This is a storyboard reel (animatic) from an epic Ren and Stimpy story called "Life Sucks". Many of the folks who worked on it figured it was the best R and S story we had ever written. Unfortunately it was never produced.LS2
Uploaded by chuckchillout8
Life Sucks explores the difference between Ren and Stimpy's outlook on life. They each look at the world and see the same evidence yet judge it in opposite ways. Stimpy is an optimist and Ren is a pessimist. In Life Sucks, Ren realizes it's his duty to cure Stimpy of his naivety and he takes him on a journey through biology, religion, history and evolution in an attempt to make him wake up and smell the coffee.
This is just one sequence from the cartoon. Ren tells Stimpy a story from the history of his religion, a story of people's devotion to the divine Cat-Jesus. Richard Pursel and I concocted this warm little Ren and Stimpy scene.
This is the story of the Children's Crusade, which many history books say actually happened.
I asked the great Nick Cross to draw the sequence and he did an amazing thing. He drew Ren and Stimpy in one style and the Children's Crusade in the style of Mary Blair's Golden Books.
Working with Nick is great. I get to scribble out some ideas for the compositions I want and he takes them and turns them into beautiful finished illustrations in his own style.
I can't tell you how fun it is to work with rare stars like Nick or Katie or Helder and a small handful of stylists, who give me back better than what I give them and then let me add my name to the work. How unusual it is today to find artists whose drawings have a point of view! I imagine the old days when Clampett and Avery were surrounded by nothing but top talents, each with their own styles, already trained and all they had to do was direct them. No bland scenes, no on-model crap. Heaven!
The multi-talented Eric Bauza edited and did the sound fx and music for the animatic.
Take a look at this and tell me if you'd like to see the whole of Life Sucks produced as a straight to DVD release.
Later this week I'll put up another clip from Life Sucks. Keep your eyes peeled!
