Tag Archives: rocko

September 30, 2026

Mondo Squads Rocko’s Modern Life

By Joe

One of the big television moments of my young life in the 1990s was the premiere of Nickelodeon’s very own cartoons. Dubbed Nicktoons, these were creator-driven shows intended to entertain first and move merch second. And that second component was a pretty distant second. Launched in 1991, the original Nicktoons consisted of Doug, Rugrats, and The Ren & Stimpy Show. All three are pretty much classics at this point and all three brought something different to the table, but the three show format sure felt kind of funny even in the moment. Since all were designed to occupy a half hour block of television it meant that the inaugural Nicktoons block was an hour and a half beginning at 10 AM on Sunday morning and ending at 11:30. That just felt wrong somehow. Even though radio had designated a block of content as 3 songs, for television it felt like a proper block should be four half hour shows. Well, we wouldn’t have to wait long to get out wish as the following year Nickelodeon launched Rocko’s Modern Life to complete the block. The Joe Murray created show had a tremendous team behind it including soon to be household names (well, in animation circles) as Stephen Hillenburg, Tom Kenny, and Doug Lawrence.

It’s a big box.

Over the years, Rocko has seemed to remain popular, but not as popular as some of the other Nicktoons. For my money, it is the best show Nickelodeon has produced. It had the wacky, gross-out comedy that many associate with The Ren & Stimpy Show, but it combined that with something of a coming of age tale. Rocko is a young adult who only recently left home to make a go at living on his own in the 1990’s. He has problems that maybe the target audience didn’t entirely relate with, but could at least empathize with. Some of them are universal issues like how to deliver bad news to a friend or what to do about a crush, but then there were issues with credit cards and holding down a job. The animation always delivered out of the newly minted Games Studios, an in-house production company owned by Nickelodeon, and the show was able to churn out 52 episodes which was a pretty typical order for Nickelodeon. Only the mega successful shows got more episodes as presumably re-upping with Murray and his staff following the initial 52 would be more costly for Nickelodeon than simply launching a new series. By all accounts, Murray was ready to move on as well, but it wouldn’t be the last we’d hear from Rocko as the gang did return in the short movie Static Cling in 2019 carried exclusively by Netflix.

These might be bigger than you would have expected.

Because Rocko is so awesome, and because Mondo seems to have a good working relationship with Nickelodeon, we now have a set of Mondo Squads featuring Rocko, Heffer, Filbert and some choice little buddies. Mondo’s Squads brand is different from typical action figures. They’re somewhat modeled after maquettes, small statues often commissioned for artists working on animated shows and movies to help them visualize a character in 3D, featuring minimal articulation and occupying a scale that is basically their own making. The characters come housed in a pretty substantial box featuring the same artwork that was used on the Rocko’s Modern Life DVD collection several years ago. Jordan Christianson is credited with the package design which resembles a television one might find in O-Town, though I want to say the actual picture of Rocko and the other characters in the background was done by Joe Murray. The figures in the set are based on a concept by Joe Allard and the sculpts were handled by Brandon Gash. Mara Ancheta is credited with the paint while Hector Arce was in charge of the art direction. The figures are well packaged in a large plastic bubble and pretty much everything is wrapped in a plastic bag to protect the paint. There are no tie-downs and the whole thing is quite pleasent to access.

Rocko seems a little off to me. Left is a comparison with a Pop! and right is a still from the movie Static Cling.

