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 Höek

Ren Höek is a scrawny 17 year-old "Asthma-Hound" Chihuahua with a fairly long, rat-like, pink tail (which constantly disappears) and tan fur. Martin "Dr. Toon" Goodman of Animation World Magazine described Ren as "scrawny," "dyspeptic," and "violently psychotic." On some occasions Ren "lost his mind" in a "cumulative process," resulting in Ren becoming, in Goodman's words, a "screaming klaxon, neon-pink eyes dilating into twin novae inches above his jagged, monolithic teeth." Andy Meisler of The New York Times described Ren as "adventurous," "intelligent," and "emotionally brittle."

Kricfalusi originally voiced Ren in a manner that he describes as "a bad imitation of Peter Lorre." Billy West said that he auditioned to play Ren; the creators of the series believed that having West voice Ren and Stimpy would give him too large of a workload. West voiced Ren after Nickelodeon fired Kricfalusi; Kricfalusi would return for the Spike TV episodes and unaired episodes of The Ren and Stimpy Show. In the pilot, Pierre Decelles provided Ren's signature diabolical laughter, while West performed Ren's maniacal laugh in the series.

Kricfalusi complained about Nickelodeon executives requesting for Ren to have "a softer side."

Bill Wray said that Ren was his favorite character to write for; Wray described Ren as "fun" because "you can make him mean." In 1993 he added that "It drives me crazy when I tell people I work on the show and they always say, "Make Ren meaner."

Stimpson "Stimpy" J. Cat

Stimpson "Stimpy" J. Cat is a 18-year-old fat, red and white Manx cat with a large, blue nose, purple eyelids, no tail, white gloves with fingernails on them, a human-style buttocks, flat feet

Flat feet

Flat feet is a formal reference to a medical condition in which the arch of the foot collapses, with the entire sole of the foot coming into complete or near-complete contact with the ground...

 and a brain the size of a peanut (despite some intelligence, such as cooking and inventing; he is also The main Anatagonist of the show ). Martin "Dr. Toon" Goodman of Animation World Magazine described Stimpy as "obese" and "brain-damaged". Andy Meisler of The New York Times

The New York Times

The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

described Stimpy as "bosom", "barrel-chested" and "good-natured".

Stimpy's trademark facial expression is a blissfully ignorant smile with his tongue flopping out. Most of the time when he gets excited, he says his famous catchphrase, "Oh, joy!" or simply "Jooooooy". He also has a strong attachment to his "first material possession" which is a litter box

Litter box

A litter box, sometimes called a sandbox, sand box, litter tray, litter pan, dirt box, catbox, or cat box, is an indoor feces and urine disposal box for cats that are permitted free roam of a home but who cannot or do not always go outside...

 (given to him in the pilot episode) and even though Ren destroys it (by bashing it on his head in "Fire Dogs" or dumping it in acid in "Ren's Bitter Half"), Stimpy always reacts strongly to it by crying, panicking or fainting, though it always appears again in some later episode. Stimpy is named after an art school classmate of Kricfalusi, whose nickname was "Stimpy Cadogen" ("Killer Cadogen" was Stimpy's pseudonym in several episodes, and in a few others he is referred to as Stimpleton Cadogen). West said that he based Stimpy's voice on a "sped up" Larry Fine

Larry Fine

Louis Feinberg , known professionally as Larry Fine, was an American comedian and actor, who is best known as a member of the comedy act The Three Stooges.-Early life:...

 of The Three Stooges. West described Stimpy as one of his favorite characters. Eric Bauza voiced Stimpy in the Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon".

Stimpy likes to create destructive electronic devices and feels a fixation for "sensory pleasures of fresh kitty litter".

Wray described Stimpy as his favorite character to draw. Wray said that Stimpy has "a huge range of emotion".

West said in an interview that he did not wish to voice Stimpy in the Adult Party Cartoon because he believed that the series had no humor and that voicing Stimpy in it would damage his career.

Mr. Horse

Mr. Horse was one of the most popular characters, appearing in many episodes in a wide variety of non-continuous roles. Mr. Horse has variously been a victim of a fall from a skyscraper, a GI returning from war in love with a sheep, a dog-show judge, a neighbor hiding a dark past, and a tester for Gritty Kitty cat litter. He has also been portrayed as a psychiatrist.

Mr. Horse is anthropomorphic, similar to the title characters - he is physically a full-sized male horse, but he usually stands on two legs and speaks. Mr. Horse is typically depicted as a straight-talking, thoughtful and serious character. He can also be cynical and disgruntled, and on occasion is merely a horse. His catchphrase was "No Sir, I don't like it." He in fact did say other things in response to Stimpy in the Pretty Kitty Litter Commercial. Horse was voiced by John Kricfalusi originally. After Kricfalusi's departure from the show, Mr. Horse was voiced by Billy West.

