2 Stupid Dogs

2 Stupid Dogs was (and is) considered a Ren & Stimpy rip-off, but if you watch Cartoon Network now you would see that the flat style of this show is being showed on two of Cartoon Network's most popular shows, Dexter's Lab and The Powerpuff Girls (Craig McCracken is art director for all 3 shows). In addition to what an earlier review said about Richard Pursel and John K. writing some episodes, Spumco cartoonist, Vince Waller also worked on some episodes. 2SD lasted until 1994 mainly because most homes didn't carry Cartoon Network and CN wasn't as popular in '93 and '94 as it is today.

I could never get enough of watching 2 stupid dogs. One of my favourite eps was the one about the boots (which was mentioned earlier). The small one finds this can, and he loses it. The can rolls down some road, towards a supermarket, and ends up, inside the supermarket, right in front of the entrance, which was one of those automatic doors. (See that other post someone made about the boots episode to read what happened after what I just said.)

I love this show. I give it 5 stars!!

One of the earliest productions that Cartoon Network ever made for themselves and in my view one of the most successful. Genndy Tartakovsky worked on this before coming up with "Dexter's Laboratory," and his offbeat art style and sense of humor are evident here. The show is also notable for the fact that Big Dog was voiced by Brad Garrett (later to become Robert Barrone on "Everybody Loves Raymond"). John Kricfalusi, creator of Ren and Stimpy, guested on several episodes and is credited with "tidbits of poor taste."

The characters basically consist of Big Dog and Little Dog, with a few recurring characters like Red (Little Red Riding Hood), the nerdish Kenny, and Hollywood (whose trademark line is, "Isn't that cute...BUT IT'S WRONG!!!"). The art style is deceptively simple and the plot lines are as well. However, little hidden surprises come when you least expect it, particularly in the form of Big Dog's utterly unexpected words of wisdom in various episodes, particularly in "The Rise & Fall of Big Dog," where Big Dog is somehow mistaken for an ambassador, and "Love Doctors," where Big Dog dispenses advice to the lovelorn Kenny.

Several of the episodes are classic in my opinion. My favorite has to be Vegas Buffet, in which Big Dog and Little Dog venture forth looking for the "Super Cheap Economy Style One Pound Hot Dog Buffet" and get caught up in gambling craziness, but almost all the episodes have something going for them. Some of the best satire and parody that CN cartoons has ever done is found here, especially in "Cartoon Canines," "Hobo Hounds," and "Let's Make a Right Price," as well as "Family Values." The comparisons to Ren and Stimpy are not quite justified, I think, simply because 2 Stupid Dogs is more low-key. The dementia of Ren & Stimpy is in your face, whereas 2 Stupid Dogs is, overall, gentler and more surrealistic.

Personally I think that this is one of the "lost classics" of 90's children's TV, right up there with Nick's "The Adventures of Pete and Pete" and "Rocko's Modern Life." A DVD of the collected "2 Stupid Dogs" is long overdue.

2 Stupid Dogs is another one of the best cartoons on Cartoon Network. I thought it was funny that the Little Dog is scared of the cat and every time when the Little Dog backs off, the Big Dog comes in and just barks once and then the cat drops to the ground with fear! Plus also on this show we also got to have some new episodes of Super Secret Squirrel and like wise his sidekick, Morocco Mole. Plus I thought all the episodes were funny and all of 2 Stupid Dogs and some of the new episodes Hanna-Barbera made of Secret Squirrel. Hanna-Barbera still knows how to make good cartoons and never fails to entertain me. This was also one of my favorite cartoons from the 1990's.

First of all, I find 2 Stupid Dogs to be much more visually enjoyable than Ren and Stimpy, funnier, and definitely cuter, but likeably, not annoyingly so. If one wants to succumb to making Ren and Stimpy comparisons, Cow and Chicken is a lot more similar (and is also better than Ren and Stimpy as well). The lunacy-prone personalities on that show have more in common with R&S than the 2 Stupid Dogs, who are much more easygoing, ordinary, and laid-back (except when they freak out). The scenarios are usually more innocent on 2 Stupid Dogs as well, and the humor isn't as crude. The visual style is also totally different from R&S, and looks very clean, simple, and stylish. The situations and adventures they get into are entertaining, but I'm not sure if many young children will understand some of the ironic references, like the darkly humorous name of a hair salon they visit printed on a wall sign in the background ("Curl Up and Dye").

Another thing about this show which I happen to love is the episodes featuring the updated Secret Squirrel, who used to have his own cartoons back in the 60's--you can look it up here on imdb.com. (As far as I know, reruns of those shows are also played on the Cartoon Network, but the new Secret Squirrel is a major improvement over the old one, in my opinion, and after watching a few episodes of the old one, I had no interest in watching any others.) Although I like the 2 Stupid Dogs a lot, Secret Squirrel is my favorite part. I think Morocco Mole is my favorite character--he wears a little fez and black round glasses, and he's adorably and hilariously slow-witted ("Do you remember where we first met, Morocco?" "Ummm... the gelatin store?"). The characters on the Secret Squirrel episodes are rich, numerous, and diverse, (characters they don't list in the credits for the show here are SS's female crimefighting friend whose name I don't remember, the assorted villians, and the chief may have a beautiful secretary as well, I'm not positive... but don't they usually?) and there seems to be more action and drama going on in them than on the regular 2 Stupid Dogs episodes. It's disappointing that they didn't develop it into its own series, because it would have been great.

I highly recommend this show. It's one of my favorites on the Cartoon Network, along with Cow and Chicken, and Dexter's Laboratory, the latter of which is in the same type of visual style as 2 Stupid Dogs. (Johnny Bravo and The Powerpuff Girls also share this style.)