Monday, October 14, 2019

Fish n Chumps / Camera Shy (Rocko's Modern Life Season 3 Episode 4) - 'Toon Reviews 36

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Fish n Chumps
 
This show is known for making creative experiences out of normal everyday activities, and this cartoon is no different.  Considering that the late Stephen Hillenberg, who would later create a certain cartoon phenomenon known as SpongeBob Squarepants, worked on this, it’s fitting that it’s about fishing.  Working in the creative aspect of animation, there’s a major catch to the activity though, even if it does tend to overdo the point of it all. 
As Rocko, Heffer, and Filburt set out for the open ocean to do their fishing, the cartoon starts with one cartoonish scenario to fit the nature of fishing after another.  First, there’s decent chemistry between the three guys.  Filburt has a funny routine with Heffer of wanting to tell the time with his new glow in the dark watch while Rocko, as usual, plays the straight man to their antics.  Heffer’s growing frustration allows the watch to stand as a humorous running gag for the cartoon.  There’s also an amusing caricature of a pirate captain called Crappy Jack with not just wooden limbs, but wooden eyes and guts too.  To Joe Murray, the stand-out element to him is the improv done from voice actor Tom Kenny. It allows his long pirate anecdote he tells without seeing if anyone’s listening whenever he’s on screen feel like a believable lengthy story.  It’s just one testament to the voice acting of the series.  Crappy Jack’s story also makes for another amusing running gag where you think Rocko and the others set off with him, but he leaves them behind in a boat next to theirs. 
So, the guys set off for fishing alone where the bulk of the fishing antics reveal themselves.  There are funny scenarios with the fish bait with a worm writhing in pain when put through a hook, and the scent of cheese attracting a random giant squid.  Once it’s decided that hotdogs should be bait, the tables of fishing are turned completely.  At first, a hotdog on a hook shows up behind Rocko when he casts his out to see.  Even more suspicious is a cooler full of sandwiches that show up that wasn’t there before.  As Rocko and his friends freak out over this, the audience sees the truth.  While the fishermen are fishing for fish, under the water, the fish are fishing for the fishermen.  This kind of works as a funny twist, but the legit fearful reactions don’t make the humor stand out as well as it usually does.  Plus, the fish that do the fishing don’t do anything different from human fishermen so it’s not all that clever. 
The group’s fear also persists under obviously dumb moves like when Filburt and Heffer notice a hook caught onto Rocko’s life jacket.  They could just cut it to avoid any danger, but no one thinks to do that and keep on freaking out even though they don’t really need too.  There are also matters like Filburt caring more for his watch than his well-being which isn’t just dumb, but also not in line with his character.  Finally, when Crappy Jack passes by again, ignoring the guys’ calls for help fails to be as funny as last time given the legit danger.  I do give credit for the earlier scene of the squid coming in to play as he helps everyone out for more cheese.  Still, given all the trouble the fish put them in, I personally don’t completely approve of the last scene of them still grabbing Rocko and his friends even when they’re safe at home. 
There are certain choices that prevent this from being a huge favorite cartoon, but I can’t fault it for making fishing seem more exciting than it really is.

B+

Camera Shy

In addition to being another fun cartoon, it also demonstrates the more out-there side of the show’s cartoonish aesthetics.  The subject of the story is filming home movies where the final product doesn’t always fit one’s vision.  With the lengths of this series in mind, other visions can be unlike anything most people could imagine. 
Rocko is filming a home movie of his life in America to let his parents in Australia know how well things are going.  Right away, this proves to be difficult when he needs Heffer’s help to put everything together.  Heffer really gets into the role of a director, treating this simple record of Rocko’s everyday routines as if it’s a big budget blockbuster.  Then there are his major efforts but shoddy executions such as getting distracted by little things that show up in filming or big moments coming just as the battery runs out.  In addition, decisions go completely off track by working in a random cooking show with Mrs. Bighead much to the flamboyant annoyance of her husband.  That’s just a small example of Rocko’s visions clashing with those of a director though especially since it’s all amounted to Heffer just messing around for fun. 
Slowly though, this feel becomes better realized as the cartoon goes on.  First, Heffer, along with Filburt, completely go too far with messing around with the camera.  In an effort to make Rocko’s video interesting, they film him going down to get milk every night completely naked.  Still, execution-wise, it’s honestly as funny to the audience as it is to them particularly with the blatant mockery against censor bars.  This isn’t the first time it was used to cover up private parts that aren’t there since Rocko’s an animal, but its use has never been funnier than it is here.  The biggest reason for this is how it actually has dimension as if it’s just a prop and not an editing effect. 
Then comes the big clash of visions when Rocko and the gang run into the Chameleon Brothers who insist on editing all the hours of footage they have together.  Given the haughty nature of these guys, you can probably guess they’ll really go too far with breaking Rocko’s intentions.  The result is a funny take on avant-garde with a collection of random scenes separated by stylized title cards and transitions but lack a clear theme.  It’s so bizarre yet its nature can be understood if you understand the crowd who’d like it the best.  Heck, we see such a crowd in the form of coffee shop beatnicks, and it’s meaningful that this isn’t the first time the Chameleon Brothers cater to such a crowd. 
Still, since one of the clips is of Rocko’s nudity, that’s enough for him to ignore his acclaim and want all the copies destroyed.  He goes to insane lengths to do so, but it ends up not mattering with Heffer sending one of the tapes to Australia.  However, just before you can be completely done with his nonsense, it all works out.  Rocko’s parents end up loving the avant-garde film, it wins in the Australian Film Festival, and there’s one last jab at censorship with actual censor bars for Rocko to sign.  It’s so impressive that this embarrassing moment brings Rocko so much praise, it’s hard to believe he still wants all the copies destroyed.  I suppose it’s all up to him, though he does seem to realize there’s really no way to destroy all copies of the work when he finds one tape has been swapped with a film of the Bigheads. 
Either way, it says a lot that so much comedy and insightful truths to moviemaking come together in such a fun cartoon.
A+

The Ranking

1.      Camera Shy

2.      The Emperor’s New Joe

3.      Ed is Dead: A Thriller

4.      Bye Bye Birdie

5.      Sugar Frosted Frights

6.      Schnit-Heads

7.      Belch of Destiny

8.      Fish-N-Chumps

 
 
 
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where Bev Bighead gets a nose, and Ed Bighead gets a midlife crisis.
If you would like to check out other Rocko's Modern Life reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

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