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| TV REVIEW: THE RIPPING FRIENDS |
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Any children's television show that can actually make me cringe in discomfort, well now that's pretty great. Here's a cartoon that just blows my mind. Not because it's brilliantly conceived (which it isn't), not because it's deftly executed (well, better than most, for sure), but rather because KIDS ARE WATCHING THIS SHIT, MAAAAAAN! It's crazy. It's a crazy show. I have never seen so much manly ass-grabbing on television as I do every Saturday morning on FOX Kids. Well, really I've never seen any manly ass-grabbing on television, as I don't watch much professional sports on TV. I am neither a homophobe nor the type of person that feels the need to throw around the word "phallic". I laugh heartily at your average ass/cock joke, but don't really accept it as high art. Sort of more like a fart joke that insults a person's way of life. Whatever the hell that means. Either way, it's hard to deny exactly how...challenging? this show is to certain notions of what innuendo for kids can be. Practically every character has his tight little undies on, no big deal in the superhero universe, but Jesus H these guys are PACKING. By far the largest unit showcase on TV right now. The strangely-paced humour often lulls, punctuated only by fart noises or perhaps Jimmy The Idiot Boy's open-mouth blurggs. Men pick up other men by the ass-cheeks. Different household items will randomly be strapped to someone's ass, just so all the other characters can hunker down and stick their faces in it and study it. Televisions, evil talking underwear, you name it. In a recent episode, guest superhero Man-Man saves his sidekick Boy-Boy from falling off of a building by launching a finger (with string attached) out of his belt buckle (it sort of...protrudes for a second). The finger hooks the youth by the nose and reels him back up to Man-Man's crotch. Well, slightly above the crotch, right? See? It didn't exactly look like Man-Man was getting head from an underaged boy, it just makes you think about it. I'm telling you, this show is pretty great. To reiterate: Crag, Rip, Slab, Chunk Nugget, Jimmy and He-Mom love asses. Thank you. The overall artwork is - as above mentioned - far better than alot of stuff out there, like say, i don't know... your average Jackie Chan Adventures or some crap like that. Yet, simply put, the work is not up to par with the ol' Ren and Stimpy stuff. Now, I really dislike the whole compare-new-work-to-old-work sort of comments, but I think it's worth noting here because Spumco/John K. have always been quite vocal about quality. Simply put, the quality here has suffered a bit. Be it due to different deadlines or lack of funding or whatever, it just ain't spectacular. I stress again folks, it ain't bad, it just seems to me they have some talented keyframe guys and some hit-or-miss inbetweeners. Sometimes the animation seems stiff and over-articulated, with very little flow. Other times, it all comes together. The backgrounds, too, occasionally suffer the consequences of quick-turnover animation schedules. If I had to sum it up in one word, that word would be "uneven". John Kricfalusi and Spumco have really hit on something here. The superhero genre has already been subverted and resubverted. Some of the subversion has already been parodied, for christ's sake. As a genre, it's had it's ass whipped til it just ain't no fun anymore. The man-hero/boy-sidekick innnuendo has been overdone. The sidelong remarks about men in tights have been remarked for a few decades now. There really isn't any new ground to cover here, yet the JK/Spumco team have managed to take every joke - mortared-and-pestled 'em together all crazy-ass Naked Chef style - and spewed them out all.. Spumcoed. The Ripping Friends are uber-manly, over-muscular, super fraternal, and extra bum-friendly. The Ripping Friends are homosexual innuendo amplified and possibly personified. They don't need clumsy and obvious humour like The Ambiguously Gay Duo to make their joke, visual or verbal. The Ripping Friends are... well, hell they're just STRANGER than that. It's a fucking weird show. Whether they're fighting The Ovulator, The Indigestible Wad, or the French guy that farts alot, the Ripping Friends are that whole must-watch-must-tell-friends-about sort of show. - tom, Jan 2002
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READER'S COMMENTS: |
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You are so totally gay. -Shawn,
No-Shadow Kick Yeah well fuck you. -Tom,
No-Shadow Kick I tend to think the elements you dislike are intentional. I think they draw the viewer in (expecting something that ain't there.) The whole timing & cadence of the show is off. I think all of this is classic John K. Remember a lot of the "stiffness" you percieve (& no I am not making a pun!) is a wink at the old fav.'s of John's from when a lot of cartoons were so crapy they were funny (rocket robin hood etc.) As usual John K. puts sand in our underwear & asks us to find it funny. F**King "A" I say!. - ASHORTT I saw three episodes so far, and the first thing I noticed was the strange timing... timing makes the difference between a joke hitting home or falling flat. I was surprised that a veteran like John K. could get the pacing so wrong... maybe there's just a lack of sound punctuation. Also, the voice actress for He-Mom plays it far too straight... she needs to smoke, like a pack a day for 3 weeks, or gargle with acid. She sounds like she's phoning her lines in, for chrissakes. - Marco this is the best shit ever ass wipe!!!!!!!!!! - mary
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| TV REVIEW: THE RIPPING FRIENDS |
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