Gladys Hippo is a recurring character from Rocko's Modern Life. She is a sunglasses-wearing, stretch pants sporting hippopotamus with whom Rocko would often collide with, or unintentionally, gets in her way.
Personality[]
She would always utter her catchphrase, "How dare you!?", at this juncture, which is always in a deep, manly voice in total contrast to her unnerving, high-pitched voice, usually using it after Rocko accidentally collides, or gets crushed by her. After she says it, she throws him away violently, mistaking the horrific incident as an attempt as sexual harassment.
In the Season 4 episode, "Dumbells", she drags Rocko on a "ding-dong ditch" frenzy after catching Rocko, Heffer, and Filbert trying to pull the prank on her, and finding it hilarious. Though she thinks Rocko as a friend after this, his experiences at her end of the abuse she regularly gives him makes it very one-sided.
Episode Appearances[]
Season 1[]
Trivia[]
- Gladys is voiced by Charlie Adler, who also voices Bev Bighead, as well as Cow from Cartoon Network's show, Cow and Chicken.
- But when angered, she would sound like the Red Guy from the same series, also voiced by Charlie Adler.
- She might have a crush on Rocko: in one episode, when the judge said they were getting married, she smiled happily love-struck at him.
- Gladys is the most recurring minor character in the whole show.
- The fact she constantly gets mad at Rocko for accidents involving him and her being easily offended in conceited and selfish ideas of her "sensibilities" being "violated" makes her a riff on nasty "diva" personality minded women, especially those who believe there is "nothing wrong with them at all" and that the world should bend to their whim, who were beginning to become very prevalent upon the 1980s and the height of celebrity culture by widespread TV and entertainment industry sensationalism into the 1990s.
- Her being a hippo that thinks she is a "beautiful yet harassment ravaged woman" is a play on the phrase "Putting makeup on a hippo", meaning the futility of making something so fundamentally ugly to be prettied up by only accentuating and accessorizing means. Hippos are also known to be ill tempered and aggressive as dangerous animals who can pursue targets, making her live up to her namesake.
- Into the 2010s, she is very similar to what would be defined as a Karen in current modern sensibilities. Pay in mind its usually a combination of her obliviousness and large, obesity bordering overweight butt that leads to most of her shouting at Rocko.