John Kricfalusi (Johnsonverse)

Michael John Kricfalusi (/ˌkrɪsfəˈluːsi/; born September 9, 1955), known professionally as John K., is a Canadian animator, voice actor, music video director, blogger, and illustrator. He is best known for creating The Ren & Stimpy Show, in which he was heavily involved in virtually every aspect of its production, including providing the voice of Ren Höek and other characters.
Born in Quebec, Kricfalusi spent his early childhood in Germany and Belgium before returning to Canada at age seven. He acquired his skills largely by copying cartoons from newspapers and comic books as a child, and by studying cartoons and their production systems from the 1940s and 1950s. His main influence is Bob Clampett. After moving to Los Angeles in 1978, he collaborated with Ralph Bakshi and worked for Filmation, Hanna-Barbera, and DIC Entertainment on various shows. In 1989, Kricfalusi co-founded the animation studio Spümcø.
During Ren & Stimpy's run and after its end in 2004, Kricfalusi directed and produced animated television commercials and music videos for entertainers such as Björk and Tenacious D. In the late 1990s, he created the first cartoons made exclusively for the Internet: The Goddamn George Liquor Program and Weekend Pussy Hunt. He later created The Ripping Friends, which aired from 2001 to 2008. Since 2006, Kricfalusi has maintained a personal blog dedicated to cartoons and animation. Kricfalusi returned to Ren & Stimpy in 2017 upon its revival on Cartoon Network; he's also produced a spin-off for Adult Swim called George Liquor, American and revivals of Mighty Mouse and The Ripping Friends for Netflix.
== Early years ==
Michael John Kricfalusi was born on September 9, 1955, in Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada to a father of Ukrainian descent and mother of Scottish and English descent. He spent his early childhood in Germany and Belgium while his father was serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force. He would watch weekend screenings of European feature-length cartoons such as The Snow Queen at Air Force cinemas. At age seven he returned with his family to Canada. After their return they moved from Montreal to Ottawa in the middle of a school season, and Kricfalusi spent much of his time that year at home, watching Hanna-Barbera cartoons and drawing them. Kricfalusi's interest in golden-age animation crystallized during his stay at Sheridan College, where he attended weekly screenings of old films and cartoons at Innis College held by film archivist Reg Hartt, among them the cartoons of Bob Clampett and Tex Avery, which left a deep impression on Kricfalusi. After he was expelled from Sheridan College at the end of 1978, Kricfalusi moved to Los Angeles, California, intending to become an animator.
== Career ==
=== Entering the animation industry ===
After moving to Los Angeles, Kricfalusi was introduced to Milt Gray by Bob Clampett, suggesting he should join Gray's classical animation class. Gray was working for Filmation at the time, and soon Kricfalusi found work there as well, getting his start on shows like Super Friends and The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show. His first independent cartoon was a short called Ted Bakes One, which he produced with Bill Wray in 1981 for a cable channel. From 1979 to the mid-1980s, Kricfalusi worked for Filmation and later Hanna-Barbera and DIC Entertainment on various shows that he once described as "the worst animation of all time". However, he did enjoy his work as a layout artist on the 1985 series of The Jetsons as he was able to train a team of Taiwanese animators to draw characters more emotive and wild, which at the time was considered radical. He recalls being "saved" from having to work on these cartoons by director Ralph Bakshi, who had worked with him before in 1980 and 1982. They began working on the designs for the film Bobby's Girl, which was sold to TriStar Pictures but was later cancelled; it was eventually released in 1991 by Johnson Studios. Under Bakshi, Kricfalusi directed the animation for The Rolling Stones' 1986 music video "Harlem Shuffle".
=== Mighty Mouse ===
The team's most successful project was Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures for CBS, based on the classic Terrytoons character. The series was well-received, and it is considered the forerunner of creator-driven cartoons. Kricfalusi directed sixteen of the twenty-six episodes and supervised the series. The production of Mighty Mouse was very different from other cartoons at the time, gaining creative and artistic leeway thanks to the success of the irreverent Pee-wee's Playhouse on CBS a year before. The animators had much more creative input, driven by Kricfalusi's production system that emphasizes artistic contribution in every step of the process, from outline to storyboard to layout to the animation.
