Ren Seeks Help is the second episode of Ren & Stimpy's All New Adult Party Cartoon. This episode, along with "Fire Dogs 2" and "Onward and Upward", aired on Spike TV.
Characters[]
- Ren Höek
- Stimpy
- Dr. Mr. Horse
- Frog
- Skippy
- Reverend Höek (debut)
- Mrs. Höek (debut)
- Animal Control
- Dog Doctor
- Cat Nurse
- Deer
- Bugs
- Ren's Childhood Human Friend
- Ambulance Workers
- Guy who feeds Mr. Horse
Plot[]
During an offscreen arguement with his friend Stimpy, Ren does something horrible that causes Stimpy to have a foul reaction by crying hysterically. Overcome with tremendous guilt, a distraught Ren is determined to head downtown and visit a therapist office. During his visit, he recounts his entire childhood to Dr. Mr. Horse.
Production[]
Art[]
Music[]
- Frantic Pursuit – Roger Roger (title card)
- Nostalgic Melody – Jack Beaver (opening)
- Crime on the Streets – Robert Busby (Stimpy screams)
- Drama Sting 2 – Sidney Torch (“I’m sorry, Stimpy.”)
- Drama Link (d) – Hubert Clifford (Stimpy slaps Ren’s hand)
- Crime on the Streets – Robert Busby (Stimpy cries)
- Drama Link (e) – Hubert Clifford (Ren looks sad)
- Mother Earth – Charles Williams (“I know I’m insane, Stimpy.”)
- Acts of Heroism (c) – Trevor Duncan (Ren says he’ll seek help)
- Drama Sting 6 – Sidney Torch (“Stimpy stops for a moment.”)
- Frantic Pursuit - Roger Roger; Manhunt – Jack Shaindlin (“Don’t do it for me.”)
- Drama Link (k) – Hubert Clifford (“Do it for yourself!”)
- Crime on the Streets – Robert Busby (Stimpy cries again)
- Drama Link (m) – Hubert Clifford (Ren walks to the door)
- Drama Link (n) – Hubert Clifford (Ren leaves)
- Drama Link (o) – Hubert Clifford (Ren’s walking outside)
- Symphony No. 6 – Pathetique – Movement 4 – Peter Tchaikovsky (the roof flies off from Stimpy’s crying)
- Prelude #4 in E Minor – Fiachra Trench, Frederic Chopin (after the roof flies off)
- Heavy Affliction – Cedric Palmer (Ren walks the streets)
- Phantasm – Leslie Bridgewater (Ren sees the psychiatrist’s building)
- Mists of Illusion - Gilbert Vinter (Ren inside the psychiatrist’s building)
- Terrified – Hubert Clifford (Ren walks down the hallway)
- Smouldering Fury (a) – Trevor Duncan; Drama Link (c) – Hubert Clifford (Ren in front of the psychiatrist’s door)
- UFO Landscape - Roger Roger; Drama Link (b) – Hubert Clifford (Ren opens the door)
- Sweating it Out – Jack Shaindlin (Ren walks up to Mr. Horse)
- Who Me? – Jack Shaindlin (“Doctor, I need help!”)
- House Mouse - Arthur Wilkinson (Ren lays down on the couch)
- In the Hideaway – Jack Shaindlin (“I’m a terrible person, doc.”)
- Dramatic Impact 1 – Ivor Slaney (Ren snaps)
- Drama Link (d) – Hubert Clifford (“I’m not crazy or anything!”)
- Here and There – Harry Bluestone, Emil Cadkin [CPM] (“Of course not, Mr. Hoek.”)
- Weird Bridge – Roger Roger (“My first memory…”)
- Drama Link (i) – Hubert Clifford (“It was dark.”)
- Drama Link (c) – Hubert Clifford (“He beat me, and I felt my first sensation.”)
- Graveyard – Johnny Pearson; Saw Theme - William Trytel (“I would never feel this pain again.”)
- Lambs in Clover – Jack Strachey (young Ren pulling legs off a caterpillar)
- The March of the Ants – S Crooke (Ren licks a bug)
- Vignette – Jack Shaindlin (“Yes, I grew.”)
