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The cartoon
 
Altruists takes the concept of the all-gag cartoon almost to excess. At 35 minutes (it was intended to air over the course of two weeks, although of course it never actually made it to TV), it is the longest episode of Ren & Stimpy ever produced, and yet has more gags per minute than most of the 11-minute originals. This takes John K's interest in fully exploring gags rather than cutting them down to serve the story several steps further than the other episodes: there are skits here that have no relevance to the main plot, and yet continue for several minutes. This is the sort of problem that hampered many of Bob Camp's episodes, and yet it never seems to hurt here, thanks to the quality of the material.
Vincent Waller wrote and storyboarded most of the cartoon, and as a result it has a lot in common with the "Three Stooges" style episodes he did for the original run (The Boy Who Cried Rat, Rubber Nipple Salesmen, etc.). His distinctive drawing style and off-kilter domestic situations are all over the episode (for instance, the busty widow and her headless son who live in a hole in the ground), and he includes many call-backs to classic Ren & Stimpy. I got a real kick out of seeing Old Man Hunger again (although he shows up in a slightly different guise here), as well as the "Husband" and "Wife" characters we all know and love (incidentally, whoever did Husband's voice manages an absolute dead ringer for Billy West's original version - I was floored by the likeness). It was great to hear Cheryl Chase's voice again too, and those who know her best for her work on Rugrats will no doubt get a kick out of her screaming obscenities (albeit bleeped out).
If Ren Seeks Help was the most successful dramatic episode of the Adult Party Cartoon run, then Altruists is undeniably the crown jewel of the gag shows. More consistently great than the ambitious but uneven Stimpy's Pregnant, it offers everything I could have hoped for in the new show and more besides. Tasty backgrounds? Got it. Fluid animation? Check. Memorable poses? You bet. Hilarious gags? Absolutely. Watch this episode and then try and tell me John K has "lost it", I dare you.
Standout moment: Probably the skit involving Old Man Winter, although this cartoon features many fine moments.
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Altruists
- Starring the voice talents of: John K., Eric Bauza, Kristy Gordon, Cheryl Chase, Mike Kricfalusi, Steve Worth
- Animation: Big Star & Carbunkle Cartoons
- Story: Vincent Waller, John K., Mike Kerr, Eric Bauza, Jeff Amey, Richard Pursel
- Storyboard: Vincent Waller, Jeff Amey, Nick Cross, Matt Roach
- Character color styling: Chris Wallace
- Backgrounds: Kristy Gordon, Nick Cross, Jay Li, Simon Dupuis, Allain Masicotte, Troy Little, Hyeonyeong Jeon
- Layout supervision: Helder Mendonca & Fred Osmond
- Layouts: Jose Pou, Nick Cross, Warren Leonhardt, Katie Rice, Luke Cormican, Tim Pallett, Tavis Silbernagel, Ray Morelli, Marcel Laurin, Gene McGuckin, Gerry Duchemin, Vincent Waller
- Direction: John K.
Writings
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