Mighty Mouse was cancelled amidst controversy for allegedly depicting the main character snorting cocaine. Bakshi maintained that neither he nor Kricfalusi had the character sniffing cocaine, and that the character was sniffing the crushed petals of a flower, which were handed to him in a previous scene in the cartoon. In 1994, Kricfalusi pitched a revival series of Mighty Mouse to Paramount, which would have featured other Terrytoons characters such as Deputy Dawg, but they rejected the idea. A Mighty Mouse revival began airing in 2014 with Spümcø and Bakshi's involvement and continued until 2017.
=== Beany and Cecil ===
Kricfalusi left Bakshi's studio to work on The New Adventures of Beany and Cecil for ABC, where he teamed up with many of the people who would later work with him on many of his Spümcø projects. ABC had been negotiating for the production of the show with the Clampett family, who insisted that Kricfalusi be part of the production as he was a strong proponent of Bob Clampett's cartoon style. The long negotiations delayed the start of production to mid-July, causing much of the animation to be rushed in order to meet the September deadline. Tensions rose between Kricfalusi and ABC over the tone of the show, leading to an uncomfortable atmosphere for the show's crew. The Clampett family were ultimately not very happy with the cartoon, but remained supportive of Kricfalusi. ABC canceled the show after six episodes, finding the humor not suitable for children's programming. It later moved to WBC, where it ran for two more seasons before ending in 1990.
=== Ren & Stimpy ===
Kricfalusi formed the Spümcø animation studio with partners Jim Smith, Bob Camp and Lynne Naylor. They began working on a pilot for The Ren & Stimpy Show on behalf of Nickelodeon, after the eponymous characters were favored by Nickelodeon producer Vanessa Coffey in a presentation by Kricfalusi. The show came to garner high ratings for Nickelodeon, and at the time was the most popular cable TV show in the United States. The series ended on October 11, 2004 with ten seasons.
In 2015, Cartoon Network acquired the rights to the Ren & Stimpy franchise and announced that three new seasons would be greenlit with Kricfalusi's involvement. The twelfth season premiered on November 15, 2017. A spin-off, George Liquor, American, began airing on Adult Swim in 2018.
=== The Ripping Friends ===
WBC Kids started airing the TV series The Ripping Friends in 2001, created by Kricfalusi and Jim Smith. Kricfalusi had previously tried pitching the show in the late '80s, but networks considered it "too extreme" so did not pick it up. The series continued until 2008, and was revived on Netflix in 2019, with Smith as the showrunner due to Kricfalusi wanting to focus on the Ren & Stimpy revival.
=== Other projects ===
==== Collaborations with Fred Seibert ====
During his tenure on The Ren & Stimpy Show, Kricfalusi consulted, and other Spümcø animators worked for Donovan Cook's 2 Stupid Dogs, which was put into production by Hanna-Barbera president Fred Seibert. The cartoon's credits read "Tidbits of Poor Taste Supplied by John Kricfalusi" for the three "Little Red Riding Hood" episodes: "Red!", "The Return of Red" and "Red Strikes Back". In 1994, Hanna-Barbera and Seibert started production on What a Cartoon!, also known as World Premiere Toons for Cartoon Network. Siebert approached Kricfalusi for advice and for recommendations for personnel to head the shorts, among them David Feiss, Tom Minton, and Eddie Fitzgerald.