Appearances

• Mr. Horse first appeared in the episode "Stimpy's Big Day/The Big Shot" as a tester for Gritty Kitty Litter, a brand of kitty litter endorsed by Stimpy. Mr. Horse greatly prefers Gritty Kitty over the other leading brand, proving that Gritty Kitty could stand up to use by a horse.
• He next showed up in "Fire Dogs", as part of a heavy-set woman's animal menagerie that needed saving; when she dropped him out of her high-rise apartment window, Ren and Stimpy attempted to catch him with a lifesaving net. Due to his size, Mr. Horse's fall was not softened by the net and both his legs were broken. He dragged himself away (to the tune "When Johnny Comes Marching Home") and was then interviewed by a reporter. When asked about his feelings on the fall, Mr. Horse thought long and hard about it, then uttered his famous catch-phrase, "No, sir, I didn't like it", and continued to drag himself along.
• Mr. Horse had a brief cameo in "Svën Höek". Upon depositing a quarter in a slot in the living room wall, Stimpy is treated to a powerful leg kick from Mr. Horse to his head that sends him careening across the room.
• In "Rubber Nipple Salesmen", Mr. Horse was one of the prospective customers Ren and Stimpy spoke to while selling the titular products door to door. Mr. Horse was shown breaking character here - his usual straightforward, stern demeanor was replaced by a nervous, panicky paranoia, and he alluded to hiding a dark past . He was seen wearing pants, gloves and a cap made of rubber, and was afraid that the FBI had sent Ren and Stimpy to find him. It appeared that he had a walrus captive with him, as the walrus whispered "call the police" to the salesmen.
• In "The Great Outdoors", when Ren eats a meat pill without adding water first as Stimpy advised, it takes the effect of Mr. Horse growing inside of him, which stretches Ren's body and Mr. Horse's shape is seen. Mr. Horse then turns to the camera and once again says "No, sir, I don't like it".
• Mr. Horse was featured in two shorts at the beginning and end of the episode "A Visit to Anthony". In the first, he plays a GI (at the rank of Private E-2) returning from an unspecified war. He is interviewed by Ren Hoëk, Ace Reporter, who asks him a series of questions about the war. When asked by the reporter if the sheep in his arms is his fiancée, Mr. Horse snaps back, "No, man, it's my sheep!"
• In the second, he plays the spokesman for the United Nations, with Ren sitting beside him. This highlights the complete lack of continuity between any Mr. Horse roles. The entire short is a set-up for him to say his catchphrase, but instead he says "Cockroaches check in, but they don't check out" in Spanish, which Ren, who turns out to be his translator, repeats as "No, sir, he doesn't like it".
• In "Out West", Mr. Horse appears as the horse of Abner and Ewalt when Ren and Stimpy travel out west. Abner and Ewalt are seeking horse thieves to hang, so they convince the pair to steal their horse. However, indicating that he's been stolen many times before, Mr. Horse grumbles about the "old steal-the-horse bit again" when the pair mount him and trudges on two legs (with Ren and Stimpy still on his back) to Abner and Ewalt, where he must carefully remind them he is stolen, and therefore the dog and cat duo are horse thieves.
• In "Dog Show", Mr. Horse appears as the pre-judge in the contest, that is, the judge who decides which dogs are unworthy of even entering the competition. Any animal deemed unworthy is rejected and thrown as a repast to a massive sleeping bull-dog. Stimpy is nearly given such a fate for having too smooth of a butt until George Liquor aggressively insists he be let through.
• In "Jerry The Belly Button Elf", Mr. Horse shows up as a party guest. He and the other party guests arrive at Ren and Stimpy's place after Stimpy's whole body is sucked inward from constantly fiddling with his belly button, after Ren repeatedly warned him not to do so.
• In "Insomniac Ren", Mr. Horse shows up to Ren and Stimpy's place as Ren's golfing buddy, as well as Muddy Mudskipper and Haggis McHaggis. But Ren still has a hard time falling asleep by dawn and he offers Mr. Horse, Muddy, Haggis and Stimpy five bucks each to help him get some shut-eye. They then proceed to flog him with their golf clubs behind a closed door. In lieu of falling asleep, Ren ends up unconscious or comatose, as Stimpy shushes to the audience for much quietness and mentions when he, and the other golfers leave.
• In "Space Dogged", a medium-sized framed picture of Mr. Horse is seen among the items that Stimpski (a Russian version of Stimpy) tosses into the fireplace inside a space capsule to provide more fuel when it begins to falter.
• In "Dinner Party", Mr. Horse is among the guests at a party in a mansion. Prior to that, he's seen throwing darts when Stimpy visits him for an invite and at one point Mr. Horse throws a dart that gets embedded in Stimpy's forehead.
• In "Terminal Stimpy", Mr. Horse appears as a pilot coming out of an airplane's restroom saying "Man, these airplane foods really go through ya", succeeding a scene of an airplane part that fell off, through the roof and into a basement where it lands on Stimpy, as he's killed for the eighth time and after being seen lighting a match in front of a furnace.
• Mr. Horse returns in two Adult Party Cartoon episodes, appearing in major roles as a psychiatrist, whom upon declaring Ren insane is promptly beaten to death by him with the butt of his gun in "Ren Seeks Help" and a doctor in "Stimpy's Pregnant".

Powdered Toast Man

Powdered Toast Man is a melodramatic and oblivious superhero of sorts and spokesperson for Powdered Toast, the breakfast treat that "tastes just like sawdust". He was based on a Frank Zappa

Frank Zappa

Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...

-inspired character called Studebacher Hoch, from the song "Billy The Mountain." Powdered Toast Man appeared in various Powdered Toast commercials within The Ren & Stimpy Show, and starred in two episodes of the show: "Powdered Toast Man vs. Waffle Woman" and "Powdered Toast Man" (which had a guest appearance by Frank Zappa

Frank Zappa

Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...

 as the Pope). Oddly, Powdered Toast doesn't taste right unless Powdered Toast Man farts on it before it is consumed.

He possesses traditional superpowers (such as the ability to fly) and some decidedly non-traditional ones (e.g. flatulence, the ability to scrape toast shavings from his head). He can fly by launching himself from a toaster, or dispensing a healthy amount of flatulence. He can fly backwards, or at an angle. His catch phrase is "Leave everything to me!" Powdered Toast Man hides his true identity behind the guise of Pastor Toastman, a "cool" youth deacon. His call to action is the shouting of his name, with significant stress on the "man."