We’ll talk about Rocko first who Mondo lists at coming in at 5.75″. As I alluded to above, these figures do not occupy any sort of concrete scale. They’re definitely not 1:12 or even 1:10, but the goal seems to be to just make sure they scale with each other. Rocko is depicted in his traditional blue, collared, shirt with pink triangle pattern and brown shoes. By default, he’s sporting what I’d call a contented expression and his arms are at his sides. Rocko could be a tough character to pull off in 3D, but Gash did an amazing job as he looks to be incredibly on-model. The paint application is simple, but clean, as Mondo did not opt to go for a cel-shaded look. Instead we just have flat, saturated, matte colors that do well to mimic an animation cel. Rocko would be perfect if not for one thing that’s been bothering me. The shade of his fur in the original series was a pale yellow. I have a Funko Pop! that pretty well captures that shade, but for this figure we have more of a dull brown. It’s darker in person than in pictures and I can only assume this is because Mondo based their design off of the updated character models for Static Cling where Rocko was a bit darker. In that though, I’d say his fur has a touch of gray as opposed to brown so it’s not a perfect match for that as well. His shoes are also a little off as they’re a dark brown as opposed to more of a red-brown. It’s a thing I’m trying to ignore and just accept, but it does bother me if I’m being honest.

“Umm, you wouldn’t happen to know the Big Heads, would you?”
“Spunky! No!”

Rocko is pretty much a five points of articulation figure as basically all of the Squad designs are, but he does have a lot of extra parts to change how he’s displayed. His secondary portrait is Rocko’s frequently worn concerned look. He is unsure about something or maybe even a bit embarrassed. To complete the look he has a set of arms that feature his hands coming together at the fingertips. If that is a bit understated, he has a terrific “freak out” expression that’s partly based on his scream during the opening title. His mouth is wide open with his brain literally leaping out of his skull. The brain is held up in air with translucent, red, plastic for the brain stem and it’s quite impressive to behold. The eyes are enlarged as well, though not to the degree they are from the show. To help further sell this scream, Rocko has a second tail that sticks straight out from his body (his default tail has a bit of an “S” shape to it) and a set of arms out wide. The brain leaping from the skull bit is something I identify with the show so this was a great pull for an optional display. All of the limbs just peg in so everything is easy to swap on Rocko as well as the rest of the figures in the set.

The gluttonous steer with a heart of gold.

We now move onto Heffer, Rocko’s gluttonous best friend who is a steer raised by wolves. Mondo has Heffer listed at 9.5″ so he’s considerably taller than Rocko, as he should be. He’s also practically a sphere with limbs and has a very light feel, but still has that high quality, Mondo, appearance. Unlike Rocko, his shading is pretty much spot-on and Gash did a tremendous job translating him to 3D. He even has his asymmetrical eyes and cavernous butt crack. The paint is once again clean and I like the addition of some subtle shading in places, most notably that bulbous ass. There’s also some nice, black, linework on the feet and around the hem of his pants. The only blemish, or mistake, is that Mondo left Heffer’s horns the same shade of yellow as his body and head. In the show, and movie, they were always orange as there was an obvious separation between skull and horn It’s a much smaller issue than Rocko’s general fur color, but a surprising omission considering how detail-oriented Mondo typically is.

“Give me a merit badge NOOOOOOOWWW!!!”

By default, Heffer has a happy expression that captures his personality quite well. His default arms are also just at his side. For a second portrait we get Heffer with a mouthful of who knows what? There’s a right arm holding a blue, foil, bag to go with this look and a left arm holding a TV remote. The presence of the remote makes me wish we had Rocko’s couch and TV, but there’s already a lot in this set and that likely would have really pushed the MSRP higher than the already pretty high $160. Heffer’s third expression is a giant belching one with half-lidded eyes. He has outspread arms to go with this and while Heffer likely burped quite a bit in the show, this set really makes me think of his declaration “Give me a merit badge NOW!” from the short “Belch of Destiny.” It’s a good selection for Heffer, though I’m a little disappointed that the snack bag is just plain blue. Why no Pasture Puffies logo? And I think I’d swap the TV remote hand for one clinging to a handful of the green, spongey looking, snack.