==== Music videos ====
Kricfalusi directed Icelandic singer Björk's animated music video for the song "I Miss You" in 1995, which features Björk and the character Jimmy The Idiot Boy. Jack Black of Tenacious D approached Kricfalusi to produce a music video for the song "Fuck Her Gently" from their debut album, released in 2001. Black browsed Kricfalusi's website and, since both he and his bandmate Kyle Gass held Ren & Stimpy in high regard, he asked Kricfalusi to produce the video. The costs amounted to $40,000. Initially, Sony Music did not allow the video to be placed on Tenacious D's website and instead placed it on the record label Grand Royal's website, but later relented. In 2006, Kricfalusi directed two music videos, and served as art director for an animated musical segment. The first music video, for Close but No Cigar by "Weird Al" Yankovic, was released in September, on the DVD side of the DualDisc album Straight Outta Lynwood, which features Kricfalusi's character Cigarettes the Cat. The second music video was for Classico by Tenacious D, starring the band members as cartoon characters. He animated them again in a THX logo parody for the band's feature film, The Pick of Destiny. Kricfalusi served as art director for a musical segment in the show Class of 3000 entitled Life Without Music, which first aired on November 3, 2006. In 2014, he produced art for Miley Cyrus's Bangerz Tour.
==== Internet cartoons and Hanna-Barbera shorts ====
Venturing into Internet cartoons, Kricfalusi created Weekend Pussy Hunt in 1996 for MSN, which was billed as "the world's first interactive web-based cartoon". The cartoon, which was released in segments, was scheduled to be completed on June 1997, but production under MSN stopped before it was finished. Production later resumed under Icebox.com after the release of Spümcø's own web-based Flash cartoon, The Goddamn George Liquor Program. Between 1998 and 2001 Kricfalusi worked on several Hanna-Barbera cartoons for Cartoon Network: three Yogi Bear cartoons he directed and animated, Boo Boo and the Man, A Day in the Life of Ranger Smith and Boo Boo Runs Wild, and two Jetsons cartoons he produced, The Jetsons: Father & Son Day and The Jetsons: The Best Son.
==== Cartoon commentaries, magazines, and other media ====
Kricfalusi contributed several articles in 1993 and 1994 for the magazines Film Threat and Wild Cartoon Kingdom under various aliases. Kricfalusi appears in several bonus featurettes and provides audio commentaries for the Looney Tunes Golden Collection volumes 2, 3 and 5, for cartoons directed by Bob Clampett and Chuck Jones. On February 13, 2006, Kricfalusi started his own weblog, John K Stuff, posting about cartoons and the animation industry. The site was originally intended for other artists and entertainers, and specifically other cartoonists.
==== Commercials and freelance work ====
Kricfalusi directed commercials for Comcast and Voice over IP company Raketu in 2007. He was developing a series of cartoon commercials in 2008 for Pontiac Vibe starring George Liquor and Jimmy The Idiot Boy, but the series remained unreleased after General Motors discontinued the Pontiac Vibe auto line in 2009. He developed and animated a series of bumpers using Toon Boom Harmony for Adult Swim in 2011 and again in 2015. He animated the opening couch gags of two episodes of The Simpsons, "Bart Stops to Smell the Roosevelts", which aired in October 2011 and "Treehouse of Horror XXVI", which aired in October 2015. He collaborated with streetwear brand Stüssy to create a short series of apparel based on his designs in 2012, which he promoted with a commercial featuring some of his characters.
The advertising agency Muhtayzik-Hoffer hired Kricfalusi in 2013 for an ad campaign for F'real milkshakes. He was involved in the early development of many Reel FX projects such as the 2013 film Free Birds, a pitch for a film adaptation of the Dr. Seuss book Happy Birthday to You! and a pitch for a film he created with Jim Smith. He posted the concepts for these projects on his blog. He partnered with animator Mike Judge to produce a series of shorts for UFC that aired on Adult Swim throughout 2016, and animated a series of non-canon Detective Jenny short bumpers that aired on WBC in 2017 to promote the then-upcoming ninth season.
==== Cans Without Labels====
In 2012, Kricfalusi funded through Kickstarter a cartoon short entitled Cans Without Labels, starring the character George Liquor (with Michael Pataki reprising the role for the final time before his death in 2010, having recorded his lines beforehand), with the delivery date of February 2013.
The short received widespread critical acclaim for its animation, humor, sound design, and storyline, as well as Pataki's voice acting performance.
