This cartoon with a racing theme has a lot going for it that
makes it quite impressive.For one
thing, the real focus isn’t really the racing, but a conflict Steven deals with
that gives layers to his morality.He’s known
for seeing the good in people, even people who are jerks or other Gems trying
to kill him.However, this cartoon
remembers that Steven is only human, and even the most loving people have their
limits.
The person he has a lot of scorn
for is Kevin who shows up and belittles him and his dad.In “Alone Together” Kevin was constantly
showing off his dancing him and Connie fused as Stevonnie and trying to
get them to dance with him even when they didn’t want to.Basically, he was straight-up harassing them.It’s a believable reason for Steven’s scorn
which is met with strong advice from Greg that people like him aren’t worth it.This can also apply to harassment and bully victims in real life considering that giving them attention will
just make things worse.Even so, the
fact that Steven won’t let up about his feelings on Kevin is a bit much for him
since at the end of the day, he’s an overall loving kid.
Because he can’t forget Kevin’s jerkiness, he
gets an idea with Connie, who’s also mad about him albeit to a much smaller
extent, to one-up him.Greg got a new car
with some of his new affluence, and Stevonnie doesn’t look like a kid, so Steven
and Connie fuse to take Kevin on in a race at night.The actual race is a particularly exciting
highlight which is saying something since I’m a type of person who loves
races.The adrenaline, the nighttime
scenery, and the accompanying music add to the exciting atmosphere. However, what
really makes it great is how it shows a lot of Stevonnie’s power as a fusion,
something we haven’t seen since their first appearance.They’re driven by Steven and Connie’s
combined emotions and abilities which unlocks an interesting talent of driving
as they strive to surpass the harassing hunk.
Speaking of him, Kevin pulls off a particularly despicable act during
the race which can even get to the audience.When Stevonnie demands to know why he’s such a jerk, it seems like Kevin
has a relatable reason for his behavior, relating to a sick little
brother.Given the emotional trauma
other characters on the show deal with, this wouldn’t be too far-fetched, and it's nice that the Steven part of Stevonnie feels genuine understanding for this.Within seconds, Kevin states the claim was a lie
and that he acts like a jerk for fun.He
sets himself up to be a one-dimensional jerk who’s bad for no reason.His actions are so bad, they give Stevonnie
enraged visions of the road falling apart much like what they saw when
embarrassed and alone at that dance in their first appearance.It shows what happens when Steven and
Connie’s time fused isn’t a good experience.
Fortunately, they find a way to better their experience of the race by
finishing it for themselves and not for Kevin. It’s a good and mature way to
get them to move on, though I think it would’ve been better if Steven found
that out instead of Connie.Anyhow, the race comes to a great conclusion when Stevonnie competes to
enjoy the drive and they don’t care that they lost.In an interesting twist, Kevin ends up
obsessed as he calls out to them as they drive away ignoring him.This turns out to be huge since it ties into Kevin
getting legit depth later on, which keeps this cartoon from hurting him like how
“Drop Beat Dad” hurt Marty.Plus,
Stevonie’s driving skills deserve credit since this isn’t the only time we see
them either.
The cartoon comes together
as an exciting race with deep messages on dealing with harassers and reading
into people you think you know.
A
The Ranking
Mr. Greg
Gem Drill
Super
Watermelon Island
Too Short
to Ride
Beach City
Drift
Barn Mates
Hit the
Diamond
Same Old
World
Steven
Floats
The New
Lars
Drop Beat
Dad
The next Steven Universe review covers a light-hearted yet creatively executed cartoon about a restaurant war.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is Episode 49 of Animaniacs.
If you would like to check out other Steven Universe reviews on this blog, click herefor the guide made especially for them.
Spunky
is certainly a really cute dog to watch and Rocko’s love for him is one of this
show’s more heartfelt elements, but you honestly don’t have anything that
interesting to take from him since most of his major appearances have him get
into trouble Rocko has to get him out of.Basically, Spunky is mostly a basic dumb dog as a character, and the
trend continues in this cartoon.
That
said, his dumb moment is certainly out of the ordinary in which he falls in
love with Rocko’s mop.The way Spunky
develops this crush is fairly interesting as he sees the way Rocko uses it
similar to how a romantic couple dance on TV, though it’s also random as
completely unrelated scenes of things like a donut getting dunked, a train, and
toast being buttered are cut inbetween Spunky falling for the mop.How do any of these scenes connect to his
crush?
