Richard Dale Pursel (born September 17, 1964) is an American television writer,

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

and

storyboard artist A storyboard artist (sometimes called a story artist or visualizer) creates storyboards for advertising agencies and film productions. Work A storyboard artist visualizes stories and sketches frames of the story. Quick pencil drawings and mar ...

. He is known for his work on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

's television series ''

The Ren & Stimpy Show ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'', commonly referred to as simply ''Ren & Stimpy'', is an American animated Comedy film, comedy television series created by John Kricfalusi for Nickelodeon. The series follows the misadventures of Ren Höek, an emotion ...

'' and ''

SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' is an American animated television series, animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It first aired as a sneak peek after the 1999 Kids' C ...

''.

Career

Pursel was born in

Milford, Michigan Milford is a village in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 6,175 at the time of the 2010 census. The village is located within Milford Township. The village is known for being the home of the Milford General Motor ...

and was childhood best friends with

Matt Wayne Matt S. Wayne is an American writer of comic books and television. Wayne is probably best known for his work on the animated series '' Niko and the Sword of Light'', '' Cannon Busters'' and '' Ben 10: Omniverse'', and writing and editing comic ...

. After graduating from Milford High School in 1982, both intended to pursue a career in art. Pursel did odd jobs in his twenties, such as being a production assistant in

music videos A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

, fetching items for

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

, supervising staff at a school for the blind and farming in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. Pursel first entered the animation industry by being recommended by future co-worker Eddie Fitzgerald to work on ''

Tiny Toon Adventures ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' is an American animated television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It originally aired from September 14, 1990 to December 6, 1992, airing in syndication before eventually settling a ...

'' at

Warner Bros. Animation Warner Bros. Animation Inc. (abbreviated as WBA) is an American animation studio which is part of the Warner Bros. Television Group, a division of Warner Bros., which is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery and serves as the animation divis ...

. He was hired in 1992 as

John Kricfalusi Michael John Kricfalusi ( ; born September 9, 1955), 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 ...

's assistant at

Spümcø Spümcø, Inc. ( ; stylized as SPÜMCØ) was an American animation studio that was active from 1989 to 2005 and based in Los Angeles, California. The studio was best known for working on the first two seasons of ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'' for N ...

and worked on ''

''. He was quickly promoted to writer during the second season due to Kricfalusi's appreciation of his sense of humor, prominently writing episodes through the season's heavily delayed production until Kricfalusi's firing by

. He refused to join

Games Animation Nickelodeon Animation Studio Inc. (also known as Nickelodeon Animation Studios or Nick Animation and credited as Nickelodeon Productions on-screen) is an American animation studio owned by Paramount Global through the Nickelodeon Group. It has c ...

in support of Kricfalusi (and his job not being impacted by the harsh working conditions in the studio), where

Bob Camp Robert Frank Camp (born February 7, 1956) is an American animator, writer, cartoonist, comic book artist, storyboard artist, director, and producer. He is best known for founding Spümcø and his work for developing and serving as a showrunner ...

and a group of alumni had migrated to continue production of the series. He had multiple unused outlines and even loose plots for the series in the hands of Games, who used most of them for new episodes in an attempt to achieve the quality of the first two seasons; Pursel noted that the episodes produced out of the unused material were ruined due to direction from individuals such as

Bill Wray William York Wray (born March 24, 1956) is an American cartoonist, animator and landscape painter widely known for his contributions to '' Mad'' and ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'',

. Pursel returned to Spümcø to write episodes for ''

The Ripping Friends ''The Ripping Friends: The World's Most Manly Men!'' (also known as ''The Ripping Friends'') is an animated television series created by John Kricfalusi, creator of ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'' on Nickelodeon. The series aired for one season on Fox ...

'' and ''

Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon" ''Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon"'' is an American adult animated comedy television series created by John Kricfalusi and produced by Spümcø for TNN / Spike TV. The series was developed as a more extreme revamp and spin-off of Nickelodeon ...

'' for

Spike TV Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel and the flagship property of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global, who operates it through the MTV Entertainment Group. The network's headquarters are locate ...

in 2003, calling the latter experience to be the worst work experience in his career due to his deteriorating relations with Kricfalusi; Kricfalusi would not talk to him and constantly added unnecessary

shock value Shock value (or shock factor) is the potential of an image, text, action, or other form of communication, such as a public execution, to provoke a reaction of sharp disgust, shock, anger, fear, or similar negative emotions. In advertising Sho ...

into his outlines, ruining the stories as Games had done. He swore off ever working with Kricfalusi again. Pursel would be hired by

Nickelodeon Animation Studio Nickelodeon Animation Studio Inc. (also known as Nickelodeon Animation Studios or Nick Animation and credited as Nickelodeon Productions on-screen) is an American animation studio owned by Paramount Global through the Nickelodeon Group. It has c ...

in 2005, the very studio he refused to join, to work on ''

'', where former co-worker

Vincent Waller Vincent Paul Waller (born September 30, 1960) is an American animator, storyboard artist, writer, and technical director. He has worked on several animated television shows and movies, the most notable of which being ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'' an ...

served as technical director and later showrunner, amongst miscellaneous work he would do for other students. He introduced Matt Wayne to animation during this period, with both working at Warner Bros. Animation at some point. Pursel had also contributed to ''SpongeBob'' comic books.

