RJ Writing Ink

A Look Back on Rocko’s Modern Life and it’s importance

My fellow 90s kids and lovers of classic Nickelodeon, tomorrow is a momentous day. Joe Murray’s classic Nicktoon, Rocko’s Modern Life, shall make it’s return on Netflix. If the trailers are anything to go by, it’s going to have all the slapstick, satire, and adult jokes fans will remember. As a 90s kid, I feel I should be more excited about this, but I have a confession to make. I didn’t like Rocko as much as I could have as a kid.

I was born in the middle of the 1990s, so I was too young to watch the show when it was actually airing. By the time I graduated from Nick Jr. to Nickelodeon proper, all that they had were reruns. When I watched them, though, most of the jokes flew over my head, and by the time I was old enough to understand them, Rocko’s Modern Life had gone off the air.

Despite this, the years have given me a greater appreciation for the show for its satirization of our culture. The show’s setting of O-Town is basically a jab at the commercialization of everything in the 90s. Again, I don’t remember much, so I have to take others word for it. Or do I?

Camp Lazlo

Despite my limited childhood connection to Rocko, much of my appreciation for it comes from another show Murray did, Camp Lazlo.

Premiering on Cartoon Network in summer of 2005, it was a show about three best friends, Lazlo, Raj, and Clam, who spend their summer as Bean Scouts in Camp Kidney. I fell in love with this show as a kid, and, for a time, it was one of my favorite cartoons. I also noticed that it used a lot of the jokes and music from another show I liked, Spongebob Squarepants.

In hindsight, this observation makes sense. After Rocko’s Modern Life got cancelled, a good chunk of its actors and staff moved to work on Spongebob. According to Murray, they kept in touch, and when Lazlo got green lit, they jumped on board.

As a result, Camp Lazlo had a lot of its predecessor in its DNA. The actors, the writing style, the comedy of Rocko’s were all there. In many ways, it was like the second coming of Rocko’s Modern Life. Albeit, it’s one that toned down the adult jokes. It was a fun show, but then Cartoon Network pulled the plug on it in 2008. According to Murray, he ticked the executives off by refusing to appear in a commercial for McDonald’s or something.

Murray’s Uphill Battle

That wasn’t the first time Joe Murray faced issues. According to Vanity Fair, his dad didn’t approve of his desire to be an artist. I’m convinced that this led to him creating Ralph Bighead, the cartoonist and estranged son of Mr. and Mrs. Bighead on the show. He even voiced Ralph himself.

It gets worse. Around the time production of Rocko’s Modern Life got his wife Diane committed suicide. For a time, Murray blamed Rocko for what happened. He eventually got therapy, though, and working on his show helped. Then, when he started Camp Lazlo, he got a divorce from his second wife. Ouch.

Yet despite all the hardship, Murray never let it truly break him. He did everything he could to make sure that his team could have the freedom to do what they wanted. They worked at their own separate studio , and Murray’s contract ensured that none of the executives from Nickelodeon could show up unannounced. As a result, the team behind the show worked in an environment that was essentially controlled, light-hearted anarchy.

After reading all of this, I can’t help but respect Joe Murray, both as a person and a creator. He created the kind of work environment that I would have loved being in. I think because of this, many of the people who worked on Rocko’s Modern Life went on to make a big splash in pop culture.

Impact of Rocko’s Modern Life

As crazy as it may sounds, cartoons as we know them today may not be the same without Rocko’s Modern Life. Many of the team members have gone on to work on several highly successful cartoons, from the adult animation on Fox, to Cartoon Network, and of course, for Nickelodeon. Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh, who got their starts on Rocko, have gone on to create Phineas and Ferb and Milo Murphy’s Law. Phineas and Ferb was one of my favorite cartoons on Disney Channel for years, you know!

In terms of cultural impact, Rocko started the careers of two highly successful comedians, Carlos Alazraqui and Tom Kenny. Carlos’ got some pretty high-profile roles and a steady number of minor ones. As for Tom Kenny, there’s not enough time in the day. The guys practically voice acting royalty. He may be best known for playing Spongebob, but he’s got a lot of other big roles under his belt.

Speaking of Spongebob, we wouldn’t have Spongebob without Rocko. Stephen Hillenberg was the creative director of the show, and took most of the reins when Murray wanted to step back. After Rocko got the axe, Stephen went on to pitch Spongebob Squarepants. A lot of Rocko’s team joined him, and the rest is animation history.

That Was a Hoot!

So, while I may not get the level of nostalgia as some fans, that doesn’t mean I don’t see the value of this show. It left a big impact on the animation industry and helped make it what it is today. I’m looking forward to seeing Rocko’s Modern Life: Static Cling first thing in the morning. You can bet that I’ll be doing a review of it, too! It’s gonna be a hoot!

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Spongebob’s Birthday Blowout Review!

