European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 19, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                I u Page 22 Ren a Chihuahua and skimpy a cat run into this big sales pitch on the Ren amp  and skimpy simply two hot cartoon characters by Lynn elber a television writer a o wonder Ren and skimpy the dog and cat Odd couple of the cartoon world tend to such manic misadventures. Their human handler Dob Camp freely admits to professional insanity. A a a animation makes you crazy a says Camp Crea live director for the Ren it pc skimpy show now in its third season on the Nickelodeon Cable Channel in. The United states. A animator craziness is the actual term for the condition. A a that a a perk a adds Camp Tongue still in Cheek. Quot i get taxed on  Camp is shepherding the arrogant Ren a generally irate Chihuahua and skimpy a Sweet simple minded cat through 13 More episodes of sunday morning zaniness. In rents pecs for example Ren becomes a Hollywood sensation after inflating his Bony Chest with pectoral implants. The implants Are Courtesy of. Roommate skimpy. He generously donates fat from his backside. Another episode finds skimpy suddenly stricken by an awareness of his own nakedness. A the goes into a horrible adventure of shame and degradation where even the Forest animals who have clothes on make fun of him a Camp says a in the end he finally realizes he s a cat and does no to have to Wear  new characters and celebrity voices Are being introduced. Comedians Rosie o Donnell Charlie Cal Las and Jack Carter will be heard along with Veteran in actors Alan Young Alister de and june Lockhart and Dilly Mumy who starred together on lost in space. Lockhart called us and said she was a big fan of the show Quot Camp says. A a she a so Cool. We re phone buddies  startling images such As Ren being skinned and sucked apart by an out of control vacuum cleaner a. And frantically chanting a must save the brain Quot a remain a series trademark. But if the word crass is used to describe the Ren amp skimpy show executive producer Vanessa Coffey Wilt take exception. A a it skid humor a she says. A i done to really like to Call kids humor crass. It May As adults seem crass to us but to them its funny  says Camp a humor is irreverent by nature. We try to poke fun at  the cartoons ratings prove it to be a hit with the 6-to it year old crowd and even a closet pleasure for older animation addicts. S videocassettes of past episodes Are Best Sellers. There Are Ren amp skimpy compact discs out with such musical selections from the show As done to Whiz on the electric Fence. Why is the cartoon so popular not just because Ren and skimpy a both performed by Billy West a Are funny Camp says. A they re two real living characters with real psychological problems temperaments different degrees of intelligence a he says. A a lot of cartoon characters Are pretty two dimensional and Are just Happy All the time. But Ren and skimpy Are real multifaceted. Ren can t stand skimpy but he needs him. And skimpy completely forgives Ren for All his shortcomings and loves him in spite of it. It s like a real human relationship a the series Given its Young audience is clearly Milder than another cutting Edge cartoon a tvs a Beavis and butt head which has taken flak for vulgarity and violence. _ but Camp concedes he does try to push a the line of acceptability. We always try to sit on that line dangling our feet on the other Side in the Cool Waters of creative  he takes Issue with those who contend shows such As Beavis and butt head cause problems such As violence. A television is a reflection of society and not the other Way around a he says. The characters of Ren and skimpy were created by John Kricfalusi who left the show Midway through the second season. The production schedule and budget overruns led to his decision Coffey said. Camp who has been with the series since it began was named creative director this year. He had filled that role unofficially since Kricfalusi s departure. Each episode takes about six months to Complete reflecting the complexity of animation. About 35 to 40 writers storyboard designers animators and Liming directors Are involved. Quot we make pm like a car Assembly line Quot Camp says. A we Start one one week then Start another one  there is no satisfaction in the cartoon game he contends a Only self torture. Anybody who works in animation is a masochist. A instead of aiming a camera at an actor who a jumping around looking stupid you have to draw 24 drawings of somebody jumping around and being stupid. Then color Mem in animate it and time it. Its a lot of  a i a a. A judge has the final say with a Beavis and butt head by Elizabeth k0l8ert the new York times Mike judge is demanding but in a relaxed Zero affect kind of Way. He is doing the final Check on an episode of Beavis and butt head that is Scheid used to run the next week. The sound mix is bad and an important bit of dialogue can to be heard Over the track of a music video. A a a shut up Beavis a Isnit loud enough a judge complains to the shows producer John Andrews in a voice that is too disengaged to sound really disturbed. Andrews immediately agrees to have the show remixed and that too produces no appreciable response. But then judge sees Beavis and butt head reappear on the screen and do something profoundly stupid. Their creator gives a Long Low pitched chuckle and in it one can hear echoes of the now famous rhythm huh huh huh. Huh huh huh. Cool. Every few years a show comes along that connects with some dark urge in the adolescent unconscious and becomes almost immediately a Force in popular culture. After less than 10 months in the air a tvs a Beavis and butt head seems to be such a show. The delinquent duo already have their own line of marketing paraphernalia including underwear. They have been taken up by David Letterman who quotes them liberally. Their first Book is put. A movie seems inevitable. All this from a Guy who by All appearances can to even draw. Thirty years old with a receding hairline that takes some of the Edge off his youthfulness judge oversees the spread of Beavis and butt head from his office at a tvs a Headquarters in Midtown Manhattan. The office has the still mov ing in look of an off Campus apartment. The Only decoration is a laminated copy of rolling stones Beavis and butt acad cover which turned out to be the magazines Best Selling Issue of the last year. Judge s desk is strewn with assorted scripts fan letters and Sticky yellow notes including one from a staff member that reads a i want to show you a couple of urinating  urinating along with other bodily functions is a big part of the action on Beavis and butt head. The two spend a lot of time picking their noses dropping their trousers and having a or at least talking about having a erections. They also like to Light things on fire torture Quot Small animals and in a supremely self reflexive gesture sit around watching music videos. They look at the world in simple a very simple a terms either something is a a cools or it a sucks a they Are very very stupid. A if i wanted to read i d go to school Quot butt head says in response to a video that features printed words. Beavis and butt head is a tvs a highest rated show and some commentators have taken this As final proof of society a degeneration. A the downward spiral of the living White male surety ends Here John Leland opined in Newsweek judge does buy such heavy social critiques but he does no to seem too disturbed by them either a i think Gera is a Little More scary a he said. Beavis and butt head he maintains at least have a certain optimism. A a they re pretty positive Quot he said. A even sunday. December 19,1993