The Ren & Stimpy Show - The Complete Series - DVD

Content: Jubel Jubel Freu Freu! The Ren & Stimpy Show is finally available on DVD. The ever-pessimistic Chihuahua Ren Hoëck and his faithful companion, the somewhat simple-structured, lovable cat Stimpson Stimpy J. Katzwinkel, first saw the light of day in 1991 and provided humor of a different kind for 52 episodes on Nickelodeon. Created by Canadian animator John Kricfalusi, the series was satirical and at times very, very nasty. Even after Kricfalusi was fired after only two seasons along with his production company Spümcø and the series was henceforth produced by another company, the anarchic spirit of the cartoon was omnipresent in the following three seasons. Although in 1996 the last clapperboard fell for the two unequal friends, Ren & Stimpy have not lost their cult character to this day.

The humor of the series is sometimes very subversive, is then again presented more with the sledgehammer. Sometimes the viewers are made to laugh by small, fine gags and then the whole thing moves again close to the border of tastelessness. It's a lot of things, just not predictable. The Ren & Stimpy Show uses classic cartoon rules, only to take them to absurdity a little later with a refreshing irreverence. True, this has been copied and developed ever since. Nevertheless, even more than 15 years after its end, the series still seems very special and different. This starts with the fact that many episodes begin with wonderfully absurd commercials (such as for dog slobber, which gives shy men new self-confidence, or for the Schmelzi cheese fist).

But even the actual stories hardly stick to the rules familiar from other animated series. For example, there are always changing locations, and Ren and Stimpy's backstory varies constantly as well. Sometimes they are in space, sometimes Stimpy tries to be an inventor, then the two are suddenly presenters for a nature show or find themselves in a fairy tale kingdom or try to be a sausage farmer in Canada. And also stylistically the series uses again and again most different means and can be put thereby hardly into a drawer. And even if some gags overshoot the mark a bit and are just plain unappetizing, the series must be credited in any case that there is simply nothing comparable.

Great praise also goes to the German dubbing, which is really extremely successful. Santiago Ziesmer (Spongebob Squarepants) as Ren and Oliver Feld (Seinfeld, Johnny Bravo) as Stimpy give the two characters in the German version a character all their own, which can easily compete with the original version in most moments. Only the appearances of some prominent guest stars are lost in the dubbing, of course. So are in the original English version sometimes Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) or cult musician Frank Zappa to hear.

That The Ren & Stimpy Show is so special and in the hearts of many fans a very special place, have also recognized the makers of the German DVD box. With a lot of effort they have done everything to offer the German fans a box that can be called complete with the best conscience. Cuts were filled in with unedited footage and the appropriate dubbing, and where there was no German audio, the original sound was provided with German subtitles. Since two episodes even completely lacked the German master, missing gaps were filled here with the help of fans who provided their private recordings. Such an effort is more than praiseworthy and gives hope for high quality for future releases from Turbine. Fans can already look forward to Turbine's next cult cartoon, Rocko's Modern Life.

The Ren & Stimpy Show is special and might not be accessible to every cartoon fan. But if you already loved the series when it aired on TV and like quirky, completely unpredictable humor, you simply can't pass up this beautiful box set. Absolutely recommendable!

Picture + Sound: Since some episodes already have over twenty years on the hump, the picture and sound quality is not always at a very high level. It is commendable that the provider already informs the buyer on the back of the box about it. But who now fears an audiovisual disaster, can be reassured. Because in the worst moments, The Ren & Stimpy Show looks just like it did on TV. There are minor image glitches and here and there the whole thing looks a bit washed out, but in most moments the coloration and overall sharpness are at a perfectly satisfactory level. The stereo sound is rather unspectacular, but the witty dialogue and the many sound effects come out of the speakers clearly intelligible and relatively powerful. Good!

Extras: In addition to some nice goodies that are included with the DVD box (poster, sticker, postcard), the first DVD still has a featurette worth seeing about the creation of the series, as well as the previously unsent episode Man`s Best Friend, which is only available on this German DVD release and therefore makes this box all the more recommendable for fans. Alongside these are a Sven Høek pencil test and a storyboard & Spümcø gallery. Spread across all the discs, this lovely box also has 32 (!) audio commentaries from various collaborators involved in the series (Spümcø team, John Kricfalusi & animation team or the producers of Spümcø with the animation team) to offer. A special treat here: in two of the commentaries, Ren and Stimpy themselves do the honors. An absolute highlight for fans! For this we give a well-deserved: Very good!

Conclusion: The makers of the DVD box set of the Ren & Stimpy Show have really gone to great lengths to offer fans of the cult cartoon the best possible complete box set of the 52 episode series. As well as all the uncut episodes, some nice goodies like posters and stickers, viewers are then treated to a previously unseen episode, a making of and several amusing audio commentaries. Even if the picture and sound quality due to the age of the series is not always perfect, the box is overall more than successful and for fans an absolute must!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp