"We'll open another can for dessert!"
August 8, 2009 3:20 AM Subscribe
I really love JohnK's early Ren and Stimpy stuff, but I never liked George Liquor. The character just seems like a one note, and it's sad that it seems JohnK refuses to work on anything else.
posted by arcolz at 4:35 AM on August 8, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by arcolz at 4:35 AM on August 8, 2009 [2 favorites]
John's got other pitches that come and go, but it's George that he keeps returning to. I could delve into my theories as to why, but it seems like bad form to play armchair analyst on a former boss.
posted by egypturnash at 6:02 AM on August 8, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by egypturnash at 6:02 AM on August 8, 2009 [1 favorite]
...but it seems like bad form to play armchair analyst on a former boss.
Oh, pfft. Who better than someone who's been on the inside. I do it all the time to mine.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:40 AM on August 8, 2009
Oh, pfft. Who better than someone who's been on the inside. I do it all the time to mine.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:40 AM on August 8, 2009
John's blog is stunning for his dedication to sharing tips and his thoughts on the craft of animation and cartooning. His blog is a regular stop for me, along with the blogs of several people from his camp like Katie Rice, Eddie Fitzgerald, Kali Fontecchio, and the above mentioned Nico. They're some of the few bloggers that I follow that I wish I could hang out with in the real world.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 6:51 AM on August 8, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 6:51 AM on August 8, 2009 [2 favorites]
George Liquor is a great LOOKING cartoon character with some fantastic expressions, but there doesn't seem to be much beyond that. I wish he'd move on to some other projects or characters.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 6:53 AM on August 8, 2009
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 6:53 AM on August 8, 2009
Honestly, I'm just happy to see what a professional animator and cartoon producer does for his pitches. I think this is fantastic insight into his process and a small part of the business side of getting your ideas out. In truth, like Slack-a-gogo mentioned, John K has become a treasure trove of advice and insight into animation and illustration, both as craft and as business, so good on him for continuing in that direction.
I miss Ren and Stimpy, though. I never liked the Ripping Friends. for me it was all about Ren and Stimpy and Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures.
posted by shmegegge at 8:01 AM on August 8, 2009
I miss Ren and Stimpy, though. I never liked the Ripping Friends. for me it was all about Ren and Stimpy and Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures.
posted by shmegegge at 8:01 AM on August 8, 2009
Don't forget John K.'s Yogi Bear two-shot:
A Day In The Life Of Ranger Smith
Boo Boo Runs Wild (sadly not video -- it seems to have been exterminated from the interwebs)
posted by hippybear at 8:39 AM on August 8, 2009 [1 favorite]
A Day In The Life Of Ranger Smith
Boo Boo Runs Wild (sadly not video -- it seems to have been exterminated from the interwebs)
posted by hippybear at 8:39 AM on August 8, 2009 [1 favorite]
(will respond once i return from a quite amusing weekend pussy hunt.)
posted by the aloha at 9:19 AM on August 8, 2009
posted by the aloha at 9:19 AM on August 8, 2009
Kricfalusi is dead to me after that unspeakably horrible version of Ren & Stimpy that aired on SpikeTV. I remember being really excited about it in the weeks leading up to it, then I sat down to watch it with my brother... and we watched it for about 10 minutes... looked at each other... and turned it off, never to watch it again. It was one of the grossest, unfunniest things I'd ever seen. If that's what he is without network oversight, then it's actually a good thing that the original Ren & Stimpy episodes aired on a conservative network like Nickelodeon. He apparently needs someone to tell him that no one wants to see these beloved characters having graphic discussions about butt-fucking each other.
posted by DecemberBoy at 10:16 AM on August 8, 2009 [3 favorites]
posted by DecemberBoy at 10:16 AM on August 8, 2009 [3 favorites]
furtive, i'll find her; even if it takes all weekend. i should probably start by getting out of the house at some point.
posted by the aloha at 10:35 AM on August 8, 2009
posted by the aloha at 10:35 AM on August 8, 2009
His blog is a regular stop for me, along with the blogs of several people from his camp like Katie Rice, Eddie Fitzgerald, Kali Fontecchio, and the above mentioned Nico.
Woah, I didn't realize the Colaleo name had such cache! Nico and I worked in the same podunk retail hell for a few years. He's seriously impressed me over the years, both with his live action stuff (Happy Hour Shorts) and now with his blog (linked above) and cartooning. We're both out this way now (podunk no more!), but I haven't seen him yet. I'll be sure to tell him he's internet famous when I do.
posted by carsonb at 11:13 AM on August 8, 2009
Woah, I didn't realize the Colaleo name had such cache! Nico and I worked in the same podunk retail hell for a few years. He's seriously impressed me over the years, both with his live action stuff (Happy Hour Shorts) and now with his blog (linked above) and cartooning. We're both out this way now (podunk no more!), but I haven't seen him yet. I'll be sure to tell him he's internet famous when I do.
posted by carsonb at 11:13 AM on August 8, 2009
DecemberBoy: "He apparently needs someone to tell him that no one wants to see these beloved characters having graphic discussions about butt-fucking each other."
I kind of do. I'd never heard of the SpikeTV relaunch, but now I kind of want to.
posted by shmegegge at 11:24 AM on August 8, 2009 [1 favorite]
I kind of do. I'd never heard of the SpikeTV relaunch, but now I kind of want to.
posted by shmegegge at 11:24 AM on August 8, 2009 [1 favorite]
I had never heard of the SpikeTV relaunch, either. Interesting.
posted by hippybear at 11:36 AM on August 8, 2009
posted by hippybear at 11:36 AM on August 8, 2009
I kind of do. I'd never heard of the SpikeTV relaunch, but now I kind of want to.
