Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi are a team of American show-creators, writers and producers of television and screenwriters.
They are best known as the co-creators of the award-winning and critically acclaimed Nickelodeon television series The Adventures of Pete & Pete . Critics[ who? ] have called this quirky and heartfelt ode to growing up "one of the best kids' shows ever".
Los Angeles Times TV critic Robert Lloyd said of the show, "By rendering the ordinary events of childhood and adolescence — staying up late, hating shop class, discovering music, ruing the end of summer — as the epic stuff of legend, the series captured the actual depth and intensity of feeling that comes with being young. Poignant without being sentimental, oddball but never merely weird, the show was made to be 'funny, sad, strange and beautiful'."
The series was also known for its music and special guest stars. Over its 39 episodes, Pete & Pete featured Michael Stipe, Iggy Pop, Debbie Harry, Steve Buscemi, Patricia Hearst and many others. In recent years,[ when? ] the show has returned to its now grown-up audience in the form of cast reunions that have played to sold-out audiences in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and Portland.[ citation needed ]
McRobb was assigned to work on Nicktoons after the success of Pete & Pete. While he worked with Jumbo Pictures on Doug effectively, his work with Spümcø on The Ren & Stimpy Show is one of the hardest times in his career. He served as a voice of reason between Nickelodeon executives and series creator John Kricfalusi, who considered him to be an obstacle in the series' creative process and viewed him more negatively than other executives like Vanessa Coffey. Nevertheless, he was highly influential in the production of the first two seasons, approving plots for critically acclaimed episodes such as "Svën Höek" and "Man's Best Friend" while writing the episode "Black Hole". Bob Camp considered him to be important to the series, providing constructive advice and improving on Kricfalusi's often overly crass ideas while receiving little to no credit for them. [1]
Currently,[ when? ] McRobb is an executive producer of two animated series for children in production for Apple TV+. Harriet the Spy is an adaptation of the coming-of-age novel about a rebellious 11-year-old girl living in New York City in the 1960s, who wants to be a spy and a writer. El Deafo is an adaptation of the Newbery Award-winning graphic novel and memoir. It is a tragicomic chronicle of a young girl who has to learn to overcome her disability when she loses her hearing at age five.
Recent[ when? ] projects include executive-producing Costume Quest , an animated children's series from Amazon which was premiered in 2018. He was also the executive producer and writer of Click, Clack, Moo: Christmas at the Farm , an animated Christmas special based on the popular Click, Clack, Moo children's book series. It premiered in December 2017. [2] From 2015 to 2017, he was one of the executive producers of Sanjay and Craig , an animated children's show for Nickelodeon.
McRobb was also a writer on the 2007 family movie Alvin and the Chipmunks .
Title | Role | Network | Premiere | Ended |
---|---|---|---|---|
The Adventures of Pete & Pete | Co-creators, executive producers, writers [3] | Nickelodeon | November 28, 1993 | December 28, 1996 |
Inside-Out Boy | Creator, writer (Will McRobb) | 1990 | 1992 | |
Doug | Story Editor (Will McRobb) | Nickelodeon/ABC | Nickelodeon series: August 11, 1991 ABC series: September 7, 1996 | Nickelodeon series: January 2, 1994 ABC series: June 26, 1999 |
The Ren & Stimpy Show | Story Editor, writer (Will McRobb) | Nickelodeon | August 11, 1991 | December 16, 1995 |
KaBlam! | Co-creators, executive producers, writers [4] | October 1, 1996 | January 22, 2000 | |
The War Next Door | Co-creators, executive producers, writers | USA Network | July 23, 2000 | September 24, 2000 |
Radio Free Roscoe | Creator (Will McRobb) | The N | August 1, 2003 | May 25, 2005 |
The Assistants | Co-creators, executive producers, writers, [5] executive producers | The N | July 10, 2009 | September 11, 2009 |
Sanjay and Craig | Executive producers, writers [6] | Nickelodeon | May 25, 2013 | July 29, 2016 |
TV movie | Television series | Role | Network | Premiere date | DVD release date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
"Battle of the Bands" | The Naked Brothers Band | Writers [7] | Nickelodeon | October 6, 2007 | September 4, 2007 |
Albert | N/A | Co-executive producers, writers | December 9, 2016 | November 14, 2017 |
Title | Role | Distributors | Premiere date |
---|---|---|---|
Snow Day | Screenwriters [5] | Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies | February 11, 2000 |
Alvin and the Chipmunks | 20th Century Fox | December 14, 2007 | |
Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging | Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies | July 25, 2008 | |
The Tale of Despereaux | Story [5] | Universal Pictures | December 19, 2008 |
The Loud House Movie | Producer Screenwriter (Chris Viscardi) | Nickelodeon Movies Netflix | August 20, 2021 |
Title | Role | Distributors | Premiere | Ended |
---|---|---|---|---|
Bravest Warriors | Developers, executive producers (seasons 1–3) | Cartoon Hangover | November 8, 2012 | December 24, 2018 |
Song | Band | Role | Notes | Premiere |
---|---|---|---|---|
Water Underground | Real Estate | Along with Michael C. Maronna ("Big" Pete Wrigley) and Danny Tamberelli ("Little" Pete Wrigley), are executive producers on the music video. | The video is a tribute to the 1990s Nickelodeon show The Adventures of Pete & Pete and features numerous references to episodes from the show as well as the actors that played "Big" Pete Wrigley, Michael C. Maronna, and "Little" Pete Wrigley, Danny Tamberelli, alongside the five current Read Estate band members. | November 27, 2023, on YouTube [8] |
The Ren & Stimpy Show, commonly referred to as simply Ren & Stimpy, is an American comedy animated television series created by John Kricfalusi and developed by Kricfalusi, Bob Camp, Jim Smith and Lynne Naylor for Nickelodeon. Originally produced by Spümcø, the series aired on Nickelodeon from August 11, 1991, to December 16, 1995, with its last episode airing on MTV on October 20, 1996, spanning for a total of five seasons and 52 episodes. The series follows the misadventures of Ren Höek, an emotionally unstable and psychotic chihuahua dog; and Stimpy, a good-natured and dimwitted Manx cat. It is the third to be aired of the original three Nickelodeon animated series known as "Nicktoons", alongside Doug and Rugrats, and is considered to be one of the progenitor series of the brand.
