Rocko Rama is the main
protagonist
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...
of the animated television series ''
Rocko's Modern Life
''Rocko's Modern Life'' is an American Television comedy, comedy animated television series created by Joe Murray (animator), Joe Murray for Nickelodeon. The series centers on the surreal life of an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic Australian ...
'', the Netflix special ''
Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling'', and the comic book series of the same name.
Carlos Alazraqui
Carlos Jaime Alazraqui (born July 20, 1962) is an American actor. His voice acting roles include the original voice of Spyro from '' Spyro the Dragon'', the Taco Bell chihuahua in the Taco Bell commercials, Rocko on ''Rocko's Modern Life'', D ...
provided the voice of Rocko.
Conception and development
Rocko first appeared in a never-released comic, where he is named "Travis".
[Character Museum]
.
SWF
Archive
'' Joe Murray Studio''. Retrieved on August 25, 2009.[Lisa (Kiczuk) Trainor interviews Joe Murray, creator of Rocko's Modern Life]
" ''The Rocko's Modern Life FAQ''. Retrieved on October 26, 2010. Joe Murray, creator of ''Rocko's Modern Life'', believed that the personality of a wallaby suited Rocko after observing a zoo wallaby "minding his own business" while
elephant
Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...
s and
monkey
Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes. Thus monkeys, in that sense, co ...
s "screamed for attention".
After the event, Murray said that "It kind of clicked. Rocko would be at the center of the hurricane of everything swirling around him. He'd be like the everyman who's affected by the dramatic personalities around him."
Murray wanted to get his comic into syndication. Afterwards Murray made substantial changes to Rocko.
[The Evolution of Character]
" ''Joe Murray Studio''. March 25, 2009. Retrieved on March 27, 2009. Murray added that the personality of a wallaby mirrored Rocko's humbleness and his tendency to keep his frustrations to himself instead of publicly complaining about them.
In the original pilot for ''Rocko's Modern Life'', the animators colored Rocko yellow instead of light beige. One month before the first episode was submitted to the animation studio in
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
, Murray changed the color when a toy company wishing to make Rocko plushes refused to license the character after citing that Rocko looked too similar to a yellow character used in one of the company's existing products.
Murray fought the changes with the Nickelodeon executives; in the end the executives insisted on changing the color, so Murray changed the color to
beige
Beige ( ) is variously described as a pale sandy fawn color, a grayish tan, a light-grayish yellowish brown, or a pale to grayish yellow. It takes its name from French, where the word originally meant natural wool that has been neither ble ...
and disliked the choice. On his website Murray said, "He was always yellow to me."
Murray said that the company later backed out of the commitment and did not create the plush series.
Murray auditioned Alazraqui in
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, and chose him as the voice actor for Rocko.
Jeff "Swampy" Marsh
Jeffrey Kent "Swampy" Marsh (; born December 9, 1960) is an American animator, voice actor, writer, director, and producer. With Dan Povenmire, Marsh is the co-creator and co-star of the Disney Channel animated series ''Phineas and Ferb'' and ...
, a storyboard writer, describes Alazraqui's voice for Rocko as "not really an accurate
Australian accent
Australian English (AuE) accents are the non-rhotic pronunciations of English used by most native-born Australians. Phonologically, Australian English is a relatively regionally homogeneous variety of the English language. Australian English i ...
" ; according to Marsh the team used the voice as Alazraqui used the voice for the
pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
.

Rocko's design changed as his character evolved. Murray said that the version placed in the Rocko's Modern Life proposal was "much looser, and closer to my independent film style. As the series progressed, he adjusted Rocko's design from episode to episode to be more "volume friendly" and "animator friendly". According to Murray, when he created independent films and the ''Rocko's Modern Life'' pilot, he created all of the character layouts in his mind and other animators used the layouts to create works. Murray said that when Rocko became "high volume", Murray taught
Americans
Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Law of the United States, U.S. federal law does not equate nationality with Race (hu ...
and
Koreans
Koreans are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Korean Peninsula. The majority of Koreans live in the two Korean sovereign states of North and South Korea, which are collectively referred to as Korea. As of 2021, an estimated 7.3 m ...
how to draw the characters. Murray described Rocko as the most difficult character to draw, and he said that therefore he decided to adjust his character design in order to assist the overseas animators.
Murray said that as he and the directors continued to "quickdraw" the character changes to the design "naturally" lessened the "victim, paranoid" aspect and gave the character a "happy personality."
According to
George Maestri, Rocko has no
family name
In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...
because the writers were never able to come up with a family name that they liked.
[Lisa (Kiczuk) Trainor interviews George Maestri, story writer for Rocko's Modern Life]
" ''The Rocko's Modern Life FAQ'' In a concept sketch, Murray named the character "Rocko Rama".
[Beck, Jerry, ''Not Just Cartoons: Nicktoons!''] The writers considered the family name "Stretchbrain" because the character's brain popped out of his head during "odd moments."
