The 1990s was a wild time for cartoons. The residual effects of the craziness of the 20th century were still being processed, whilst at the same time the fear and uncertainty of the looming millennia crept into the psyche of artists the world over. In the form of animation, this translated into a kind of feverish and frantic energy that would rarely make it onto children’s TV today – eventually culminating in a guest appearance from Frank Zappa.
It’s well-documented that animators and cartoon directors, a lot of them fugitives of the hippie generation, would sneak in references to countercultural figures such as musicians, artists and film references. Matt Groening’s love for the Grateful Dead can be seen in multiple episodes of The Simpsons, and Craig McCracken, the creator of The Powerpuff Girls and Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, managed to sneak in the three main characters of The Big Lebowski into episodes of both his shows.
It’s in keeping with this pattern of bohemian references then that Frank Zappa, the definitive icon of non-conformity matched only perhaps by Captain Beefheart, featured in a brief moment of the controversial Ren & Stimpy cartoon. And, not just satisfied to make a regular cameo, it turns out that Zappa played The Pope.
In the 1992 segment titled ‘Powdered Toast Man’, situated between two actual episodes, an utterly irresponsible and straight-up idiotic superhero unwittingly wreaks carnage as he tries to save the day. His outrageous and subversive antics, which include causing the destruction of a passenger jet and the burning of one of the Amendments of the American Constitution, lead to him rescuing The Pope from Muddy Mudskipper, a kidnapping fish. That sentence alone should give you a sense of the ethos and vibe of Ren & Stimpy.
And how, exactly, did Zappa get involved? John Kricfalusi, the creator of the show, recalls on a commentary track: “Frank Zappa was a fan of the show, and I was a huge Frank Zappa fan growing up. So Frank invited me to his house that weekend. We all sat around watching Ren & Stimpy cartoons all afternoon. He was laughing all through them, and after it was over I asked: ‘Hey Frank, you want to be in a cartoon?’ and he said: ‘Yeah, that’d be great.’ I said: ‘You want to be the pope?’ and he said: ‘Yeah, I always wanted to be the pope.’”
Not known for his guest appearances, Zappa’s credit on the show marked a very special occasion for Zappa fans. Whilst he barely has any lines as The Pope, he is nonetheless an official part of the Ren & Stimpy canon, making ‘Powdered Toast Man’ perhaps the most definitive moment of the bizarre cross-over between children’s TV and counter-culture that was so specific to the 1990s.
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