Powdered Toast Man's voice was provided by voice actor and disc jockey Gary Owens

Gary Owens

Gary Owens is an American disc jockey and voice actor. His polished baritone speaking voice generally offers deadpan recitations of total nonsense, which he frequently demonstrated as the announcer on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. Owens is equally proficient in straight or silly assignments and is...

. The act of Powdered Toast Man shouting his name is a reference to how some of Gary Owens' superhero characters like Birdman and Space Ghost would often call out their names.

Although usually voiced by Owens, according to IMDb, Darrin J. Sargent (a regular player in the first season) voiced Powdered Toast Man in the first commercial, at the beginning of Robin Höek/Nurse Stimpy.

Powers and abilities

Powdered Toast Man is endowed with various abilities and, like many superheroes, has a mysterious background and an alter ego.

Powdered Toast Man can fly, either by releasing flatulence, by inserting his head into a special toaster and launching from it, or merely by pushing off from the ground. Importantly, he flies backwards. He can also hover in mid-air. His powers include some offensive weapons: high-velocity raisins shot from his mouth, hyper-corrosive croutons fired from his armpit, butter pats that are launched from the top of his head, and hyper-acidic marmalade from his navel. There are several signals that alert Powdered Toast Man to danger — his tongue phone, the inflation of his briefs, the dissipation of the toast particles in his head, or the reading of emergency messages encoded in slices of olive loaf.

He is apparently made entirely of Powdered Toast, as he can produce fully formed Powdered Toast by flicking his wrist or by separating his head (which is made of two pieces of toast) and scraping the interior with a butter knife. His head is therefore depicted as being made of two identical pieces of toast, each complete with a face.

By day, Powdered Toast Man is Pastor Toastman, a "cool youth deacon". His disguise is composed of a pair of thick black spectacles and a pastor's collar, a possible parody of Superman's thinly disguised alter ego, Clark Kent. Pastor Toastman's office also serves as his headquarters, and he is served by a lovely young female assistant named "Catholic High School Girl" and it is strongly suggested that the two have a romantic relationship.

Accomplishments

Most of Powdered Toast Man's accomplishments are dubious and pyrrhic - if he ever succeeds it is usually accidentally, and at the cost of unintentionally inflicting havoc on someone else. Additionally, he fights for the sake of Ignorance and Prejudice.

• He saves a kitten from being run over, at the cost of an airliner (which he shot down), and a truck (which was flattened by the airliner). It appears no one is killed in the crash, as the occupants of the plane seem cheerful and happy to see Powdered Toast Man despite their wounds. Responding to another mission, he throws the kitten offscreen, where it is presumably run over by another vehicle (we hear the screech of tires and then a crash),
• He fights Spider-Man once, after being turned evil by the evil Dr. Dough-naught, and Spider-Man gets Powdered Toast Man working for good again, by using milk which stops PTM being crunchy. This adventure appears in the licensed comic book published by Marvel Comics.
• He saves the pope (voiced by Frank Zappa) from the clutches of Muddy Mudskipper. Why or how Muddy kidnapped the pope is unclear, but it is clear that after Powdered Toast Man frees the pope from the barrel of TNT he was strapped to, he places Muddy there in his stead and ties him up.
• When the President of the United States
  President of the United States
  The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
  
   accidentally gets his private parts caught in his own pants zipper, Powdered Toast Man frees him - in a very painful way. Though grateful, the President is incapacitated, and Powdered Toast Man steps in as Commander-in-Chief. While in office (having somehow avoided the entire line-in-wait
  United States presidential line of succession
  The United States presidential line of succession defines who may become or act as President of the United States upon the incapacity, death, resignation, or removal from office of a sitting president or a president-elect.- Current order :This is a list of the current presidential line of...
  
   to fill in for the Chief Executive), he heats the Oval Office
  Oval Office
  The Oval Office, located in the West Wing of the White House, is the official office of the President of the United States.The room features three large south-facing windows behind the president's desk, and a fireplace at the north end...
  
   with some dusty old papers, which include the Bill of Rights
  Bill of rights
  A bill of rights is a list of the most important rights of the citizens of a country. The purpose of these bills is to protect those rights against infringement. The term "bill of rights" originates from England, where it referred to the Bill of Rights 1689. Bills of rights may be entrenched or...
  
   and the Constitution. (The scene where he tosses the documents into the fire is cut on Nickelodeon).
• Powdered Toast Man responded on numerous occasions to the plight of Ren and Stimpy when the dog and cat duo had run out of Powdered Toast, producing more for them with a flick of his wrist or a scrape of his head. It is implied that this is the usual method that Ren and Stimpy get Powdered Toast when they run out, because it doesn't "taste right" unless Powdered Toast Man exits with his traditional passing of gas.
• He is also a very popular figure with children. Responding to a request from sickly "Little Johnny" about being able to meet the President, he actually manages to bring the President to him. In trying to get to Little Johnny on time before his nap, the President was vaporized by the massive speed of Powdered Toast Man. He also managed to save the child out of the hands of his apparent archnemesis "Waffle Woman", at the cost of destroying most of the Earth. On one occasion, in a Powdered Toast commercial, he encounters a little boy and a girl who are flying, and reminds them that "children can't fly". The children panic and go plummeting and Powdered Toast Man saves them at the last second.
• When carrying passengers on his backside, he asks them, "Are you clinging tenaciously to my buttocks?" before flying off.

