Heffer Steer-Wolfe

, ''

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

'' is a fictional character in

's 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 Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

special '' Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling'' and the comic book series of the same name.

Tom Kenny Thomas James Kenny (born July 13, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He has been voicing SpongeBob SquarePants (character), the titular character in ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' and associated media since its debut in 1999. Kenny has voice ...

provided the voice of the anthropomorphic

steer Steer(s) or steering may refer to: Animals * Steer or bullock, castrated male cattle * Ox, a bovine (usually a steer) used as a draft animal People * Steer (surname) * Steers (surname) Places * Steer Creek (West Virginia), a tributary ...

. Heffer is best friends with the title character, Rocko.

Conception and development

Joe Murray, creator of ''Rocko's Modern Life'', partially based Heffer on an adopted friend who enjoyed

bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

sandwiches and "had an interesting take on life".Character Museum
", '' Joe Murray Studio'' Heffer first appeared on an ID spot aired on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

in 1989; the ID spot depicts Heffer as flying out of a television with the MTV logo branded on his

buttocks The buttocks (: buttock) are two rounded portions of the exterior anatomy of most mammals, located on the posterior of the pelvic region. In humans, the buttocks are located between the lower back and the perineum. They are composed of a lay ...

. Heffer's design was altered to be more anthropomorphic for ''Rocko's Modern Life''. Tom Kenny in 2009

Murray originally wrote "A Sucker for the Suck-O-Matic" as the pilot episode; the executives decided that Heffer would be "a little too weird for test audiences". Murray, instead of removing Heffer from "A Sucker for the Suck-O-Matic", decided to write "Trash-O-Madness", an episode without Heffer, as the pilot episode. Originally, Murray did not include any information about Heffer's origins in his pitch to Nickelodeon. Vince Calandra wrote Heffer's origin plotline in season 1. Maestri, George. ''Digital Character Animation 3''
248
Murray auditioned

in a large casting call in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and chose him as the voice actor for Heffer. Kenny based Heffer's voice on the voice of a nephew of his. Kenny said that the voice was " t dead on, but some of his quirks I incorporated into the Heffer audition".Peitzman, Louis.
''Rocko's Modern Life'' Is Finally Out on DVD; We Chat with the Voice of Heffer About the Classic '90s Series
. '' TV.com''. June 21, 2011. Retrieved on July 17, 2011.

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, says that Heffer's right eye and left nostril are "notched at the bottom" due to Murray's design style. Marsh added that the animators found keeping the sides straight "a little tricky at first" and that they referred to the design as "

Tombstone A gravestone or tombstone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. A marker set at the head of the grave may be called a headstone. An especially old or elaborate stone slab may be called a funeral stele, stela, or slab. The us ...

-shaped".

Character

Heffer was raised by

wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

in O-Town who fattened him up to eat him. Eventually the wolves grew to love Heffer, so they instead raised him to adulthood. Despite their obvious differences, Heffer has no knowledge of his adoption until Rocko accidentally revealed the truth when the Wolfe family invited him for dinner. The mark which Heffer believed to be a "

birthmark A birthmark is a congenital, benign irregularity on the skin which is present at birth or appears shortly after birth—usually in the first month. Birthmarks can occur anywhere on the skin. They are caused by overgrowth of blood vessels, melanocy ...

" on his buttocks is actually the plotting lines showing where the wolves were going to divide him. The Nickelodeon UK page describes Heffer as a "devoted friend" who "loves life". Heffer's lack of fear mostly stems from stupidity instead of genuine bravery.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 ...

'' The Nickelodeon South East Asia website describes him as an "overgrown slob".Heffer
, '' Nickelodeon South East Asia'' Despite being obese, he can drive; unlike Rocko he does not wear

seat belt A seat belt, also known as a safety belt or spelled seatbelt, is a vehicle safety device designed to secure the driver or a passenger of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result during a collision or a sudden stop. A seat belt reduce ...

s, mostly because the seat belts do not extend enough for him to wear them comfortably. Also he seems to be a hopeless romantic at times as mentioned in " Sugar Frosted Frights", where he asks Filburt's shell while in an eight-ball mode if he will ever find true love. Heffer holds several jobs: tree farmer, greenskeeper at a golf course, mail carrier, security guard, waiter at a café, and cashier. Despite his size, he can be unexpectedly nimble at times, most notably when he is

roller skating Roller skating is the act of travelling on surfaces with roller skates. It is a recreation, recreational activity, a sport, and a form of transportation. Roller rinks and skate parks are built for roller skating, though it also takes place on s ...

. At the local skating rink, he is known as "The King", and performs his own skating routine at the request of the patrons."Wallaby on Wheels", ''Rocko's Modern Life'' Heffer's biological father lives with a female cow named Joyce in a trailer in the

Canoga Park Canoga Park is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. Before the Mexican–American War, the district was part of a rancho, and after the American victory it was converted into wheat farms and ...

section of the

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...

region of

. A shaved and elderly character resembling Heffer appears in the series finale of ''

Camp Lazlo ''Camp Lazlo'' is an American animated television series created by Joe Murray for Cartoon Network. The series follows Lazlo, an anthropomorphic spider monkey who goes to a camp called "Camp Kidney", a Boy Scout–like summer camp in the Pim ...

'' as the real scoutmaster; both him and the impostor were voiced by Tom Kenny. The character was designed to be Heffer himself and the scene featuring design was already animated but due to Nickelodeon and

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...

's rivalry, Murray was forced to change his design to be legally distinct.

References

External links

* - Contains original MTV ID Spot (click on Ident-Tribal) {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfe, Heffer Adoptee characters in television Television characters introduced in 1989 Orphan characters in television Rocko's Modern Life characters Fictional cattle Anthropomorphic cattle Male characters in animated television series Animated characters introduced in 1989