Rocko's Modern Life - The Complete Series - DVD

Content: Rocko is a young kangaroo who has made it from Australia to the big American city of O-Town. Here he has all sorts of adventures with his dog Spunky and his best friends, the bull Heffer du the depressed turtle Filburt, when he's not working at the comic book store, evading the advances of his toad neighbor or being rounded up by his choleric boss. Whether it's finding a parking spot at the mall, trying to give Spunky a bath, or going to the gym, wherever Rocko shows up, chaos isn't far behind.

With Rocko's Modern Life, Joe Murray created a wonderfully bizarre series in the early 1990s that quickly achieved a cult status among its fans that remains unbroken today. The series, which is one of Nickelodeon's legendary Nicktoons, is generally regarded as cartoon fun for slightly older children. But if you take a closer look at the numerous allusions to films and TV series or the subliminal social satire, you will realize that some aspects of the series are aimed more at an adult audience. For example, in the first episode, when Rocko and Heffer go to a gym to build up their muscles, there's a reference to the infamous scene from When You Die, Everybody's First, in which Ned Beatty is raped by a bunch of rednecks (squeal, piggy). Kids won't understand that (thankfully) any more than they'll understand the reference to US fitness guru Richard Simmons.

Also, what's behind the advances Rocko has to endure at the hands of his neighbour in another episode isn't really appropriate for children. But such scenes are so cleverly staged that children can just laugh at the very direct humor on the surface, while older viewers may be amused by the many nastinesses that are hiding under this surface. But whether overt or covert, the humor of Rocko's modern life is one thing above all: beautifully weird. When Rocko and Heffer go looking for a parking space in a mall, for example, and then go on a shopping spree with Rocko's new credit card, it's just as full of quirky moments as the glimpse into the lives of the fleas that dwell on Spunky. For this is presented to the viewer in the form of a traditional sitcom in the style of Men's Economy.

As only the first of a total of eight DVDs was available for testing, it is not possible at this point to judge whether the quality of the series is consistent right up to the end, or whether the quirky character did wear a little thin over the course of the four seasons. But the fact is that Rocko's modern life is still a lot of fun even seventeen years after its end and with its many bizarre ideas still seems amazingly original today. Therefore: For fans this complete box is a must anyway! And if you don't know the series yet, but love beautifully weird cartoon fare, this is the perfect opportunity to finally get to know the lovable kangaroo and his friends. Absolutely recommendable!

Picture + Sound: The technical realization is quite successful for an animated series whose first episodes already have twenty years on the hump. While there are a few minor weaknesses in image sharpness and cleanliness, overall the picture quality leaves quite a positive impression with its powerful coloration. The same can be said for the stereo sound, which allows the dialogue to ring out of the speakers with just as much clarity as the numerous fun sound effects. Good!

Extras: Since only the first DVD was available for the test, the complete bonus material can not be evaluated at this point. On the first disc, fans can watch series creator Joe Murray draw the main characters over his shoulder. In addition, there is also the original version of the pilot episode to see here. Furthermore, the box set also has select scenes hosted by Joe Murray to offer, as well as a live reading followed by Q&A from 2012 in Los Angeles. In total, that's about 2 hours of bonus material. In addition, the box also includes a few small goodies such as stickers, cards and a poster. So fans really get their money's worth there.

Conclusion: Rocko's modern life is next to Ren & Stimpy or Aaahh! Monster another cult animated series from the 90s that Turbine has released in a beautifully designed box set. Even if the age of the series is noticeable in technical terms, the series itself has hardly lost any of its wit and charm. That the 52 episodes are then also enriched with almost two hours of bonus material and a few nice supplements makes this box an absolute must for all Rocko fans!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp