The episode's story is credited to John Kricfalusi, Vincent Waller and Richard Pursel, storyboarded by Peter Avanzino, and directed by the show's creator John Kricfalusi. John Kricfalusi originally conceived "Son of Stimpy" as a parody and critique of popular Hollywood melodramas (Bambi, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial), and "fake pathos". He describes the latter as an act of manipulation performed by film directors that involves using audio-visual cues and tricks, mainly music and cinematography, to trigger melancholy emotions in audience members. Kricfalusi, infuriated by this practice, referred to it as "cheap", "contrived", and "a dirty trick", while asserting his belief that real drama should come from engaging characters and believable acting, not from editing techniques. He also vented his frustration that dramatic features of this type ultimately gain more acclaim and recognition than simpler comedic films, which are generally seen as inferior. When writing this episode, he deliberately gave it the most ridiculous premise he could think of (Stimpy not being able to flatulate a second time) and used as many of the aforementioned filmic tricks as he could think of, to prove how easy it is to force viewers into crying over something that has little to no real substance."http://johnkstuff.blogspot.ie/2007/04/funny-pathos-vs-cheap-trick-pathos.html