The writers scrapped the idea, leaving the character
mononymous. Some websites, including
Hot Topic
Hot Topic, Inc. is an American fast-fashion company specializing in counterculture-related clothing and accessories, as well as licensed music. The stores are aimed towards an audience interested in rock music and video gaming, and most of the ...
, give him the family name "Wallabee" and the
middle name
In various cultures, a middle name is a portion of a personal name that is written between a person's given name and surname.
A middle name is often abbreviated and is then called middle initial or just initial.
A person may be given a middle ...
"James". In the first two issues of
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
''
Rocko's Modern Life
''Rocko's Modern Life'' is an American Television comedy, comedy animated television series created by Joe Murray (animator), Joe Murray for Nickelodeon. The series centers on the surreal life of an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic Australian ...
'' series, he's addressed as "Mr. Rocko."
Character
In an early character profile presented to the networks, Murray described Rocko as "a young
anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to ...
Woody Allen
Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...
, who has just moved away from his home into a
surrealistic
Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...
adult world."
Raised in Australia, Rocko later emigrated to the fictional city of O-Town after he graduated
high school
A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
.
[Characters]
of ''Rocko's Modern Life'' Page 2, ''Nickelodeon Australia
Nick or Nickelodeon is an Australian and New Zealand children's pay television channel owned by Paramount Networks UK & Australia. It is based on the Nickelodeon, namesake American television channel.
Since 1 December 2010 the Australian and N ...
'' Murray suggests that Rocko's interest in the United States began with a vacation with his family as a youth; during the trip he met his friend
Filburt. Murray allowed for directors to create inconsistencies, reflecting how friends possess different and varied, nostalgic memories of the past. For instance, in the episode "Put to Pasture" the writers portray Rocko, Filburt and
Heffer Wolfe
Heffer Steer-Wolfe, ''Nickelodeon'' is a fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series ''Rocko's Modern Life'', the Netflix special ''Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling'' and the comic book series of the same name. Tom Kenny provi ...
as students at O-Town High School. Murray received many pieces of
fan mail
Fan mail is mail sent to a public figure, especially a celebrity, by their admirers or "fan (person), fans". In return for a fan's support and admiration, public figures may send an autographed poster, photo, reply letter, or note thanking the ...
regarding the storyline inconsistencies.
In "Trash-O-Madness", a family photograph depicts Rocko with a mother, father, and a younger sibling. "Wimp On the Barby" shows Rocko's family again, revealing that his younger sibling is a sister. Murray created a
narcoleptic
Narcolepsy is a chronic neurological disorder that impairs the ability to regulate sleep–wake cycles, and specifically impacts REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. The symptoms of narcolepsy include excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), sleep-r ...
older sister character named Magdalane "Maggie" in the episode "Wake Up Maggie" about her, but chose to never air the episode and never use the character.
Magdalane was created as a mother with 2 children.
Although personally hygienic, Rocko has an almost pathological tendency to neglect his living space; several episodes, such as "
Unbalanced Load", involve Rocko attempting to rectify severe messes or lapses in maintenance.
Nickelodeon South East Asia's website describes Rocko as "generally very polite and sometimes shy" and that provocation can lead Rocko to become "determined and forceful."
[Rocko]
" '' Nickelodeon Southeast Asia'' Jean Prescott of ''
The Sun Herald
The ''Sun Herald'' is a U.S. newspaper based in Biloxi, Mississippi, that serves readers along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The paper's current executive editor and general manager is Blake Kaplan, and its headquarters is in the city of Gulfpor ...
'' described Rocko as a "pudgy little wallaby star" who tries to "do what's right" and is devoted to his friend Heffer and dog
Spunky. Prescott has called the character "lovable." ''Common Sense Media'' reviewer Andrea Graham, whose review is posted on
Go.com
Go.com (also known as The Go Network) is a portal for Disney content and a single sign-on system that was created after The Walt Disney Company acquired the search engine Infoseek. Go.com is operated by Disney Interactive's Disney Online. It ...
, describes Rocko as "
paranoid
Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety, suspicion, or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of con ...
and obsessed with cleanliness" and that he initially perceives his neighbors to be "loud and messy." Graham describes Rocko as accepting of his neighbors' faults and seeing the positive qualities within them.
Careers
Throughout the television series, Rocko enjoys collecting comics and works as a cashier at a local comic book shop called Kind of a Lot O' Comics, which is owned by
Mr. Smitty and sells mostly
Really Really Big Man comics until he is currently unemployed in ''Static Cling''.
Rocko worked at Mega Lot-o Comics owned by chairman of
Conglom-O,
Mr. Dupette,
Ed Bighead's boss. In the television show, his other jobs include tattoo artist, plumber's assistant, phone operator, a product tester at Conglom-O, a tow truck driver, an underwear model and a cartoonist for the program ''Wacky Delly''.
