John Kricfalusi
Michael John Kricfalusi (/ˌkrɪsfəˈluːsi/ krihs-fuh-LOO-see; born September 9, 1955),[1] known professionally as John K., is a Canadian illustrator, blogger, and former animator and voice actor. He is the creator of the animated television series The Ren & Stimpy Show, which was highly influential on televised animation during the 1990s. From 1989 to 1992, he was heavily involved with the first two seasons of the show in virtually every aspect of its production, including providing the voice of Ren Höek and other characters. In 2009, he won the Inkpot Award.
John Kricfalusi
- Raymond Spüm
- John K.
- Raymond S.
Animator, illustrator, voice actor, blogger
1979–2020 (animator)
2006–present (blogger)
Inkpot Award (2009)
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, with which he remained until its dissolution in 2005.
Nickelodeon fired Kricfalusi from Ren & Stimpy due to creative differences and his failure to meet production deadlines; the show continued for three additional seasons without his involvement. Following this, he 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 returned to television with The Ripping Friends and the adult animation spin-off Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon". Since 2006, Kricfalusi has maintained a personal blog dedicated to cartoons and animation. There, he popularized the term "CalArts style", a pejorative which was later used by others to criticize a widespread 2010s cartoon aesthetic.[2][3]
In 2018, Kricfalusi was accused by two former Spümcø artists of grooming and sexually abusing them in the late 1990s, when they were teenagers.[4] Kricfalusi released an apology for his behavior, blaming his mental health and "poor impulse control".[5] He has since declared his withdrawal from the professional animation industry.[6]
Early years
Michael John Kricfalusi was born on September 9, 1955, in Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada[1] to Michael Kricfalusi,[7] who was of Ukrainian descent, and Mary Lou Kricfalusi (née MacDonell), who was of Scottish and English descent.[8]: 32m He has one sister named Elizabeth.[7] 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.[9][10] After he was expelled from Sheridan College at the end of 1978, Kricfalusi moved to Los Angeles, California, intending to become an animator.[11][12][13]
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,[14] getting his start on shows like Super Friends and The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show.[15] His first independent cartoon was a short called Ted Bakes One, which he produced with Bill Wray in 1981 for a cable channel.[16] 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".[13][17] 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.[18] 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.[19][20] They began working on the designs for the film Bobby's Girl, which was sold to TriStar Pictures but was later cancelled.[20][21][22] Under Bakshi, Kricfalusi directed the animation for The Rolling Stones' 1986 music video "Harlem Shuffle".[23]
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.[12][13][16]
His main influence is Bob Clampett,[26][95] and he also names Chuck Jones, Frank Sinatra, Kirk Douglas,[96][97] Milt Gross, Tex Avery, Peter Lorre, The Three Stooges, Al Jolson, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Elvis Presley, Don Martin and Robert Ryan.[98]
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".[99]
In turn, he would later influence several animators, such as Stephen Hillenburg, Justin Roiland, Pendleton Ward, J. G. Quintel, Christy Karacas, J.J. Villard, Jhonen Vasquez, John R. Dilworth, and many more.
Quotations related to John Kricfalusi at Wikiquote