Powdered Toast

The product named after Powdered Toast Man (or vice versa) is true to its name — toast in powder form. Why anyone would want to eat powdered toast is unknown — after eating some, one character notes how "it tastes just like sawdust." Further throwing doubt as to its appeal, toast is usually served warm, but powdered toast is room temperature.

Powdered Toast comes in a can with an aerated top, allowing the toast to be "sprinkled" out in a manner similar to that of shredded Parmesan cheese. Amazingly, the powder somehow comes together, forming a piece of toast that can be consumed. Perhaps itself a commentary on the obsession of American culture with quickly prepared pre-made foods, it seems to take more time to "make" a piece of cold, sawdust-tasting Powdered Toast than it would to toast a piece of bread.

Powdered Toast is never seen being consumed with butter, jam, or cream cheese, possibly because the fragile nature of the toast could not support such spreads. Though it's "jam-packed with Vitamin F," Powdered Toast doesn't make children smarter.

In the first commercial, at the beginning of Robin Höek/Nurse Stimpy, Ren asks Stimpy, "Isn't he wonderful?" Stimpy then says, "Why, He's TOAST-A-RIFIC!"

Muddy Mudskipper

Muddy Mudskipper is a mudskipper

Mudskipper

Mudskippers are members of the subfamily Oxudercinae , within the family Gobiidae . They are completely amphibious fish, fish that can use their pectoral fins to walk on land...

 (a species of fish capable of crawling out of water and breathing air directly) with the voice and personality of a grizzled vaudeville

Vaudeville

Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...

 comedian who hosts an afternoon kids' show.

Muddy is an archetype

Archetype

An archetype is a universally understood symbol or term or pattern of behavior, a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated...

 — the old, jaded comedian who is outstanding at being "on" when on stage but sour and dissatisfied off-stage. There are certain parallels between Muddy and Krusty the Clown from The Simpsons — both have television shows that may or may not be for children, both shower their co-stars with abuse, and behind the scenes they are less than pleasant to be around. He calls everyone he meets "a lousy bum".

Besides being a huge television star, Muddy has dabbled in villainy, at one point kidnapping the Pope (voiced by Frank Zappa

Frank Zappa

Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...

) before being foiled by Powdered Toast Man. His name is a parody of Woody Woodpecker

Woody Woodpecker

Woody Woodpecker is an animated cartoon character, an anthropomorphic acorn woodpecker who appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz animation studio and distributed by Universal Pictures...

. He is voiced by Harris Peet.

The show's theme song (written by John Kricfalusi, Bob Camp & Charlie Brissette) plays up Muddy's particular physical traits:

Who's the greatest mudskipper of them all?
Who can skip thru the mud with the greatest of ease?
What kind of wonderful guy?
Who can crawl like a dog without scraping his knees?
Who's got seg-ment-ed eyes?
It's Muddy Mud-Skipper!
It's Muddy!
Mud-Skipper!
It's the Muddy!
Mu-ud Ski-pper show!!!

Appearances

• In "Stimpy's Big Day/The Big Shot", Muddy is the namesake star of The Muddy Mudskipper Show. After Stimpy's epic ode to Gritty Kitty Litter lands him the co-star slot on the show, the actual cartoon is revealed to be a direct rip-off of Yogi Bear
  Yogi Bear
  Yogi Bear is a fictional bear who appears in animated cartoons created by Hanna-Barbera Productions. He made his debut in 1958 as a supporting character in The Huckleberry Hound Show. Yogi Bear was the first breakout character created by Hanna-Barbera, and was eventually more popular than...
  
  , with Stimpy as Yogi and Muddy as Ranger Smith.
• In "Powdered Toast Man", Muddy appears as a villain who has kidnapped the Pope.
• In "Royal Canadian Kilted Yaksmen" several mudskippers with the same character models as Muddy appear during the animal sing along.
• In "Insomniac Ren", Muddy, Mr. Horse and Haggis McHaggis arrive at Ren and Stimpy's place the next morning so Ren can go golfing with them. However, Ren has trouble getting rest, therefore he offers them each five dollars to knock him out literally with their golf clubs. They accept the offer, as well as Stimpy who awakes when he hears this, and they send Ren into a coma. The others then depart to go golfing without him.
• In "My Shiny Friend", Muddy Muddskipper and his own show are referenced on a t.v. And later, Stimpy, after becoming obsessed with, addicted to and finally overdosing on watching too much t.v., has a nightmare involving Muddy, who attacks him, then a giant version of Muddy chases him. In another chase scene, giant Muddy is now a huge t.v. with his mouth on the screen (or for the screen) and legs, and the nightmare ends with Stimpy falling into the t.v.'s mouth, and being eaten.
• In "Ren Needs Help", Muddy is one of the various patients at a mental institution. He and a yak (possibly one of the yaks from "The Royal Canadian Kilted Yaksmen") are there because the yak claims that Muddy constantly incites and excites him by saying the word "cheese" around him, which sends him into a frenzy each time and he rubs (and eventually wears off) his rear end with a cheese grater.
• In "Dinner Party", Muddy is among the guests at a party in a mansion. Prior to that, he's seen in prison, pulling a lever to a machine that presses license plates. When Stimpy appears and hands him an invitation card, Muddy pulls the lever once again and accidentally presses (and flattens) Stimpy's hand, and arm.
• In "Terminal Stimpy" Muddy may have been killed off for good because his car was struck by Stimpy's and he was gravely injured and asked Stimpy a few favors before passing on, his final request was to be skipped across the road into the pond nearby he ended up being struck by a bus before he could reach the pond, he was last seen stuck to the front of the bus saying "I got another favor to ask you".

