Ed Good, Rocko Bad
As someone who’s not into politics, I tend to be most drawn to the subject when cartoons pull a unique spin. It breathes a lot of life and spirit into what is otherwise a dull subject where people’s views on issues make for ugly opinion clashes. In this cartoon, the political topic is elections and the lengths people are willing to go to be voted by the people for the people. Keeping with the series’ atmosphere, there are a lot of great satires on these subjects, but on the other hand, the story can get pretty frustrating through certain directions.
The cause for election is brought to light through the role of the O-Town dogcatcher with corrupt practices of the catching process, and poor conditions of the pound. It really becomes personal when Spunky, who innocently goes about life unlike the other stray dogs, gets caught and thrown in such a poorly built pound. As if that’s not enough, when Rocko sets out to save him, he’s thrown in too because the management is too ignorant to figure out what a wallaby is. You can really feel the unfairness of the conditions, especially from the suffering the major players endure.
However, that makes Rocko’s pledge to do something about the dog catching in the town. He at first sets out to write a letter complaint, but then something bigger comes along. The old dogcatcher has retired, leaving the position open, thus there’s a need for an election. Rocko is of course willing to run, but then word gets to Ed Bighead, and conflict arises from there. No doubt based on all the times Rocko’s dog has been in his yard, Ed trusts that if Rocko’s dogcatcher, it’ll be a nightmare for homeowners with dogs getting so many rights. For that, Ed decides to run for dogcatcher as well for the sole purpose of beating his neighbor opponent.
Normally, his jerk attitude would always be Ed’s undoing against Rocko’s good nature. This time, his attempts at one-upping Rocko are seen as an actual threat thanks in large part to the campaign he’s able to get. Local town entrepreneurs, the Chameleon Brothers, give Ed a simple analysis on his demeanor and political potential. All it takes is a couple of outrageous rumor smears on Rocko and giving Ed literal shoulders to have him instantly win over the people. Yes, this shady campaign strategy yields actual results for Ed and makes him a legit threat for Rocko’s cause. This continues on for much of the cartoon where no matter what Rocko and his campaign do, Ed somehow has the popular vote. I can see relatability here, especially with how a certain scummy US president got into power, but all of this gets really frustrating. The fact that Ed’s shoulders and people believing Rocko is bad because a campaign said so make the populace very fickle and simple-minded. If they had any sense they’d know that Ed is still a jerk and Rocko is far from bad. It also brings the impression that no one thinks logically, and that’s hardly ever pleasing. Not to mention, despite being in good humor, all the scenes of Rocko’s failed attempts to get votes elicit too much sympathy for the laughs to work. It just isn’t right that the jerk who’s usually punished comes out on top so often.
Things work out in the end, where even though Ed wins, there’s an
act to give the pound dogs better treatment and all Ed does as dogcatcher is
clean up after them. That’s a clever way
of showing officials don’t have all the power, but it also feels too little too
late. It’s also not clear if Rocko’s
reputation marred by the campaign is restored.
Technically, this cartoon can work as a good political satire, but at
least to me, the story directions hold back the humor element.
C-
Teed Off
This cartoon is a pleasing scenario where creative premises and character pairings come together for something really interesting. The backdrop it’s all set against can even be seen as a favorite for many when it comes to pastimes.
It starts with Ed hearing of a new position at work which may or may not make things up on the fly. He says his usual position is to check all the bottle caps, but now he has an opportunity to get a promotion where rather than checking the caps, he gets to put them on. His excitement over such a thing must be reflective of how dull and simple office work is. Yet I can’t help but feel this is far off from the kind of work he’s done at Conglom-O before, standard computer work. No matter what, the scenario all of this leads to is still an interesting way for Ed to get to what qualifies as a promotion around here. He has to challenge his boss in a game of golf, and lose on purpose to give his authority figure all the glory. There’s got to be some implication of corrupt power systems, but in any case, Ed doesn’t care so long as he gets to put on those bottle caps apparently.
Then comes the twist to the story where Heffer is among the groundskeepers setting up the golf course. You have to wonder how he suddenly got the job, but it isn’t long before you can just roll with it as part of some oddball attempt for this dumb steer to work whatever he can get. As it turns out, he’s way out of line with the system, constantly slacking off and unaware that the other groundskeepers are in on the scheme to always let Ed’s boss win at golf. They’re even led by someone with major Darth Vader vibes. During the game, Ed’s boss always makes a perfect shot while all of Ed’s are struck by the common cartoon prop of giant pianos. This way, it’s guaranteed that Ed will lose the game, and again, that’s just what he wants.
Then Heffer’s innocence on the matter comes in when he sees what the groundskeepers are doing. Unaware of the plan for Ed’s boss, he views his findings as a typical unfair advantage and goes on to help Ed by making it seem like he made the winning shot at each hole. True, his actions are holding Ed back from his goal, but you can’t be too hard on Heffer since it comes from a sincere place of wanting to help Ed. All the while, all of Ed’s wins make his accomplices all shaken up that the system being messed with, so they really amp up their pianos while Heffer keeps doing his thing.
It all builds up to a climax where Ed is advised to shoot his ball away from the hole, straight into a water hazard. Once it lands, there’s an exciting sequence where Heffer retrieves the ball, and uses his tractor mower to fly like an airplane to place the ball in the hole. The groundskeepers try to stop him like it’s a war, but Heffer is just unbeatable. To cap it off, he loses control of his tractor plane and everyone around highlights the moment with dramatic screaming before the crash. Surely, how is that for a spectacle that highlights what Heffer feels is a well-deserved win for Ed? Of course, it costs him the promotion he wanted, even including a scene where it looks like he’ll get it anyway only for that to not be so, but honestly there are worse losses.
The whole cartoon is overall an interesting
subject combining favorite pastimes, workplace atmospheres, and varying
personalities that approach things in their own ways.
A
The Ranking
1. From Here to Maternity
2. Teed Off
3. Sailing the 7 Zzzz’s
4. Pranksters
5. Ed Good, Rocko Bad
6. With Friends Like These
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