“Hello.”
“I’m nauseous…I’m nauseous…”

Rounding out the trio is good old Filbert, the hypochondriac turtle who is probably a little bipolar since he can get aggressive at a moment’s notice. He stands at about 6″ even and looks every bit as good as Rocko and Heffer. If anything, he is the best of the three as there’s nothing obviously off about the design or the paint. I suppose one could quibble with the placement of his arms, but they kind of moved around in the show, but were almost always shown coming out of the side of his shell at about the same level as his belt. His shoes are also too dark, but it’s not really something that bothers me. Overall, he looks great and his default expression is more or less a happy one. He too has arms that just hang at his side for the default ones and like Rocko his secondary portrait is one that looks concerned or worried. His arms that seem intended for this expression are similar to Rocko’s where he’s bringing his hands together in front of him. His third portrait features oversized, bloodshot, eyes and arms with his palms open pointing forward, elbows bent. This is Filbert’s freak out expression and it’s a good one. He’s such an expressive character in the show that it would be especially easy to come up with more (yelling, angry, one with a heating bag on his head), but I think this selection is pretty damn good and appropriate for old Filbert.

“Please take care of my, Turdy!”
Turdy! Behind you!

And that’s not all, as we have two more characters to talk about. First is Spunky, because you can’t have a Rocko without a Spunky. Spunky is a slug figure with no articulation, but he’s sculpted in a bum scoot pose with a delightful expression upon his face. If you’re going to do just one Spunky, this is the way to go. The other included little buddy is Filbert’s bird, Turdy. Featured in the segment “Bye, Bye, Birdie,” Turdy was entrusted to Rocko while Filbert was away only for Heffer to accidentally sit on him and end his short life. To capture this moment, Turdy has two sets of eyes: one for the living, and one for the dead. His dead eyes, in true cartoon fashion, feature big X’s so you wouldn’t confuse him with a living bird. He does have a swivel in his neck, but is otherwise not articulated. Both Spunky and Turdy are on-model and look great featuring the same quality of paint as the larger figures.

“You think Filbert will notice?”

This set of figures based on Rocko’s Modern Life was sold as a limited edition set on Mondo’s shop earlier this year for $160. It’s a steep price for figures that are essentially statues, but if you’re someone in the market for high end collectibles of Rocko’s Modern Life then this is pretty much the only game in town. It’s also sold out so the only option now is to grab one on the secondary market. I have no idea if this one is going to be so desirable that it will command far more than that $160 price tag (which also included an $18 shipping charge) or not, but it’s also the type of thing that is likely to only go up. Mondo on a live stream awhile back also confirmed that this is the only planned set for Rocko’s Modern Life so if you were holding out for a cheaper one with less stuff it sounds like that isn’t happening. Of course, if demand is there they can always revisit it. I’d personally love a second set featuring the Big Heads or a Christmas variant of these three. Such a set could feature Rocko, Heffer, and Filbert in their winter attire and come with a walking Spunky, the little elf character, and Rocko’s tree with a living expression and a dead one. Perhaps I shouldn’t start giving Mondo ideas since this stuff isn’t cheap, but for now I’m pretty happy to have these characters in my collection as it’s been long overdue. The best Nicktoon deserves the best toys and Mondo’s Squads is pretty much the perfect method of delivery, albeit not the most economical.

For more of my thoughts on the greatness that is Rocko’s Modern Life check these out:

Rocko’s Modern Life: Static Cling

After taking a trip to the past with Rocko’s Modern Life during the spring, it seems only fitting that I also take a look at the Rocko’s Modern Life movie from 2019: Static Cling. To be fair, the term “movie” is definitely used loosely when applied to this piece of media. Static Cling was originally…

Keep reading
by Joe

Rocko’s Modern Life – Season 3

My rewatch of Rocko’s Modern Life really could not have gone better. I suppose it would be better if it wasn’t during a pandemic, but what can you do? The show has been a delight, and while I felt Season Two was pretty much on par with the first season, I think an argument can…

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by Joe

Dec. 10 – Rocko’s Modern Christmas

Rocko’s Modern Life may be the most 90s cartoon created during that decade. It’s certainly the most 90s of the Nicktoons, Nickelodeon’s very successful foray into original animation after years of airing other studio’s work. Rocko’s Modern Life centered around a wallaby named Rocko, naturally, and his journey into adulthood, which most notably includes self-reliance.…

Keep reading
by Joe

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May 8, 2020

Rocko’s Modern Life – Season Two

By Joe

rocko_season2

The second season of Rocko’s Modern Life premiered on September 25, 1994.

