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R is for Ren Höek

There have been a few letters that brought to mind, this tasteless character. "I" for example, 'idiot' reverberated around in my mind but I passed on it. Who is this cartoon character that is oft referred to as emotionally unstable? I'm talking about the fanatical Ren Höek. Ren is the very embodiment of the exclamation point. He doesn't speak. He yells or is emphatic at every twist and turn.




A couple of decades ago, Ren and Stimpy, of the Ren and Stimpy Show, took the air waves by storm. Soon enough though, they were dumped from television, after all they were on a children's cable network. They were just too inappropriate.

Ren is a chihuahua who is abusive and somewhat kinky. He is also extremely emphatic, as I mentioned, in everything he says and does. Much like our frienemy the exclamation point, he prefers shouting to speaking. He gets particularly edgy when he is referring to his dopey kitty pal, Stimpson J. Cat, a manx otherwise known as Stimpy. Poor Stimpy is almost constantly being called an idiot by the Idiot-in-Chief. Ultimately, Stimpy's antics backfire and Stimpy isn't too badly effected.

In 1993, when I watched this show, I was traveling through Australia with my family. However topsy-turvy our days were, we could depend on Ren and Stimpy for pure escapism in the evening. Ren, with his exclamation point touting self, is my complete opposite. There's always something to be learned from these cartoons, however different they may seem. Love 'em or hate, cartoons reflect our fears, anxieties, joys and wonder in a humorous and light way.

So, I leave you with one of their classics, Don't Whiz on the Electric Fence! featuring Ren, Stimpy and Stimpy's cousin Sven.






Comments

  1. Ha ha Stephanie. (!) You're right, I remember cartoons and the escapades they got up to, quite nasty a lot of them but reflecting our hidden fears and waiting and wanting to get the other. I won't watch the cartoon now ... I'm constructing posts for A-Z, am falling behind, though a little light relief would be in order ...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well when you have time, it's not a bad one and only 4.5 minutes to boot. A to Z does require a lot of time, creativity and energy, doesn't it? I've written out the rest of my words but that's it. No posts to go along with them at this point. When you need the comic relief its here.

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  2. I've never seen Ren and Stimpy but I loved the escapism of the Roadrunner when I was younger...a long, long time ago. Oh, and Fractured Fairytales.
    Thanks for stopping by the Untethered Realms blog today!
    River Fairchild – A to Z April Challenge
    Untethered Realms

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Roadrunner was crazy. You're welcome. Its always a pleasure.

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  3. Never heard of these characters. Must have been restricted to TV in Oz. I don't watch cartoons anyway. Never did.

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    Replies
    1. Oh. Well no, actually it was an American cartoon that started in the US.

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  4. I could never watch the Ren and Stimpy Show because of how obnoxious it was.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. People seem to either love it or hate it, that's for sure.

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  5. I remember it. It was crazy and funny. Had a humor one had to give in to, but it was funny. I grew up with 4 brothers, the laugh was always like these guys.

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    1. Somehow it really seems to hit the guys' funny bone. Same thing was true in my family. Go figure.

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  6. Could never get enough of this show.

    Bob @
    It Came From the Man Cave!

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  7. I loved Ren and Stimpy! My dad used to record every episode. He might still have them on good old VHS cassettes. My favorite episode was probably the rubber nipples one haha (I can't type that without laughing).

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    Replies
    1. Sara, that sounds like fun. I'm going to have to rediscover that nipple episode.

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