The fourth episode of The Ren and Stimpy Show.
Fire Dogs
Original air date: 9/29/1991
Ren and Stimpy, once again penniless, disguise themselves as dalmatians, and sign up for the fire department. With an Ax-Crazy fire chief as just the tip of the icing, they realize that this job is more than they bargained for.
The Littlest Giant
Original air date: 9/15/1991
Stimpy once again insists on reading a bedtime story; this time he is a giant who, after being mocked and bullied by bigger, mean giant cats, decides to run away and, after unwittingly helping a resident of Thumbsville, "Wee Ren", befriends this tiny farmer.
Fire Dogs contains examples of...
- Ass in a Lion Skin: Ren and Stimpy pass themselves off as Dalmatians.
- Chekhov's Gag: Sorta. Earlier, Stimpy gives Ren his last grain of kitty litter. Later, he puts out a fire with a whole helicopter full of it.
- Continuity Nod: Stimpy calls his litter box "my foist material possession", referring to the end of "Big House Blues".
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Stimpy struggling with the lever that dumps the kitty litter, and the relieved sigh he gives afterwards, makes it look like he's taking another kind of dump.
- Firehouse Dalmatian: The duo pass themselves off as Dalmatians to apply for jobs at the fire department.
- Hypocritical Humor: Ren tells the fire chief to not mind Stimpy, as he is not quite right in the head. This is coming from Ren.
- I Ate WHAT?!: Ren is starving, so Stimpy gives him what looks like a small crumb which he had been saving. After chewing it with relish, Ren asks what it was, and Stimpy reveals it was his last grain of kitty litter. Ren screams, tries to spit it out, and then hits Stimpy with his litter box.
- Impact Silhouette: Ren slams Stimpy's litter box onto the latter's head, leaving his face imprinted on it.
- Injured Self-Drag: Mr. Horse falls from a very tall building and lands feet-first on Ren and Stimpy, breaking both of his hind legs in the process. He then drags himself away by the front legs, groaning and sobbing from the pain.
- Kiss of Life: Ren gets CPR from Mrs. Buttloaves. He gets one look and her face and faints again.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: The fire chief is based on and drawn to resemble indie animation legend Ralph Bakshi, for whom John K. used to work for. The sequel episode made for Adult Party Cartoon all but does away with subtlety and turns the character into an Ink-Suit Actor for Bakshi, who guest stars.
- Noodle Incident: It's never explained what Fire Chief dislikes about circus midgets. Although, judging from the dialogue, he had a rather unpleasant encounter with them.
- Polka-Dot Paint: Ren uses Dalmatian paint to disguise Stimpy and himself. One stroke and they are covered in black spots.
- Potty Dance: The dogs at the end of the episode do this while all in a line.
- Shadow of Impending Doom: As Ren and Stimpy catch Mrs. Buttloaves' baby, who turns out to be gigantic.
- Tempting Fate: Ren tells Stimpy to take it easy because the chances of a fire are a million to one. Moments later the alarm rings and the pair are called into duty.
- Urine Trouble: Implied at the end, when a long line of dogs (and the ugly lady who was rescued from the burning building) waiting to relieve themselves on Ren and Stimpy's fire hydrant-shaped trophy.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Heights, in this case.
The Littlest Giant contains examples of...
- All of the Other Reindeer: "The Littlest Giant" is teased by the other giants for being "merely huge".
- Big Brother Bully: Giant Stimpy's big brothers make fun of him for not being as big as they are.
- Cats Are Mean: These two certainly are.
- Bizarre Alien Biology: Giant Stimpy sheds fresh water tears.
- Disproportionate Reward: A grateful Stimpy gets Ren to do a number of bizarre tasks like plucking his eyelids and shaving his tongue.
- Gentle Giant: Stimpy. His older brothers, not so much.
- Giant's Droplet, Human's Shower: When Giant Stimpy finds himself on Wee Ren's farm, he cries huge tears that refill the farmer's well and then some.
- Large Runt: Giant Stimpy. Compared to Wee Ren, he's humongous, yet his much bigger brothers tease him for being too small.
- Leitmotif: Stimpy's "sad scene" leitmotif, Debussy's Clair De Lune, makes its debut on the show.
- Loud Sleeper Gag: At the end of the episode, Wee Ren is in bed, but Giant Stimpy is outside his house and he's snoring so loudly that the house is shaking.
- Ocular Gushers/Crying a River: Giant Stimpy cries enough tears to fill Wee Ren's well, saving his farm.
- Saying Sound Effects Out Loud: "CHEW!"
- Very Special Episode: To a degree; it essentially addresses bullying, to the point where it's all Giant Stimpy understands (e.g., he ends up addressing his letter to his "dearest friends, the big mean giants", and signs it "Your punching bag, the Littlest Giant")note .
- Volumetric Mouth: Giant Stimpy again.
