Why am I so interested in John Kricfalusi these days?
So not too long ago I covered one of John K.'s first Hanna Barbera parodies he made for Adult Swim. Well, I also alluded to something he did time before.
Since all John K. will be remembered for is his downfall, it's best I get newcomers up to speed on what he used to be known for. John Kricfalusi had helped defined at least one area of 90s culture and nostalgia. He is also best known for creating The Ren and Stimpy Show, music videos for Bjork and Weird Al Yankovic, Ren and Stimpy Adult Party Cartoon, parodies for Adult Swim, The Ripping Friends-
Which absolutely, no one remembers.
But whether or not you agree he still has a place in 90s culture, one thing that can never be denied is that he was one of the earliest creators of content for the internet. In 1997, John K. under the association of Microsoft developed this show for their MSN service, this being one of two alongside Weekend Pussy Hunt-
Which absolutely, no one remembers.
But the deal fell through and John K. released the shorts themselves on his own website. Now let me remind you, 1997. This predated Homestar Runner, WhirlGirl, those smiling foliage acquaintances and The God and Devil Show, some other Cartoon Network web cartoon, even Newgrounds wasn't even around until time after. So yeah, it's safe to say John K. was the godfather of web animation.
Now you're probably thinking, well how can I be harsh on something that was literally the first of its kind? It was well before standards were set, 1998 was when things really fell into place, he was just doing his own thing. On the other hand, remember Psyguy, Bryon Beaubien? He was the godfather of Sonic fan content, had been on the web before anyone else had, even beating Chris Chan's early web presence by two years and like John K... gave no shit about age barriers.
If I wanna be harsh, then I'm gonna be harsh.
But before I get into the shorts, it's best I establish some context first. George Liquor, the star as you may've figured, was once a character on Ren and Stimpy, perhaps best known for appearing in the episode Man's Best Friend-
Which absolutely, everyone remembers.
Whether it's due to loopholes or something beyond my knowledge, John K. was able to get George to use till his heart's content. Not to mention, you know that drooling idiot that appeared in the Spumco logo at the end of old Ren and Stimpy episodes? He, Jimmy the Idiot Boy, was passed over by John K. so he wouldn't lose the rights, so it makes sense he appears in a project where John K. holds the rights.
But I guess he either stopped caring or had more ownership in regard to The Ripping Friends, because he appears in there too, in a prominent role.
Among the staff featured in these shorts include Richard Pursel, who would go on to assist with Adult Party Cartoon, even MoBrosStudios' favorite punching bag Aaron Springer was involved here. But most significant of all, it's one of John K.'s accusers Robyn Byrd. I know it may not seem like much these days, but it's proof that he had her under his thumb back then.
Also apparently the compilation I'm going by here has such seamless transitions that I'm gonna cover it as if it was one continuous episode.
And now, It's About Time for the Show
For headphone users, there's 40 seconds of silence at the start of the short. Just a friendly warning.
People have said John K. destroyed his career with Adult Party Cartoon. I'd say this show was an omen for that. It has the dragged humor, crazy faces, adult schtick, even shit like a good look at a dog's anus, its nuts, it smoking a cigarette, it getting so hard we thankfully can't see the Twinkie among the snowballs, even a turd comes to life, just like APC.
But let's overthink this. A turd comes to life in APC, but at the very least it was integral to the plot of the episode. It was as big of a turd as the one Stimpy crapped out but at least there was a point to it. Here, we not just see one turd come to life, but a whole bunch of them. If you look closely, you can get the idea John K. desperately wants to predict a bulk of the jokes in Hoops.
I don't know how powerful computers were when it came to flash cartoons, but with the level of padding we got for nearly a minute at the start, I'd say John K. wasted a good chunk of data real estate.
But soon we see George Liquor... United Arab Emirates. Watch as he whistles while he has his mouth completely shut.
I'm just gonna say it outright, while he helped show that there was potential in internet content, his humor doesn't translate well to flash. More extreme gags translate poorly with stilted animation and very clear repetition. Now granted, flash animation isn't as limited as people imply it to be, but remember, this was where it basically began. A new beginning needs to start simply.
You'd think with the amount of time John K. stretches a scene out he'd have time to make a funny story, but no, even by character introduction standards this is a slog. Most I got was irony, but not in the way you'd think, as well as a question to how irrelevant Michael Pataki became at that point to assist John K. for something as smalls scale as internet cartoons.
