My Thoughts on "Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling"
I just watched Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling, the Rocko's Modern Life movie or special (whatever you want to call it) that was released on Netflix in 2019, 5 years ago, can you believe that? Time sure does fly doesn't it? I remember seeing the first trailer for this movie, seeing all the hype from the fans had missed this show and were just happy to see something be made of it two decades later, as well as the right-wing reactionary backlash that it received because Joe Murray and the other writers, Mr. Lawrence and Martin Olson decided to make Ralph Bighead 🐸 a transgender woman 🏳️⚧️ named Rachel Bighead 🐸.
But, I never got around to watching it, and I kind of forgot about it until recently when I started reposting my reviews from 2023, and I was writing those notes at the beginning of them to let new readers know that they were old posts, and kind of explain my motives for writing them and was going through my head while writing them, as well as talk about things I didn't get to talk about in the original posts. I especially started thinking about it again after I started playing those Nickelodeon Kart Racers games, which featured Rocko 🦘 as a playable character, and some of the other characters as non-playable "crew members."
I decided to give this movie a watch, but only after I saw Rebel Moon – Part One and wrote a review for it. I did, and now I was able to watch Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling. They also made another similar rival film or special for Hey Arnold!, called Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie 🌴, and one for Invader Zim, called Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus. I might consider watching the Hey Arnold! Jungle Movie 🌴, but I'm not sure if I'll watch the Invader Zim movie since I'm not exactly the biggest fan of Invader Zim. But, if I do, then you'll probably see me writing about it here on this blog and on DeviantART since I post all of my non-political and non-historical posts on both.
But, what about Static Cling specifically? What did I think of it? I thought it was good. I really don't know what the reception of this movie is from the fanbase or the critics, but I liked it. It's not great, but it's decent. And it isn't too long either. It's only 45 minutes long, which is the bare minimum length for something to be considered feature length. So, it's something that you can just watch as a nice break or time waster, and it won't take up most of your day.
Now, I admittedly have pretty limited knowledge of Rocko. I never grew up on the show, and I've only seen a few episodes briefly on TV and on DVD 📀, and a few clips of it on YouTube. Most of what I know about this show and its characters come from all the 90s kids that dominated YouTube in the 2010s, and from the Nickelodeon Kart Racers trilogy.
But, what I have seen of Rocko prior to watching this movie was good. Like, I genuinely think it's a better show than CatDog. CatDog is just boring and low energy. Rocko actually had energy. It was funny, exciting, zanny, and weird, it always manages to hold your attention, and you never really know what it's going to do. It may not be as batshit insane as Ren & Stimpy, but it's still pretty crazy. I would say that it's about as crazy as SpongeBob 🧽. That's closer to what Rocko is any way, since a lot of the people who worked on Rocko ended up working on SpongeBob 🧽.
So, while I wasn't exactly a fan of Rocko, I still liked it or gravitated to it enough to watch this movie despite how little I've seen of it and despite me lacking the nostalgia for it that many others have. One of the areas in which my limited knowledge was a bit of an issue was the whole set up for why Rocko, Heffer, and Filburt are so confused and bewildered by the modern world. In the beginning of the movie, they establish that these three have been floating in space for the past 20 years because they accidentally shot Rocko's house 🏠 into space with a rocket 🚀. So, they've missed out the development of the world in that 20 year span, and that's why they're so confused and shocked when they see the new O-Town.
Now, did the show actually end with them shooting off into space? Is that really how it ended? I didn't even know if Rocko actually had a proper ending or not. Was that really how it ended? Or did they just make that up for this movie? Rocko fans, please let know in the comments if you're reading this (though you have to have a Google account to able to post a comment). Also, let know what you think of the movie itself. I really don't know this movie was received by fans or critics, if they liked it or hate it. I haven't gauged the consensus on this movie. So, if you could leave me a comment saying if you liked this movie or not would help me understand a lot better how the majority of people felt about this movie.