Spümcø, Inc. 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 Nickelodeon and for various commercials. The studio won several awards, including an Annie Award for Best Animated Short Subject for the music video of the song "I Miss You" by Björk.
Doug is an American animated sitcom created by Jim Jinkins and produced by Jumbo Pictures. It originally aired on Nickelodeon from August 11, 1991, to January 2, 1994, and on ABC from September 7, 1996, to June 26, 1999. The show focuses on the early adolescent life and zany hijinks of its title character, Douglas "Doug" Funnie, who experiences common predicaments while attending school in his new hometown of Bluffington. Doug narrates each story in his journal, and the show incorporates many imagination sequences. The series addresses numerous topics, including trying to fit in, platonic and romantic relationships, self-esteem, bullying, and rumors. Many episodes center on Doug's attempts to impress his classmate and crush, Patti Mayonnaise.
Michael John Kricfalusi, 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 was highly influential on televised animation during the 1990s. From 1989 to 1992, 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. In 2009, he won the Inkpot Award.
Nicktoons is a collective name used by Nickelodeon for their original animated series. All Nicktoons are produced partly at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio and list Nickelodeon's parent company in their copyright bylines.
Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon" is an animated television series created and directed 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's The Ren & Stimpy Show, which Spümcø produced the first two seasons. The series premiered on June 26, 2003, and was removed from the network on July 24, after airing only three episodes; the remaining episodes were released on DVD. During its run, Adult Party Cartoon was heavily panned by critics, audiences and fans of the original series. It has been referred to as one of the worst animated series of all time.
George Liquor 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 and was a mascot for Kricfalusi's defunct animation studio, Spümcø. Kricfalusi portrayed George Liquor as a patriotic, outspoken, politically conservative blowhard. Kricfalusi described Liquor as his favorite character to animate.
Vincent Paul Waller 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 and SpongeBob SquarePants.
"Stimpy's Cartoon Show" is the seventh episode of the third season of The Ren & Stimpy Show. It originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on January 8, 1994.
"Man's Best Friend" is an episode from the second season of the American animated television series The Ren & Stimpy Show. It was originally intended to air on Nickelodeon on August 22, 1992, as the second half of the second episode of Season 2, but was pulled before airing and replaced by a censored version of "Big House Blues". It eventually aired on the soft launch of Spike TV on June 23, 2003. In the episode, Ren and Stimpy learn about obedience after George Liquor takes them home with him and swears to make them "champions".
"A Visit to Anthony" is the eighteenth and penultimate episode of the second season of The Ren & Stimpy Show. It originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on May 8, 1993.
Lynne Rae Naylor is a Canadian animator, artist, designer, director, and producer for television. She is best known for co-creating DreamWorks' The Mighty Ones, co-founding the animation studio Spümcø with John Kricfalusi, Bob Camp, and Jim Smith, and co-developing The Ren & Stimpy Show for Nickelodeon. She also worked on Batman: The Animated Series, The Powerpuff Girls, Samurai Jack, Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!, Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi, My Life as a Teenage Robot, and Wander Over Yonder.
"Stimpy's Invention" is the twelfth episode and season finale of the first season of The Ren & Stimpy Show. It originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on February 23, 1992.
"Svën Höek" is the sixth episode of the second season of The Ren & Stimpy Show. It originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on November 7, 1992.
"Big House Blues" is a 1990 American animated comedy film produced by Spümcø. Originally screened at a film festival, with a censored version later airing on Nickelodeon, it was succeeded by The Ren & Stimpy Show on the network, to which it serves as a pilot episode.
"Space Madness" is the fifth episode of the first season of The Ren & Stimpy Show. It originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on September 8, 1991. Along with "Marooned" and "Black Hole", the episode is part of a loose trilogy in the first season known as the "space episodes", centering around the show-within-the-show, a parody of Star Trek-like science fiction shows titled The Adventures of Commander Höek and Cadet Stimpy.
"Rubber Nipple Salesmen" is the fifth episode of the second season of The Ren & Stimpy Show. It originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on August 29, 1992.
"Black Hole" is the eleventh and penultimate episode of the first season of The Ren & Stimpy Show. It originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on February 23, 1992. It is the third and final episode in a loosely linked trilogy known as the "space episodes", set in the show-within-the-show The Adventures of Commander Höek and Cadet Stimpy.