No you don't. Trust me, if I've made it sound funny, I apologize, because it really, really wasn't. It was so unfunny that Billy West refused to play Stimpy because he (probably correctly) thought it would damage his career to be associated with it. The reason you've never heard of it is probably because it was cancelled after only like 4 episodes aired, and the rest never even aired in the US.
posted by DecemberBoy at 12:20 PM on August 8, 2009
No you don't. Trust me, if I've made it sound funny, I apologize, because it really, really wasn't. It was so unfunny that Billy West refused to play Stimpy because he (probably correctly) thought it would damage his career to be associated with it. The reason you've never heard of it is probably because it was cancelled after only like 4 episodes aired, and the rest never even aired in the US.
posted by DecemberBoy at 12:20 PM on August 8, 2009
it seems like bad form to play armchair analyst on a former boss.
You can't tease us like this! (Or you can, but oh man, spill the beans!)
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:57 PM on August 8, 2009
You can't tease us like this! (Or you can, but oh man, spill the beans!)
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:57 PM on August 8, 2009
I never liked the Ripping Friends
"Every bun will have a wiener, and every wiener will have a bun!"
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 1:03 PM on August 8, 2009
"Every bun will have a wiener, and every wiener will have a bun!"
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 1:03 PM on August 8, 2009
You can't tease us like this! (Or you can, but oh man, spill the beans!)
In case he doesn't, I'll swing at a wild guess: issues with angry authoritarian old dudes (resulting in the character's creation) plus his goat-stubborn determination to push through with a widely rejected idea, based on his not incorrect perception of the "suits" being full of shit. I remember loving the man's work since '92, but that was my immediate response.
posted by Countess Elena at 8:10 PM on August 8, 2009
In case he doesn't, I'll swing at a wild guess: issues with angry authoritarian old dudes (resulting in the character's creation) plus his goat-stubborn determination to push through with a widely rejected idea, based on his not incorrect perception of the "suits" being full of shit. I remember loving the man's work since '92, but that was my immediate response.
posted by Countess Elena at 8:10 PM on August 8, 2009
Hmm...Lots of grudges toward Mr. K here....lots of wonderful probing of him as a person (I wouldn't mind doing some of that myself, to be honest), but no responses to the pitch...Cantcha just admit it's a freakin' great cartoon idea, and let bygones be bygones guys? No? Too entitled for that? Yeah, I just called you that! Nyah. It's a great pitch, and I hope it gets him back on TV.
posted by gorgor_balabala at 8:51 PM on August 8, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by gorgor_balabala at 8:51 PM on August 8, 2009 [1 favorite]
No grudge, Gorgor. I learnt a hell of a lot hanging around his studio, despite being too down on my own work to actually try out for layout (even with Fred asking me point-blank when I was gonna at one point during R&S AP.) I am in awe of the depth of his research and knowledge, and I keep up with his blog - it still makes me think about something new now and then. My art owes him a huge debt, though you might not know that to look at what I draw.
But man, I could never get into George Liquor. Not in the Flash stuff, not in the comic books, not in the endlessly-refined outlines and pitches.
posted by egypturnash at 10:35 AM on August 9, 2009 [1 favorite]
But man, I could never get into George Liquor. Not in the Flash stuff, not in the comic books, not in the endlessly-refined outlines and pitches.
posted by egypturnash at 10:35 AM on August 9, 2009 [1 favorite]
Well I don't know about George Liquor in general, but the pitch is awesome. "The can gives you clues!" I can imagine the character working very well, there's a mixture of hilarity and sadness there, that patriarchal type that knew suffering as a child, persists in seeing the world forever through that lens, and forces the lens upon all under his power. (It may just be how much of my own father I see in the character.)
I agree about the Ren & Stimpy update, wow what a misguided thing. John K. is unquestionably brilliant, but like some brilliant people, sometimes he goes a bit off the rails.
posted by JHarris at 3:51 PM on August 9, 2009
I agree about the Ren & Stimpy update, wow what a misguided thing. John K. is unquestionably brilliant, but like some brilliant people, sometimes he goes a bit off the rails.
posted by JHarris at 3:51 PM on August 9, 2009
I am possibly the biggest R&S fan on the planet, and I was all with delight on finding SpikeTV's new episodes. It was like finding the Ark of the Covenant and seeing that it contained extra commandments.
Then I put the disc in, and I couldn't make it through.
Just as Islam's restrictions on artistic expression give rise to amazing calligraphy, so to did Nickelodeon lead to John K doing his very best work.
posted by zippy at 12:23 AM on August 10, 2009
Then I put the disc in, and I couldn't make it through.
Just as Islam's restrictions on artistic expression give rise to amazing calligraphy, so to did Nickelodeon lead to John K doing his very best work.
posted by zippy at 12:23 AM on August 10, 2009
you know, I was just over at wikipedia looking up the R&S update, and then the old original show. It's amazing. As much as I admire John K, and I think his blog is fucking incredible, I don't think the dude has completed more than one season of any show he has ever created. He got fired from the original R&S after one year!
I can't help but wonder if, despite or because of his brilliance, he's always kind of been off the rails. It seems like he just can't compromise with anyone on anything.
posted by shmegegge at 6:55 PM on August 10, 2009
I can't help but wonder if, despite or because of his brilliance, he's always kind of been off the rails. It seems like he just can't compromise with anyone on anything.
posted by shmegegge at 6:55 PM on August 10, 2009
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posted by Thorzdad at 4:30 AM on August 8, 2009 [1 favorite]