Spümcø’s Lost Universe
The Danes call it quality.
Despite the high level of nostalgia for children's shows from the 1990s - the success of Dynamite's Gargoyles series is a prime example - one of the biggest hits of that decade, The Ren & Stimpy Show, has received little attention. Created by cartoonist John Kricfalusi and his studio Spümcø, the show was an instant hit with both adults and children.
John Kricfalusi’s relationship with Nickelodeon, and the allegations of toxic behavior within workplace have made the company's legacy complicated. See the 2020 documentary Happy Happy Joy Joy for al the details. While we won't comment on that history, Spümcø was founded and staffed by some amazing animation talent - including the great Bob Camp, Jim Smith and Lynne Naylor - and we’re interested in looking back at what was created by Spümcø AFTER the studio parted ways with Nickelodeon. While none of the projects quite captured the same level of cultural impact as The Ren & Stimpy Show, many of Spumco's post-Ren and Stimpy characters have found their own devoted followings and continue to be beloved by fans today.
One of Spumco's earliest post-Ren and Stimpy projects was The Ripping Friends, a superhero parody series that premiered in 2001. The Ripping Friends followed the exploits of four muscle-bound siblings with absurdly exaggerated physiques and a penchant for wacky adventures. Though the show was short-lived, it gained a cult following for its bizarre humor and unique animation style.
Spümcø also created several one-off cartoons, pilots, products and three comic books in the years following Ren and Stimpy. These include The Goddamn George Liquor Program, a surreal and often offensive series starring a cantankerous old man, and a number of products built around what we’ll call the “Spümcø-verse”. A collection of characters that includes George Liquor; his nephew, Jimmy The Idiot Boy; Jimmy's cousins, Slab and Ernie; Jimmy's love interest, Sody Pop; and George and Jimmy's pets, Dirty Dog and Cigarettes the Cat. Rounding out the Spumco-verse was Dr. Jean Poole, who was initially introduced as a love interest for The Ripping Friends and later had her own coloring book, produced by Spümcø. A three issue series of oversized comics - simply titled Spümcø Comic Book - were published by Dark Horse in 1995, and reprinted as a collected hardbound edition by IDW Comics and Yoe Books in 2013. The hardbound edition includes a never before published 25-page Jimmy story as an extra bonus. It’s also worth noting that a number of the Spümcø-verse characters made an appearance in Björk’s “I Miss You” music video, created in part by John Kricfalusi.
Despite these lingering studio controversies, and never hitting the same level of success they saw with Ren & Stimpy, Spümcø left a considerable mark on the animation business, with many of the top animators today getting their start at this small Hollywood studio. While the studio will talk about being influenced by the greats of animation - Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, Chuck Jones - Spümcø left it’s own mark on the cartoon business and has it’s own legacy that left a lasting impact on animation. While George Liquor, Jimmy The Idiot Boy and Cigarettes the Cat would probably not work in today’s culture, they remain an interesting “lost universe” of cult characters.
