Video: In 2019, franchises coming back after decades is nothing new. What is new, though, is how each handles their return — and few are as clever as Rocko’s Modern Life.
Rocko’s Modern Life went off the air in 1996 and, since then, has been mostly absent. So, in Rocko’s Modern Life: Static Cling, that absence is the driving force of the plot.
Rocko and the gang have been stranded in space since 1996 and they finally come back to Earth in 2019. A world that is very, very different from the one they left. Here’s the trailer.
[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2019/05/nickelodeons-long-awaited-invader-zim-and-rockos-modern-life-movies-will-be-coming-to-netflix/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/v7jdlg2cgyr22xpihfo6.png” title=”Nickelodeon’s Long-Awaited Invader Zim And Rocko’s Modern Life Movies Will Be Coming To Netflix” excerpt=”Hey, remember all those revival movies Nickelodeon was working on? They’re still coming, and when they do they’ll hit Netflix, too.”]
The idea of Rocko’s Modern Life acting as a commentary on the ways technology and political correctness have blossomed in recent history is a smart one. We aren’t sure, though, just how far this film will take it.
Not that it has to — kids will surely watch the film and enjoy the surface level of it, but what could really make this update of Rocko special is if parents get something out of it too. Like some perspective on the crazy ways the world has changed for better and worse.
Rocko’s Modern Life: Static Cling comes to Netflix August 9.