Anyway, when Spunky finally
reaches the mop and it knocks him out giving him many visions of them going on
a date, it’s pretty cute and funny to see him get this excited over something
like a mop.At the same time, it’s hard
to get too invested since as the cartoon goes on, the story expects the
audience to take Spunky’s crush on the mop seriously, and whether or not this
is just a dog thing, it’s hard to get behind why Spunky should get together
with the mop.Apart from looking like
the romantic couple seen earlier, there is nothing special about the mop at
all, so it’s near impossible to look at Spunky’s love for it as more than what
it really is, a stupid joke only meant to be laughed at.Because of this, when Rocko finds out and
takes the mop away, it’s hard to sympathize with Spunky and root for his
attempts to get it back with little weight or strong reasoning behind him
wanting to be together with it.
Fortunately, the direction the story goes in paints Spunky’s obsession
with the mop as a problem as opposed to putting Rocko in the wrong for wanting
to break them up which is good considering how serious his crush was.Rocko finds an ad for Dr. Katz, a pet
psychologist, who specializes in breaking pets’ unhealthy attachment to
inanimate objects and takes Spunky there to cure his obsession.Following a pretty boring scene in the
waiting room where next to nothing happens, Spunky goes in to see Dr. Katz in a
room where only patients are allowed to go.However, we don’t see the operation Spunky is put through, so when Dr.
Katz comes back with him, saying he appears normal, it’s a little concerning
that Spunky’s lust for that mop is going about untreated after all.That said, there is a humorous twist to the
conflict when Dr. Katz declares that it’s the mop that’s sick which is really a
ploy for him to start dating it himself.
The trained doctor turning out crazy with infatuations is an effective
concluding point since the staging makes his love for it feel way more like a
joke than something serious like with Spunky’s love for it.Also, Spunky himself does end the cartoon
well by going after an actual dog with mop-like fur, so it’s satisfying enough
that this dog saw some sense in the matter…until it’s revealed that he was actually
going for a fire hydrant.At least this
crush makes more sense for a dog.
This
is ultimately one of those cartoons that’s good for a laugh whenever Spunky’s
dumb dog moments aren’t staged as something to feel sympathetic towards.He may not be interesting as a character, but
he is a good one to bring about absurd yet interesting concepts.
B
Unbalanced
Load
Just
as we started this season with a cartoon fitting the norm of the show’s style,
we’re ending it the same way.This cartoon
offers nothing big for the characters or game-changing plot points.It’s an expected antic-driven look at Rocko
taking on one of life’s necessary challenges.That doesn’t make the cartoon any less entertaining.
This is a take on the huge task of doing
laundry which is one my family can really relate to.Rocko’s clothes have piled up and are
starting to smell bad, and right away we get an exaggeration to the importance
of the job when the excessive clothes attack Spunky, prompting Rocko to use a fire
hose of fabric softener stored in a glass case to save him.It’s a highly imaginative way to get across
how daunting managing laundry as well as constantly needing to remember to do
it is.
As you could imagine, the
exaggerations don’t stop there, and they continue the show’s theme that even places
designed to make tasks easier have lots of challenges to deal with coming in
when Rocko goes to the laundromat.Tasks
as simple as getting a machine to accept a dollar to convert to change are big
hassles as it keeps spitting out the bill no matter how hard Rocko irons it
out.Right away, there’s relatability to
the situation in spite of its exaggerations. I’m sure everyone has dealt with a
machine that wouldn’t take dollars at least once.However, the actual washing process has
bigger challenges.
Through a big washing
machine coming alive and coughing up the dirty stuff as Rocko tries to close it
and it getting filled with detergent the way a car is filled with gas, it’s an
imaginative way of showing the difficulties of having to operate the huge
machines that clean your clothes and sheets.
When Rocko gets the machine going, he shows a believable attitude of
having nothing to do while waiting for the clothes to get washed, but given his
luck, even waiting gives him a challenge when the big machine becomes runs
loose.Even if it’s not what most people
deal with when doing laundry, it creatively shows how machines don’t always
work as they should.We also get an
exciting chase as the washing machine drags Rocko by its plug while bouncing
along only stopping when Rocko does a relatable thing to machines that don’t
work, hitting it.
That’s just the
washing process though.The drying has a
lot of gags to it too such as getting Spunky to rush to cool himself after
getting caught in the dryer and getting static cling that attracts all the
clothes in the area.To top it all off,
there’s a huge personification of how clothes sometimes end up with holes when
talking socks take Rocko’s shirt, the only clean thing, down to a secret layer
to give it really big holes.This gag
admittedly happens too fast and doesn’t really need to be here after all the
other ones, but you can still enjoy it for how creative an interpretation it
is as well as its relatable weight unlike otherthings that go too far with ridiculousness.When it all ends, even with a fair
share of what Rocko encountered passing through, there’s an undeniable feeling
of satisfaction of how much laundry got done in spite of the obstacles.With all this said, we close this season with
a cartoon that’s par for the course as looks at modern life go, but the
strengths of all the antics are winning enough to make what we see a satisfying
finale.
