John Kricfalusi (Johnsonverse)

Michael John Kricfalusi (/ˌkrɪsfəˈluːsi/; born September 9, 1955), known professionally as John K., is a Canadian animator, voice actor, music video director, blogger, and illustrator. He is best known for creating the Nicktoon The Ren & Stimpy Show. From 1989 to 1992 and since its 2019 revival, 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.

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. 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 coined "CalArts style", a pejorative used for a widespread 2010s cartoon aesthetic.