This whole plot point or this set up kind of reminded me of Rayman Legends actually, from what I know about the plot of that game. Rocko, Heffer, and Filburt get stuck together and end up flying off into space for 20 years, where they miss out on everything and everything changes drastically back at home while they're gone. And when they come back, they're basically fishes out of the water, out of time, and have trouble adapting to the new world that they find themselves in.
Well, Rocko does at least. Heffer and Filburt adapt to the 21st century, or more specifically the 2010s, pretty well. Just like Rayman, Globox, and the Teensies when they go dormant for a century, and wake up in the future. Even, the dynamic between the characters is somewhat similar. Like, Rocko and Heffer's friendship dynamic is pretty similar to Rayman and Globox's friendship dynamic.
While some of the modern pop culture and technology references in the film are pretty dated now, I still think they work because this is still the Rocko world, this is still O-Town. It's pretty exaggerated and isn't exactly like our world. So, even if some of the stuff they show here is dated by our 2020s standards, it still works for O-Town if that makes any sense.
Besides, the whole plot isn't really focused on that. Like, one of my main concerns going into this movie was that it was just going to be that, and nothing else. Like, it was just going to be Rocko, Heffer, and Filburt being fascinated, shocked, and surprised by all the modern stuff they see like smartphones, drones, the Internet, social media, and 3D printers the whole time. But, no, there's more to the plot than Rocko, Heffer, and Filburt looking at modern stuff and either being amazed by it or shocked by it in Rocko's case. Most of that is just contained to that one scene that's in the trailer.
The movie is more about Rocko trying to get his favorite cartoon, The Fatheads back on the air so that he can something from his old life back to enjoy and escape from the scary current world that he found himself in. it's also about him trying to save O-Town from an economic collapse that he indirectly caused during his descent back to Earth 🌎, and he intends on doing that with a Fatheads revival. He's trying to kill two birds with one stone. But, you can't have The Fatheads without its creator, Ralph Bighead, who went on a journey of self-discovery and self-actualization sometime in the past during the 20 year time gap.
So, Rocko, Heffer, and Filburt go on a globe trotting journey to track him down and try to convince him to make another Fatheads cartoon and save O-Town, save Ed Bighead's job and his and Bev Bighead's house, and Rocko's sanity. That's when they find "him" driving an ice cream truck selling Fatheads popsicles in the desert. That's when it's revealed that Ralph is no longer Ralph, but is trans 🏳️⚧️, going under the name, Rachel.
I was kind of wondering how this movie would handle that aspect of her character, and how much it would actually factored into the plot. Because I distinctly remember all the backlash that this received, like all the right-wing reactionaries complaining that they turned this cartoon character into a transgender woman 🏳️⚧️, even if they themselves never watched the show nor knew who this character even was.
Even some of the fans were against this decision, saying that they should've just made a new character that was trans 🏳️⚧️ rather than changing a character wasn't trans 🏳️⚧️ in the show into trans 🏳️⚧️. To that I say, you all would've just complained that they "shoehorned" a transgender character 🏳️⚧️ into a movie that "didn't need it" just to be "woke." I know these anti-SJW types, they all think the same and are extremely predictable. I already know their tricks, their mindsets, and I know how they'll react to certain things by now.
I think this movie handles it quite well. It handles it in a very tactful and respectful way, and doesn't try to poke fun at the idea of transgenders 🏳️⚧️ or make jokes at their expense. I was a bit worried that when Rachel revealed that she was trans 🏳️⚧️ to three guys ♂︎, that they would've laughed at her or something. But no, they accept her right away as soon as she tells them who she really is. They accepted it her a lot quicker than I expected actually. And it doesn't become too preachy about it either, like it doesn't turn into a political statement about the treatment of transgenders 🏳️⚧️ or the LGBT community 🏳️🌈. Really, it's just used to help prove the point that the entire movie is trying to make, which is to embrace change, don't dwell on the past, and be more open-minded.
