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[[File:renstimpy_2155.jpg|frame]]
Who in their right minds would give a mainstream animated series to the enigmatic [[John Kricfalusi]], known for causing chaos throughout the
The show was over-the-top in every way imaginable: In its animation, even traditional [[Animation Tropes]] were taken up a notch. Characters rarely [[Hammerspace|Temporarily Atomise]] anything smaller than a nuclear submarine and [[Non-Fatal Explosions]] generally take out at least one state. Even its dialog was pulled [[Up to Eleven]]
Its surprising success made a huge impact on the style of Nickelodeon's animated shows. Unfortunately, of all the inventive and challenging elements exhibited by ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'', the only one copycat shows seized on was the disgusting animation, and thus the [[Gross-Out Show]] was born.
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Friction between Nickelodeon execs and Kricfalusi - mostly over Kricfalusi's attitude and penchant for late work - eventually led to his removal from the show in 1992. Production was then absorbed by Nickelodeon itself as most of the original staff gradually left in disgust over Kricfalusi's firing. The show was canceled in 1995 after a total of 53 episodes and was removed from Nick's lineup in 1996.
In 2003, Kricfalusi successfully brought the pair back to TV when ''Ren & Stimpy: Adult Party Cartoon'' debuted on Spike TV. However, there was some [[Executive Meddling]]
At the height of its popularity, ''Ren & Stimpy'' also started airing on Nickelodeon's step brother MTV. As one of the few non-music shows on the channel at the time, it thus unwittingly played a role in MTV's [[Network Decay]] even before ''[[Beavis and
Now has a [[The Ren and Stimpy Show/Characters|character sheet]] and a [[The Ren and Stimpy Show/Radar|radar page]], which would very much like to be updated with tropes and examples of your choice.
----
{{examples|Filmography}}
== 1990 ==
* "Big House Blues": The pilot for the series.
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== 1993 ==
* "Son of Stimpy" aka "Stimpy's First Fart"
* "Monkey See, Monkey Don't!" / "Fake Dad"
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* [[Absurdity Ascendant]]: Where to start...
** [[Acid Trip Dimension]]: The setting of "Black Hole".
** [[
** [[Deranged Animation]]: If [[Bob Clampett]] was the original king of [[Deranged Animation]], his prostégé [[John Kricfalusi]] carried on the torch for him with this show, and took this trope to levels [[Serial Escalation]].
** [[Disney Acid Sequence]]: "Climb Inside My World" from "Jerry the Bellybutton Elf".
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* [[Animation Bump]]: The episodes done by Carbunkle Cartoons.
** And no, [[Puyo Puyo|it's not Carbuncle]].
* [[Anthropomorphic Food]]: There have been a few instances of these in the franchise, ranging from raw chickens to potatoes.
* [[Aren't You Forgetting Someone?]]: At the end of "Ren's Pecs", Ren forgets to give Stimpy credit for his new-found fame and success.
{{quote|'''Ren''': To the guy who made it all possible: [[Brick Joke|Charles Globe]]!}}
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** This is further solidified by "My Shiny Friend", which features Mr. Horse repeatedly saying "What are ya?" Apparently, "What are ya?" was a catchphrase of John K.'s.
* [[Ax Crazy]]: Ren.
** [[Ralph Bakshi]] literally becomes this in the ''Adult Party Cartoon'' episode "Fire Dogs 2" out of fear of thinking circus midgets are invading his apartment.
* [[Beach Episode]]: The ''Adult Party Cartoon'' episode "Naked Beach Frenzy".
* [[Be Careful What You Wish For]]: At the end of "The Scotsman in Space", a genie grants Ren a wish; Ren wishes for babes and a lot of money. Stimpy begs for a wish too, and Ren relents. Stimpy wishes that people be free of want (Ren's money disappears) and that everyone should be treated equally, regardless of race or creed (Ren's babes turn into men from different countries). He also wishes to be where it's always warm, at which point Ren and Stimpy are hurled towards the sun.
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** One episode begins with their house being a manger-like building on a starry night and a camel's head in the frame, complete with a motif from "we three kings", even though it wasn't a Christmas Episode.
* [[Big Eater]]: Stimpy.
* [[Big No]]: Ren in "Svën Hoek" when he finds out Stimpy and Sven have violated his collection of rare, incurable diseases.
** The [[Stock Audio Clip|same sound clip]] is reused in "Hermit Ren" when Ren gets overwhelmed with living with Stimpy.
** Ren screams "'''''OH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!'''''" in "Jimminy Lummox" when he finds out Stimpy washed his collection of used celebrity underwear.
