If you are a teenager, you probabley grew into a pre-teen with Ren and Stimpy. I was a pre-schooler at the time Ren and Stimpy was popular, and to this day I watch the Spumco episodes of it religiously. Fast foward ten years. The original creators of Ren and Stimpy, John Kricfalusi and Spumco, have decided to come back on TV with a sucessful show after the diasater relationship they had with Nickeldeon a decade ago. Now they are with Fox Kids, with The Ripping Friends. I saw most of the first season, and is it as good as any Spumco product they made from R&S to present? Close. The animation: Now this is my least favorite part of the show. It really feels flat and two dimentional, almost like a 60s Hanna Barbera show, but slightly cleaner. There are still some good drawings, and based on the budget and the fact that it's a Saturday Morning Cartoon (which normal have limited animation), it's still OK. But check out the designs and the storyboards by Jim Smith, they look excellent, as always. I just wish they'd hire some close-up animators from Ren and Stimpy. ***/***** The plot: Intresting. According to Kricfalusi, it's supposed to be a spoof on manly men, any type of men before political correctness or the 70s. Their mission: to rip, or destroy anyone or thing that stands in the way of justice. ****/*****
The humor: Hilarious. A couple jokes are a little flat, but you'll forgive those jokes instantly when other jokes come in the line. Ren and Stimpy-ish, and politically satire-ish most of the time. I won't spoil any here. See for yourself. ****1/2/*****.
Bottom line: It's no Ren and Stimpy, and the animation needs a bit of clean-up, but watch it for the humor, and how unusual it is. ****/*****.
