Rocket Power was an animated series that aired on Nickelodeon from 1999 to 2004. It was the last Nicktoon of the 90s and was created by the same team that introduced the world to other shows like Rugrats and Aaahh!!! Real Monsters. The series followed the daily lives of a group of young friends who were passionate about extreme sports, such as skateboarding, snowboarding, and surfing. It was wildly entertaining with its memorable characters, their wacky hijinks, plenty of heart and humor, and exhilarating extreme sports action. It was a fantastic show that helped the network transition between the 90s and 2000s. That being said, in more recent years, the iconic animated series has received quite a bit of hate online.
A series as entertaining as Rocket Power receiving large amounts of hate is truly tragic. Someone not liking it is a valid opinion which they’re entitled to, but large waves of abhorrent typists ripping on the series is completely unjust. It’s gradually become considered one of Nickelodeon’s worst shows depending on where you look. Such seemingly random hate for such a fun series isn’t deserved whatsoever.
Some of the reasons typically given as to why these folks detest Rocket Power so much are that the slang dialogue constantly used by the main characters is annoying, the stories are dull, the characters are obnoxious, and that the show is ultimately a product of its time. There’s not much validity to these strange claims.
A group of kids using their own slang is a fairly normal concept. Not only does it make these child characters feel realistic and relatable, but it also helps with the show’s branding. Everyone who grew up with the series knows “woogedy woogedy woogedy!” The stories being dull is an especially confusing claim since they’re genuinely not. A young skateboarder getting the chance to skate alongside Tony Hawk or an older sister trying to cover for her brother and friends while they’re causing trouble on Halloween night are actually quite entertaining. Regarding the characters being obnoxious; they’re really not. A hot head who learns lessons the hard way, a caring and mature older sister who still likes goofing off with her younger brother, a tech-loving and unathletic nerd, and a dimwitted best friend are all reasonable character tropes to see in a coming of age series.
Then there’s the “product of its time” critique. There’s a major difference between something being dated and being a time capsule. If something is dated, it only really worked for the time it came out. An off-color joke regarding the LGBT+ community in Zoolander is a dated joke. If something is a time capsule, it serves as a representation about how things were at that time. Rocket Power serves as a perfect time capsule for the late 90s. Extreme sports were at peak popularity at the time, and the music, celebrity cameos, and humor all fit what was popular.
Rocket Power still holds up today, and not just as a fun nostalgia trip (although it works well for that as well). There are great emotional moments between the characters, like when Tito surfs out into the stormy ocean to save Otto. The humor is genuinely funny, like when Twister wonders how the park map knows where he is when it says “you are here.” The exciting skateboard tricks and street hockey matches are well-animated. It may not be quite as iconic as something like Rugrats, but it’s a genuinely fun series. It’s quite odd to see it get so much hate lately. This may not be an ancient Hawaiian saying, but maybe some more jaded viewers need to give Rocket Power another chance, or at least chill out a bit.
Nonstop Nerd 
Thank you, I’m glad there is finally a person that says some good and positive things about the show. Everyone’s hatred towards the show and their opinions on it are flat out 100% wrong. The ncludng here: https://www.angelfire.com/vamp/waffles/article/rocketsucks1.html, this person is just looking for attention as well as this this one: https://mlpforums.com/blogs/entry/17135-terrible-television-rocket-power-tv-series-1999-2004/, who also doesn’t understand the message of the show. I don’t care what these people say, since the show was my childhood, I for defend it with all my hard. Like I said, I’m not trying to sound disrespectful. Iff try just annoys me that these type of posts see don’t even give the show a chance.
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Thank you, I’m glad there is finally a person that says some good and positive things about the show. Some people just doesn’t understand the message of the show. I don’t care what these people say, since the show was my childhood, I for defend it with all my hard. Like I said, I’m not trying to sound disrespectful. It just annoys me that these type of posts see don’t even give the show a chance.
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Thank you, I’m glad there is finally a person that says some good and positive things about the show. Some people just doesn’t understand the message of the show. I don’t care what these people say, since the show was my childhood, I will forever defend it with all my heart. Like I said, I’m not trying to sound disrespectful. It just annoys me that these type of posts see don’t even give the show a chance.
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Thank you, I’m glad there is finally a person that says some good and positive things about the show. Some people just doesn’t understand the message of the show. I don’t care what these people say, since the show was my childhood, I will forever defend it with all my heart. Like I said, I’m not trying to sound disrespectful. It just annoys me that these type of users don’t even give the show a single chance. I will forever be an awesome show!
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It’s one of the greats for sure!
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Of course, I just don’t understand everyone’s hatred towards the show. Because I began rewatching it again earlier this year and I didn’t find any problems with it at all. Sure yeah, my thoughts on the main character Otto is mixed, he sometimes can be a jerk towards his friends, but he does have his good moments though from time to time. Even though that’s my only issue with the show, I still don’t find any problems with it at all. A lot of people just don’t understand the message of the show and they just don’t take their time to give it a chance.
P.S. Plus, sorry for posting so many posts on here, whenever I finish writing something, I keep making so many typos.
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Yeah, Otto is a mixed bag, but I feel the point of that is that the viewer wants him to grow and learn. That, and it makes sense that a young skateboarding kid is a bit of a troublemaker.
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The other thing I like about the series is Tito, he is literally the voice of reason in the series because whenever the main characters are having a trouble situation, he talks it over with them and teaches them the differences from right and wrong over the troubled issues they are dealing with. That’s one of the best things I really like and enjoyed about Tito’s character, teaching everything life lessons and do the right thing.
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I’m glad there is one person that has positive things to say about it, this show will forever be apart of my childhood. Especially that awesome theme song!
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I love it so much, and the theme song is iconic. A bar by me recently had Rocket Power playing on a projector and couldn’t help to watch it while waiting for my food order.
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Seriously!?!? Lucky you! I just got the entire DVD series recently last year, that’s when I began watching again after all these years.
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