Muddy's lines would also be used as archive recoding from these last three episodes for Nickelodeon 3D Movie Maker

3D Movie Maker

3D Movie Maker is a program created by Microsoft's "Microsoft Kids" subsidiary in 1995. Using this program, directors are able to place 3D characters in pre-made or custom-made environments, add actions, sound effects, music, text, and speech, and then show these movies off to friends, family,...

.

Other characters

• George Liquor, American
  George Liquor
  George Liquor , most famous for his appearances on The Ren and Stimpy Show, is a cartoon character created by John Kricfalusi and is a mascot for Kricfalusi's defunct animation studio, Spümcø. Kricfalusi portrayed George Liquor as a patriotic, outspoken, politically conservative blowhard...
  
  is an ultra-patriotic American
  United States
  The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
  
   and is so conservative
  American conservatism
  Conservatism in the United States has played an important role in American politics since the 1950s. Historian Gregory Schneider identifies several constants in American conservatism: respect for tradition, support of republicanism, preservation of "the rule of law and the Christian religion", and...
  
   that he thinks Republicans
  Republican Party (United States)
  The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
  
   are Communists. When episodes featuring him were aired on Nickelodeon, his family name
  Family name
  A family name is a type of surname and part of a person's name indicating the family to which the person belongs. The use of family names is widespread in cultures around the world...
  
   was edited out. Instead, the scene would pause and a record-scratching
  Scratching
  Scratching is a DJ or turntablist technique used to produce distinctive sounds by moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable while optionally manipulating the crossfader on a DJ mixer. While scratching is most commonly associated with hip hop music, since the late 1980s, it has been used...
  
   sound effect
  Sound effect
  For the album by The Jam, see Sound Affects.Sound effects or audio effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds, or sound processes used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media...
  
   would be played in place of the word "Liquor". He was voiced by Michael Pataki
  Michael Pataki
  Michael Pataki was an American character actor.-Early life:Pataki born in Youngstown, Ohio. He attended the University of Southern California with a double major in Political Science and Drama...
  
  , but Harris Peet voiced him in "The Boy Who Cried Rat" and "Black Hole," the episode in which he first appeared.

• Mr. and Mrs. Pipe are a pair of square, white
  White
  White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...
  
   suburb
  Suburb
  The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
  
  an parents who are seen only from the waist down. Mr. Pipe (voiced by Billy West) is typically clad in a bathrobe
  Robe
  A robe is a loose-fitting outer garment. A robe is distinguished from a cape or cloak by the fact that it usually has sleeves. The English word robe derives from Middle English robe , borrowed from Old French robe , itself taken from the Frankish word *rouba , and is related to the word rob...
  
  , slipper
  Slipper
  A slipper or houseshoe is a semi-closed type of indoor/outdoor shoe, consisting of a sole held to the wearer's foot by a strap running over the toes or instep. Slippers are soft and lightweight compared to other types of footwear. They are mostly made of soft or comforting materials that allow a...
  
  s, and black socks supported by sock-suspenders. He also loves to wear Rubber Nipples on his knees and farts at inappropriate moments. Mrs. Pipe (voiced by Cheryl Chase
  Cheryl Chase
  Cheryl Chase is an American voice actress best known as the voice of Angelica Pickles on Rugrats, All Grown Up! and Angelica and Susie's Pre-School Daze...
  
  ) appears to wear a dress and nondescript women's shoes. Their first appearance was The Boy Who Cried Rat, in which Ren and Stimpy got a job catching mice for them. In "Big Baby Scam," it seems they have two children named Eugene and Shawn.
• Abner Dimwit and Ewalt Nitwit are a pair of incredibly stupid hillbillies
  Hillbilly
  Hillbilly is a term referring to certain people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas of the United States, primarily Appalachia but also the Ozarks. Owing to its strongly stereotypical connotations, the term is frequently considered derogatory, and so is usually offensive to those Americans of...
  
   who are sheriff
  Sheriff
  A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
  
   and deputy of a small Wild West town. They have a strong proclivity for hanging
  Hanging
  Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
  
  , so much so that they eventually hang themselves in absence of a suitable hangee. When Abner and Ewalt think about something, even on the most simple solutions, the theme from Jeopardy!
  Jeopardy!
  Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
  
  plays.
• Svën Höek is Ren's Swedish cousin
  Cousin
  In kinship terminology, a cousin is a relative with whom one shares one or more common ancestors. The term is rarely used when referring to a relative in one's immediate family where there is a more specific term . The term "blood relative" can be used synonymously and establishes the existence of...
  
   whom Ren has not seen since they were in the whelping box together. Ren longs to have an intellectual conversation with his cousin, but much to his horror, Svën is even stupider than Stimpy — they even belong to the same fraternal organization
  Fraternal and service organizations
  A "fraternal organization" or "fraternity" is a brotherhood, though the term usually connotes a distinct or formal organization. Please list college fraternities and sororities at List of social fraternities and sororities.-International:...
  
