Ren's Toothache
Original air date: 8/22/1992
Ren doesn't bother to brush his teeth at all, so his teeth fall out.
Man's Best Friend
Original air date: 6/23/2003 (on Spike; produced in 1992)
George Liquor (American) buys Ren and Stimpy from a pet store and disciplines them in various ways.
Ren's Toothache contains examples of...
- An Aesop: Always brush your teeth, or they'll rot up like Ren's did.
- Break the Haughty: Ren.
- Even the Rats Won't Touch It: Ren's breath is so rancid even the flies flying around Stimpy's litter box find it disgusting.
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin: The episode is called "Ren's Toothache", and it's about Ren having a toothache.
- Mirror-Cracking Ugly: The first time Ren smiles in the mirror.
- Tooth Fairy: Ren gets a visit from the Nerve Ending Fairy after he loses all his teeth. The Fairy, who looks like Ol' Man Hunger from the pilot episode, is unfortunately out of money, so he leaves Ren a ball of pocket lint instead.
- The Tooth Hurts: The title doesn't lie.
Man's Best Friend contains examples of...
- Art Shift: When George first sees Ren and Stimpy, they are caricatured as a more realistic dog and cat. Interestingly enough, Ren ends up looking more like a Chihuahua during this moment.
- Cool and Unusual Punishment: George's idea of disciplining Ren is to make him beg for discipline, then not give him any and, in fact, reward him for talking back.
- The Dog Bites Back: Literally! Stimpy won't hurt his beloved master when he asks to be attacked. Ren has no such reservations and gleefully beats George to a pulp.
- Drill Sergeant Nasty: George is seen in such an outfit the next morning.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Animator Bill Wray called this "an analogy of the mixed messages that parents give their children." To quote writer and story editor Will McRobb, Liquor is akin to "a father who wants best for his children, not realizing that he is really abusing them."
- Family-Unfriendly Violence: Ren beating George Liquor half to death with his prized beating oar. That scene was the main reason the episode was banned.
- Gainax Ending: The episode ends with Ren, Stimpy, and George Liquor all dancing with lawn cigars in their mouths.
- High-Pressure Emotion: Rather than a tea kettle whistle, George's rage when Stimpy jumps on his couch is soundtracked by a jet turbine starting up.
- Hit Stop: Ren hitting George in the face with an oar, which spoofs Raging Bull.
- Insane Troll Logic: George believes that "discipline begets love," and that the only way to discipline his pets is to teach them how to misbehave, then yell at them for misbehaving. He tells them never to jump on the couch, then yells at them to jump on the couch just to show how mad he'll get if they do."Make me mad, or I'm gonna be really mad!!"
- Ironic Echo: As Ren is beating up George Liquor, he repeats the latter's phrases ("Drop and give me 20!", "It's discipline that begets love!", and "You must learn your place!").
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown
- Ren's thrashing of Liquor, again.
- A rejected storyboard scene had Stimpy, in a rare Crouching Moron Hidden Badass Adorable moment, beating him at Indian Leg Wrestling.
- Road Apples: The Lawn Cigar chew toys.
- Sleep Cute: Ren and Stimpy are first seen in this episode in the window of the pet store, asleep on top of each other. And it is adorable.
