Spitballs
When
it comes to slice-of-life shows, it’s not surprising to see the characters go
to baseball games. Since I’m not exactly
a sports fan, baseball games aren’t things I’m all that interested in, so
cartoons about that don’t set themselves up as something I could love. However, sports-themed cartoons can work when
they focus on what the sport means for the characters as opposed to just the
sport itself, and that’s the case with this cartoon standing out for its creative edge.
More
value is put on a prized baseball Rocko has.
He talks a lot about how it’s the only foul ball he’s ever caught, and
that makes the story more engaging than it would if it focused on baseball
itself, which would mostly be interesting near-exclusively to sports fans. In fact, you could relate his behavior to
anyone who treasures something. That’s
why it’s easy feel for Rocko when the ball lands in Mr. Bighead’s yard and he
harshly responds by shredding it, though it is concerning that unlike in his
other jerky appearance, Ed gets no punishment for being this unforgiving.
The only option Rocko has for another foul
ball is to get one at another baseball game.
In addition, Heffer hopes to snag an autograph from his favorite player
Spike Hammerhead. This is a believable
mindset for people who go to baseball games despite not being sports fans in
which Rocko and Heffer are after getting their hands on souvenirs of the game
as opposed to just watching the game which helps in successfully engaging all
audience members. Also boosting the
cartoon’s appeal is applying the show’s theme of how even the littlest things
in life can have the biggest of challenges and getting a lot of entertainment
out of them. One big challenge comes
when Rocko and Heffer get cheap seats from a shady slug which end up being
ridiculously high, making the game hard to see and catching foul balls
impossible. They respond by breaking the rule and sit in open seats much
further down even if they’re not what’s assigned which Rocko’s shoulder devil
AND angel agree to.
Following a few more gags
on various events of baseball games, the seat challenge becomes relevant again
when, as luck would have it, a foul ball is hit up to where Rocko and Heffer
were assigned to sit. However, even if
Rocko isn’t in the right spot to catch it, he puts in a greatly ridiculous effort
to do so resulting in an exciting mad dash for it, ending with him catching the
ball before it hits the infield. Despite
that, Rocko is later moved by his conscience winning over this time, to give it
to a random little kid. However, since
he’s happy to have made the kid happy and that Heffer ends up with Spike
Hammerhead’s spit wad making up for the lack of an autograph, the conclusion is
very satisfying, although it does lose value when the kid Rocko gave the foul
ball to tears it up meaning that Rocko gave the ball away for no good
reason. At least he never finds
out.
This leaves us with a basic yet fun
baseball game cartoon built on the creative ways of showing the challenges you
run into through simply watching the game and snagging its remembrances.
A-
Popcorn
Pandemonium
This
show has gotten a lot of mileage out of its creative, if bizarre, ways of
depicting the challenges of everyday life, even in the simplest
activities. However, one of the best
displays of this show’s talents come from this cartoon where the featured
activity is going to the movies.
When
Heffer’s feeble attempts to create a drive-in movie experience for Rocko
backfire, they go see a movie at the local cinema. From there, the story thrives on antics based
on identifiable obstacles seeing a movie provides. In spite of all exaggerations that Rocko and
Heffer run into at the cinema, there’s a bit of truth to everything they
encounter starting at the movie selection.
The ads say there are 100s of movies to choose, but there’s only one film
playing which ties into how theaters know what most people want to see, leading
to said films becoming blockbusters. The
real challenges involve getting to the movie which feel believable. Tickets in real life may not go up to $99.95
like they do here, but it shows that movie tickets are not cheap, and we’ve all
been stuck in long lines while getting snacks at least once.
Some of the more entertaining challenges come
from running gags occurring when Rocko and Heffer rush to their assigned
movie. One includes showing up in
various theaters which aren’t always the ideal place to watch something
including one with a sticky floor, a really cramped theater, and one where the
screen is out of focus. Another running
gag is Rocko mistaken as an usher who wears the same shirt as him, which is a
little far-fetched, but then again, I wouldn’t blame workers for assuming
people whose clothes are the same as their uniforms are new recruits.
Everything gives this cartoon an authentic
feel of an actual cinema, but what really makes it feel like a real cinema-going
experience are the previews. They’re the
one thing you’re always sure to see at the cinema, and the time devoted to the
previews gives the appropriate feel. In
addition, the previews stand out as the most entertaining part of the cartoon
coming off as a great collection of shorts.
Some of them play with expectations like a kung-fu gerbil making
breakfast, and a Dracula movie where he’s dead.
Others express the crew’s imaginations and senses of humor like a
man-eating hair piece, and the adorable Little Poots of the “stinky community”
of Pootville.
The most extravagant
preview is for a high-concept film based on a news report of garbage workers on
strike staged as a musical, complete with an exciting song sequence.
There’s lots of entertainment, laughs and
relatability from Rocko and Heffer’s time at the cinema, and all the greatness leads
to a really nice payoff for their challenges.
While there is a fire that destroys the cinema, the fire makes the
viewing experience like a drive-in like Rocko originally wanted, and he and
Heffer have all the popcorn they can eat.
It brings everything together as a nonstop entertaining time at the
movies.
For its creative depictions of
the obstacles of movie-viewing, entertainment from the previews, and one of the
show’s most satisfying conclusions, this cartoon is one of the biggest joys of
modern life.
A+
The Ranking
- Popcorn Pandemonium
- Skid Marks
- The Good the Bad and the Wallaby
- To Heck and Back
- Who Gives a Buck?
- Dirty Dog
- Trash-O-Madness
- Jet Scream
- Keeping Up With the Bigheads
- Spitballs
- No Pain No Gain
- Power Trip
- Bedfellows
- Leap Frogs
The next Rocko's Modern Life review covers one of the show's most famous interpretations of machines gone wrong with the Suck-O-Matic, and Rocko finds himself in desperate need for work.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is the start of a new set of reviews covering the recent Cartoon Network series OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes.
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