Aug 5, 2020

No one wanted a "Ren & Stimpy" reboot, but Comedy Central is going to do it anyway.

Viacom can't help itself. Rather than investing in new animation talent, Viacom's cable channels are actively devoting all their resources to rebooting vintage animation. Last month, Comedy Central announced that it would revive Mike Judge's "Beavis and Butt-Head," and MTV announced that it would do the same with Phil Lord and Chris Miller's "Clone High."

Today, Comedy Central continued the trend by announcing an adult remake of the year's most ill-advised reboot, "Ren and Stimpy," marking the second time a Nickelodeon children's series from the early 1990s has been rebooted for adults. The first was in 2003, when Viacom's Spike TV produced six episodes of "Ren & Stimpy" (only three aired): This infamous series was legendary not only for its incoherent episodes and wildly inconsistent production quality, but also for its dysfunctional production (disclosure: I was ) is also legendary.

There is an important difference between this new show and "Adult Party Cartoon": the show's creator, John Crickfalusi, has no creative or financial involvement in the new show. 64-year-old Crickfalusi, in a 2018 "Buzzfeed" expose He was accused of harassment and sexual abuse of minors. He responded in a widely mocked letter, admitting that there was "general truth" to the accusations and blaming his behavior on bipolar disorder and ADHD." He asserted that "it is almost impossible to control impulses and obsessions.

Viacom believes that removing Kricfalusi from the reboot will avoid the controversy surrounding the show; Chris McCarthy, president of ViacomCBS Entertainment & Youth Group, said in a statement, "The new creative team and with our partners at Nickelodeon Animation Studios, we are excited to reimagine this iconic franchise. Ren & Stimpy joins the rapidly expanding adult animated franchise that includes South Park, Beavis and Butthead, and Clone High, and continues to rebuild a treasure chest of beloved IP for a new generation."

However, the general sentiment in the animation industry is that the show's reputation has been so marred by the personal actions of its creators that ViacomCBS would have been better off investing in modern talent rather than coasting on old IP. Judging by the reaction on social media today, the reboot may even struggle to attract the best talent to work on the production, which could put a damper on Viacom's ambition to get the show back on track, even though it has already been green-lit. (Curiously, the new episodes will be produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studios, marking the first time the studio has produced an animated series for adults.)

The following is a small but representative sample of how people inside and outside the industry feel about the idea of a "Ren & Stimpy" reboot:

There is no need to bring "Ren & Stimpy" back. We don't need to bring back Beavis & Butthead. There is no need to revive even Clone High. They had their chance and are interesting relics of the past. There are many people today with newer and better ideas.

- kc green (@kcgreenn) August 5, 2020

Reviving the legacy of known pedophiles and serial abusers (Len and Stimpy) is incredibly tone deaf and harmful. This would be a wonderful opportunity to listen and instead uplift the voices and projects of marginalized creators with new ideas.

- leah artwick (@itsleahelaine) August 5, 2020

Why bring back Len and Stimpy?

Use those resources to create a new show, find diverse new voices in the animation world and elevate them. Instead, this will only perpetuate the legacy of a monster.

The world will survive the loss of the "Ren & Stimpy" episodes. https://t.co/DDomtJphLW

- Pedro Eboli/BLM. (@eboli_pedro) August 5, 2020

Nothing would be worse for those in the animation industry, especially those who have not only planned but produced pilots of great repute, than to have a dirty, outdated title like "Ren and Stomp"

- Kevin Williams (@AwestruckVox) August 5, 2020

Look, I love old cartoons as much as anyone, maybe more. The original season of Ren and Stimpy was fantastic. But I don't need to dig up the corpses of every 30 year old show I've ever seen and bring them back to life with Frankenstein.

- Aaron Long (@aalong64) August 5, 2020

I absolutely know he's not involved. Doesn't matter. There is no reason to bring him back. If we keep our signature show, it's ours. It's also a lazy green light for a lot of great work and new voices. https://t.co/jBedjV3MZm

- Chris Knee. (@chrisdocnee) August 5, 2020

June Animation Studio: u_u We are committed to diversity and equal opportunity. We offer training and mentoring programs and take a hard look at leadership decisions.

August Animation Studio: https://t.co/Xt2fcrSfpK

- Amanda Wong (@amandawtwong) August 5, 2020

People telling me to hire minorities and women to help clean up and demote "Ren and Stimpy" baffles me. Apparently their voices are only meaningful and of no intrinsic value when it comes to cleaning up other people's piles of shit.

- Kaveh "Associated Acts" Taherian (@kavehtaherian) August 5, 2020

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