- Maniac Pursuit – Trevor Duncan (“No boy can forget the day he gets his first tricycle…”)
- Tom Fool – Van Phillips (frog hooked up to a car battery)
- Terrified – Hubert Clifford (Ren’s shadow is seen walking up to the frog)
- Drama Sting 6 – Sidney Torch (“What are you waiting for? Do it!”)
- Drama Link (d) – Hubert Clifford (Ren raises the hammer)
- Beg Your Pardon – Jack Shaindlin (“You WANT me to kill you?”)
- Hippo Bird – Arthur Wilkinson (Ren smoking)
- Take a Peek – Jack Shaindlin (“Prolonging his suffering was so much sweeter to me.”)
- Terrified - Hubert Clifford; Crime Lab – Jack Shaindlin; Drama Sting 5 – Sidney Torch (Mr. Horse pulls a gun out of the drawer)
- Mists of Illusion - Gilbert Vinter (“Oh yes, I slept greatly that night.”)
- Melodrama – Eric Spear; Cock & Bull Story – Jack Shaindlin (frog crawls to Ren’s house)
- Phantasm - Leslie Bridgewater (Ren sleeping)
- Cock & Bull Story – Jack Shaindlin (“Wake up and kill me!”)
- Burlesque – Jack Shaindlin (Ren shuts shades)
- Tom Fool – Van Phillips (Ren comes home from school)
- Dramatic Impact 3 – Ivor Slaney (Ren’s dad hand on Ren’s shoulder)
- Here and There – Harry Bluestone, Emil Cadkin [CPM] (both go to another room)
- Crime Lab – Jack Shaindlin (“Son, did you mangle this poor frog?”)
- Dramatic Impact 2 – Ivor Slaney (“Look at me when I’m talking to you!”)
- Dramatic Impact 6 – Ivor Slaney (Ren’s dad turns Ren’s head to frog)
- Crime Lab – Jack Shaindlin (“Is that your work?”)
- UFO Landscape- Roger Roger (Ren’s dad slaps him)
- Crime Lab – Jack Shaindlin (“Look what you've done to your poor mother.”)
- Petite Flirt – Jack Shaindlin (frog smiles)
- Melodrama – Eric Spear (“Son, mangling that frog was wrong.”)
- Drama Sting 2 – Sidney Torch (Ren holds gun)
- Dramatic Cue (h) – Ronald Hanmer (Ren’s mom hits dad with gun)
- String Fashion – Wilfred Burns (“Use this chainsaw.”)
- Garden Flowers – Charles Williams (Ren’s mom and dad watching Ren through the window)
- Drama Sting 3 – Sidney Torch (Ren’s mom and dad hug/kiss)
- Sneaking Up – Harry Bluestone, Emil Cadkin [CPM] (the frog’s not mutilated)
- Little Puck – Arthur Wilkinson (“Does it still hurt?”)
- Mother Earth – Charles Williams (Ren talks about puberty)
- Garden Flowers – Charles Williams (Ren talks about Stimpy)
- Drama Sting 7 – Sidney Torch (“So I hit him harder and harder…”)
- Swoon – Arthur Wilkinson (Ren smiles)
- Catastrophe – Jack Shaindlin (“Don’t speak to me of love!”)
- Smouldering Fury (c) – Trevor Duncan (“I loathe the word!”)
- Crazy Goof – Jack Shaindlin (Ren talks about Stimpy again)
- Drama Sting 6 – Sidney Torch (“Today I did something so horrible, even for me!”)
- Crazy Goof – Jack Shaindlin (“What did you do?”)
- Hippo Bird – Arthur Wilkinson (“What did you do to Stimpy?”)
- Phantasm – Leslie Bridgewater (Ren whispering to Mr. Horse)
- House Mouse – Arthur Wilkinson (“Easy girl, easy.”)
- Vignette – Jack Shaindlin (Ren feels better)
- Who Me? - Jack Shaindlin (“I’ll tell you what’s wrong with you.”)
- Hectic – Jack Shaindlin (“You’re fucking crazy!”)