I was so focused on finding something of interest I actually noticed a frame goof- the wall changed from grey to purple, George wasn't sitting on a chair, but then suddenly he is. I've seen other changes like that with the background, but this was the most significant in that it feels like at least one scene before or after was tacked on. I noticed another frame goof in Ren Seeks Help, maybe it's entirely on John K., who knows?
Now, I've been able to find meaning to most edgy cartoons I've seen. Hell, say what you will about APC, it's just the original Ren and Stimpy without limitations. But compared to other John K. stints... this is somehow both out there and basic all the same. Anything that seems shocking is delivered in such a mild manner... I dunno it's just not the same.
I'd go on, but first, bacon. That wad of bacon they eat is so good that it disappears after a single bite into it. I'm starting to think this is just a haphazard collection of frames done separately from one another. Pay enough attention and you can see what I mean.
I'll give it this, a pan of hot bacon grease to the throat yields a result that's surprisingly both realistic and not as gross. We get a lot of indications that this takes place in the same universe as the actual final nail in the coffin to John K.'s career, in the form of characters that would appear in it that had here, but I'll wait till the end to spill it.
In the meantime, say hello to Robyn Byrd as she looks in John K.s mind- I mean Sody Pop. The realization is so dramatic the music drowns out her first few words of dialog. Her interactions with Jimmy can basically equate to one variation of "I swear she was 18." For better or worse, John K.'s ladies are total boner killers.
Also Jimmy's an idiot when it comes to anything beyond the female body. He uh, trying to make a statement here? I uh, overthinking here?
George Liquor is so adamant on protecting Jimmy's innocence he overlaps himself in telling off a pedo's strawman. Then when playfighting with his nephews, he has some incredibly loud inner monologues that suggest his mouth should be moving, but doesn't.
Also Jimmy predicts Boo Boo in Boo Boo Runs Wild. Pissing himself is apparently as gratifying as scratching bark off of a tree.
And now I get to see my very first introduction to George Liquor, a scene that contains an image from a Wikipedia article I read relating to John K. in regard to a Tower Records promotion. Somehow, Tower Records got to outlive John K. in terms of professional years, but even it got a better received resurgence. Apparently Tower Records helped fund these shorts, and this ad was to encourage people to buy stuff from the store with most proceeds going to John K. But given that the next short is apparently the last, I think some got wiser.
We end with a little Christmas short, as well as another reference to that one particular short. I hate Disney as much as any sensible person would, but John K. put a dent in that prospect (little hint.) Apparently there exists present wrappers that can change color. Yes they re-used frames again, and as a reward for that acknowledgement... rape (one forcing themself on another sexually. Jimmy is technically the equivalent of a 80-something woman with dementia so it counts.)
Also a fair comes out of a girl's ass. What this is referring to, I dunno, maybe something religious? And we conclude with the feeling of your soul being pierced by the big dead-eyed stares of characters synonymous with someone who has wasted talent. I won't even comment on the music track overlapping or the clear cuts to different frozen frames that only George can make his way out of with his repeated animation. I'm feeling too much of a chill and I don't even know what the hell they're singing.
With that Said
The Goddamn George Liquor Program was the first webtoon in existence, and dare I say helped to show the potential of web cartoons. I feel that without it, we probably would've never had the web cartoons we had then through to today.
However, that doesn't mean it's above criticism, especially given how big John K. was and what he became. Once the legacy was stripped away, we're left with a fundamentally broken series of shorts whose only novelty was laying down a warning for the direction John K. would take later on down the line.
The similarities between the humor in this and APC is almost parallel to one another, and somehow I think this is worse than APC in terms of how lazy it is by comparison. This may very well be an omen for Cans Without Labels as well. The nephews in this, aptly named Slab and Ernie, would go on to appear in that (even Cigarettes the Cat appeared in this and that.)
Just the fact that one of John K.'s accusers was involved in this and there's a sexualized girl in this (George certainly views her as such), only makes this much more creepy in hindsight. At least APC just showed us how limitations helped inspire more creativity and without it we just have a hot mess.
I don't know how bad the limitations were back then, but they were no excuse for faults such as audio syncing and overlaps, background changes where they weren't needed, and all that padding which was another APC omen.
Honestly, The Slim Shady Show was better than this, at least that was true to the character.
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