"Robin Höek" is the third episode of the first season of ''

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 ...

''. It originally aired 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 ...

in the United States on August 25, 1991. This episode is the first in a short-lived series of episodes called ''Stimpy's Storybook Land'', which parody

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...

Plot

In the present,

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

pray before bed. Stimpy prays for his family's and Ren's goodwill while Ren wishes for $1 million,

pectoral muscles Pectoral muscles (colloquially referred to as "pecs") are the muscles that connect the front of the human chest with the bones of the upper arm and shoulder. This region contains four muscles that provide movements to the upper limbs or ribs. P ...

and a locked

refrigerator A refrigerator, commonly shortened to fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermal insulation, thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to ...

. Ren buttons Stimpy's pajamas near his

buttocks The buttocks (: buttock) are two rounded portions of the exterior anatomy of most mammals, located on the posterior of the pelvic region. In humans, the buttocks are located between the lower back and the perineum. They are composed of a lay ...

and both go to sleep. At the middle of the night, Ren is awaken by Stimpy, who wants him to read a

bedtime story A bedtime story is a traditional form of storytelling, where a story is told to a child at bedtime to prepare the child for sleep. The bedtime story has long been considered "a definite institution in many families".Dickson, Marguerite Stockm ...

. Annoyed, Ren tells him to read it himself. Stimpy reaches for his storybook, hidden in his litter box and reads the story of Robin Höek, a parody of

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...

. Robin Höek was a brave hero who wears a green

leotard A leotard () is a unisex skin-tight one-piece garment that covers the torso from the crotch to the shoulder. The garment was made famous by the French acrobatic performer Jules Léotard (1838–1870). There are sleeveless, short-sleeved, and l ...

. He is described as the greatest archer of the lands, but due to Stimpy's inability to understand the story, he is shown shooting a

watermelon The watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Cucurbitaceae, that has a large, edible fruit. It is a Glossary of botanical terms#scandent, scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, and is plant breeding ...

and

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...

straight up. The watermelon lands on Robin's face, but the chicken turns into a

moose The moose (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...

and flattens him. Robin is accompanied by a group of equally eccentric friends. Robin has a crush on Maid Moron, an unattractive woman. All are portrayed by Stimpy and revealed to be actually him in different costumes, forcing him to commute frequently to fill different roles. Robin and his right-hand man Will Trunchin spend their days stealing from the rich and giving money to the poor, which was confused by Stimpy to have been

cheerleaders Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ent ...

and the

criminally insane The insanity defense, also known as the mental disorder defense, is an affirmative defense by excuse in a criminal case, arguing that the defendant is not responsible for their actions due to a psychiatric disease at the time of the criminal act ...

. On one occasion, Will steals the

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...

of a

cow Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are called co ...

owned by a rich

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 ...

and his wife they were stealing from. Maid Moron is being held hostage by an evil

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

(portrayed by

George Liquor George Liquor (often taking his epithet as George Liquor, American) is a cartoon character created by John Kricfalusi. Liquor is most famous for his appearances on ''The Ren & Stimpy Show''. He is considered Kricfalusi's signature character an ...

). Ren tries to swim across the seemingly harmless

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

, only to find that the Sheriff had added blood-thirsty

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

s, who attack him ferociously. Ren emerges unharmed and reaches Moron, who releases a long strand of nasal hair for Ren to climb ''à la''

Rapunzel "Rapunzel" ( ; ; or ) is a German fairy tale most notably recorded by the Brothers Grimm and it was published in 1812 as part of '' Children's and Household Tales'' (KHM 12). The Grimms' story was developed from the French literary fairy tale ...

. Robin was sucked into Moron's nose, speeding up the climb, and the duo are reunited, only for the Sheriff to appear. Robin attempts to defend himself with a

turkey baster Basting a turkey with a turkey baster Basting is a cooking technique that involves cooking meat with either its own juices or some type of preparation such as a sauce or marinade, such as barbecue. The meat is left to cook, then periodically coa ...

(he had lost his

dagger A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually one or two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a cutting or stabbing, thrusting weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or ...

in the moat), with the juice inside incapacitating the Sheriff, who admits defeat and lets Moron go. Robin and Moron marry, and Ren wakes up just as Robin is about to kiss the bride, only to realize that they had actually married unconsciously; Ren faints at this realization, ending the episode. An

advertisement Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

for powdered toast airs midway in the episode, with

Powdered Toast Man Over its five seasons, ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'' featured a varied cast of characters, some who appeared in as few as one episode, and some who were practically regulars. Ren and Stimpy Ren Höek Ren Hoëk (voiced by John Kricfalusi in Seas ...

making his first appearance as the product's mascot. Ren and Stimpy eat powdered toast on toast, which they do not find delicious until Powdered Toast Man farts on it.

Cast

* Ren – voice of

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 ...

* Stimpy – voice of

Billy West William Richard Werstine (born 1952), known professionally as Billy West, is an American voice actor, comedian, radio personality, impressionist and musician. His voice roles include Bugs Bunny in the 1996 film ''Space Jam'', the title characte ...

* George Liquor – voice of Harris Peet * Eyeballs – voice of Henry Porch

Production

Jim Smith drew the backgrounds for both of ''Stimpy's Storybook Land'' stories based on the work of N. C. Wyeth, which provided a strong atmosphere for "Robin Höek". The episode saw the first appearance of the

character despite the reservations of the show's producer,

Vanessa Coffey Vanessa Coffey is an American television producer and co-founder of the Nickelodeon Animation Studio best known for her work on '' Rugrats'', ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'', '' Doug'', and '' Rocko's Modern Life''. Coffey has won two Daytime Emmy Aw ...

, who made it clear that she disapproved of the character. Liquor was the favorite of the showrunner,

, who insisted on including the character into ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'' over the opposition of Coffey, despite his extremely minor presence in the show. Kricfalusi complained that the mostly female network executives at Nickelodeon were opposed to his creation as he stated: "It's purely that a bunch of politically correct women see George Liquor – the ultimate, caricatured right-wing character – and they hate him".

Reception

American journalist Thad Komorowski gave the episode two and a half out of five stars, writing that the backgrounds drawn by Smith were the "only redeeming quality" to the cartoon, with the jokes painfully unfunny and the story telegraphed in advance for the audience.

Books

* *

References

{{The Ren & Stimpy Show 1991 American television episodes Cross-dressing in television Fairy tale parodies Robin Hood parodies Television episodes about dreams Television episodes about same-sex weddings The Ren & Stimpy Show episodes 1991 LGBTQ-related television episodes