'Rocko's Modern Life' is a self-aware Netflix reboot with bite

Nickelodeon

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As far as boundary-pushing '90s Nickelodeon cartoons go, Rocko's Modern Life has aged the best. It punched way above the heads of the network's young audience when it aired, and it was far more grounded in real-world issues than the likes of Ren and Stimpy. Now that its fans are well into adulthood (myself included), the show's social commentary is more resonant than ever. That makes Rocko the perfect classic cartoon to bring back today, and the new Netflix film, Static Cling, doesn't disappoint.

Set 20 years after the end of the original series, the movie starts with Rocko, his best friend Heffer, and their neurotic turtle compatriot Filburt, floating through space (it's a long story). Somehow, they've survived on scraps of food in Rocko's house, with a single tape of their favorite '90s cartoon, "The Fatheads," as their only source of entertainment. Before you can shout "Spunky!", the tape gets destroyed. But, as they commiserate, they realize the rocket controls that could get them home was stuck on Heffer's butt the whole time. So it goes.
Returning to O-Town, as they seek out more Fatheads episodes, is like leaping forward in time after they've been stuck in the '90s. Before you know it, they're racing to get the latest O-phone (which is almost immediately replaced by a new model), hitting up BuzzBucks coffee shops and getting stomach viruses from trendy food trucks. Rocko creator Joe Murray made a point of criticizing rampant consumerism and huge corporations in the original series, and that anti-capitalist attitude hasn't gone anywhere. Sure, it's not exactly subtle, but it's still sharper social commentary than you'll find in most Nickelodeon cartoons.
 
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