* [[Bigger on the Inside]]: Parodied to the extreme in "The Cat That Laid the Golden Hairball", which had Ren and Stimpy living in a birdhouse, yet there's plenty of room inside.
** In that same episode, Stimpy himself. Ren's nephew Bubba is able to walk inside Stimpy's interior like a damp cavern in spite of being several times larger than him.
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* [[Can't You Read the Sign?]]: "Exact change ONLY!" at the end of "Black Hole", thereby causing Ren and Stimpy to be kicked off the bus back to Earth.
* [[Captain Ersatz]]: Ren and Stimpy are essentially updated versions of the [[Terry Toons]] characters Sourpuss (Ren borrowing his short temper and grumpiness from him) and Gandy Goose (Stimpy inheriting his infantile, flamboyant speech pattern as well as his stupidity). No surprise considering John K is a big fan of [[Terry Toons]] and even claimed Gandy and Sourpuss's [[With Friends Like These...|relationship]] was part of what inspired ''Ren & Stimpy''.
** An in-show example is [[Pinocchio (Disney film)|Jimminy Lummox]], as well as [[Peter Pan (Disney film)|Tinker Galoot]].
* [[Cartoon Cheese]]
* [[Catapult Nightmare]]: Stimpy jolts up and screams "MUDDY!!!" after waking up from his nightmare that Muddy Mudskipper ate him in "My Shiny Friend".
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** The funny thing is that those weren't even ''intended'' as catchphrases.
* [[Cats Are Mean]] and [[Dogs Are Dumb]]: Reversed, Ren the dog is the [[Jerkass]], and Stimpy the cat is the simpleton.
** However, in "Who's Stupid Now?", these tropes are played straight when the duo's roles are switched around.
* [[Cats Have Nine Lives]]: The premise of "Terminal Stimpy".
* [[Chainsaw Good]]: The ghost in "Haunted House" tries to scare Ren and Stimpy as a chainsaw-wielding masked killer. Also, little Ren is given a chainsaw (rather than a gun) to euthanize a poor frog he's been torturing for a while in "Ren Seeks Help".
* [[Chekhov's Gunman]]: George Liquor stars in "Man's Best Friend" and "Dog Show", and made cameo appearances in a few others. Years later, he gets his own webshow, complete with a supporting cast. It has recently been [[Uncanceled]].
** And now canceled, since George's voice actor died
* [[Chew Toy]]: Stimpy, who is always at the receiving end of Ren's abuse.
* [[Christmas Episode]]: "Son of Stimpy" and "A Scooter for Yaksmas".
* [[Collector of the Strange]]: Ren's collection of used celebrity underwear in
** You mean his "magic nose goblins"?
{{quote|"I picked them myself."}}
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* [[Crazy Cultural Comparison]]: The entire premise of "Travelogue" is Ren and Stimpy partaking in the many odd cultural customs of Acroneglia, such as the back shaving ceremony, eating monkey brain soup, and dipping themselves upside down in hot boiling water.
** Ren and Stimpy themselves have their own unorthodox holidays, like Yak Shaving Day.
* [[Darker and Edgier]]: The show itself is this when compared to basically every other [[Nicktoons|Nicktoon]] (other than ''[[Invader Zim]]'', ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'', and occasionally ''[[Rocko's Modern Life]]'').
** Naturally enough, its ''Adult Party'' spin-off takes this even farther ([[Refuge in Vulgarity|way ''too'' far]], in fact).
* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Ren is occasionally, when he's actually calm.
* [[Death by Irony]]: If only Stimpy had realized he had pocket change when he and Stimpy were on the bus in "Black Hole", and not after the bus had left and they were about to implode.
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* [[Expy]]: Sgt. Big Butt from "An Abe Divided" is more or less the same as the Sarge from "In the Army", except with a slightly different voice and sporting a wig and breasts.
** The Bloody Head Fairy in "Haunted House" is intentionally modeled after [[Doug|Doug Funnie]].
* [[Extreme Omnivore]]: In "The Boy Who Cried Rat!", Ren and Stimpy are paid five bucks in their mouse-exterminating service, but Stimpy gets so hungry, he ends up eating the five bucks. When he confesses, Ren is not happy. Neither are their customers, the Pipes, who force them to do chores to pay them back.
* [[Eye Pop]]: Besides the eyes, Ren's heart has popped out of his throat when shocked in one instance.
* [[The Faceless]]: Mr. and Mrs. Pipe, who are only seen from the neck down.
** "Altruists" subverts this trope: the woman's son that Ren and Stimpy help doesn't have a head at all.
* [[False Teeth Tomfoolery]]: At one point in "Stimpy's Cartoon Show", Wilbur Cobb coughs out his false teeth, which land into Ren's mouth, leaving the poor dog to swallow them.
