The Ripping Friends facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Ripping Friends |
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| Genre | Comedy Action Adventure Slapstick |
| Created by | John Kricfalusi |
| Starring | Harvey Atkin Mark Dailey Michael Kerr Mike MacDonald Merwin Mondesir John Kricfalusi |
| Country of origin | United States Canada |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Running time | approx. 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Spümcø Cambium Animagic |
| Distributor | CinéGroupe |
| Release | |
| Original network | Fox Kids Teletoon |
| Original release | September 22, 2001 – January 26, 2002 |
The Ripping Friends: The World's Most Manly Men! (also known as The Ripping Friends) is an exciting animated TV show. It was created by John Kricfalusi, who also made The Ren & Stimpy Show. This action-packed series first aired on Fox Kids in the United States. It ran for one season, from September 22, 2001, to January 26, 2002. Later, the show was also shown on Adult Swim and sometimes on Teletoon in Canada. It even aired for a short time in the United Kingdom and Australia.
Contents
The Story Behind the Show
How The Ripping Friends Began
The idea for The Ripping Friends came from John Kricfalusi and his partner Jim Smith. They actually thought of these "manly men" before creating the superhero Powdered Toast Man for The Ren & Stimpy Show. John Kricfalusi wanted to make a movie about these characters. While the movie didn't happen, the characters were used in The Ripping Friends TV series.
An early idea for a villain, the Indigestible Wad, came from a story meeting back in 1987. This character was based on a wad of gum! The show was supposed to start in September 2000. It finally aired a year later, in September 2001, and had thirteen episodes. Each episode cost about $400,000 to make.
Why the Show Ended
The high cost of making the show led to its cancellation after just one season. John Kricfalusi was also not happy with how the show was being made. He felt that the people in charge were changing the unique style of his animation company, Spümcø. He only got fully involved halfway through making the episodes. He even changed the voice actor for Crag, Harvey Atkin, to Mark Dailey, because he wanted the voices to sound a certain way.
Meet the Heroes and Villains
The Ripping Friends Team
The show is about four super-strong brothers who fight crime. Their secret base is called RIPCOT, which stands for the Really Impressive Prototype City Of (Next) Tuesday. The brothers are:
- Crag (voiced by Harvey Atkin and later Mark Dailey) – He is the leader of the Ripping Friends.
- Slab (voiced by Merwin Mondesir) – Slab is Crag's main helper.
- Chunk Nuggett (voiced by Michael Kerr) – He is the youngest and most childlike member of the team.
- Rip (voiced by Mike MacDonald) – Rip is the hot-headed brother.
- He-Mom – She is the Ripping Friends' foster mother.
The Villains They Fight
The Ripping Friends face many strange villains. These include:
- The Indigestible Wad: A wad of gum that sucks moisture from people, turning them into "flavorless" zombies.
- Citracett (voiced by John Kricfalusi): An evil ruler from a made-up country called Euroslavia. He later changes his name to Stinkybutt the Foul when he gains a smelly superpower!
- Flathead: An invertebrate (a creature without a backbone) who wants to steal a spine.
- Even their own underpants can become evil!
Short Segments: Rip Along with the Ripping Friends
Each episode also had short parts called "Rip Along with the Ripping Friends." These segments showed the Ripping Friends solving everyday problems for their fans. For example, they tried to figure out why hot dogs come in packs of 12 but buns come in packs of 8. They also looked into why toys no longer come in cereal boxes. In these parts, viewers were asked to "rip along" by tearing up paper in front of the TV!
Episode Guide
Here are some of the adventures the Ripping Friends had:
| No. | Title | Original air date | |
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| 1 | "The Indigestible Wad" | September 22, 2001 | |
| 2 | "The Infernal Wedding" | October 13, 2002 (Adult Swim) | |
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Citracett, the evil dictator, tries to marry He-Mom. He hopes this will help him get rid of the Ripping Brothers.
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| 3 | "Flathead's Revenge" | September 29, 2001 | |
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Chunk finds a flatworm on his arm. After it's removed, the flatworm tries to steal a backbone from one of the brothers.
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| 4 | "Frictor" | October 6, 2001 | |
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When the Ripping Friends' uniforms can't be sewn, Crag tries to create friction. This accidentally creates Frictor, a master of friction, who causes trouble.
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| 5 | "Rip's Shorts" | October 13, 2001 | |
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Rip's shorts become evil after being thrown into space. They take control of people and make them do bad things.
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| 6 | "The Ovulator" | October 27, 2001 | |
| 7 | "ManMan and BoyBoy" | November 10, 2001 | |
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Two supposed crime fighters, ManMan and BoyBoy, are causing more problems than they solve. Crag dresses up to stop them.
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| 8 | "Stinky Butt" | November 17, 2001 | |
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Citracett is sent to the Earth's core. There, he gains the power to control his own gas, making him very dangerous.
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| 9 | "The Muscle Magician" | November 24, 2001 | |
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Chunk feels like a "kid" and runs away to a circus. He meets a magician who can control people's muscles and uses Chunk for robberies.
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| 10 | "Jimmy's Kidnapped" | December 15, 2002 (Adult Swim) | |
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Citracett and a gorilla kidnap Jimmy. The Ripping Friends must rescue him from their evil plans.
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| 11 | "Dr. Jean Poole" | January 12, 2002 | |
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He-Mom teaches the boys about "girls" and sets them up on a group date with Dr. Jean Poole at a drive-in movie.
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| 12 | "The Man from Next Thursday, Part One" | January 19, 2002 | |
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Someone breaks into RIPCOT and steals the Ripping Friends' special DNA. He turns it into "Riptonite" to harm them.
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| 13 | "The Man from Next Thursday, Part Two" | January 26, 2002 | |
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The mysterious man from "next Thursday" explains his plan. He wants revenge because the Ripping Friends messed up his giant chest-thumb.
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About the Show's Airing
Where and When It Aired
In the U.S., The Ripping Friends first showed on Fox Kids on September 22, 2001. The last episode aired on January 26, 2002. Later, Adult Swim started showing reruns of the series from October 6, 2002, to March 28, 2004. The show sometimes airs in Canada on Teletoon. It also had a brief run in the United Kingdom on the CNX channel and in Australia on ABC.
Episodes That Were Held Back
Some episodes, like "The Infernal Wedding" and "Jimmy's Kidnapped," were not shown on Fox Kids. This was because some scenes were thought to be too sensitive after the events of September 11, 2001. These episodes later aired when the show was broadcast on Adult Swim.
Merchandise and Home Video
A video game based on The Ripping Friends was released by THQ for the Game Boy Advance. John Kricfalusi himself helped with the game's development.
At first, two videotapes were available, each with two episodes. These were later put together into one DVD with four episodes. In Australia, you can find the complete series on DVD. As of 2022, all the episodes are also available to watch on YouTube through the Toon Gods channel.
