2 Stupid Dogs - Production

Production

2 Stupid Dogs was the beginning of the successful revival of Hanna-Barbera's fortunes, since the studio had not launched a bona fide hit since The Smurfs in 1981. The Turner Entertainment president installed MTV and Nickelodeon branding veteran Fred Seibert as the head of production. Seibert's plan to reinvent the studio was to put his faith in the talent community, a first for television animation, and Hanna-Barbera in particular. His first pitch and first series put into production in 1992 was 2 Stupid Dogs, created and designed by recent California Institute of the Arts graduate Donovan Cook. Ren & Stimpy's creator, John Kricfalusi, was credited to adding "tidbits of poor taste" to the three "Little Red Riding Hood" episodes, and a few other Spümcø artists also contributed to selected episodes during the course of the show. (There were a few passing references to Ren & Stimpy over the course of the series, as well.)

Several artists and directors from the show became the first creators in Seibert's What a Cartoon! program; 48 short, original character cartoons, made expressly for the Cartoon Network, and designed to find the talent and hits of the new generations. Larry Huber, who later served as executive producer on the What a Cartoon! program, teamed first with Seibert as producer on the 2 Stupid Dogs series and directed the middle cartoon, Super Secret Secret Squirrel. 2 Stupid Dogs eventually helped launch the careers of creators Genndy Tartakovsky (Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack, Star Wars: Clone Wars and Sym-Bionic Titan), Craig McCracken (The Powerpuff Girls and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends), Butch Hartman (The Fairly OddParents, Danny Phantom, and T.U.F.F. Puppy) Miles Thompson, Paul Rudish, Rob Renzetti, and Zac Moncrief.