  , the "Loyal Order of Stupid" — and he forms an instant bond with him. Last seen trapped in Hell
  Hell
  In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
  
  , the end result of Ren's misguided cruelty (Stimpy and Svën are playing "Don't Whiz on the Electric Fence". Ren comes home from work and sees the mess the other two have made of his possessions. In spite, Ren does the very thing the game says not to do.), but later made several reappearances in the comic book and one more appearance in the series he had a non speaking cameo in Jerry The Bellybutton Elf. Billy West voiced the character.
  • Kricfalusi took many European stereotypes and used them to form Svën. Kricfalusi said that the character parodied the stereotypes used to make Svën. Kricfalusi said that Europeans who watched the show did not feel offended by the character and liked the show.
• Wilbur Cobb is a demented, decaying old man who was once the foremost cartoon producer
  Television producer
  The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
  
   in the world. He speaks in malapropism
  Malapropism
  A malapropism is an act of misusing or the habitual misuse of similar sounding words, especially with humorous results. An example is Yogi Berra's statement: "Texas has a lot of electrical votes," rather than "electoral votes".-Etymology:...
  
  s, often body parts will fall off him as he is speaking. In the episode "Stimpy's Cartoon Show", Ren & Stimpy show Cobb their own film "I Like Pink" (with Explodey the Pup) in hopes the powerful producer will give them their big break. Voiced by Jack Carter
  Jack Carter (comedian)
  Jack Chakrin , known by his professional name of Jack Carter, is a Jewish-American comedian, actor and host. Brooklyn Born Carter had long-running comedy act similar to fellow rapid pace contemporaries Milton Berle and Morey Amsterdam...
  
  , his final appearance was in "The Last Temptation of Ren", where he was the gardener for God. Spumco originally wanted his name to be Raymond Spum but after the firing of Spumco, Games renamed him Wilbur Cobb after the story editor.
• Mrs. Buttloaves is an incredibly obese and homely woman dressed in a bulging pink night gown. Voiced by Kricfalusi and West.
• Waffle Woman is Powdered Toast Man's arch-nemesis and appears in the episode Powdered Toast Man vs. Waffle Woman.
• Haggis
  Haggis
  Haggis is a dish containing sheep's 'pluck' , minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally simmered in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours. Most modern commercial haggis is prepared in a casing rather than an actual stomach.Haggis is a kind...
  
   McHaggis: A short, bald stereotypical
  Stereotype
  A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
  
   Scotsman
  Scotland
  Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
  
  . At one point, he was a cartoon star, but low ratings forced him out into the street. Voiced by Alan Young
  Alan Young
  Alan Young is an English-Canadian actor and voice actor, best known for his role as Wilbur Post in the television series Mister Ed and as the voice of Scrooge McDuck in Disney films, TV series and video games...
  
  .
• The Fire Chief has a psychotic hatred for circus
  Circus
  A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
  
   midgets and a penchant for slamming his fire axe
  Axe
  The axe, or ax, is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood; to harvest timber; as a weapon; and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol...
  
   into concrete
  Concrete
  Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
  
   as a response to answering the door. Voiced by Peet, and later by Ralph Bakshi
  Ralph Bakshi
  Ralph Bakshi is an Israeli-American director of animated and live-action films. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions. Between 1972 and 1992, he directed nine theatrically released feature films, five of which he wrote...
  
   in the Adult Party Cartoon episode Fire Dogs 2.
• The Gilded Yak
  Yak
  The yak, Bos grunniens or Bos mutus, is a long-haired bovine found throughout the Himalayan region of south Central Asia, the Tibetan Plateau and as far north as Mongolia and Russia. In addition to a large domestic population, there is a small, vulnerable wild yak population...
  
  is the shaven icon of Yak Shaving Day. Rides through the sky in a canoe
  Canoe
  A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...
  
  ; capable of emerging and disappearing into sink and tub drains. Although he is shaven, he is on a constant vigil against getting a five o'clock shadow
  Five O'Clock Shadow
  Five O'Clock Shadow is an a cappella group from Boston, Massachusetts, that has been in existence since 1991. The band has performed on FOX News, A&E Network, ABC, ESPN and VH-1's "breakthrough" series. They have released 4 cassettes and 5 CDs, winning many Contemporary A cappella Recording...
  
  .

Both Kowalski and Bubba are of the race known as a lummox. Kowalski is possibly based on a similar character of the same name from Fredrick Forsyth's political thriller The Day of the Jackal and professional wrestler Killer Kowalski

Killer Kowalski

Władek "Killer" Kowalski was a Canadian professional wrestler. Kowalski wrestled for numerous promotions during his career, including the NWA and WWF, and was a known heel wrestler...

. Voiced by Billy West

Billy West

William Richard "Billy" West is an American voice actor. Born in Detroit but raised in the Roslindale neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, Billy launched his career in the early 1980s performing daily comedic routines on Boston's WBCN. He left the radio station to work on the short-lived revival...

.

• The Announcer Salesman (also known as "That Guy") serves as the multi-purpose loudmouth in the Ren and Stimpy show. Sometimes, he is a salesman ("Feud For Sale", "To Salve
  Salve
  A salve is a medical ointment used to soothe the head or other body surface. A popular eye medicine known as "Phrygian powder" was one of Laodicea's sources of wealth...
  
   Or Not To Salve".) Other times, he is a narrator
  Narrator
  A narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...
  
  , an announcer
  Announcer
  An announcer is a presenter who makes "announcements" in an audio medium or a physical location.-Television and other media:Some announcers work in television production , radio or filmmaking, usually providing narrations, news updates, station identification, or an introduction of a product in...
  
  , a dog-show judge, a real estate
  Real estate
  In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
  
   agent, etc. The character is never referred to by any name in the series, but the name of "Hey, It's That Guy" seems to be the official name given by West, who also voiced him. He first appeared in "Space Madness" provoking Stimpy to press the history eraser button. He bears a slight resemblance to the genie from Disney's Aladdin
  Aladdin
  Aladdin is a Middle Eastern folk tale. It is one of the tales in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights , and one of the most famous, although it was actually added to the collection by Antoine Galland ....
  
