Throwback Thursday: Ren and Stimpy “The Royal Canadian Kilted Yaksman”.

Posted on April 25, 2013December 31, 2016 by Paulie Von Doom

I have been waiting to write this one!

Blabberbuds, if you are like me and you grew up in the 90’s, chances are you lived on a steady diet of Ren and Stimpy, Rocko’s Modern Life, Doug, Beavis and Butthead, and a myriad of other shows that, if you’re like me, fills you with a nostalgic longing for a time when things were simpler. MTV still showed videos, you didn’t have warning labels on coffee cups, and the economy wasn’t a festering pussbag.

Before I had cable TV I had heard about Ren and Stimpy from my schoolyard chums. This was around 1993 when Billy West (a hero of mine,) put out a Christmas album featuring the bipolar dog, Ren and moronic cat, Stimpy (I had the pleasure of getting that album “Ren and Stimpy’s Crock O’ Christmas” signed by Mr. West last year) and my pals were singing “Cat Hair Balls” to the tune of Jingle Bells at an assembly. I found this so funny that, even though I hadn’t seen the show before, knew I’d be a huge fan.

I wasn’t disappointed and I haven’t been since. We got cable shortly thereafter and I received the album as an X-Mas gift. The show still holds a special place in my heart because it reminds me of a very simple time in my life, before I lost my dear ole dad, and before the world stopped making any sense.

The episode I chose for this week’s Throwback is none other than “The Royal Canadian Kilted Yaksman”.

Ren and Stimpy find themselves in the wilderness of Canada as Kilted Yaksmen who volunteer for a deadly missio to explore Canada’s barren wastelands. They face a series of hardships and mishaps (like Ren drinking from a canteen filled with bees and having them sting his tongue. Gross!) Eventually he wants to give up but eternal optimist Stimpy reminds him of Royal Canadian Kilted Yaksmen anthem which includes an audience sing along part. Eventually, the yak loses his shit from all the singing and Ren snaps him out of it.

The boys, along with their trusty yaks figure out that Canada’s primary natural resource is dirt and decide to have a feast. Of course there is only a certain kind of dirt you can eat in Canada (apparently,) and Ren just HAS to be the leader. They find the dirt that is safe to eat and in a stunning display of voracious consumption, devour the dirt and declare the land in the name of Canada.

Oh, Ren and Stimpy, kings of the gross-out gag, you never disappoint over 20 years later. I think what makes the show so special is because, during the 90’s, it was kind of like the wild west of raunchy cartoons. Though MTV originally aired the show, it was picked up by Nickelodeon and we’re eternally grateful. While kids my age gravitated to the show because of the gross-out humor, older fans knew about the blatant homosexual overtones that only added to the madcap hilarity of the show. See, when you’re a kid, you can care less about that sort of stuff, you were only interested in hearing Ren call Stimpy an “eeeediot!” and Stimpy getting the Gritty Kitty slapped out of him. The brilliance also lies with the animation: it borders on crude, but is entirely necessary for the mood of the cartoon. While some might consider it lazy by today’s standards, anything more sleek and sophisticated would have cheapened the show.

Special mention must also be made to Billy West, who seamlessly goes back and forth between Ren and Stimpy. If you’re like me and you grew up in the 90’s, it’s a pretty safe bet to say this man voiced your childhood.

All told, Blabberfans, it’s never, ever, a bad idea to check out Ren and Stimpy. The jokes are still funny, the gags are still gross, and if you’re overwhelmed by that warm feeling of nostalgia, don’t worry. You probably just peed your pants.