History YMMV / RocketPower

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic:
** In the episode with "Super Squid", Reggie actually gets off rather well compared to the rest of the cast - she isn't portrayed as a total idiot or [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments trapping people in boring flashbacks]]. Yet she still gets mad at Sam. It makes her come off as a total drama queen.
** Lars in the episode "False Alarmed." He basically ends up the subject of a [[SadistShow torture porn]] episode where he is constantly punished and yelled at for something he didn't do. Naturally we're supposed to sympathise with him... except when Twister and Otto come forward because they feel bad for what Lars has been going through, Lars ends the episode not by showing gratitude but by... mocking them for doing the right thing and getting ''him'' out of trouble. After the episode where he and his gang help them out in the sand castle and where he even shows that he does love Twister (albeit when he was the victim of a pretty sick prank...) this just makes him seem like an irredeemable JerkAss.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: The episode "Radical New Equipment" directly attacks the InspirationallyDisadvantaged trope by pointing out that "feel-good" stories about physically or mentally impaired athletes are often rife with CondescendingCompassion and ignore the genuine talent of those athletes. Lizzie, the central character of the episode who has a prosthetic leg, summarizes the trope with her blistering TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to Reggie--she wins races and games because she's ''good'', not because able-bodied people let her win, and to give her special treatment (beyond the reasonable accommodations needed to allow her and others like her to compete) is incredibly insulting: "I just want to be treated like ''everyone else.''" It's not subtle, but it works.

** A few episodes deal with how the perception of skateboarding was changing in th TurnOfTheMillennium and late nineties. The 2020 Olympics introduced both Street ''and'' Park skateboarding as events, along with surfing - which no doubt made many people from this era and before happier.

** A few episodes deal with how the perception of skateboarding was changing in TheTurnOfTheMillennium and late nineties. The 2020 Olympics introduced both Street ''and'' Park skateboarding as events, along with surfing - which no doubt made many people from this era and before happier.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: The episode "Radical New Equipment" directly attacks the InspirationallyDisadvantaged trope by pointing out that "feel-good" stories about physically or mentally impaired athletes are often rife with CondescendingCompassion and ignore the genuine talent of those athletes. Lizzie, the central character, summarizes the trope with her blistering TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to Reggie--she wins races and games because she's ''good'', not because able-bodied people let her win, and to give her special treatment (beyond the reasonable accommodations needed to allow her and others like her to compete) is incredibly insulting: "I just want to be treated like ''everyone else.''" It's not subtle, but it works.

* HarsherInHindsight: When the gang trick Lars into thinking Twister is dead and film his reaction. After numerous prank videos on sites like Youtube and Tik Tok where people did things like this during TheNewTens, it's not as awesome anymore.

* AcceptableTargets: Tourists. Most of the time when they appear in the show they are loud, obnoxious, hog the beach, and don't seem to be the most intelligent sort.

* NightmareFuel:
** [[spoiler: Twister pretending to have been DrivenToSuicide]] in "Escape From Lars Mountain" can be too home-hitting for those who have tried to [[spoiler: take their own lives, know loved ones who have, or been the victim of a similar prank.]]
** In TheMovie, Reggie and Otto react to [[ParentWithNewParamour Raymundo's new relationship with Noelani]] by running off to an extreme dangerous surfing spot and when Raymundo comes after them, the trio get trapped by a storm and very nearly drown.
** Any and every time Otto's [[CoolPeopleRebelAgainstAuthority rebelliousness]] puts him and others in danger, which happened multiple times.
** Really, anytime one of the kids, usually Otto and Twister, finding themselves in life-threatening situations and it happened very often. From snowboarding down a dangerous slope that broke Otto's leg to trying to explore a restricted forest during in a blizzard and nearly freezing to death. Their closest encounter with death is when they went to get Twister's camera during the eye of a hurricane and it's only through luck that parents found them in time before they drowned; seriously, when there's a natural disaster going on, you get to the nearest shelter, and ''stay the hell there'' because losing your life is not worth your material possessions, even if they're expensive to replace.