  . He had a moustache in "House of Next Tuesday".
• Stinky Wizzleteats is a character whose design and voice characterization are based on the folk balladeer Burl Ives
  Burl Ives
  Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives was an American actor, writer and folk music singer. As an actor, Ives's work included comedies, dramas, and voice work in theater, television, and motion pictures. Music critic John Rockwell said, "Ives's voice .....
  
  . He is the spirit of Yaskmas, and sings the recorded version of the "Happy Happy Joy Joy" song, occasionally digressing into furious rants ("I TOLD you I'd shoot! But you didn't believe me! WHY DIDN'T YOU BELIEVE ME?!", taken from Ives' movie The Big Country
  The Big Country
  Meanwhile, Terrill insists on riding into the canyon. Initially, Leech refuses to accompany him, and the other men follow his lead. However, after Terrill rides out alone, Leech catches up with him. The remaining hands again align themselves with Leech by following. The group soon rides into a trap...
  
  in between the chorus. He delivers sausage and pre-chewed gum to children on Yaskmas Eve, flying through the sky on a sausage cart driven by the Shaven Yak. Voiced by John Kricfalusi
  John Kricfalusi
  Michael John Kricfalusi , better known as John K., is a Canadian animator. He is creator of The Ren & Stimpy Show, its adults-only spin-off Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon", The Ripping Friends animated series, and Weekend Pussy Hunt, which was billed as "the world's first interactive web-based...
  
   (Later by Billy West
  Billy West
  William Richard "Billy" West is an American voice actor. Born in Detroit but raised in the Roslindale neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, Billy launched his career in the early 1980s performing daily comedic routines on Boston's WBCN. He left the radio station to work on the short-lived revival...
  
   and Bob Camp
  Bob Camp
  Bob Camp is a cartoonist, comic book artist, director, and producer. Camp has been nominated for two Emmys, a CableACE Award, and an Annie Award for his work on The Ren & Stimpy Show.-Career:...
  
   after Kricfalusi was fired).
• Reverend Jack Cheese is a brooding, deeply troubled intinerant preacher with the words "PITY" and "SELF PITY" tattoo
  Tattoo
  A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
  
  ed on the knuckles of his right and left hands reminiscent of Reverend Harry Powell
  Reverend Harry Powell
  Reverend Harry Powell is a fictional character in Davis Grubb's 1953 novel The Night of the Hunter. He was portrayed by Robert Mitchum in Charles Laughton's 1955 film adaptation, and by Richard Chamberlain in the 1991 made for TV remake...
  
   in the film Night of the Hunter
  The Night of the Hunter (film)
  The Night of the Hunter is a 1955 American thriller film directed by Charles Laughton and starring Robert Mitchum and Shelley Winters. The film is based on the 1953 novel of the same name by Davis Grubb, adapted for the screen by James Agee and Laughton...
  
  . He hires Ren & Stimpy to assist in his travelling minstrel show where they evangelize
  Evangelism
  Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
  
   the gospel of meat. Plays a one-stringed guitar. Voiced by Frank Gorshin
  Frank Gorshin
  Frank John Gorshin, Jr. was an American actor and comedian. He was perhaps best known as an impressionist, with many guest appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show...
  
  .
  • Slinky
    Slinky
    Slinky or "Lazy Spring" is a toy consisting of a helical spring that stretches and can bounce up and down. It can perform a number of tricks, including traveling down a flight of steps end-over-end as it stretches and re-forms itself with the aid of gravity and its own momentum.-History:The toy was...
    
     Jingle - It's Slinky, it's Slinky, for fun it's a wonderful toy/It's Slinky, it's Slinky, it's fun for a girl and a boy
  • Log parody Jingle - It's Log, Log, it's big, it's heavy, it's wood./It's Log, Log, it's better than bad, it's good!
• Jose Poo is an overweight Hispanic entrepreneur in the Adult Party Cartoon episodes. Owns a bar in "Onward and Upwards", a shop in "Naked Beach Frenzy", and makes cameos as "Mexican Elvis" and the owner of "Chunkey Butt" Ice Cream in "Altruists" and "Stimpy's Pregnant". Based on Spumco Canada artist Jose Pou.
• The Nerve Ending Fairy is a character who appears in the episode that Ren loses all his teeth, leaving his mouth full of "stinky gum holes." Stimpy, who has perfect dental hygiene, convinces Ren to pull out his nerve endings with tweezers and put them under his pillow for the Nerve Ending Fairy. As Ren and Stimpy sleep that night, out the window you can see a beautiful fairy appear, but a closer look shows that it's really a dirty old man who wiggles his toes when he says, "I smell something stiiiinky!" The Nerve Ending Fairy takes the nerve endings from under Ren's pillow and puts them on back side of his neck. He doesn't have any money, so instead gives him a ball of lint. Some people think he is Old Man Hunger yet there are obvious differences. The Nerve Ending Fairy wears a crown instead of a drumstick, Has a darker beard and smaller although he has a similar voice and does look the same despite the listed differences.
• Jasper the Dog usually appears as a white-furred, red-nosed dog with blue spots; Jasper has been in a number of episodes. His first appearance ("Big House Blues") had him calmly explaining that "you don't wake up...from the big sleep". All the rest of his appearances were random cameos ranging from him being a normal dog, to the leader of the Hermit Union, and even as the senior officer of the Royal Canadian Kilted Yaksmen.
• Victor is a huge boy with orange hair, that always wears a white collar, black tie, and sweater vest. Though he dresses sharp, he is known as the school bully, who beats up Ren and Stimpy along with a young boy named Anthony. What he would normally do to Stimpy is give him stomach punches and every time he punched him he'd say, "Happy...Happy...Joy...Joy," and would sometimes love twisting Ren's head until his neck broke. The only person who is proud of Victor is his father, who would be waiting for Victor in a station wagon
  Station wagon
  A station wagon is a body style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door , instead of a trunk lid...
  
   with a sign on the driver's door reading, "Victor's Dad". Victor's first appearance was in "A Visit to Anthony." Victor and his father made another appearance; offering an insecure Stimpy a pair of underpants if he can pass their initiation
  Initiation
  Initiation is a rite of passage ceremony marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components...
  