==== George Liquor, American ====
===Influences===
Kricfalusi says he is mostly self-taught, having only spent a year in Sheridan College, barely attending class. He acquired his skills largely by copying cartoons from newspapers and comic books as a child, and by studying cartoons and their production systems from the 1940s and 1950s. His main influence is Bob Clampett, and he also names Chuck Jones, Frank Sinatra, Kirk Douglas, Milt Gross, Tex Avery, Peter Lorre, The Three Stooges, Al Jolson, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Elvis Presley, Don Martin and Robert Ryan. Michael Barrier, an animation historian, said that Kricfalusi's works "testify to his intense admiration for Bob Clampett's Warner Bros. cartoons" and that no cartoonist since Clampett created cartoons in which the emotions of the characters "distort their bodies so powerfully".
==Filmography==
===Film===
Year	Title 	Director	Producer	Writer	Animationdepartment	Notes
1981	Ted Bakes One 	 	 	 	 	Short filmAnimator
1982	Mighty Mouse in the Great Space Chase 	 	 	 	 	Feature filmStoryboard artist
1988	The Thing What Lurked in the Tub 	 	 	 	 	Short filmCharacter color key assistantBackground color key assistant
1989	Troop Beverly Hills 	 	 	 	 	Feature filmAnimator and layout artist: Opening titles
1991	Bobby's Girl 	 	 	 	 	Feature film
Animator and layout artist
Character designer
2006	Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny 	 	 	 	 	Feature filmAnimator: THX logo sequence
2009	Al's Brain 	 	 	 	 	Short filmCharacter designer
2013	Cans Without Labels 	 	 	 	 	Short film<BR />Animator and background painter
2014	Jimmy's Big Date 	 	 	 	 	Short film<BR />Animator and background painter
2015	Cigarettes A-Blowin' 	 	 	 	 	Short film<BR />Animator and background painter
2020	Happy Happy Joy Joy: The John K. Story	 	 	 	 	Himself
=== Television===
Year 	Title 	Director	Producer	Writer	Animation
department	Voice actor/actor	Role 	Notes
1979 	Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids 	 	 	 		 	 	Storyboard artist
1979 	The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle and Jeckle	 	 	 		 	 	Storyboard artist
1979 	The New Adventures of Flash Gordon 	 	 	 		 	 	Storyboard artist
1981 	Super Friends 	 	 	 		 	 	Layout artist
1982 	Mork & Mindy/Laverne & Shirley/Fonz Hour 	 	 	 		 	 	Layout artist
1982 	Pac-Man 	 	 	 		 	 	Layout artist
1984 	Snorks 	 	 	 		 	 	Layout artist
1984 	The Smurfs 	 	 	 		 	 	Character designer
1985 	The Jetsons 	 	 	 		 	 	Layout artist
Layout supervisor
1986 	Galaxy High School 	 	 	 		 	 	Graphics designer
1987-1988 	Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures 	 	 	 		 	 	Senior director
Layout artist
1988-1990 	The New Adventures of Beany and Cecil 	 	 	 		 	 	Creator
Character designer
1990 	Tiny Toon Adventures 	 	 	 		 	 	Model designer
Episode: "Who Bopped Bugs Bunny?"