This post’s dedicated to the legendary Tom Kenny on his 57th birthday, the cast and crew of Spongebob, and to the late Stephen Hillenberg. Thank you for twenty years of absorbent, yellow, and porous fun. Happy birthday Spongebob and Tom!

This year, one of the greatest cartoons of all time reached a historic milestone. That’s right, mateys: Spongebob Squarepants celebrates his twentieth birthday! If you’ve seen some of my posts in the past, you know how much Spongebob means to me. So when I heard that Nickelodeon planned to celebrate their favorite show with a birthday special, I had to watch it and say happy birthday, Spongebob!

Considering that it premiered on the night before Tom Kenny’s actual birthday, the timing makes perfect sense.

Quick Synopsis

It’s Spongebob’s birthday in Bikini Bottom and all his friend’s team up to make it his best birthday ever. Patrick takes Spongebob on a sightseeing tour to celebrate, but not just any trip. They go on a bus tour to a place that Spongebob’s only been to twice: THE SURFACE!

It’s all part of Sandy’s plan to get Spongebob out of the house so she and all his friends can decorate it for a surprise party. The hardest part was getting Patrick to understand the plan.

“I’m gonna collect all the pretty eggs that I can see and repeat it back to me.”

Review

I still remember the special that Nickelodeon made for Spongebob’s 10th anniversary, “Truth or Square.” That was a lackluster special, and I honestly remember little of it. So I was skeptical about this special. I’m pleased to say that, as the title indicates, this special’s a love letter to what’s made Spongebob one of the greatest cartoons of all time. From the cameos to the Easter eggs and callbacks, this episode has everything a longtime fan of the show could ask for. Heck, let’s start with me counting out all the cameos I could find.

Cameos

Let’s take a little sightseeing tour down memory lane. As the 20th anniversary special, we got a lot of cameos from the show’s long and colorful history.

The French Narrator, AKA “Frenchy,” appears in his scuba gear. I didn’t know they made him an onscreen character so I thought he was that Shell City “Cyclops” from The Spongebob Squarepants Movie.

Speaking of the Spongebob Squarepants Movie, next we have the heroic lifeguard himself, David Hasselhoff!

Spongebob’s surprise party includes several characters from the show’s long history, but two stood out to me the most. First, we have Princess Mindy. You may remember her as Neptune’s daughter from the Spongebob Squarepants Movie. The second is Fred, the “My Leg!” guy. He’s so popular that he ended up getting an entire episode dedicated to him, which seems like a dream come true.

Spongebob Live-Action Cast

The most prominent cameo of the special, though, comes during Spongebob’s trip to the surface when they visit a restaurant called the Trusty Slab. The voice actor’s for Spongebob play their characters in live-action form, with the voices and everything. It was AWESOME! Watch the likes of Clancy Brown, Bill Fagerbakke, and Tom Kenny play their long-running roles live, and in-character was indeed a meta-joke to behold. It’s one of the big highlights of the entire special.

Thank You Spongebob and Steve

The other big moment for the special for me comes in the closing minutes when Spongebob gets a surprise gift from none other than Patchy the Pirate. Patchy’s always been Spongebob’s biggest fan and has longed to meet him in real life. While he failed in the 10th anniversary, I’m thrilled to say that he finally got his wish. He then led the entire cast in singing “Happy Birthday, Spongebob!” to the tune of the theme song.

The cherry on top is that the last scene is a simple message:

Thank you, Steve Hillenberg.

It’s the perfect tribute to the late creator of Spongebob, who you may remember died on November 2018 from ALS. This moment, more than anything brought tears to my eyes. Tears for all the joy that Spongebob has given kids over the years, and sadness that Steve couldn’t live to see his creation reach the big 2-0.

Seeing that simple “thank you” to Hillenberg re-affirmed what I thought when watching this special: it’s a love letter to everything that Stephen Hillenberg created. He may be gone, but he left behind something that will stand the test of time. Spongebob’s earned his place as one of the most famous animated characters of all time, standing alongside the greats like Goku, Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse, and others.

Growing up, my parents couldn’t understand what’s so appealing about Spongebob. They saw it as silly and pointless, and they’re right, to an extent. I would say that that’s what a lot of cartoons should be, though. When I look at Spongebob, though, I don’t see a hyperactive man-child: I see someone who’s not afraid to be himself, even if people call him a “goofy goober” for it. I see someone who always tries to see the best in the world and the people in it; that’s something this world sorely needs. If we had more people as lovely as Spongebob, I think the world would be a better place.

Happy Birthday Spongebob

What I’m trying to say is that this unique show us what make’s Spongebob so great. It has all the humor and jokes we expect from Spongebob, but it also got all its heart and love. It’s everything that we could want from Spongebob Squarepants, and I wish we got this ten years ago. If you’re a fan of Spongebob, then I’m telling you to see this special. Happy birthday, Spongebob, and happy birthday, Tom Kenny. Thanks for twenty years of laughter.

I Give Spongebob’s Birthday Blowout a 4.8/5.

Click here to see this birthday tribute to Spongebob

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