| |
The cartoon
  
If ever an episode suffered from the transition from Spumco to Games, this is it. As you probably already know by now, Fake Dad was planned as a 25-minute episode, but when it made the move to Games, it was cut down to a regular 11-minute cartoon. According to Michelle Klein-Häss's episode log, all the layout and dialogue recording had been completed at Spumco, which means that more than half the finished material was thrown down the crapper. That feels very, very wrong. That said, some of the artwork is lacking in its usual vibrancy ("flaccid" is the word Andrew Rennard used to describe it in his review, and that's probably the most accurate summary of the drawings), which makes me wonder if the layout really was completed at Spumco. In fact, it looks more akin to the clumsy Stimpy's Fan Club, where all the layout was done at Games.
Because of its truncated nature, Fake Dad has a very unsatisfying feel. Clearly John K. was intending to use the increased running time to develop the character of Kowalski and to create better build-up and pay-offs, but all this is sacrificed in order to keep the running time down. (Incidentally, I have no idea why this episode was shortened while others, like The Royal Canadian Kilted Yaksmen, were allowed to run to their original intended length.)
There are a number of great moments in this cartoon, most of them involving Kowalski annoying the hell out of Ren. Kowalski is an interesting and amusing character: a huge great oaf of a man with the mentality of a small child. Ren's reactions to them are made all the more funny by the slightly more "fatherly" intonation John K. gives to Ren in this cartoon. You might not notice it, or I might be imagining it, but listen to when Ren tells Kowalski "Why, I ought to take your pants down and SPANK you!" His voice certainly sounds a little different, more the quintessential tough-guy all-American dad than the raspy European tones Ren is usually given. And Stimpy arriving immediately after that wearing an apron makes it all the more hilarious.
The whole thing feels like it's over when it's only just begun, and Games once again chose to close the cartoon using that music that seemed to crop up in just about every episode they completed during the second season. (I don't know what its official name is, and it sure is emotional, but it loses its impact after you hear it in Son of Stimpy, Stimpy's Fan Club and now this, not to mention several episodes during the later seasons.)
Standout moment: Ren losing it during the picnic.
Historical note: This was the last Ren & Stimpy I saw of the original run. Nickelodeon UK seemed to omit it from their schedule and I only caught it by chance on MTV2 one Summer. Luckily, I had a blank VHS to hand.
|
|
Fake Dad
Also known as:
- Story by John K. & Bob Camp
- Storyboard by Jim Smith
- Background Color Design by Bill Wray
- Directed by John K. & Jim Smith
Writings
|
|