Plus, from what I know about Ralph/Rachel's character prior to watching this movie, her being trans 🏳️⚧️ is not some character ruining decision. It's perfectly in-line with her character, and it does make sense to some degree, and is a natural progression of her relationship with her parents. There was this element of her not feeling accepted by her parents, and her kind of hating and resenting her parents. I mean, she based the Fathead characters off of her parents, you know, Fathead, Bighead, it's pretty obvious.
So, her being trans 🏳️⚧️ adds a whole other layer in their relationship, and adds a whole new reason why Rachel may not feel accepted by her parents (or her dad specifically) and may not feel comfortable in her skin. When some people come out as trans 🏳️⚧️, their parents and/or their grandparents don't really accept it, and have trouble adjusting. I should know because I have a cousin who's trans 🏳️⚧️ (she's a transgender woman 🏳️⚧️), and a lot of my other family members still don't fully accept her, and they're constantly misgendering her or deadnaming her. So, it makes sense with Rachel's character and her dynamic with her parents.
And I'm sure that's what Murray was thinking when he decided to go in this direction with this character, something he ought to have known would be controversial. I mean, this is just the world we live in. You make one character gay 🏳️🌈 or trans 🏳️⚧️ or you just add a little bit of diversity into a piece of nostalgic media that's apart of an established franchise with a built-in fanbase, and some asshole on the Internet is bound to get mad at your decision to include LGBT characters 🏳️🌈 or other ethnicities besides straight white people.
Speaking of Rachel's parents, it does make sense that it's Ed that's the one that's unaccepting of his son (or daughter rather) being trans 🏳️⚧️. He was always at odds with her, and didn't always support her decision to become an animator, and just given the way Ed is, it makes sense that he'd be too close-minded to accept that his son is trans 🏳️⚧️ and identifies as a woman ♀︎ now. I actually sort of predicted that going in, and it works perfectly. And the movie does a great arc with him where he actually learns to accept his daughter for who she is, and the two reconcile. This movie is a much more personal and heartfelt story about the Bighead family and them reconciling and coming back together again. Like, Rocko helps save the Bigheads just as much as he saves O-Town and himself.
Bev is actually accepts Rachel being trans 🏳️⚧️ right away too just like Rocko, Heffer, and Filburt did, which makes sense since she's way more open-minded and nicer than her husband, Ed tends to be. In fact, she's really nice in this movie, nicer than I remember her being in the show from what I've seen of it. Maybe, it's just because she has a thing for Rocko and is just happy to see him again after all these years, I don't know. But, she's a lot nicer here than she usually is in the show.
Ultimately, Rachel does decide to make another Fatheads cartoon to help her parents, and specifically reach out to her dad, and extend an olive branch to him, and try to get him to accept her for who she is. She does this by adding a character to the series, a baby. The cartoon is a huge hit, and it singlehandedly saves the town from financial ruin. At first, Rocko doesn't like it because Rachel changed the cartoon by including a new character, and Rocko just wanted more of the old stuff. But, after everyone, including Ed, gives him a talk, he learns to accept that the show is different now and to embrace change.
The movie sort of becomes a meta commentary on the nature of reboots and revivals, and how often times they aren't as good as the originals, and suck, especially when they make it without the original creator's involvement. I feel like that was Joe Murray writing about his feelings on the matter, and his experience with this whole thing, and why he ultimately decided to return to Rocko and make this movie.
As well as commentating on fans' nostalgic attachment to the series, and the mindset of a lot of Millennial cartoon fans who cling onto the 90s and refuse to give anything made past 1999 or 2000, or 2003 at the latest, a real chance. And as a meta commentary, it works, it works really well. I would say that it's actually handled the meta stuff better than The Matrix Resurrections did. It commented on, critiqued, and satirized the idea of reboots, revivals, and legacy sequels without becoming the thing that it was commenting, critiquing, or satirizing.