A few weeks ago I wrote about my reintroduction to Rocko’s Modern Life via the show’s first season. Rocko’s Modern Life was a favorite of mine as a kid, and if you had asked me to rank the Nicktoons back then it would have gone something like this:  The Ren & Stimpy Show, Rocko’s Modern Life, followed by who cares? Those two cartoons were so far above the others that they didn’t feel worth mentioning. Sure, Rugrats and Doug were fine for what they were, but they weren’t appointment viewing for me. And after a few years, none of them were as I felt I had aged out of them. I was a young, dumb, kid though and upon revisiting such works I’ve come to find that, if anything, I’ve aged into a show like Rocko’s Modern Life.

What separated Rocko’s Modern Life from the other shows was that emphasis on the mundanity of life itself. Rocko was challenged by simple tasks such as laundry, household cleaning, commuting, work, and all of those others things we as adults have to deal with that we really take for granted as children. Rocko’s difficulties encountered with these tasks are obviously exaggerated for comedic effect, but like all good comedy there is still an element of truth to all of it making the show arguably more relatable for an adult than it is a child.

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Like Season One, Season Two of Rocko’s Modern Life is surprisingly topical in 2020.

When it came to Season One of the show, I was delighted by the humor aimed at adults. I remembered the Milk-O-Matic gag as a kid in which Heffer, a steer, is masturbated by a mechanical milking machine and knew there was humor in this show that really only older kids and adults would understand. That type of humor is more of a shocking variety of humor, what I had forgotten is the more nuanced approach such as the episode where neighbor Bev Bighead tries to seduce Rocko because her husband doesn’t make her feel attractive. It’s a pretty adult concept to try to base a cartoon intended for children around, and it’s even affecting in turning Mrs. Bighead into a sympathetic figure. And yes, there’s still plenty of physical comedy in that episode and all of them.

As I approached Season Two of the show, I was hoping for more of that style of story-telling:  mature in concept, but accessible for all via the physical comedy. And for the most part, Season Two really delivers. It starts off with a heavy hitter in the two-part “I Have No Son” in which we learn the Bigheads have an estranged son named Ralph (Joe Murray) who long ago disappointed his father by not accepting a job at Conglom-O where Ed worked. A father being so ashamed and disappointed of his son that it causes him to disown him is a pretty heavy subject for the show to tackle because it’s also a very real thing that happens. Ed looks down on Ralph for his wanting to be a cartoonist, but you can substitute that with pretty much anything and the episode would still work. And even though Ralph has found tremendous success with his cartoon The Fatheads (which is clearly inspired by his parents), he still hasn’t earned his father’s approval.

the_bigheads_reunited

The story of Ralph Bighead kicks off the second season.

The premiere is a pretty weighty episode to kick things off, but it manages to handle the delicate material with the show’s usual brand of humor. It does struggle a bit to fit it all into one episode and the resolution feels a bit rushed, but it’s still quite the achievement. The rest of the season will balance the absurd wackiness of Rocko’s world with actual real world issues and problems. Bev Bighead has to break the glass ceiling, so to speak, and go to work in one episode and another deals with Rocko having to thwart immigration officials who want him deported for an expired green card. That episode might actually hit too close to home for some given the current climate surrounding immigration in the US. A particularly heartfelt episode is “Tickled Pinky” in which Rocko deals with the fear of surgery when he finds out he needs to have his appendix removed. It turns into a story where Rocko meets a personified version of his appendix, named Pinky, via a dream. Rocko, in a bid to cheer up Pinky since he’s essentially about to die, takes Pinky out to essentially check off a bucket list of experiences for Pinky to enjoy before his time is up. It’s surprisingly sweet and it left me wishing I had thought of this episode when my own little boy had to have his tonsils removed.

