Wacky Delly (Rocko's Modern Life Season 3 Episode 10) - 'Toon Reviews 36

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Wacky Delly

 

A show specializing in satirizing many aspects of life really embraces its animated roots by going after the process of making animated series.  This is what this double-length cartoon goes for, and it comes off as a genius work of hilarity and honesty in the TV animation business.  Though I personally would love to devote my life to making my own animated works, the focus here is someone on the opposite end of the spectrum. 

Ralph Bighead, creator of in-universe hit cartoon show The Fatheads, actually wants to go out into the world to create fine art instead of work in animation.  This is an interesting instance where the artist who works in animation wants to do something bigger and more creative and not have to cater to one demographic.  It goes to show that artists come in all types.  However, just as how getting into animation is hard for me, breaking out of it to pursue his artistic accomplishments is hard for Ralph.  He finishes The Fatheads, but network executives say that his contract requires him to make another show.  Though initially dismayed, Ralph discovers a solution by purposefully sabotaging his show by hiring his biggest fans, Rocko, Heffer, and Filburt to create it. 

One thing the first half of the special makes a point of is how even someone’s biggest fans can’t always make the best art.  They’re still largely inexperienced in the arts and know nothing about the cartoon making process.  This is the main source of comedy coming from how Rocko and his friends approach making a show where any potential difficulty is satirized to a hilarious extent.  First, their show idea is over something as random as deli meats.  That doesn’t sound bad at first, but then there’s the actual process.  The art style goes for something unbelievably crude, reworking anything overly detailed to something so simplistic.  The storyboard session is constantly interrupted with Heffer and Filburt suggesting any random thing that comes to mind without considering what makes sense.  Then when editing thousands of drawings together, it consists mostly of humorously acted arguments that result in throwing key scenes away.  This is a recipe for disaster, but it’s just what Ralph wants so to be forced out of his contract. 

Truth be told, the final product of Rocko and friends’ show, Wacky Delly, is no doubt objectively bad, but still a hilarious kind of bad.  Their work is total nonsense of scenes of a bologna, salami, and especially a cheese playing on loop, chases that aren’t properly animated, cuts to a live action meatloaf, and more.  There’s no point or story at all, and the characters feel devoid of all substance, but since that’s what Ralph is going for, this can be enjoyed as intentionally bad. 

It also works in the ultimate satire where not only do the executives love it, but Wacky Delly goes on to be a huge hit with fans.  This right here makes for a brilliant interpretation of something so bad becoming so successful. That’s actually a very timeless message considering what critically bashed material reaches big success in today’s age.  This is further reflected in Ralph’s various attempts at sabotaging the show with episodes that are just a blank screen, or more ridiculously, a jar of mayonnaise, yet people still love it.  It’s the ultimate nature of unanimously bad works that can never go away.  However, a more ambitious sabotage of flooding the town only for the studio where Wacky Delly is made to be the only survivor feels more like bad luck than relatable. 

After much trial, Ralph is convinced to accept his fate and be proud of the art he’s made with Wacky Delly, even if it’s more of the art of popularity.  That’s a healthy mindset for any artist regardless of where they want to be, for any form of art is worth pursuing, including animation.  For that, Ralph is willing to put more effort into the show so it can be actually good.  What’s seen of Wacky Delly from his leadership is something truly artistic, paying homage to the likes of Fantasia.  However, like how that highbrow work was rejected by audiences when first released, so is Ralph’s take on Wacky Delly, which grants him the cancellation he initially wanted.  This is probably this cartoon at its most honest.  People may want to make art out of animation, but it’s not in line with mainstream audiences who want simple entertainment.  Besides, Ralph’s vision really isn’t in line with what Wacky Delly was established as, so that is a legit reason for it to not be liked. 

As for the actual story, it ends 10 years into the future with Ralph finally making a fine art piece he’s always envisioned, a still life of a fruit bowl and wine glass made from canyon rocks.  Human nature still persists however when a common bystander shows up saying that what Ralph has painstakingly crafted looks nice. Even so, he shows more interest in the mindless first season of Wacky Delly.  True, it isn’t fair to artists that people tend to lean towards what’s popular, but it’s just the way personal tastes work and they just have to deal with it.  That said, considering the events of the recent Rocko’s Moder Life Netflix-special Static Cling, it’s possible Ralph had an interesting way of dealing with this hard fact.  That, however, is for another time.

As for this cartoon, it’s among one of the strongest behind the scenes works for an animated series.  It stands out for its inventive ways of highlighting the turmoil of how artists really feel about the industry.  In fact, Joe Murray described the story as relatable to his own experiences with animation, leaving a strong possibility that he once wanted what Ralph wanted.  I mean, he does voice the character after all, and it is a fact that in the following season, he stepped down as showrunner.  To an even bigger extent, it’s not afraid to poke fun at mainstream tastes in cartoons from executives loving stupid and lazy material, and it becoming popular no matter what.  This is a landmark work of this show looking into the not often discussed feelings showrunners and creators have behind the scenes.  For that, it’s perhaps its best perspective on life.

A++

The Ranking

1.      Wacky Delly

2.      Camera Shy

3.      The Emperor’s New Joe

4.      Ed is Dead: A Thriller

5.      Bye Bye Birdie

6.      Speaking Terms

7.      Sugar Frosted Frights

8.      I See London I See France

9.      Nothing to Sneeze At

10.  Schnit-Heads

11.  Dear John

12.  The Fat Lands

13.  Belch of Destiny

14.  Tooth and Nail

15.  Rocko’s Happy Vermin

16.  Manic Mechanic

17.  Old Fogey Frog

18.  Fish-N-Chumps

19.  Fortune Cookie

 

 

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where thestatus quo is shaken up somewhat with the marriage of Filburt and Dr. Hutchison.

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.