A
The Ranking
Popcorn Pandemonium
Cabin Fever
Skid Marks
The Good the Bad and the Wallaby
Canned
To Heck and Back
Who Gives a Buck?
Dirty Dog
A Sucker for the Suck-O-Matic
Trash-O-Madness
Jet Scream
Unbalanced Load
Rinse and Spit
Carnival Knowledge
Who’s For Dinner
Keeping Up With the Bigheads
Rocko’s Happy Sack
Sand in Your Navel
Spitballs
No Pain No Gain
Flu-In-U-Enza
Clean Lovin’
Power Trip
Love Spanked
Bedfellows
Leap Frogs
Final Thoughts
For a
slice-of-life show, Rocko’s Modern Life
is one of, if not the most unique shows of that kind.From the first season alone, it astounds with
how it both relates to challenges normal everyday people face in every little thing
they do and stretches the animation medium for creative ways to interpret the
challenges all at once.It can’t be so
easy to do both yet it comes off as consistently
entertaining and a show I can’t get enough of.
As I’ve mentioned
several times throughout these reviews, the main entertainment source is its exaggerations in the challenges that come with every little task
in everyday life.Most slice-of-life
shows feature characters simply doing a relatable task that isn’t too far off
from how people would do them in real life.I’ve seen a few shows of this kind that stand out for the charming approach to them from the perspectives of the characters involved, but the
approaches hardly ever stressed animation’s endless possibilities.With this show, it goes all out with
stretching the imaginations of the people behind this show with antics galore
out of anything in life they can think of.Day-to-day chores such as taking out the trash, vacuuming the living room, going food shopping, doing laundry and so much more are turned into big
adventures or dangerous escapades.They
could feature little sight gags like showing house flies react to certain
states of being or objects coming to life to initiate the cartoon covering the
task.The actual chores also get a lot
of entertainment mileage out of them too tying into a theme where no matter
what you do in life, things can still go wrong.It’s never a matter of being mean to anyone taking them on or
punishment.It’s simply a fact we all
have to deal with.As a result, it’s
easy to enjoy the characters enduring the difficulties of what they do instead
of feeling sorry for them which is also helped by the exaggerations.Through machines that go out of control when
not operated properly, the need to save less intelligent characters from
certain hazards, or believable obstacles to the tasks beyond anyone’s control, each
time Rocko and his friends do something in life is really funny, creatively
staged, and moving at a lively pace.It
even goes beyond life’s important tasks, and can apply to leisure like riding a plane, going to a baseball game or the movies, or ending up snowed in while in
a cabin in the mountains.Above all,
even if the antics are exaggerated, they’re highlights of the series for having
an air of relatability towards them that emphasize the difficulty of doing a
job or enjoying an activity.True, some
antics like giant mutant teeth and meeting sentient half-eaten food that cure
colds are too hard to believe for not really tying into anything relatable, but moments like those are very rare and don’t take away from
the overall strengths of the show’s style.The wild imagery and antics to life’s challenges combined with the usual
air of relatability make this show a good utilization of the art of animation
as a form of entertainment, but also able to make a point.It’s mainly for this reason that this
animated series is able to stand out as something great.
What makes
the comedic life difficulties work are the characters we follow through them
all.They too feel like perfect fits in
this show’s depiction of modern life in several noteworthy ways.Visually, they’re about as wild as the antics
used to represent the many different aspects of life, being anthropomorphic
animals that are either highly unusual for mainstream TV like wallabies, or common
animals with unique designs and color schemes like round yellow green-haired
cows, turtles with fat shells, toads with big heads, etc.
Interesting looks aside, the way the
characters are written is of special mention to how well they work.Rocko himself is mostly an average nice
homeowner, but the craziness that comes with everything he does from necessary
workloads to just hanging out make him interesting enough to follow.Nothing is ever completely easy for Rocko to
get through, and the comedic antics to these things emphasize this concept, yet
Rocko remains positive and friendly through them all despite occasionally snapping when pushed too far, which is often hilarious due to how rare it
is.Plus, even if things mostly go wrong
for him, these instances work because Rocko almost always has a good reason to
be content with his state in the end.
