ages. Almost every show that premiered were aimed at Kids or based on some very popular toys and they were not even close to funny. So obvisouly people praised RAS when it premiered.

[Masamune2052]

I voted average on the basis that Ren & Stimpy was great *regrets not seeing more of it on Nickelodeon*. Also, I thought Ripping Friends was a horrible show *i voted to destroy the part of my brain that remembers me watching it* and the Yogi and Jetson shorts were an insult to the original shows.

[Mynd Hed]

I think what made Ren and Stimpy popular is because when it showed up animation was in the dark ages. Almost every show that premiered were aimed at Kids or based on some very popular toys and they were not even close to funny. So obvisouly people praised RAS when it premiered.

It's true that Ren and Stimpy really did stand out among the animation in those days, but it's also true that it has stood the test of time for many people (including myself). I think that show is just as great now as it was then, and that's hard to pull off.

[dino boy]

I'm not totally sure about the accuracy of the following dates, but I think The Simpsons premiered in 1989, and Ren and Stimpy premiered after that (1991?) And maybe someone can clear this up for me--I thought Cartoon Planet began airing in like 1996 or so, but on the Cartoon Planet CD I have it says something about beginning in 1992--maybe that's when it was actually a cartoon variety show on some other network, I don't know.

I just wanted to add that some of the other animated shows premiering around that time included The Simpsons and Space Ghost/CP, which in my opinion influenced many of the animated shows we see today just as much if not more than R&S, especially on ASC.

[dino boy]

I also wanted to say something in response to Mr. Glass's comment: I'm not a big fan of Ren and Stimpy, but I will admit that he is definitely original, and definitely picked up cartoonish exaggeration where Tex Avery left off. I do think, however, that he sometimes doesn't know where to draw the line, and it just turns out to be gross and not funny. The truth is, though, that the type of animation comedy that I like tends to be more audio-driven stuff like, oh, just about everything on ASC, whereas the comedy in Ren and Stimpy seems to come very heavily from the animation. So, it's also a matter of personal preference.

[Lord of the Vortex]

Everything Iv'e ever seen done by John K., or Spumco period for that matter has been completely unwatchable, Ren and stimpy, the ripping friends, it all sucks, I'd rather have my head impaled on a large sharp stick, then watch some of that crap again, programs like these imbody everything I hate amout animation, into one awful package. John K. is a derranged madman , who should mot be allowed to live (or at least make annimated television shows).