** This happens with Ren's dentures in "Jimminy Lummox" when Stimpy uses them to prepare dinner.
* [[Family-Friendly Firearms]]: In one episode, Ren and Stimpy attempt to rob a bank with a Scud missile instead of a gun. Particularly glaring since Ren and Stimpy [[It Makes Sense in Context|are hoping to get arrested for "armed robbery"]].
* [[Family-Unfriendly Violence]]: The show was full of it.
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** Ren goes more than a little nuts at the end of "Farm Hands" when he thinks he and Stimpy are the last survivors after a devastating tornado. However, it turns out the farm's cow also survive (and took a dump on them).
** Ren and Stimpy both slowly lose their sanity in "Big Flakes" while they're trapped in the cabin.
* [[Gonk]]: Ren and Stimpy themselves, along with ''many'' of the show's other characters.
* [[Gross-Out Show]]
* [[Gross Up Close-Up]]: This show may have started it all.
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** This is actually a subverted trope, as Ren and Stimpy are fully aware of what they're eating, yet dine on it like it's fine cuisine.
* [[Idiot Savant]]: In the space-themed episodes, Stimpy was surprisingly adept at science, such as when he described what imploding was to Ren in "Black Hole".
* [[I'll Kill You!|I WILL KEEL YOU!]]
* [[In Another Man's Shoes]]: The premise of "Who's Stupid Now?" involves Ren becoming the fat one and Stimpy becoming the skinny one, in order to keep their TV show. Ren gains empathy by knowing what it's like to be the ridiculed one in the duo.
* [[Instrumental Theme Tune]]
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* [[Jeopardy Thinking Music]]: A [[Suspiciously Similar Song]] version is heard in "Out West" when Abner and Ewalt have blank expressions for a long time.
* [[Jerkass]]: Ren.
* [[Kill'Em All]]: "Ren's Brain" ends with the Earth being blown up, due to a chain reaction of everyone watching
{{quote|'''Narrator''': And thus ended the Republican party.
'''Ren''': You EEDIOTS!!!}}
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** The '''JOL'''LY, '''CANDY'''-LIKE BUTTON!!!
* [[Law of Disproportionate Response]]
* [[
* [[Leitmotif]]: A Powdered Toast Man short is almost always accompanied by the heroic-sounding "Reach For the Stars" by Richard Harvey.
** The Announcer Salesman (including an expy in the form of a salesman fish in "Bass Masters") is always accompanied by "It's That Man Again" by Michael North.
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** In "Son of Stimpy", the narrator (who is only heard at the very beginning of the cartoon) contradicts himself by saying the true story he's about to show is all made up.
* [[Letting the Air Out of the Band]]: Occurs in "Untamed World" when Ren is shot by a tranquilizer dart and runs slower and slower.
* [[Lighter and Softer]]/[[Denser and Wackier]]: The show's Games Animation episodes (when compared to most of its other episodes).
* [[Limited Animation]]: The very first few episodes, most notably "Stimpy's Big Day" and "The Big Shot". Then we get beautifully smooth animation in "Son of Stimpy" and "The Royal Canadian Kilted Yaksmen", only for it to go downhill with Games Animation taking the steers and never be as good again.
* [[Lions and Tigers and Humans, Oh My!]]: Humans and talking animals co-exist and outside of (maybe) acknowledging the difference in species, nobody thinks anything of it.
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* [[Nothing Is Scarier]]: The end of {{spoiler|"Space Madness"}}.
* [[Nurse with Good Intentions]]: "Nurse Stimpy".
* [[Off-Model]]: One of the most prominent aspects of the show in its first two seasons was John's strict rule that the animators were forbidden from ever drawing the same expression or pose, or drawing any character the exact same way twice. Note that this isn't the typical definition of Off Model (i.e. in that it's bad drawing) so much as it was John's way to breaking his animators out of bad habits and to keep them from falling into formula acting and
{{quote|"Staying on model is only for wimps and communists" -- [[John Kricfalusi]]}}
** Not to mention there were many studios behind the animation process, including [[Rough Draft Studios]] (in their first project) and [[Carbunkle Cartoons]].<ref>
* [[Ominous Latin Chanting]]: A few of the music tracks feature this.
* [[One-Shot Character]]: Dr. Brainchild from "Blazing Entrails", the leprechaun from "A Hard Day's Luck", Mr. Noggin from "Bellhops", the islander and crab family from "Aloha Höek", Jerry the Bellybutton Elf, Jiminy Lummox, the head parasites from "A Friend in Your Face!", and Bubba from "The Cat That Laid the Golden Hairball", among many others.