Filmography

Writer

*1992–1993: ''

'' – 4 episodes *1993: ''

2 Stupid Dogs ''2 Stupid Dogs'' is an American animated television series created by Donovan Cook and produced by Hanna-Barbera Cartoons for on TBS. It originally ran from September 5, 1993 to February 13, 1995, as part of TBS's ''Sunday Morning in Front ...

'' – 5 episodes *1997: ''

I Am Weasel ''I Am Weasel'' is an American animated television series created by David Feiss for Cartoon Network. It is the fourth of the network's Cartoon Cartoons and the final to be produced solely by Hanna-Barbera and Cartoon Network Studios. The series ...

'' – 4 episodes *1999: ''

Weekend Pussy Hunt ''Weekend Pussy Hunt'' is an animated web series in film noir style, created by John Kricfalusi, starring Dirty Dog and Cigarettes the Cat. The series was initially developed for MSN, which billed it as "the world's first interactive web-based ca ...

'' *1999: ''

The New Woody Woodpecker Show ''The New Woody Woodpecker Show'' (titled on-screen as ''The Woody Woodpecker Show'') is an American animated comedy television series based on the animated short film series created by cartoonist and animator Walter Lantz. It was co-developed ...

'' – 4 episodes *2000: ''

Poochini ''Poochini'' (also known as ''Poochini's Yard'') is an animated television series which was originally aired worldwide on February 2, 2000, but it did not air in the United States until September 7, 2002. The series follows the life of a grey bl ...

'' *2001–2002: ''

'' – 13 episodes *2003: ''

'' – 8 episodes *2005: ''

Robotboy ''Robotboy'' is an animated television series that aired from 1 November 2005 to 27 September 2008 on Cartoon Network (British and Irish TV channel), Cartoon Network in the UK. In the United States, it aired on Cartoon Network, premiering on 14 ...

'' – 5 episodes *2006: ''

Tom and Jerry Tales ''Tom and Jerry Tales'' is an American Animated series, animated television series featuring the cat-and-mouse duo Tom and Jerry. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation and Turner Entertainment Co., it is the seventh installment in the ''Tom and Jer ...

'' – 14 episodes *2007–2012, 2016–2017, 2021: ''

'' – Staff Writer *2009: ''

The Mighty B! ''The Mighty B!'' (stylized in all caps) is an American animated television series created by Amy Poehler, Cynthia True, and Erik Wiese for Nickelodeon. The series centers on Bessie Higgenbottom, an ambitious Honeybee girl scout who believes ...

'' – 1 episode *2011: ''

The Super Hero Squad Show ''The Super Hero Squad Show'' is an American superhero animated series produced by Marvel Animation that aired from 2009 to 2011. It is based on the Hasbro toyline " Marvel Super Hero Squad", which portrays the Avengers, the X-Men, and various ...

'' – 1 episode *2012–2014: '' Ben 10: Omniverse'' – 2 episodes *2014: ''

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white ...

'' – 2 episodes *2015: '' Wabbit'' – 2 episodes *2016: '' Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh'' – 2 episodes

Screenwriter

*2015: ''

Selección Canina ''K9 World Cup'' (Spanish: ''Selección Canina'') is a Mexican CGI sports comedy film, produced by Vero Arceo and Ricardo Arnaiz and directed by Nathan Sifuentes and Carlos Pimentel. The film is produced by Animex Producciones (under its Nahuala ...

''Selección Canina - Cinepolis
/ref> *2016: '' El Americano: The Movie''

Story

*1992–1993, 1995: ''

'' – 11 episodes *1997: ''

The Goddamn George Liquor Program ''The Goddamn George Liquor Program'' is a 1997 Adobe Flash animated web series created by John Kricfalusi and starring the animated character George Liquor. It was originally developed as a web-based cartoon by Microsoft's then-new MSN, in par ...

'' – 1 episode *1997: ''

'' – 13 episodes *1997–1998: ''

Cow and Chicken ''Cow and Chicken'' is an American animated comedy television series created by David Feiss for Cartoon Network. It is the third of the network's Cartoon Cartoons. It follows the surreal adventures of two talking animal siblings, Cow and Chic ...

'' – 7 episodes *1999: ''

'' – 1 episode *2003: ''

'' – 4 episodes *2006: ''

'' – 4 episodes *2016: '' Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh'' – 2 episodes *2016–2019: ''

Mighty Magiswords ''Mighty Magiswords'' (stylized as ''Mighty MagiSwords'') is an American animated television series created by Kyle A. Carrozza for Cartoon Network Video as the network's first online original series. The web shorts officially premiered onlin ...

'' – 47 episodes *2020–2021: ''

The Mighty Ones ''The Mighty Ones'' is an American animated fantasy comedy television series produced by DreamWorks Animation Television and created by Sunil Hall and Lynne Naylor, which premiered on November 9, 2020, on Peacock and Hulu, and ran until December ...

'' - 2 episodes

Storyboard artist

*1992: ''

'' – 1 episode *1997: ''

'' – 1 episode *2003: ''

'' – 1 episode

Bibliography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pursel, Richard 1964 births Living people 20th-century American male artists 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male artists 21st-century American male writers American male television writers American television writers American storyboard artists Spümcø People from Milford, Michigan Screenwriters from Michigan