1991–2004, 2017-present	The Ren & Stimpy Show 	 	 	 		 	Ren Höek 
Mr. Horse
Additional Voices	Creator
Character designer
Storyboard artist
Animation director
1993 	2 Stupid Dogs 	 	 	 		 	 	Consultant only
1999 	He-Hog the Atomic Pig 	 	 	 		 	Professor Mole	Pilot; creator
Concept artist
Storyboard artist
Animator
1999 	Boo Boo Runs Wild 	 	 	 		 	Boo-Boo Bear
Tree	Television short
Character designer
Layout artist
Animator
Recording director
Music editor
1999 	A Day in the Life of Ranger Smith 	 	 	 		 	Boo-Boo Bear
Squirrel Boy	Television short
Character designer
Layout artist
Animator
Recording director
Music editor
2001–2008, 2019-present	The Ripping Friends 	 	 	 		 	Citracett
Jimmy the Idiot Boy
Additional Voices	Creator
Character designer
Storyboard artist
Key animator
Voice director
2001 	The Jetsons: Father & Son Day 	 	 	 		 	 	Television short
Outlines
2002 	The Jetsons: The Best Son 	 	 	 		 	 	Television short
Layout artist
2002 	Boo Boo and the Man 	 	 	 		 	Boo-Boo Bear 	Television short
Story 
Character designer
Layout artist
Animator
Recording director
Music editor
2006 	Class of 3000 	 	 	 		 	 	Guest art director
Episode: "Home"
2011, 2015 	The Simpsons 	 	 	 		 	 	Guest Animator
Episodes: "Bart Stops to Smell the Roosevelts"
"Treehouse of Horror XXVI"
2012 	The Eric André Show 	 	 	 		 	Himself 	Guest
Episode: "The Eric André New Year's Eve Spooktacular"
2014-present 	Mighty Mouse 	 	 	 		 	 	Senior director
Layout artist
2016, 2018, 2019 	WBC's Sgt. Frog 	 	 	 		 	Ren Höek
George Liquor	Guest director
Episodes: "Hijinx"
"A Regular Day"
"Raining Cats and Dogs"
2018-present 	George Liquor, American 	 	 	 		 	George Liquor
Jimmy the Idiot Boy
Additional Voices	Creator
Original character designer
Storyboard artist
Animation director
===Online===
Year 	Title 	Director	Producer	Writer	Animationdepartment	Voice actor	Role 	Notes
1997 	The Goddamn George Liquor Program	 	 	 	 	 	Jimmy the Idiot Boy	Web series
Also creator
1999 	Rice Patooties 	 	 	 	 	 	 	Web short
1999–2000	Weekend Pussy Hunt 	 	 	 	 	 	Dirty Dog 	Web series
Also creator
===Music video===
Year	Title 	Director	Producer	Animation department	Notes
1986	"Harlem Shuffle" by The Rolling Stones 	 	 	 	Animation segment only
1997	"I Miss You" by Björk 	 	 	 	
2001	"Fuck Her Gently" by Tenacious D 	 	 	 	
2006	"Close but No Cigar" by "Weird Al" Yankovic	 	 	 	
2006	"Classico" by Tenacious D 	 	 	 	
===Commercials===
Year	Title 	Client(s)
1993	"John K. Peacock Logo 1"
"John K. Peacock Logo 2"	NBC
1996	"Jimmy and Sody Pop" 	Aoki's Pizza
1996	"You Want Some?" 	Barq's Root Beer
1997	"Big Bad Wolf" 	Nike
1997	"Rooster" 	Village Pantry
1998	"Cadbury Land" 	Cadbury
1998	"Boys Big Pockets"
"Boys Hooded Fleece"
"Girls Flare Jeans"
"Girls Curly Fleece"	Old Navy
1999	"Treat Your Dog Right" 	Wagwells Dog Treats
2007	"George Liquor"
"Sody Pop"
"Mobile"
"Bobby Bigloaf"	Raketu
2007	"Triple-Saurus" 	Comcast
2011	"Critters Fence"
"Furries"
"Rubber Hose Anime"
"UPA Kids 1"
"UPA Kids 2"	Adult Swim
2012	"Bobby Bigloaf" 	Stüssy
2014	"Chocolate Milkshake"
"Fencing"	f'real Milkshake
2015	"Turtle Shell"
"Basement"
"Walrus"
"Funny Animals Running"	Adult Swim
2016	"Hank Hill and George Liquor"
"Diaz vs McGregor 2"	Ultimate Fighting Championship
2018	"A Message From George"	Adult Swim
===Video games===
Year	Title 	Notes
2001	Yoake no Mariko 	Producer
2003	Go! Go! Hypergrind	Producer
==Bibliography==
Year 	Title 	Notes
1995-2002	Spümcø Comic Book	4 issues
==Awards and nominations==
==See also==
Category:Johnsonverse