  . Stimpy succeeded and was given a pair of underpants by Victor's Dad, which was time for him to change after wearing them for six months. They tossed Stimpy out the station wagon and laughed, and not paying attention to the road, they drive off the cliff. Victor was voiced by Danny Cooksey
  Danny Cooksey
  Danny Cooksey is an American singer, actor and voice actor. He has been in show business since he was very young and is best remembered for playing the roles of Sam McKinney on the last years of the TV show Diff'rent Strokes and Robert "Bobby" Budnick on the Nickelodeon program, Salute Your...
  
  .
• Jimminy Lummox As his name suggests, Jimminy Lummox is of the race called lummox known throughout Ren and Stimpy (just as Kowalski is). Despite that, he serves as the manifestation of Stimpy's conscience, who, given to Ren, mercilessly punishes him after any bad deed, big or small (he smashed Ren's face in with a guitar as penance for his earlier crimes). Jimminy also sings a song spun from "When You Wish Upon a Star". He was voiced by Stan Freberg
  Stan Freberg
  Stanley Victor "Stan" Freberg is an American author, recording artist, animation voice actor, comedian, radio personality, puppeteer, and advertising creative director whose career began in 1944...
  
  
• Jerry the Bellybutton Elf is a one eyed sea green elf that dwells within the confines of Stimpy's bellybutton. When Stimpy served Lint Loaf to Jerry, the Bellybutton Elf flips out and reveals himself to be a giant porkchop-like monster named Contorno, Lord of Chaos. He was voiced by Gilbert Gottfried
  Gilbert Gottfried
  Gilbert Gottfried is an American actor, voice actor and stand-up comedian, best known for his trademark comedic persona of speaking in a loud, grating tone of voice. He has played numerous roles in film and television, perhaps most notably voicing the parrot Iago in Disney's Aladdin , and...
  
  .
• Anthony is a boy with unusually round glasses, probably noting that everyone thought he was a nerd
  Nerd
  Nerd is a derogatory slang term for an intelligent but socially awkward and obsessive person who spends time on unpopular or obscure pursuits, to the exclusion of more mainstream activities. Nerds are considered to be awkward, shy, and unattractive...
  
  . His favorite cartoon characters are Ren & Stimpy, who seem to come to his house after he writes a letter to them. Anthony's first appearance is in "A Visit to Anthony".
• Brainchild, designed by Bob Camp
  Bob Camp
  Bob Camp is a cartoonist, comic book artist, director, and producer. Camp has been nominated for two Emmys, a CableACE Award, and an Annie Award for his work on The Ren & Stimpy Show.-Career:...
  
   is a genius riding an "anuscycle." He appears in "Blazing Entrails" Brainchild inflates Stimpy so Ren could rescue his brain. Bill Mumy
  Bill Mumy
  Charles William "Bill" Mumy, Jr. is an American actor, musician, pitchman, instrumentalist, voice-over artist and a figure in the science-fiction community. He is known primarily for his work as a child television actor....
  
   voiced Brainchild.
• The Ghost He appears to be based on Droopy and his face appears to be modeled after Elmer Fudd
  Elmer Fudd
  Elmer J. Fudd/Egghead is a fictional cartoon character and one of the most famous Looney Tunes characters, and the de facto archenemy of Bugs Bunny. He has one of the more disputed origins in the Warner Bros. cartoon pantheon . His aim is to hunt Bugs, but he usually ends up seriously injuring...
  
  . Appeared in "Haunted House" trying to scare our favorite cat and dog duo, when his attempts fail he commits suicide by drinking poison and he is reborn as a heavy set African American jazz musician. He is voiced by Billy West
  Billy West
  William Richard "Billy" West is an American voice actor. Born in Detroit but raised in the Roslindale neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, Billy launched his career in the early 1980s performing daily comedic routines on Boston's WBCN. He left the radio station to work on the short-lived revival...
  
  .
• The Baboon appears in many episodes. He is very violent, aggressive, and wild. In "Stupid Sidekick Union", Ren has him replace Stimpy as his stupid sidekick, but Ren is always too afraid to hit him. When Ren does hit him, he gets mauled.
• The Dogcatcher appeared in "Big House Blues". His voice sounds a lot like the narrator of that episode. Voiced by Jim Smith
  Jim Smith (animator)
  Jim Smith, , is an American animator and musician. He worked on Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures with his long-time working partner John Kricfalusi...
  
  .
• Phil: A bulldog who gets put to sleep in "Big House Blues", although he appears in "Dog Show" later on.
• Ben and Stumpy: These were supposed to be imposters of Ren and Stimpy made by Haggis McHaggis but they became popular. They appeared in Hard Times For Haggis.
• Marvin: Haggis' overweight, dim-witted butler.
• Fly: A machoist talking fly. Whenever the fly appears it is put through physical torture by Ren.