** Ironically, the main character, Otto Rocket, is this to many, for being a rude, lazy, selfish, and conceited JerkJock with a massive ego who regularly [[WithFriendsLikeThese mistreats his friends]] (especially [[ExtremeDoormat Sam]]). What's more, he suffers from a severe case of AesopAmnesia, with each episode having him learn his lesson only to see him revert back to being a hyper-competitive jerkass by the next episode.
** [=MacKenzie=] Benders is an overly violent and needlessly antagonistic BrattyHalfPint with a super annoying voice who everyone feared (even her own parents!) meaning she always avoided comeuppance no matter what she did.

* ValuesDissonance: "A Rocket Power Christmas" has Reggie admitting she's willing to accommodate a vegetarian diet for a dog in an offhand comment. Nowadays feeding your dog a vegetarian or vegan diet is flat out abuse, and those who attempt it are considered either [[TooDumbToLive morons]] or [[{{Jerkass}} monsters]]. Even at the time the show was made, this was considered a bad idea.

* HardTruthAesop:
** "Radical New Equipment" delivers a good one about Ableism and how many disabled people feel patronised. See SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped.
** "False Alarmed":
*** You should be willing to come forward and tell the truth even when you actually benefitted from injustice. Even if it means punishment. However, it turns into a BrokenAesop because...
*** Some people won't appreciate it if you do stand up for them. Fortunately, another [[WesternAnimation/AsToldByGinger show by Klasky-Csupo]] handled this particular aesop more maturely and steadily.
** It's perfectly okay to prank your brother into thinking you're dead, then film his reactions where he admits even he goes too far. It may be an awesome moment for the show, but it also comes off as very mean spirited.

** [=MacKenzie=] Benders is an overly violet and needlessly antagonistic BrattyHalfPint with a super annoying voice who everyone feared (even her own parents!) meaning she always avoided comeuppance no matter what she did.

* InformedWrongness: The shoobies in ''The Lingos.'' Their crime is that they think the slang the gang uses is cool and starts saying it. They seem to have freedom of speech confused with copyright infringement.

* FamilyUnfriendlyAesop:
** If an adult is telling you a certain area is too dangerous, listen to them! Otto finds out the hard way when he breaks his leg.
** The episode where Squid makes friends with an asocial computer geek--don't hang out with them, they have no life!
*** This is especially bizarre; because Sammy acted ''just'' like Oliver when he was first introduced. But to give the show a bit of credit, the crew accepts Oliver and find something he's good at: Keeping score and time.
** "Big Thursday": It's okay to beat up your kid's role model as an excuse for being a bad parent.

** The characters in "Escape From Lars Mountain". They decide to prank Lars by [[spoiler: faking Twister's death and film Lars's MyGodWhatHaveIDone speech...]] then when they reveal it was a prank, watch the footage over and over while making Lars and his gang buy them burritos. DudeNotFunny.

** The characters in "False Alarmed". They decide to prank Lars by [[spoiler: faking Twister's death and film Lars's MyGodWhatHaveIDone speech...]] then when they reveal it was a prank, watch the footage over and over while making Lars and his gang buy them burritos. DudeNotFunny.

* AudienceAlienatingPremise: Even ignoring all of the laughable attempts to be hip, most people would agree that watching animated characters being realistically physically active is nowhere near as much fun as actually ''doing'' it. While the kids going outside and being physically active ''did'' look fun, you, the audience, had to stay inside and sit in front of the TV for half an hour to enjoy it, making the show's very existence counter-intuitive at best and hypocritical at worst.

** Otto himself. Opinions are generally mixed on whether he's a funny and amusing athlete with some good redeeming moments or an absolutely insufferable bastard who never learns his lesson.

** Otto, unsurprisingly. He's highly inconsiderate and vain to everyone around him, and it certainly doesn't help matters that some of his enemies have ''extremely'' good reasons for antagonizing him to due to him being [[{{Jerkass}} Otto]].

