Television nowadays is in an era of reboots, remakes, and revivals, with many long-cancelled series coming back for another go on the small screen. Nickelodeon is in on the revival game, as a number of its classic shows will be back with special TV movies. Everybody's favorite talking wallaby and his pals are getting the revival treatment with a special that will be called Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling. CinemaBlend's own Nick Venable was in the audience at the Rocko's Modern Life panel at San Diego Comic-Con, and he was among the first to see footage of Rocko and Co. in the 21st century. Take a look!
In case you were afraid that there was no way a Rocko's Modern Life revival could possibly recapture the magic of the original, I'd say that this sneak peek should allay some of your fears. The animation style hasn't been given a 21st century an update, and the voice cast is back for another go. It could totally pass for something produced 20 years ago, smart phones and gritty 3D superhero movies aside.
The crowd at San Diego Comic-Con was ecstatic throughout the whole panel. They also got to see character models for the special on the big screen, and they were definitely worth celebrating. If you weren't already totally psyched for more Rocko's Modern Life, you definitely should be now.
As somebody who started laughing as soon as Filburt dropped the "Let's frolic innocently in nature!" line, I'm definitely on board to see what the Rocko's Modern Life team has put together for the revival. The show isn't holding back on modernizing Rocko's Modern Life, although hopefully the inclusion of the radioactive energy drink won't become true-to-life any time soon. I'm all for jolts of caffeine, but I draw the line at tentacles and extra heads.
If you were wondering if there's a reason why Rocko and his pals only just discovered the 21st century, it turns out that there's an in-story reason why they didn't realize the 90s were over. In Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling, the group will return to Earth after they were lost in space in 1996. Heffer and Filburt are going to totally embrace the delights of technology, the spiral of social media, and all the joys that the endless variety of food trucks can provide.
Rocko, on the other hand, will clearly have less enthusiasm for how much the world has changed since 1996. If I got food poisoning from a taco truck and punched in the face by Really Really Big Man, I think I'd rather go back to the 90s as well. Our hero will believe that his nostalgia for his glory days will spare him the torment of modern life.
The new special has been written and executive produced by Joe Murray, who created the original series. Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling won't debut until 2018, so we have a while to wait, but we can get a blast from another animated past this fall with Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie. Be sure to stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest news from San Diego Comic-Con!
