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4 Magazines Delivered to Your Door

The Nickelodeon Cartoon That Changed Animation Forever (And Left a Very Dark Legacy)

Ren & Stimpy became a staple name for millennials and Gen Xers. But below the surface lays a dark history for the most beloved kids’ shows.

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One of the most quintessential products of the 90s was Ren & Stimpy, an animated series from the emerging Nickelodeon under the NickToons banner. Ren Höek—the unhinged, emotionally unstable chihuahua and his partner in crime Stimpy, a dim, goofy, but good-natured cat—captured the hearts of kids, teens, and adults everywhere.

Looking back at the iconic series (and many others), it had very mature jokes that went over many of our heads. Ren & Stimpy pushed the boundary of what children’s animation could be. It was unlike anything being made at the time, emphasizing the board-driven writing that the Golden Age (Hanna-Barbera) used. Not only that, they were crediting artists on title cards, which was unheard of.

Ren & Stimpy served as a launchpad for a catalog of Nick shows like Doug, Rugrats,........

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