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* [[Potty Emergency]]: Ren, at the start of "Pixie King". Unfortunately for him, Stimpy is occupying the bathroom and won't be able to, erm, do his business, until Ren reads him a story.
* [[Precision F-Strike]]: In the ''Adult Party Cartoon'' episode, "Ren Seeks Help," [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|Ren seeks psychological help]] after abusing Stimpy in some ([[Noodle Incident|unexplained]]) manner that is regarded as being horrible, [[Even Evil Has Standards|even by Ren himself]]. He goes to Mr. Horse and proceeds to tell him about his youth, and the various displays of genuine psychopathy he exhibited then. He finally works up the nerve to tell Mr. Horse what it was he did to Stimpy, and then asks, "What do you think is wrong with me?" After some consideration, Mr. Horse says "So you wanna know what's wrong with you? You ''really'' wanna know?" He then ''punches Ren in the face'' and screams '''"YOU'RE FUCKING CRAZY!!!''' '''''THAT'S''''' '''WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!!"'''
** The F-bomb is also dropped in "Onward and Upward" and "Altruists".
** Also, in the original series, "crap" is uttered often by the characters.
* [[Prepare to Die]]: When Ren's [[Sanity Slippage]] in "Jimminy Lummox" almost causes him to actually kill Stimpy, over the latter ruining his collection of used celebrity underwear:
{{quote|"And now... ''(giggles insanely)'' you... ''(giggles again, then inhales)'' '''''[[Suddenly Shouting|DIIIIIIIIII]][[Voice of the Legion|EEEEEEEE!!!]]'''''"}}
* [[Pro Wrestling Episode]]: "Mad Dog Höek".
* [[Recycled in Space]]: SPAAAAACE MADNEEESSSSSSSS...
* [[Refuge in Vulgarity]]: ''Adult Party Cartoon'' is often accused of this. Hell, even the original show is often accused of this.
* [[The Renaissance Age of Animation]]
* [[Restraining Bolt]]: The Happy Helmet.
* [[Ret-Gone]]: What happens when you press the History Eraser Button.
* [[Retraux]]: The '50-'60s art style.
* [[Scenery Censor]]: When the woman removes her top in "Naked Beach Frenzy", despite her nipples being shown for a brief moment, Stimpy stands in front of her breasts
* [[Schmuck Bait]]: In "Man's Best Friend", George Liquor tells the duo about discipline and explains at length why they they shouldn't sit on the couch. Then he tells them to go ahead and jump on the couch. Ren refuses to follow through, but Stimpy does. A few moments of false security later, Stimpy is subjected to George's discipline.
** Not to mention the History Eraser button from "Space Madness".
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** In "Ren's Pecs", Ren goes to have pectoral enlargement surgery. In the background you can hear over the hospital's loudspeaker, "[[The Three Stooges|Calling Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine, Dr. Howard...]]"
** The scene of one of the yaks going insane in the middle of the desert in "The Royal Canadian Kilted Yaksmen" is a pretty direct lift of [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NIuGkSikOU a similar scene] in the [[Bob Clampett]] [[Porky Pig]] cartoon "Porky in Egypt", except with a yak instead of a camel. [[Word of God|John K. even confirmed it.]]
** "Happy Happy Joy Joy" is a salute to [[Burl Ives]], according to [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lRGNiqVxiE&feature=related this video]
*** Burl Ives himself was reportedly asked to sing the song, but his schedule prevented him from collaborating. When John K. played the song for him later, he was disappointed that he'd missed his chance to be Stinky Whizzleteats.
** The beginning of "Sammy and Me" is an obvious homage to "[[The Great Piggy Bank Robbery]]", with Stimpy eagerly waiting at the mailbox for a special package to arrive, and then running at a lightning pace down the road to a secret spot to open it.
** In "Superstitious Stimpy", one of the phrases Stimpy chants while praying to the beef carcass is [[Ub Iwerks]].
** Blink and you'll miss it, it's rather subtle but in the scene from "Powdered Toast Man" [[In Which a Trope Is Described|wherein our hero saves the Pope,]] note that Muddy Mudskipper is wearing a top hat.
** One of the nonsense phrases Stimpy says in "Blazing Entrails" is "Want Some Sea Food Mama", which was the name of a song by the Andrews Sisters.
** In "Lumber Jerks", a character resembling [[Rocky and Bullwinkle|Fearless Leader]] appears from beneath the tree stump that Fifi pulls out of the ground.
** In "Jimminy Lummox", when Stimpy is watching TV, you can hear clips from ''[[The Three Stooges]]'' and ''[[The Simpsons]]''.