Season Two is also not without its dose of more crass humor. The episode “Born to Spawn” basically deals with Filbert’s (Mr. Lawrence) desire to mate, though that part of it isn’t spelled out. It’s pretty funny though with that context in the back of your mind. In “Hut, Sut, Raw” Rocko, Heffer (Tom Kenny), and Filbert go camping and leave the confines of a modern camp ground to rough it in the woods. The DVD is censored to remove a scene where Rocko picks berries off of a bush, only to have a bear scream and run out from behind it implying that Rocko just picked one the bear’s “berries.” The final cartoon, “Eyes Capades,” revisits the old white lie of Rocko’s eyesight going bad due to too much “jacking.” In the context of the episode, the jacking is Rocko practicing for a jackhammer competition that’s basically figure skating on a jackhammer, but it’s obvious the episode is playing off the notion that masturbation in a young boy can cause blindness.

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This is the season that features the Christmas episode basically making this a “must buy” for Christmas nerds like me.

A welcomed trend established by Season Two is that this show, unlike many other cartoons, actually has some semblance of continuity. Past episodes are referenced and new characters like Ralph will show up in later episodes at peace with his parents. The cartoon “Short Story” contains the most references when Really Really Big Man details Rocko’s good deeds and accomplishments for him in a bid to build him up. The episode “Rocko’s Modern Christmas” (which has been featured during The Christmas Spot) is the first episode to really bring the whole cast together when Rocko attempts to throw a party that everyone in town wishes to attend. It’s really satisfying to see the writers opening up the world of O-Town and incorporating a lot of these side characters.

In terms of missteps, there are few. The animation is as good, if not better, than the first season and the performances by the voice actors are all tremendous. Especially considering how much screaming is sometimes required of them. There are three oversized episodes in this season, which are episodes that dedicate both halves to one story and they are:  “I Have No Son, “Rocko’s Modern Christmas,” and “Cruisin’.” Of the three, only “Cruisin'” felt like it didn’t really need the extra time. It’s a bit of a weird episode in which Rocko and Heffer take Heffer’s grandfather on a cruise for old people (or rather, they got stuck on the boat by accident) and the ship enters the Bermuda Triangle making all of the old people young and the two young people old. It gives Grandpa a do-over with an old flame, a relatable and pretty adult plot, but one that struggles to remain interesting.

b-52s

Kate Pierson (left) and Fred Schneider (second from left) of the B-52’s were brought in to re-do the theme song. Their version would remain for the rest of the show’s run.

In terms of personnel, much of the folks involved with the first season returned for the second. Stephen Hillenburg was around to oversee everything as showrunner and creator Joe Murray still received several writing credits and remained involved. Doug Lawrence, also known as Mr. Lawrence, stepped back from directing, but still has a few writing credits. Some of the newcomers include directors Alan Smart, Pete Michels, and Howy Parkins. All would make future contributuons at Nickelodeon while Michels would go on to direct several episodes of The Simpsons and Family Guy. Voice of Rocko, Carlos Alazraqui, even received a writing credit for “Gutter Balls,” one of two writing credits he’d receive on the show. Considering that episode has four credited writers, I’m assuming he must had ad-libbed something that was considered large enough to warrant a credit. The only major change between seasons is the theme song which was reworked by Pat Irwin and re-recorded by Kate Pierson and Fred Schneider of the B-52’s. It’s still fine, though I miss the swank of the first season’s theme.

rocko_pilot

The pilot of the show is contained on this set and is notable for featuring a yellow Rocko.

The DVD release of the first season of Rocko’s Modern Life had the dubious honor of not containing any bonus features. Joe Murray was quite willing to contribute to these releases and for Season Two Nickelodeon at least made some effort to add a little extra, though not much. The original pilot of the show “Trash-O-Madness” is contained here. It’s not much different from the episode that made it to air, but it’s cool to see the original version of the show. There’s also a collection of segments hosted by Murray where he shares the ideas behind the show’s core characters while also demonstrating how they’re drawn. He doesn’t reveal any bombshells or anything, but it’s worth a look. That’s, unfortunately, all that there is for bonus material which means there’s no commentaries and no options to view the episodes uncensored.

