The Good
the Bad and the Wallaby
This
is one of the more charming and interesting exploits of Rocko trying out one of life’s
activities which takes him all the
way down to a cattle ranch.
He’s invited to come by his Uncle Gib, who oddly enough is not a
wallaby, and already he’s set up with a clear goal of what to do. The last time he was there, he
tried to live up to his uncle’s great cowboy skills of lassoing and horseback
riding, but things never worked out, so Rocko is determined for things to be
different with this new visit.
In
addition, Heffer comes along with Rocko impressed with the idea of being among
a herd of cattle, although being a steer himself sets up many potential
dangers. From there, the cartoon becomes
a sequence of antics of both Rocko and Heffer each trying to accomplish what
they set out to do at the ranch. They’re
basically the brand of creative interpretations to the challenges that come
with life’s activities we’ve come to expect, but that doesn’t stop them from
being thoroughly enjoyable.
With Rocko,
horseback riding becomes especially challenging when the horse he tries riding,
which is the same one he rode on his last visit to the ranch, is now dead and
preserved, and the build-up to the reveal both seen and spoken sells the humor
of the moment. Other antics aren’t
nearly as clever, but have comedy quirks to them such as him roping random
things instead of his own cattle.
As for Heffer, it’s particularly amusing
to watch a civilized cow from the city interact and try to behave like native
cows on the ranch such as sleeping standing up (which he finds uncomfortable)
and constantly popping in on Rocko to get him to brand him to be part of the
herd. There's even a risqué scene where he manages to get "milked" by the ranch hands despite being a male cow that ended up cut from later TV airings and even the DVD release. But here it is now:
Anyway, Heffer ultimately brands himself
with a flimsy felt marker mark and the other cattle fall for it. However, his desire to be with
other steer demonstrates an innocence and naiveté from Heffer’s character when
he treats being among other steers like being part of his own kind which could be noble, yet he doesn’t seem to understand what
happens to cattle raised on a ranch.
It’s not until the herd is sent to market when Heffer finally sees the
big picture. In a humorous
twist, Heffer believes that going to market means they’ll be picking up snacks,
when in reality, they’re going to be sold for food. However, it’s out of this dark situation that
brings in an impressive moment from Rocko.
Riding that same dead horse and utilizing roping skills that latch him
onto the truck carrying his friend, Rocko is sent on an exciting chase for the
cattle. He ends up riding an
unconventional sheep when the dead horse doesn’t work out, stops the truck
by getting on top and asking the drivers politely, and conveniently misses all
hazards and lands on a soft chair after being flung when the vehicle stops…at
least at first.
In the end, the cartoon
stands out for showing that while some goals have the potential to be met like
Rocko becoming good at ranch work, there are some that aren’t always worth
pursuing, like Heffer being among other cattle, yet he’s still happy where he
is. Adding on an exciting western ballad
from Uncle Gib to close everything off, we can walk away with an immensely
entertaining Wild West adventure, and working in the show's brand of entertainment makes it particularly special.
A+
Trash-O-Madness
You
might be thrown off about how this cartoon is animated in a slightly more
bizarre way than the rest of the series.
This is because it’s a reworked version of the original series pilot,
i.e. a short cartoon meant to test the characters and settings of a show to
convince the networks to make it. It was
originally animated by series creator, Joe Murray, and his team of artists,
with many of the original scenes incorporated into the aired version with new
scenes added in to make it long enough, different music to fit the rest of the
show’s styles, and Rocko’s color being changed from yellow to beige. Basically, reviewing this cartoon would be a
lot like reviewing the pilot, but its background makes it somewhat
interesting.
The plot is on the basic
trials and tribulations Rocko faces while getting through life, with particular
emphasis on his relationship with and care for his dog, Spunky, and how they’ve
moved into this life from their old home in Australia. The first moments of them waking up to start
the day demonstrate the heart of the wallaby-dog dynamic with a
wholesome family moment like most days would start. Then, as soon as Rocko notices the garbage
truck, it’s an all-out rush for him and Spunky to grab all the garbage they can
around the house.
If needing to rush to
meet the garbage truck isn’t enough, Rocko’s task to collect all the trash is
made even more challenging by how his cleaning spree leads to many ways for
Spunky to get himself into trouble. The
dog gets inflated by the vacuum, chews on a piece of slime from a box that’s
been in the refrigerator since World War II and won’t let it go, and to top it
all, ends up with the rest of the trash in a Chinese takeout-crafted compactor,
though the latter does amuse with a cartoonish shape for the compactor.
In keeping with the show’s theme of how life
is full of unpredictable challenges, garbage day is made even more of a hassle
when Rocko gets pursued by Earl, a mutant dog who escaped from the science lab. This mean dog is constantly thwarting Rocko’s
attempts to simply get out of his house to dump his garbage, popping in on any
door he attempts to run out of, leading him to have to try and avoid him by
lowing his garbage from the roof with a fishing pole. Since life still won’t let up on its
challenges for Rocko, as it likely wouldn’t do for most people, the situation
gets tenser when Earl figures out what he’s up to and catches the garbage with
Spunky mixed in. This moment brings
about an admirable quality of Rocko when after being mostly calm and friendly
while dealing with the challenging chore, becomes firm and tough when Earl
refuses to cooperate, and willing to get physical with Earl to get Spunky back
despite the pain he gets.
In the end,
when the chore is done, the day ends with one last wholesome scene of Rocko
explaining how much Spunky means to him on account that he’s the only family he
has in this new town. We’re
left with a basic story that demonstrates the comedic and relatable strengths
of the series, making sense why this pilot got the whole series off the
ground. The aired version can get
distracting visually though as we constantly cut from the sketchy pilot style to the
current style making for a huge lack of consistency although some new scene
like Earl sharpening his teeth and Rocko grabbing the fishing pole do help the
story flow better. Even with that,
you’re in for not just a fun take on one of life’s tasks that always needs to
be done, but an interesting piece of the show’s history with the cartoon’s
context in mind.
A
The Ranking
- 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
- No Pain No Gain
- Power Trip
- Bedfellows
- Leap Frogs
The next Rocko's Modern Life review highlights this show's look at the challenges of going to a baseball game and the movies, both of which coming off amazingly.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is a Steven Universe episode called "It Could've Been Great."
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If you want to stay updated for more reviews, become a follower of this blog, click here to like the official Facebook page, and click here to follow me on Twitter.
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.
