20 best original songs from TV, from The Simpsons to Empire

“Happy Happy Joy Joy”

The show: Ren and Stimpy

If you remember loving this show as a kid, you probably need to start using eye cream. Just saying. Ren and Stimpy debuted as one of the first three original shows on Nickelodeon in 1991. It starred an emotionally unstable chihuahua, Ren, and a good-natured and dim-witted cat, Stimpy.

The show got mostly good reactions during its run, but it gained even more critical acclaim after it went off the air in 1995. Since then, it’s gathered quite a bit of a cult following and is part of the golden age of children and young adult programming of the early ’90s.

The best of the best: “Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy” (“Stimpy’s Intervention,” – season 1)

Although the show produced quite a bit of music, this became a fan favorite, and it’s the show’s most famous hit. There is even a cover of the song, performed by Wax, appearing on the album Saturday Morning: Cartoons’ Greatest Hits.

Inside the Ren and Stimpy universe, it’s a reference to an earlier episode in which Stimpy happily rubs the TV Guide on Ren’s head. In its actual debut, it’s performed by the character, Stinky Wizzleteats. The show often returned to the song, and it became synonymous with the tone and mood of the show.

Best lyric(s):

“This is a song about a whale,
NO! This is a song about being happy
That’s right! Its the happy happy, joy joy song!”