Happy Happy Joy Joy: The Ren & Stimpy Story

I enjoyed the first half, maybe even first 3/4'th of this the most. It really did a good job of touching on the background of John K, his influences, how the show got started, and the creative talent that helped make the show what it was. That's all good, but then as it gets to the downfall of the show, I think it learned too heavily into being focused on John K's personal issues, from the sympathetic standpoint of people who more or less bult themselves up off the allegations they raised against him. Now I don't want to take sides, but it seems obvious how some people who led to his downfall had something to gain from the controversy and attention they pursued. Especially the corporate executive who basically tried to stake claim to the shows creation, when it's obvious how she was just someone sitting on an executive board approving this and that.

In the end I guess it presents a good picture on why the show ultimately fell apart in the end, but I don't think what I got out of it was what they intended for me to get out of it. Based off everything they presented going over the show's creation, it's clear where the real talent was and why nobody else managed to accomplish anything meaningful after. It's basically a presentation on how success can affect people, making some people think they're greater than they are, or corrupting people who were truly great.

This is a documentary about the envelope-burning Nickelodeon cartoon, The Ren & Stimpy Show (1991). It broke animation out of its toy-selling corporate mandate into a more outrageous adult era. Its creator John Kricfalusi became an overnight sensation. The show ran into problems after Nickelodeon ups the second season order to twenty episodes and John turns into a tyrant. The story takes an even darker turn with the 2018 BuzzFeed article about John's relationships with teenagers Robyn Byrd and Katie Rice.

To be fair, the filmmakers were probably blindsided by the 2018 story and had to do some fast editing. It takes ninety minutes before the movie gets to Robyn Byrd and they never interviewed Katie Rice. I wouldn't be surprised if the movie was already done with a ninety minute cut before the revelations turned everything upside down. There are downside consequences to this. This movie has a few famous faces heaping praises upon the show. I bet some of them would like to add to their interviews by tackling the question of separating the creator from the creation. While a few insiders do mention John's fascination with young girls, some more in-depth discussion on the subject matter is needed. Quite frankly, that should be the central issue of this documentary. It may not be possible but the filmmakers need to make another ninety minutes on that.

It was really entertaining. I was a kid when the show came out and watched it religiously. It was cool getting the inside perspective on the show. Unfortunately it was new to me hearing about the abuse by John. It does take away from the nostalgia of the show for me because what he did was disturbing. Hearing him acknowledge what he did only made it worse.

Happy Happy Joy Joy: The Ren and Stimpy Story is a huge love letter to everyone, and everything involved with The Ren and Stimpy Show. The movie starts off slow in the beginning but speeds up when it starts talking about the production of the show. It gets a little slow again when they interview fans and celebrities like Jack Black, or Bobby Lee, a Weird Al interview was also recorded but didn't make the cut, the celeb interviews seem a little forced for runtime, but I get why they were added in. There is many controversies or other news involved with John K. (like his relationship with Billy West, his kickstarter cartoon, and suing the South Park creators for their poop character) that didn't make the cut due to the documentary already being almost 2 hours long, and I get why, they are only focusing on stuff related to Ren and Stimpy, and they only go for the major controversies. The main focus of the movie is the legacy Ren and Stimpy created, if we didn't have Ren and Stimpy, we wouldn't have Spongebob, The Simpsons, Adventure Time, Gravity Falls, almost every current show is influenced by Ren and Stimpy, and that's the message the movie signs off with. If Ren and Stimpy didn't exist, I wouldn't be a cartoonist and draw as much as I do daily. This whole movie is perfect for any fan of animation, tv, or comedy, I absolutely adore this movie, and everyone who just thinks about John K.'s terrible life decisions when Ren and Stimpy is mentioned, give this a watch and learn that John K. isn't the only person who worked on this show. So please give this a watch, it's $0.99 to rent and it's arriving on DVD and Blu-Ray later this year.

I was really enjoying the first 3/4 of this documentary. It was great to see the history of one of my all time favourite shows. One that moulded the kind of adult I became and dictates the types of humour I consumed into my adult life. Then they got to the abuse stuff and it just felt like the depth of the film, up until this point, just dropped off.

The rich detail of the history of John K from a child to Ren & Stimpy becoming one of the biggest, most iconic animated shows in history and his subsequent fall from grace; was turned into this short, shallow afterthought that was glossed over with details heavily edited out. It feels like a documentary dictated by John K or by someone really trying to please him whilst still mentioning some things that can't be ignored.

I understand that this is, ultimately, a documentary about Ren & Stimpy and not about the life of John K but when the creator of something so iconic is such a controversial figure, these things can't be ignored. I feel like I was let down by the last 1/4 of this documentary. It's well worth a watch if you're looking for the story of one of the best shows ever put onto TV but if you want more depth in regards to its creators life, outside of his childhood, don't waste your time.