Other characters in the cast seem to be created to enhance the
difficulties Rocko has to put up with, but even then they’re very
enjoyable.Sure you have your shady salesmen or strict instructor, but they’re mostly seen as comedic takes on
people just doing their job.They also
apply to main characters too like Spunky the dog, who’s often too dumb to make
logical decisions, thus bringing on a lot of trouble Rocko has to endure, and
the gluttonous dim-witted steer Heffer, Rocko’s frequent companion who often
gives him ideas that land him in trouble and stands around and eat.Even if they do make life difficult, there’s
still a lot to enjoy from them like Spunky being particularly cute and bringing
out an endearing side to Rocko as he takes care of him, and Heffer showing on
many occasions that he means to be a good friend despite his faults.Plus, they make for some creative story
concepts with Spunky falling for a mop and having a sitcom of bugs on his back,
or Heffer facing the devil for being a glutton or uncovering the truth about his family.
Then there are the Bigheads,
whose starring roles often result in Rocko’s less negative outcomes.Ed’s mean attitude with unwarranted scorn at
his neighbor and Bev’s somewhat seductive moments are often met with karma
working against them via creative and satisfying consequences for their
behavior.It’s a nice interpretation of
how those with the best of attitudes are those who truly prevail in life, even
if there’s challenges to endure along the way.
Other characters like Filburt, Dr. Hutchison, the Chameleon Brothers,
Really Really Big Man, and more, also leave many memorable impressions in their
few appearances which make Rocko’s world all the more lively.They don’t stand out much in this season, but
they leave a lot of promise for development, which they get in the following
seasons.Just as the things Rocko gets
up to when going through life have a wildly imaginative aesthetic to make it
stand out as an animated series, the characters he follows are no different.
After this
thorough analysis of the first season, I can easily say that Rocko’s Modern Life is one of the most
appealing Nickelodeon shows ever created.With premises that effortlessly come off as hilarious and relatable all
at once and identifiable characters to follow all the way through, it pushes
the animation medium several lengths with its antics while also offering the
values you expect in slice-of-life shows.It might not be your thing if you like shows more restrained in
real-life, and that’s fine.However, if
you’re like me and enjoy creative worldviews, this is
definitely a show to track down on your favorite form of media.There’s more to explore from this show, but
for how impressive Season 1 is, all I can say about it is, “That was a Hoot!”
Highly Recommended
This concludes another review set. We'll be sure to look into more of Rocko's Modern Life at a later date, but for now, here's how the review schedule for this blog will go:
The Louds have always given special care and affection to
their babysister, Lily, but in this season, they’re care for her has been
especially meaningful through the instances of them workingas a teammore, and
becomingmore awareof their actions.That’s why it means a lot when the plot has them try to get her to stop
crying so much, even when Mom and Dad know from experience that sometimes
babies cry for no reason, which interestingly includes the reason why they have
Lucy’s hair cover her eyes.Anyway, the
plot is set into motion when Lori leads the siblings to the attic where they
find a toy, Fenton the Feel Better Fox, that stopped her crying when she was a
baby, and it quickly works for Lily.Yet,
Fenton works too well when, as foreshadowed by Mom and Dad’s overactive
reactions to “the demon toy,” Lily keeps playing the toy’s song and the
annoyance of the Loud siblings as it keeps playing is creatively depicted.It captures the feel of listening to the same
thing on end, and as someone who played things over and over at a young age, makes
me understand how others can get annoyed by this scenario.Also, while the song can understandably be
grating to most people, to me, it’s catchy enough to avoid my scorn, though I
certainly wouldn’t want to hear it incessantly, so it’s also good that the song is
muffled when the toy’s far away.Because
of this, when the siblings plot to get rid of Fenton, you side with them
without trouble.You might expect the
cartoon to consist of comedic antics of the kids’ constant failed attempts to
get the toy away, but surprisingly, their first plan is strategic enough and
works immediately when Lily’s separated from it during a diaper change.The disposal of Fenton is not only executed
competently, but it’s also a fun scene on its own, working in solid teamwork
from all the siblings.However, while
they succeed in getting rid of the toy, it’s incredibly sweet that Lily’s
happiness is still highly valued.Even
though she doesn’t cry while separated from Fenton, she’s still incredibly sad
the next day, so much so that she can’t bring herself to do anything fun.The best part about this is that despite
being annoyed by Fenton, the kids understand that he’s still important to Lily
and that they shouldn’t have separated her from him, regardless if she’s
crying or not.Their care for their baby
