John Kricfalusi

From Hanna-Barbera Wiki
Jump to navigationJump to search
WARNING!
This article contains content that may not be seen as age appropriate or upsetting for some readers.
It may contain inappropriate humor and references to toxic behavior towards individuals such as minors. Reader discretion is advised.


John Kricfalusi
John K.png
Born Michael John Kricfalusi
September 9, 1955
Chicoutimi, Quebec
Nationality Canadian
Years active at Hanna-Barbera 1981-1986
Years active at Filmation 1979-1982

Michael John Kricfalusi, better known professionally as John K., is a Canadian animator and illustrator, known for his involvement with Hanna-Barbera in the 1980s.

He would later go on to co-found the animation studio Spümcø, and create The Ren and Stimpy Show for Nickelodeon, which was highly influential on televised animation during the 1990s. He was virtually involved in the show's first two seasons – overseeing production of episodes and providing the voices for Ren Höek and other characters – until he was fired as a result of creative differences and his failure to meet production deadlines; it continued for three additional seasons without his involvement. After this, he would be involved in directing and producing 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.

In the early 2000s, he created The Ripping Friends television series, the adult animation spin-off Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon", and three Yogi Bear-centric shorts for Cartoon Network: "Boo Boo and the Man", "A Day in the Life of Ranger Smith", and "Boo Boo Runs Wild". He also created two parody shorts based on The Jetsons, "Father & Son Day" and "The Best Son". Since 2006, Kricfalusi has maintained a personal blog dedicated to cartoons and animation.

In 2018, Kricfalusi was accused by two former Spümcø artists for sexually harassing and grooming them in the late 1990s, when they were teenagers.[1] He apologized for his previous actions, citing his mental health and "poor impulse control". He has since declared his withdrawal in 2020 from the professional animation industry.[2]

Crew credits

Behind the scenes

  • Kricfalusi had pitched The Jetstones to Hanna-Barbera in the 1980s, which combined The Flintstones and The Jetsons. It was about the future of cavemen, but it was rejected on the basis that "People can't ride rockets made of rock". While John K. was working for Ralph Bakshi on Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures, he tasked John K. and other writers to write non-Mighty Mouse cartoons between the first and second seasons, with John K. writing a short idea for The Jetstones. John K. had left by the time the second season officially began, but his idea was used in an episode called "Don't Touch That Dial."[3]

References

  1. ^ Lange, Ariane, (March 29, 2018). "The Disturbing Secret Behind An Iconic Cartoon: Underage Sexual Abuse". Buzfeed News
  2. ^ Ron Cicero, Kimo Easterwood (Directors) (2020). Happy Happy Joy Joy: The Ren and Stimpy Story (Documentary).
  3. ^ K., John (November 2, 2007). "From the Jetstones To Mighty Mouse". John K Stuff. Retrieved May 1, 2023.

External link (if you dare...)

  • John K Stuff - a personal blog where he mostly discusses classic animation (in a sort-of Boomer kind of way...)