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1990's, 90's, animated, animation, Bev Bighead, Bighead, Carlos Alazraqui, Christmas, Christmas cartoon, christmas elves, christmas party, christmas shopping, christmas special, christmas tree, Ed Bighead, elves, Filbert, fruitcake man, Heffer, holiday episode, holiday special, Joe Murray, mitch the elf, Mr. Bighead, Mr. Lawrence, nickelodeon, Nickelodeon Christmas, Nicktoon, nicktoons, O Town, racism, Rocko, rocko's modern christmas, Rocko's Modern Life, Spunky, Stephen Hillenburg, The Bigheads, Tom Kenny, turtle, wallaby, you can't squeeze cheer from a cheese log
Rocko’s Modern Life was one of my favorite Nicktoons growing up, though I had shockingly little memories of watching the holiday episode. I remembered the first minute, but not what happened afterwards, maybe because I was unable to finish watching it for whatever reason. When I got the complete series a few years back I was thrilled to finally watch it in its entirety and has since become one of my must-see annual Christmas episodes of any tv series. Sometimes I even watch it when it isn’t Christmas because it’s just too fun to have to wait for it.
For anyone who’s not familiar with Rocko’s Modern Life, it’s one of those cartoons that sounds really weird when trying to explain the premise yet works almost flawlessly in practice. Created during the first big wave of Nicktoons in the early 90’s Rocko’s Modern Life is a slice-of-life series about a down-to-earth wallaby, the titular Rocko, who moves from Australia to O-Town, U.S.A. and his miscellaneous adventures with his buddies as he adjusts to life in America. This being an early Nicktoon, it’s got wacky animation and a ton of adult humor that went over my head as a kid but I freaking loved it. It’s certainly not without some heart, either. Joe Murray, the creator, incorporated some of his own life experiences into certain episodes like “I Have No Son” and the famous “Wacky Delli” and you can tell it comes from a genuine emotional place. It’s a show shockingly very relatable now that I’m older. So how does it dish out its own brand of yuletide spirit? Let’s find out.
Up On The Shelf 