Product Details

• Actors: John Kricfalusi, Billy West, Cheryl Chase, Edan Gross, Sharon Mack
• Directors: John Kricfalusi, Bob Camp, Bong Hee Han, Chris Reccardi, Gregg Vanzo
• Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Color, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 3
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Nickelodeon
• DVD Release Date: October 12, 2004
• Run Time: 418 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (207 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0002NY8XA
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,747 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "The Ren & Stimpy Show: The First and Second Season (Uncut)" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The delirious animated series Ren and Stimpy makes its DVD debut in a three-disc set that features seasons 1 and 2, as well as a handful of extras to please its devoted fan base. The surreal adventures of short-tempered Chihuahua Ren and good-natured but simple cat Stimpson J. Cat caught on like a house afire with teen and college audiences during its 1991-96 run on Nickelodeon, despite regular battles between the network and creator John Kricfalusi (who also voiced Ren and several other characters) over allegedly objectionable content in certain episodes. The conflict eventually led to several episodes suffering edits, much to the chagrin of the show's creators and audience alike; the unedited versions of these episodes have become much sought-after and traded items among collectors. And while this set attempts to rectify that situation by presenting the show in its uncut form, die-hard fans should know that several episodes retain minor cuts; however, many others, most notably the pilot, "Big House Blues," and "Powdered Toastman" are presented in their original, uncut versions. Extras include commentaries on seven episodes by Kricfalusi and the show's creators, storyboard galleries, a featurette, and the "banned" episode "Man's Best Friend." --Paul Gaita

Product Description

Join Ren and Stimpy in their bizarre and gross world that features the oddly lovable duo in some outlandish situations coupled with hilarious jokes. Ren and Stimpy features the guest voice of music star Frank Zappa and consist of amusing episodes combined with the gross-out humor that became popular when the show first premiered on Nickelodeon in 1991.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

527 of 533 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Time to set things straight November 4, 2004

By Joshua Smith

Format:DVD

It's hard to believe that after 100 reviews, none contain a comprehensive list of the edits that were made to this set. As a result, there is a lot of misinformation in many of these reviews. Some reviewers are complaining about edits that do not even exist on this DVD set. Below is a COMPLETE list of footage missing from this set and the approximate length of the missing footage:

Ren's Toothache:

Ren and Stimpy saying goodnight to each other (13 s)

Stimpy spitting into a jar and flossing (38 s)

Some of Ren grinding his teeth (10 s)

Haunted House:

The entire bloody head fairy scene (1:55)

Big Baby Scam:

Closeup of Ren's face being rubbed against stubble (7 s)

Grandpa whistling in the bath (9 s)

The Cat that Laid the Golden Hairball:

Stimpy licking most of the hair off his body (45 s)

Son of Stimpy:

Ren giving a Christmas present to Stimpy's picture (20 s)

So out of 32 cartoons, there are five that contain missing footage, which amounts to a little over four minutes total. NOTHING ELSE THAT ORIGINALLY AIRED IN THE FIRST AND SECOND SEASONS OF REN & STIMPY IS MISSING FROM THIS SET. All five goodbye scenes and all commercials are here, Powdered Toast Man is the uncut version, etc. Plus, a few scenes that never aired in the first place have been added to some cartoons. Sven Hoek has two (Additional dialogue in the closet, Ren saying "I'm going to gouge your eyes out"), Big House Blues pilot version has two (Dog-catcher saying "see if I care", the Ren talking in his sleep scene), and Dog Show contains the image of George Liquor with his bobbed tail. And of course the set includes Man's Best Friend which wasn't aired until recently on Spike TV, and bonus features like the pencil test of Sven Hoek, a 12 minute featurette, 7 commentaries, and an art gallery.

Some reviewers have mentioned the fade-to-commercial breaks in some of the cartoons. For the most part these are barely noticeable (except in Ren's Toothache, Big Baby Scam, The Cat that Laid the Golden Hairball, and Son of Stimpy where the above edits occur). I noticed these artificial fades in 15 cartoons. If there are more, I simply didn't notice them, which would prove my point that they are barely noticeable. Here is the list:

Robin Hoek - after they give to the poor

Nurse Stimpy - after the icky tasting medicine

Space Madness - after Stimpy turns off the gravity

The Boy Who Cried Rat - after Stimpy is given 5 bucks

Black Hole - after they run to the bus stop

Ren's Toothache - before Ren is grinding his teeth

Man's Best Friend - after Stimpy gets on the couch

Mad Dog Hoek - after Ren lets Stimpy keep wrestling

Big Baby Scam - when Ren's face is being rubbed against stubble

Dog Show - after George Liquor enters the final arena

The Great Outdoors - right before the skinny-stomping

The Cat That Laid the Golden Hairball - when Stimpy starts to lick his other arm

Visit to Anthony - when the father begins to enter the den

Royal Canadian Kilted Yaksmen - after they get struck by lightning

Son of Stimpy - when Ren is about to give a present to Stimpy's picture

Now, as far as video and audio quality is concerned, most of the cartoons are excellent. Most of the cartoons are digitally remastered and they look noticeably better than the ones that aren't. The cartoons on this set look much better than the versions that appeared on the Time Life set. Here is a list of the episodes that are not digitally remastered:

Fire Dogs / The Littlest Giant

In The Army / Big House Blues (Nick version)

Monkey See, Monkey Don't / Powdered Toast Man

Fake Dad / Out West

Stimpy's Fan Club

Of these, only Big House Blues (Nick version) and Stimpy's Fan Club have noticeably poor quality with some color bleeding and video artifacts. The pilot version of Big House Blues looks superb though, so nobody should care about the Nick version.

I hope this information clears things up for people who are still trying to decide whether to buy this set. I still say it's well worth it despite the flaws I have outlined above. My recommendation is to buy the set but write letters to Paramount in the hopes that they will start a disc-exchange program for the edited episodes.

122 of 135 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Straight from Mr. Horse's mouth... October 6, 2004

By Dave Cordes

Format:DVD

Now I am upset about the blatant false advertising concerning the "Uncut" episodes as much as the rest of you are. I recently sold my Time Life DVD's on eBay thinking that I was FINALLY getting the original "Uncut" versions. Now before we all go filling a class-action lawsuit against Paramount, Nickelodeon or Spike, take into consideration that we ARE at least getting the unaired episode of Man's Best Friend (at last I can throw away my crappy Nth generation VHS copy) so technically it is somewhat "Uncut." As for episodes like "Powdered Toastman" and the censoring of PTM's burning of the U.S. Constitution and the removal of the cross on Frank Zappa's hat... well, you can blame Nick for that.

Here is the FINAL word regarding the edits to the alleged (UNCUT) DVD versions directly from creator John Kricfalusi that was posted on TVshowsonDVD.com:

"Hey folks

I'm as surprised as you are that there are still some edits in the cartoons. Blame Nickelodeon years ago! Don't blame the producers of the DVD.

We put back every scene that I was aware was missing. Nick must have cut more scenes out long after I stopped watching the show.

But, we put a lot of cool stuff back in that no one ever saw-scenes from Sven Hoek that never aired-George Liquor's bobbed tail in Dog Show-hey all of Man's Best Friend!

We also did lots of commentaries over the cartoons and there are interviews with me and Eddie Fitzgerald, there is original artwork.

Buy this damn thing. I put in as much cool stuff as I could for you. Buy it and maybe Spike will order new episodes!

Maybe I will consult with you to restore the episodes you found that still has cuts and we'll put the missing scenes on a website for you, or run them ouncut on Spkie.

If every show is not completely intact it's because long ago Nick misplaced or lost the originals, but I restored the ones I knew had cuts, ok?

So if you review the set on Amazon, say it's great and and talk about the good stuff first! Then you can mention that there are still some edits, but it's definitely worth getting!

Maybe we can have a chat about it tomorrow night if someone contacts me to set it up.

Your pal,

John K."

Heh... well, this all sounds like a marketing ploy to get us to purchase THESE versions until an ULTIMATE, UNCUT & UNCENSORED box set is offered. John K., love ya man, but the fans are tired of getting raked over the coals when it comes to upgrading their DVD collections. I supported you on the Time Life versions and look what it got me. Okay John, I will go ahead and say it is "Great" for the sake of this great series because it is definitely worth having, but I still feel like I've been suckered into buying yet another pair of pointless Rubber Nipples. To quote Mr. Horse, "No Sir, I don't like it!"

64 of 71 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars My thoughts on this product. October 13, 2004

By Sam

Format:DVD

I remember hearing months ago that Ren & Stimpy was finally coming to DVD. I remember being elated that one of my favorite cartoons from my childhood was finally being released on DVD. I simply could not wait!

And then, Tuesday the 12th rolls around and I'm eager to drive down to the newly-opened Best Buy in my hometown and get me some DVD-quality Ren & Stimpy goodness! I wasn't interested in the two episodes from Season 3, I just wanted to put the TV to good use for once while I was on an impromptu vacation away from the rigors of college.

Well boy was I shocked when I read both on Amazon.com and other assorted web sites that this newly released Ren & Stimpy box set, despite the fact that UNCUT is quite prominently featured on the front of the box, was cut. Censored. Edited. Whichever word you want to pick to describe it, it was. The exact opposite of the claims on the box.

I couldn't believe it. I simply couldn't. "Is Ren & Stimpy cursed or something?!" I frantically asked myself as I drove down to the store, which opened just moments prior. "They couldn't have botched a release, not like this! Could they?" I walked in and picked up one of the newly arrived copies, went home, and started watching it.

I no longer could suspend my disbelief. I watched as the episode "Big Baby Scam" skipped over a part, the part where Grandpa whistles to them in the bathtub, as was already mentioned on here, is completely and totally gone. I pulled out a VHS tape containing it and other episodes that I recorded when I was 10 or so, and lo and behold, there it was. A scene that was nowhere to be found on an "Uncut" DVD was on a decrepit VHS tape from a decade ago. That one edit in and of itself makes it edited, and I won't bother harping on the other edits I saw before I returned it. I'm sure other people and/or web sites will catalog the edits quite extensively.

So, there you have it. Everyone who's saying that this DVD box set contains the crummy Spike TV transfers, which also claimed they were uncut and yet snipped off three to five minutes to cram in more commercials, are completely correct. The transfer of this video is nothing to write home about, but it's not completely abysmal, either. I would say it's about average for a cartoon from that particular time period. The special features were kind of neat, but the fact that this box set is advertised as uncut despite the fact it is anything but uncut negates all that.

My Recommendation: Avoid purchasing at all costs. Do not spend a single penny on this product. It suffers from blatant false advertising. At best, the people who handled this release were woefully incompetent. At worst, the people lied through their teeth in order to get more sales. If that is the case, they may very well be sued.

Write those who are responsible and inform them you will not give them one single cent of your money until an actual unedited product is produced if you feel strongly enough about this. I know I sure will be.