sister grows even more when they try to save it from the dump.The attempt fails, but their alternate plan is
far more impactful than simply saving the toy.The kids discover that as annoying as Fenton’s song was, it still somewhat
fun to sing, as discovered when they hear the tune hummed by the most musical
Loud to bring on the reveal, Luna.They then
sing and dance to the song while Lincoln wears a Fenton
costume for Lily.Lily’s happy
reaction is the high point of the scene bringing a super cute end to the
conflict.That said, you’re left
wondering if she’ll ever understand the concept of obsessions when it looks
like her siblings will be doing this forever even though Fenton's a baby toy and Lily is sure to grow out of him eventually.Also, Mom and Dad’s roles are
really problematic since they deliberately stay out of the conflict instead of
helping the kids get rid of the toy.Other than that, this is still a good cartoon built on genuine cuteness
and proof of how more considerate and loving the Loud kids have become. 8/10
Anti-Social
Given the amount of users on many social media sites, it’s
clear that the use of electronic devices is one of the biggest aspects of
modern society.That said, a large usage
of any activity isn’t the healthy way to go, so it’s fitting that this cartoon
works as a commentary on how to live a good life in today’s technology-driven
world.As the cartoon opens with the
Louds blocking out their surroundings with their phones and tablets, Dad gets annoyed and threatens to cut the internet.Since the kids love what they’re accustomed
to using and can’t live without them, they’re determined to show Dad just how
valuable electronics and internet usage can be.The things they teach show their constructive benefits which can apply
to real-life such as texting several people at once, occupying yourself with
game apps when waiting in line, sharing pictures to use for your ID, and
promoting and streaming your work or products to people all over the
world.These moments show that even if
electronic devices are overused, what they do can be legitimately useful.As an aside, the ways Dad is taught these
benefits without fully understanding at first are funny for how relatable they
are to people not used to using electronic devices and learning about them for
the first time.However, it’s amazing
how he soon gets a grasp of all the wonders of technology that they take up his
life as much as they do for most people in real life.You might say that Dad gets incredibly
obsessed with using electronics, so much so that he starts abusing them through
posting embarrassing pictures of the kids, stalling dinner to stream what he’s
cooking, and ignoring his family.This
whole sequence of events makes this cartoon tread familiar grounds from this
season tying into other cartoons where Dad gets obsessed with something and the
family suffers for it.It brings to mind“Vantastic Voyage” where it
seemed like his new interest was more important to him than his family which is unfortunate.That said, the scenario doesn't really wreck much enjoyment since his obsession with electronics stand
out for their established relatability.If that’s not enough, the story goes in a surprisingly mature direction
when the kids discover that the way Dad’s acting now is no different from how
they acted towards him at the start of the cartoon.It’s always beneficial when the characters
we’re supposed to side with acknowledge their own faults to resolve a
conflict.It makes what happens more
immersive to any audience member and goes beyond basic black and white right
and wrong moralities, making the characters feel more human.Anyway, the issue is resolved with the kids
deciding to temporarily cut the internet, and through a montage of them doing
various activities with Dad, they slowly break their technology attachment as
the cartoon comes to an end.The whole
sequence is not only is a fitting end for the kids and their dad regarding
their hook on electronics, but it also offers a great bit of life advice for
everyone.Electronics have
their benefits, but you shouldn’t be completely dependent on them and balance
your life with other things, and that can help make your life healthier and
your family bonds stronger.This and
many other relatable scenarios make this cartoon another strong entry for the
season, even if it does have an all-too familiar setup. 9.5/10
The Ranking
11 Louds a
Leapin’
L is for
Love
Pulp
Friction
Frog Wild
Yes-Man
Party Down
Friend or
Faux
Room with a
Feud
Lock n Loud
Fool’s
Paradise
Fed Up
Out of the
Picture
Job
Insecurity
Potty Mouth
Mall of Duty
Anti-Social
The Loudest
Mission: Relative Chaos
Spell it
Out
Baby Steps
Shell Shock
Suite and
Sour
Back in
Black
Legends
Future
Tense
Patching
Things Up
No Spoilers
Not a Loud
Tricked!
The Whole
Picture
Read Aloud
No Laughing
Matter
Health
Kicked
Garage
Banned
Back Out
There
The Old and
the Restless
Kick the
Bucket List
Intern for
the Worse
The Crying
Dame
Lynner
Takes All
Cheater by
the Dozen
Pets Peeved
Making the
Grade
Vantastic
Voyage
Change of
Heart
ARGGH! You
for Real?
No Such
Luck
Brawl in
the Family
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the last episode of Season 2, featuring two snow-themed cartoons, one with one of the noblest family acts in a dire situation in "Snow Way Out" and one with Clyde at his absolute best in "Snow Way Down."