In the official comic book, Rocko works as a comic book dealer in Issue #7's "Conned Again", working for "Humongo Con".
Friends and neighbors
Rocko's best friends are
Heffer Wolfe
Heffer Steer-Wolfe, ''Nickelodeon'' is a fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series ''Rocko's Modern Life'', the Netflix special ''Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling'' and the comic book series of the same name. Tom Kenny provi ...
, a steer who eats a lot and was adopted and raised by a family of wolves, and
Filburt, a bespectacled turtle with neurotic
Woody Allen
Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...
-esque mannerisms, who often feels nauseated. Rocko's neighbors are Ed, with whom he has a semi-rivalry, and
Bev Bighead. Bev considers Rocko a very sweet neighbor. He and his dog Spunky, who often eats the neighbors' salmon bushes, are a source of constant annoyance to Ed. In the episode ''Skid Marks'', Rocko's drivers license reveals that Rocko and the Bigheads live on "Boogie Blvd."
Love life
In early concept sketches, Murray indicated that Rocko bears a strong crush on a character named "Melba Toast".
Rocko expresses this trait in Season One, bearing a crush on the
unseen character
An unseen character in theatre, comics, film or television, or a silent character in radio or literature, is a character who is mentioned but not directly known to the audience, but who advances the action of the plot in a significant way, and w ...
until he discovers that Melba has a serious boyfriend named Dave in "Love Spanked". Melba has only been mentioned once since.
In subsequent episodes, Rocko bears crushes for other characters. In "S.W.A.K.", Rocko has been vying for the attention from the pretty kangaroo mail-lady that comes to his door every day; he writes her a love note that he is too scared to send so Heffer does it for him instead. Rocko fails to retrieve the letter and gets the impression that the mail-lady would rather go out with Heffer. This turns out to be a joke on the mail-lady's part and she actually returns Rocko's feelings. In "
Wallaby on Wheels", Rocko learns to roller skate to impress Sheila, a girl who hangs out at the roller rink, and becomes jealous when it is implied she is attracted to Heffer. In the end, he wins her over after saving Heffer's life. She then rides on a
jackhammer
A jackhammer (pneumatic drill or demolition hammer in British English) is a pneumatic or electro-mechanical tool that combines a hammer directly with a chisel. It was invented by William McReavy, who then sold the patent to Charles Brady Ki ...
with Rocko. In "I See London, I See France", Rocko tries to win over Claudette, who turned out to be his female wallaby
pen pal
Pen pals (or penfriends, penpals, pen-pals) are people who regularly write to each other, particularly via postal mail. Pen pals are usually strangers whose relationship is based primarily, or even solely, on their exchange of letters. Occasion ...
from
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, but she is more interested in Heffer.
Video game appearances
Rocko is the main playable character of ''
Rocko's Modern Life: Spunky's Dangerous Day'' and also in the console version of ''
Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots'', an actor in
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...
's ''
Nickelodeon 3D Movie Maker
3D Movie Maker (commonly shortened to 3DMM) is a children's computer program developed by Microsoft Home's Microsoft Kids subsidiary released in 1995. Using the program, users can make films by placing 3D characters and props into pre-render ...
'', and Rocko and Heffer make a cameo appearance on one of the loading screens in ''
Nicktoons MLB''. Rocko and Heffer are playable characters in the web browser game ''Super Brawl Universe'', and are both playable racers in ''
Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2: Grand Prix''. Rocko also appears as a playable character in ''
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl,'' ''
Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway'', and the
Apple Arcade
Apple Arcade is a video game subscription service offered by Apple Inc. It is available through a dedicated tab of the App Store on devices running iOS 13, visionOS, tvOS 13, iPadOS 13, and macOS Catalina or later. The service launched o ...
exclusive game Nickelodeon Extreme Tennis.
Rocko, alongside
Invader Zim
''Invader Zim'' is an American animated science fiction horror comedy television series created by comic book writer and cartoonist Jhonen Vasquez for Nickelodeon. The series centers on the titular character Zim (voiced by Richard Steven Ho ...
,
Danny Phantom
''Danny Phantom'' is an American animated paranormal superhero action adventure television series created by Butch Hartman for Nickelodeon. It premiered on April 3, 2004, immediately after the 2004 Kids' Choice Awards, and concluded on August ...
,
Jenny XJ9, and
Powdered Toast Man, were released as playable skins for a limited-time Nickelodeon-themed event in
''Smite'' on July 12, 2022. Rocko and the additional characters for the event were revealed via a CGI trailer a week before the event's launch.
References
{{Rocko's Modern Life
Comic book sidekicks
Fictional Australian people
Television characters introduced in 1992
Fictional immigrants to the United States
Anthropomorphic kangaroos and wallabies
Fictional kangaroos and wallabies
Male characters in animated television series
Rocko's Modern Life characters
Animated characters introduced in 1992