- Inferno – Fredric Bayco (Mr. Horse rants)
- Savage Episode – Len Stevens (Mr. Horse beats up Ren)
- Inferno – Fredric Bayco (Ren delivers the finishing blow)
- Death in the City – Jack Beaver; Saw Theme – William Trytel (Ren turns around maniacally)
- Project X – Cedric Palmer (Ren bites off funny farm guy’s hand)
- ? - Jack Shaindlin (Ren eats the hand)
- Police Car Chase – Jack Beaver; Finger of Fear – Fredric Bayco (loony bin guys take Ren away)
- The Hurry Up – Kenny Graham (outside, the loony bin truck drives off)
- Crime on the Streets – Robert Busby (frog crawls in)
- News Title – Jack Shaindlin (iris out)
- Can, Can, Can – Dennis Farnon (That’s It Folks!)
Reception[]
Despite being well-received in its initial broadcast. Ren Seeks Help was universally panned by critics, audiences, and longtime Ren & Stimpy fans, primarily due to its disturbing content. It is often considered the worst episode of the series, as it currently sits at a 3.7/10 on IMDb, being the lowest rated in the whole series. YouTubers PhantomStrider and TheMysteriousMrEnter would also notably express disdain for the episode in several of there videos.
The reception of the episode would, however, change over time. YouTuber Media Mementos said that while he does agree that the episode is bad, he does not consider it the worst episode of the series due to it having a more cohesive story then other episodes from the show.[1] He also claims that the issues in Ren Seeks Help (such as its humor, pacing, and sexual imagery) were done way worse in other episodes, making Ren Seeks Help look more muted in comparison. Meanwhile, well-known cartoon devotee Thad Komorowski was move favorable on the episode, giving it four and a half out of five stars on his Sick Little Monkeys: The Unauthorized Ren & Stimpy Story book, and calling it "a grim classic".
Trivia[]
- This episode was originally written in 1991 during production on the second season of The Ren & Stimpy Show.
- The sequence of Ren walking towards Dr. Mr. Horse's office is reminiscent of the 1945 film The Lost Weekend.
- It's believed among fans that the unfinished Adult Party Cartoon episode "Life Sucks" was a planned prequel to this episode, which shows what Ren and Stimpy's big argument was and why it caused Stimpy to have his reacting frustration.
- One of the sections on the sign reads "YAK's HEADIMPORTS", which may imply that the Shaven Yak got killed off in this show.
- Despite Richard Pursel's love for this episode, he hates the parts of the Frog being suicidal, tortured, and brutally abused by Ren.
- This episode holds many similarities with "Jimminy Lummox" (original series): here Ren prank calls a frozen chicken, splashes lemonade in a beaver's mouths, and trying to pull the wings of a fly named Ralph. In "Ren Seeks Help", Ren tortured bugs and a Frog in his childhood.
- This episode is heavily banned by many due to its excessive animal cruelty to the Frog.
- The background painting used in the scene where Ren first finds the Frog was later used in the music video for Weird Al's song "Close But No Cigar".
- This and "Ren Needs Help!" from the original show hold many similarities, as Ren is forced to seek help due to a problem that involves Stimpy and despite the luck that he has received throughout the episode, ends up suffering by the end.
- In "Ren Needs Help!", Ren was taken away to an insane asylum after Stimpy made a call to get Ren immediate mental help when Ren was about to commit suicide through a garbage disposal.
- In the Adult Party Cartoon episode, "Ren Seeks Help", Ren goes to a psychiatrist, Dr. Mr. Horse, because of his own volition for mental help after having an extremely horrible argument with Stimpy, but was eventually taken away to an asylum at the end after an extremely brutal fight with Dr. Mr. Horse.
- The Mr. Horse's line from the ending of this episode, "Are you nuts?! I'm a horse!", became an internet meme.
- Derek Bond was originally supposed to direct this episode, while John K. worked as supervising director, but plans during productions changed, and John K. directed this episode entirely.
- In one part of the flashback, Ren was wearing the same Mickey Mouse suit he wore in the original series in "The Boy Who Cried Rat!".
- The scene where Mr. Höek lectures Ren and Ren's mom is crying is based on a real experience of John K. when his parents caught him smoking.[2]