I had my doubts about Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling. Although I was a huge fan of "Rocko's Modern Life" as a kid, I very rarely enjoy watching cartoons as an adult. Also, given the fact that 'Static Cling' sat on the shelf for a while before being sold to Netflix didn't inspire me with confidence it was going to be worthwhile. Alas, I was wrong. Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling is not only the most entertaining Netflix program I've watched in a while, it's also the best Rocko's Modern Life has ever been as a franchise.
The plot is simple: taking place 20+ years after the finale of the original series, 'Static Cling' opens with protagonists Rocko, Heffer, and Filburt traveling around in space, before crashing back into O-Town. Having been away for two decades, the trio find themselves having to adjust to life in the 21st century. The slim plot is basically an excuse to lampoon the culture of 2019 with cell phones, food trucks, reality television, business culture, superhero movies, and TV "reboots" all being targets. While some of these are pretty easy topics to take jabs at, the jokes here are clever and funny without ever being the most obvious of gags. The overall nature of the jokes are less juvenile/crude than the ones found in a typical old "Rocko's Modern Life" episode, and I admit that I was kind of hoping the writers would push the envelope a little more for 2019, but I really can't complain given that this made me laugh more than anything I've watched all summer.
Although certainly super funny and entertaining, it's slightly disappointing that 'Static Cling' only runs 45 minutes long. This easily could have been 15-30 minutes longer, closer to the length of a movie. I'm sure there was plenty of material that the writers didn't use. I guess as this was originally supposed to be a TV special, it had to be able to fit into an hour timeslot, but it would have been great to see more. Given its quick running time, there's absolutely no dead spots. 'Static' Cling moves at a lightening fast pace.
For fans who loved "Rocko's Modern Life" when it was on the air in the 1990s, 'Static Cling' is almost guaranteed to satisfy. It keeps everything that was great about the original show and perfectly updates it to modern day. Out of all the recent revivals of old television shows, this is by far the most successful. Highly recommended. 9/10
The plot is simple: taking place 20+ years after the finale of the original series, 'Static Cling' opens with protagonists Rocko, Heffer, and Filburt traveling around in space, before crashing back into O-Town. Having been away for two decades, the trio find themselves having to adjust to life in the 21st century. The slim plot is basically an excuse to lampoon the culture of 2019 with cell phones, food trucks, reality television, business culture, superhero movies, and TV "reboots" all being targets. While some of these are pretty easy topics to take jabs at, the jokes here are clever and funny without ever being the most obvious of gags. The overall nature of the jokes are less juvenile/crude than the ones found in a typical old "Rocko's Modern Life" episode, and I admit that I was kind of hoping the writers would push the envelope a little more for 2019, but I really can't complain given that this made me laugh more than anything I've watched all summer.
Although certainly super funny and entertaining, it's slightly disappointing that 'Static Cling' only runs 45 minutes long. This easily could have been 15-30 minutes longer, closer to the length of a movie. I'm sure there was plenty of material that the writers didn't use. I guess as this was originally supposed to be a TV special, it had to be able to fit into an hour timeslot, but it would have been great to see more. Given its quick running time, there's absolutely no dead spots. 'Static' Cling moves at a lightening fast pace.
For fans who loved "Rocko's Modern Life" when it was on the air in the 1990s, 'Static Cling' is almost guaranteed to satisfy. It keeps everything that was great about the original show and perfectly updates it to modern day. Out of all the recent revivals of old television shows, this is by far the most successful. Highly recommended. 9/10