* [[Show Some Leg]]: Stimpy woos the duck guard in "Altruists" by pretending to be a sultry female duck.
* [[Show Within a Show]]: Muddy Mudskipper and The Scotsman are a couple examples.
** "Bass Masters" is takes place in a fishing show, where Ren even [[Breaking the Fourth Wall|speaks to the viewers]].
* [[Shrunken Organ]]: Stimpy's bean-sized brain [[Who Even Needs a Brain?|accidentally falls off when he leans down]]. Ren's cousin Sven marvels at how ''big'' it is, and then shows Stimpy his own, pinhead-sized brain.
* [[Sick Episode]]: "Nurse Stimpy".
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'''Ren''': Juju, huh? Oooh, I'm so scared. The big bad juju's about to get me. '''COME ON, JUJU, I'M CALLING YOU OUT'''! (struck by lightning)}}
* [[Smoking Is Cool]]: Seen in "Fire Dogs 2".
** Kowalski thinks so in "Fake Dad", but Ren begs to differ]].
{{quote|"Don't you know that smoking can ''KILL'' YOU?!}}
* [[Snipe Hunt]]: Seen in "Eat My Cookies". Turns out a snipe actually exists, and devours Ren.
* [[Snowed In]]: The premise of "Big Flakes".
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* [[Soundtrack Dissonance]]: "Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy" eventually devolves into this.
* [[Space Madness]]: [[Trope Namer]]; the trope takes its name from an episode title.
* [[Speaks Fluent Animal]]: "Bass Masters" reveals that Stimpy is fluent in fish by making gurgly vocalizations.
* [[Spin-Off]]: The Goddamn George Liquor Program, a webtoon which Nickelodeon had nothing to do with.
* [[Spiritual Successor]]: Countless examples, but ''[[Cow and Chicken]]'', ''[[Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog]]'', ''[[Two Stupid Dogs]]'', ''[[The Grim Adventures of Billy
* [[Standard Fifties Father]]: Mr. Pipe.
* [[Sting (music)|Sting]]: Numerous musical stings were used in the show. Perhaps the most famous one is "Shock Horror (a)" by Dick Walter: Dun dun DUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNN!!!!
* [[Stock Footage]]: "Farm Hands" reuses some animation from "Out West"; specifically, the scene where Abner and Ewalt get an idea and laugh goofily.
** "Marooned" and "The Littlest Giant" also use truncated versions of the openings of "Space Madness" and "Robin Höek", respectively.
* [[Stylistic Suck]]: Despite the ''massive'' amount of praise that the show has received for its visuals, its art style actually was deliberately made to be as ugly as [[John Kricfalusi]] could possibly make it.
* [[Sudden Anatomy]]: In "Superstitious Stimpy", Ren suddenly has a large birthmark on his face. Stimpy freaks out when he sees this, because it's a sign that he's cursed.
* [[Suddenly Sexuality]]: Ren and Stimpy acting like a couple in "Onward and Upward" surprised a lot of fans.
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* [[Unmoving Pattern]]: The man who helps Ren and Stimpy move into Haggis's former mansion in "Hard Times for Haggis" has a shirt that features this.
* [[Unusual Euphemism]]: "''DO YOU HAVE TO KEEP '''TAPPING''' LIKE THAT, YOU '''BLOATED SACK OF PROTOPLASM?!?!'''''"
** The "Adult Party Cartoon" episode "Onward and Upward" has "You're the pitcher, I'm the catcher!".
* [[Vague Age]]: Ren and Stimpy. In fact, one episode plays with this, by revealing that Ren is retirement age in dog years.
* [[Vomit Discretion Shot]]: Ren vomits in "Travelogue" when he sees a hair in his soup, but we never actually see the vomit itself.
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* [[Worst News Judgment Ever]]: "Ren Höek takes bubbly sponge bath"?!
* [[Written Sound Effect]]
* [[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness]]: The beatnik food items from
* [[You Mean "Xmas"]]: Yak Shaving Day.
* [[Younger Than He Looks]]: Kowalski is stated to be seven years old, despite him looking like a grown man in his fifties.
* [[Your Favorite]]: Ren loves hog jowls, as seen in "A Yard Too Far".
* [[Your Mom|Your Mother Sews My Socks!]]
* [[Zany Scheme]]: "The Boy Who Cried Rat!", which involved Ren posing as a mouse and Stimpy pretending to eat Ren so they could get $5 for rodent killing. Also "Big Baby Scam", which had Ren and Stimpy posing as babies so they could be pampered and not have to work for food or shelter.
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[[Category:Zany Cartoon]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ren and Stimpy Show, The}}
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