Rocko’s Modern Life is a great cartoon series and I’m happy to say the second season is just as good as the first. The show definitely embodies that 90’s spirit of being a bit manic, loud, and certainly gross, but it also includes a surprising amount of heart and relatability as well. In some ways, it’s the perfect children’s cartoon because there’s plenty here to entertain a 7 year old while also keeping mom and dad engaged. And pretty much all are guaranteed to find something to laugh at as well, or be charmed by, or both! I’ve enjoyed it enough that I definitely intend to binge Season Three and report back here on how well I think it compares with the first two seasons, so stay tuned!

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December 10, 2017

Dec. 10 – Rocko’s Modern Christmas

By Joe

Rocko's_Modern_Christmas

Rocko’s Modern Christmas first aired December 1st, 1994

Rocko’s Modern Life may be the most 90s cartoon created during that decade. It’s certainly the most 90s of the Nicktoons, Nickelodeon’s very successful foray into original animation after years of airing other studio’s work. Rocko’s Modern Life centered around a wallaby named Rocko, naturally, and his journey into adulthood, which most notably includes self-reliance. He has to maintain a job, a home, friendships, and relationships, in a world that mostly seems out to get him. It’s very adult for a children’s show, and I don’t mean that in just the sense that some of the humor skews older, but the subject matter. Rocko  deals with stresses kids don’t have to, but maybe they’ve seen their parents do so and are able to relate that way. And if not, there are plenty of gross gags to keep them occupied.

Since Rocko is very much a good-natured person, he’s a natural protagonist for his own Christmas special:  “Rocko’s Modern Christmas.” This is Rocko’s first Christmas on his own away from his family back in Australia. He wants to have a nice Christmas with his closest friends, and is in search of Christmas cheer. Across the street, a new family is moving into a previously vacant house and they’re apparently really into Christmas since their yard is outlandishly decorated with Christmas cheer. Rocko notices the family appears to be elves, and they’re cleverly designed to kind of resemble rolled up wrapping paper with limbs. Next door, Rocko’s curmudgeonly neighbor Ed Bighead, is this special’s Scrooge. He hates Christmas and the good feelings it brings out. He wants the world to be miserable like him, and he is very distrustful of these elves.

rockos-modern-life-clip-of-the-week-snow

Rocko wishes for snow. Apparently he didn’t think to check outside for snow before heading out with his sleigh and snow suit.

Rocko is a bit down at the lack of Christmas cheer in his community. It’s rainy, and there’s no snow, and few people decorate for the holiday. To explain the lack of snow, there’s a cloud over Rocko’s house that’s basically struggling to take a dump, hence the lack of snow (and our first dose of the show’s brand of visual humor). Rocko decides his house needs decorations, and he wants to throw a party for his friends. He calls up his two best buds, Heffer and Filbert, and invites them over for a Christmas party. Those two are eager to share the news around town, even though Rocko didn’t intend for them to, and soon the whole town is RSVPing to Rocko excited about coming to his party.

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Heffer:  The Tree Slayer

To get prepared, Rocko and his dog Spunky head out to the mall to do some shopping. Along the way they see their new neighbor, a shy little elf. He doesn’t respond warmly to Rocko, and instead tries to hide from him. Rocko is not offended and leaves the little guy to his own whims. At the mall, Rocko stops to buy a Christmas tree at a tent outside that’s being manned by Heffer and Filbert. In a sort of sad (but funny) gag, picking out a tree is like picking out a puppy, only the puppy-tree dies when it gets cut down. After securing a tree, Rocko heads into the mall. The little elf has basically been stalking Rocko this whole time, and eventually he gets accosted by some literal crocodile shoe salesman. Rocko sticks up for the little guy, and soon finds himself in over his head. He cleverly disposes of the salesmen, and finds the elf hiding in a shoe. They hightail it out of there and Rocko brings him home. There he meets a surly head elf, who seems to feel obligated to invite Rocko inside. Once in the home Rocko meets the other elves, who all have simple names associated with tools like Hammer and Drill. Like most Christmas elves, they’re toy makers and hard at work with Christmas just around the corner. Rocko also finds out one of the elves is missing. Mitch, who was the first elf to make it snow (or the last?), has been gone for sometime and is why there’s no snow. He also has three feet, for some reason.

