Right now, right this second, you can find Nikelodeon’s Rocko’s Modern Life: Static Cling movie on Netflix. And according to Entertainment Weekly, part of this one-off special includes a major trans storyline.
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After 20 years swanning around space, Rocko and his mates return to Earth to find everything has dramatically changed in O-Town. Never mind the fancy multi-layered tacos and touch screen phones, Rocko’s favourite show has been cancelled and he’s determined to get it back on the air. He also sets out to find his friend Ralph Bighead – Mr. and Mrs. Bighead‘s kid – who now identifies as a woman named Rachel.
Rachel is estranged from her parents, and now runs her very own ice cream truck.
“When I started writing [Static Cling], I really started latching onto the idea of change and how society has changed and what’s gone on in the last 20 years and the development of our characters and how they would react to change,” OG series creator Joe Murray told EW.
Murray, who voiced Rachel back in the original series, returns to voice her in the movie too.
“It felt natural, because it was not only about change, about somebody finding who they are and making that courageous choice to go through that change.”
GLAAD director of transgender representation Nick Adams talked to EW about the importance of trans visibility in G-rated projects. Adams also consulted on Static Cling, and says that Rocko and his mates “accept Rachel immediately; recognising she’s still their friend”, and while Rachel’s father is slow to accept the change within his family, “even he realises that loving your child should be unconditional.”
You can watch Rocko’s Modern Life: Static Cling on Netflix now.
Another Nickelodeon move, Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus, will land on Netflix next week. In this movie, Zim has moved on to the next phase of his evil alien plan to conquer Earth, while his nemesis Dib Membrane sets out to unmask him once and for all.
Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus will hit Netflix August 16.