* EnsembleDarkhorse: [[NiceGuy Eddie]] [[{{Adorkable}} Prince]] [[{{Goth}} of the Netherworld]]
** Conroy Blanc is also popular for being a good mesh of a ReasonableAuthorityFigure who isn't afraid to lay down the rules when necessary.

* TheScrappy: Ironically, the main character, Otto Rocket, is this to many, for being a rude, lazy, selfish, and conceited JerkJock with a massive ego who regularly [[WithFriendsLikeThese mistreats his friends]] (especially [[ExtremeDoormat Sam]]). What's more, he suffers from a severe case of AesopAmnesia, with each episode having him learn his lesson only to see him revert back to being a hyper-competitive jerkass by the next episode.
** [=MacKenzie=] Benders, she was an overly violet and needlessly antagonistic BrattyHalfPint with a super annoying voice who everyone feared (even her own parents!) meaning she always avoided comeuppance no matter what she did. Granted, she was probably written to be a scrappy ''[[HateSink on purpose]]''.
** As mentioned above, Reggie's occasionally stuck up persona and obnoxiously petty levels of StrawFeminism can make her an irritating DesignatedHero.

* SpoiledByTheFormat: It's a show that makes going outside and being physically active look incredibly fun... which you have to stay inside and sit in front of the TV for half an hour to enjoy. For most people, watching animated characters being realistically physically active is nowhere near as much fun as actually ''doing'' it, which critics have taken as either hypocrisy on Nick's part for greenlighting the show at all or counter-intuitive, as kids would be too busy actually doing the activities depicted in the show to watch the show itself.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: In the episode with "Super Squid", Reggie actually gets off rather well compared to the rest of the cast - she isn't portrayed as a total idiot or [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments trapping people in boring flashbacks]]. Yet she still gets mad at Sam. It makes her come off as a total drama queen.
** Lars in the episode False Alarmed. He basically ends up the subject of a [[SadistShow torture porn]] episode where he is constantly punished and yelled at for something he didn't do. Naturally we're supposed to sympathise with him... except when Twister and Otto come forward because they feel bad for what Lars has been going through, Lars ends the episode not by showing gratitude but by... mocking them for doing the right thing and getting ''him'' out of trouble. After the episode where he and his gang help them out in the sand castle and where he even shows that he does love Twister (albeit when he was the victim of a pretty sick prank...) this just makes him seem like an irredeemable JerkAss.
** And speaking of said mean-spirited prank, the characters themselves. They decide to prank Lars by [[spoiler: faking Twister's death and film Lars's MyGodWhatHaveIDone speech...]] then when they reveal it was a prank, watch the footage over and over while making Lars and his gang buy them burritos. DudeNotFunny.

** Otto riding on the "adults-only" course after a guard told him it was forbidden, and that if he caught the kids trespassing he would put up embarrassing photos of them. He ends up with a broken leg and his friends are saddled with chores for coming along, racing him, and risking their limbs.
** Likewise, rather than rest up, he keeps trying to do sports with a broken leg. Even his friends think that he's going too far.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMoments: Whenever the gang gets the better of Lars and his bullies is usually a great moment. Some highlights include [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther tricking Lars into thinking Twister died,]] getting their parents to lay into Lars, and the various times they beat Lars’ gang at competitions.

* {{Anvilicious}}: A fair number of episodes deal with the kids doing things that are dangerous and getting punished for it, whether it's getting grounded by their parents or facing the natural consequences of their actions. While it is true that extreme sports can be, well, ''extreme''ly dangerous if the proper precautions aren't taken, and the MoralGuardians would have a field day with this show if not for DontTryThisAtHome moments, at times the show feels less like "cool kids do awesome extreme sports things" that the promotional material promise and more like a {{Deconstruction}} of extreme sports fiction that viewers didn't ask for.

%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * {{Anvilicious}}