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The shy little elf from next door.

Rocko decides to invite his new neighbors to the party, and Ed finds out via spying. He tells Filbert that elves have nasty foot fungus, and the hypochondriac Filbert immediately breaks out in a rash in fear of contracting the elven foot fungus. Just like how news of Rocko’s party spread quickly, so does word that some infected elves are planning on attending. The party-goers all get scared, and when the night of the party arrives Rocko surprisingly finds his house empty. He’s pretty disappointed, but a knock at the door brightens him up a bit. It’s the shy little elf, and Rocko welcomes him in, but can’t hide his disappointment that no one else came. The little elf feels bad for Rocko, and after Rocko falls asleep reading him a Christmas story he heads outside. It’s there he looks up at the cloud over Rocko’s house and thinks about how the quiet little wallaby helped him out back at the mall. Then a heart pops out of him and floats up to the cloud. Like cloud Ex-Lax, the rear of the cloud begins rumbling in a rather gross fashion before he unleashes some snow – hallelujah!

rocko1

The cloud struggling to “snow.”

When Christmas morning arrives, only Rocko’s house is covered in snow. The whole town comes out to marvel at it, and they apologize for skipping out on his party. Mitch the elf even shows up and explains he’s been gone due to the lack of Christmas cheer, but the cheer of his little brother, the shy elf, has brought him back. Everyone heads inside for the party, and Ed Bighead is left to stew in his house as he looks on. The little elf shows up at his door though and invites him to the party. Ed starts to show hints of being touched by the gesture, when the little elf whips out a hammer and smashes his kneecap. Ed reacts accordingly, and then chases after the elf and manages to get tangled up in Christmas decorations and plunges into Rocko’s house, much to the delight of his wife Bev who was already at the party. As one last dose of Christmas cheer, Rocko gets a call from his parents wishing him a merry Christmas. And as a parting gag, we get a look at the next morning when everyone chucks their tree carcasses in the street.

CleverHardtofindCivet-mobile

It’s a Christmas miracle!

“Rocko’s Modern Christmas” succeeds both as a charming Christmas special and as a funny one. Rocko’s brand of humor is on full display, with a lot of bad stuff happening to our main character and a lot of visual gags that are sometimes gross, sometimes mean, sometimes uncomfortable, but usually also pretty funny. It’s an extended episode, as most Rocko’s Modern Life cartoons were split into two cartoon shorts. Pretty much every character that had appeared on the show up until now is present as well, and the cast was pretty big after only 19 episodes. It’s also fully dressed up to feel like a Christmas special with its opening sequence and ending credits. This is the best Christmas special to come out of the Nicktoons besting Doug, Rugrats, and Ren & Stimpy. And I’m torn on if it’s the Nicktoon that’s held up the best, but it’s a close call between this and Ren & Stimpy.

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Ed is forced to embrace Christmas.

Thankfully, Nickelodeon has caught onto the nostalgia thing and realized that the kids who used to watch their shows in the early 90s are now adults wanting to relive those moments and share them with their own kids. Which is why we have The Splat, a block of programming on one of Nickelodeon’s channels that airs usually late night and focuses on 90s programming. There’s a lot of crap on there, but the Nicktoons are mostly well represented (except Ren & Stimpy, for some reason). And ever since they started airing The Splat, they’ve re-run a lot of the Nicktoons Christmas specials every year so you will likely be able to catch “Rocko’s Modern Christmas” on there more than once before the month is through, and I suggest you do.

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