There was one thing that I felt was kind of missing from this movie. I wish that they shown more of Filburt's wife, Dr. Paula Hutchinson Turtle. I really like that character, I think she's funny and cool. And I grew to love her through playing the last two Nickelodeon Kart Racers games where she was featured as a crew member who boosts your racing abilities. I won so many races in the second and third game in part thanks to her. So, it's a shame that she's relegated to just a cameo role in this, and doesn't make much screen time or hardly any lines. But, this is more of a story about Rocko and the Bigheads, so I guess it's okay.
Oh, and they also changed the name of the show's fast-food fried chicken chain back to Chokey Chicken. They had changed the name to Chewy Chicken in the later seasons because the other name sounded to similar to a euphemism for masturbation, choking the chicken. Like, it's very thinly veiled, like they weren't even really trying to hide it. But, I guess Murray decided to change the name back to Chokey Chicken. I don't know how or why Nickelodeon and Netflix both approved it when Nickelodeon in particular had such a problem with it back in the 90s. But, whatever, the restaurant's called Chokey Chicken again. I'm sure there are some fans who were happy about that.
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Update (Tuesday January 30, 2024):
🐄🐺
One thing I forgot to mention in the review is that one of the things I did know about Rocko prior to watching this movie is the fact that Heffer was raised by wolves 🐺. He's a cow, or a steer 🐄 that was adopted by a family of wolves 🐺 and was raised as one of their own. Even though, he didn't turn out acting like a wolf 🐺 or thinking that he's a wolf 🐺 like Steve Martin's character in The Jerk thought that he was black until his parents finally told him that he was actually white. Heffer knows that he's a cow 🐄, but he accepts the fact that his family are wolves 🐺, and he still loves them 🤗. I wonder if that's what this idea of Heffer being raised by wolves 🐺 was inspired by. It's basically the same concept as The Jerk, but with anthropomorphic animals that talk and live in suburban houses and cities.
Anyway, that's why Heffer's ghost grandpa 👻 in this movie is a wolf 🐺 and not a cow 🐄, or a bull 🐂 since male cows ♂︎ are bulls 🐂. Heffer's technically a bull 🐂, he has horns (tiny ones), but they refer to him as a steer throughout the series. And the reason why his grandpa's a ghost 👻 is because he died during the time in-between the original series and this movie, which is kind of sad 😢, but the movie definitely doesn't dwell on that, and kind of plays it up for laughs 😄 by having him stick around as a ghost 👻 threatening to haunt Heffer for the rest of his life.
The show is known for its dark and adult humor. Rocko really was an adult show masquerading as a kid's show, Again, not as adult as the original Ren & Stimpy, but still more adult than SpongeBob 🧽, Rugrats, or CatDog. The reason for that of course is that Rocko is a show about adults. All of the main characters are adults. Yes, they're all animals, but they're still adults. It's about them navigating through adult life in a modern world. That's why the show is called Rocko's Modern Life, it's about being an adult in a crazy, confusing, and frustrating modern world. Static Cling definitely stays true to that. It maintains that dark and adult humor that Rocko's Modern Life is known for.
That's another thing too, Heffer's grandpa is very grouchy and always complains about everything, and he kind of doesn't like Heffer, like he's always complaining about everything Heffer does, and is always hating on him. He wouldn't be threatening to haunt Heffer if he did have some sort of animosity towards him. It could be because he's a bit racist, and doesn't fully accept Heffer as his grandson because he's a cow 🐄 (or bull 🐂), they always portray him as being old fashioned and being close-minded. Or maybe his grandpa does love him, but he hides it beyond a wall of bitterness and grouchiness.
But anyway, I thought that I would let you know that I did know that Heffer was raised by wolves 🐺, and that is one piece of Rocko lore that I do know. I didn't put into the review itself in one of my edits or revisions because I couldn't find a place to put it and have it still flow organically. So, I decided to write this update instead. But, at least, I'll increase the view count on that review by going back to it and adding this update to the post and looking it, checking it for errors. Blogger does count the author's views as part of the view count.
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