ADVENTURES OF ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE, THE
SYNOPSIS:
Cartoon villains Fearless Leader (Robert De Niro) Boris Badenov (Jason Alexander) and
Natasha Fatale (Rene Russo) have broken the secret code, making the giant leap from their
cartoon existence into the real world. They have devised a plot to take over the world
through the creation of a new mindless TV network, RBTV (Really Bad Television), which
will hypnotise the world by election day. But first they have to get rid of 60s TV heroes
Rocky the Flying Squirrel (voice of June Foray) and Bullwinkle the Moose (voice of Keith
Scott), who team up with brave-but-stupid rookie FBI agent Karen Sympathy (Piper Perabo)
in a bid to save the day.
"Jay Ward's well-loved cartoon characters blast their way onto the big screen in
The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle, a live-action/animation fun mix of spoof, satire
and corny humour. While lacking the immediate delights of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, these
unlikely heroes have a cheesy charm of their own, which grows surely and steadily as the
tale unfolds. This is the kind of film that will have you chuckling silently at the
parodies and the in-jokes and delight at the impeccable performances by the top star cast.
Much of the humour is heavy handed and almost old-fashioned, while themes of high-tech
bring it into the 21st Century. In fact there's a wonderful scene when
Bullwinkle sends himself by email on the information superhighway, surf-boarding on an
envelope through loopdaloop.com. Robert De Niro makes a super villain with his slick,
shiny, tar-like hair gleaming like a dung beetle, while Rene Russo is a real scene stealer
as the seductive Natasha. With hair like licorice straps and a never-ending purple slinky
wardrobe and pink and puce make-up, she is a delicious cross between Cruella deVil and an
East European femme fatale. Pairing Russo and Jason Alexander is a master stroke of
casting – she is tall and lean, he is short and squat. This is the kind of sight-gag
that works well. Piper Perabo makes a convincing heroine and the cameos are a treat, even
if they don't have much substance. You just never know who's going to pop up next –
be it Whoopi Goldberg, John Goodman, Billy Crystal or Janeane Garofalo. But of course, the
real stars are the cute squirrel who's lost the knack of flying (June Foray first voiced
Rocky 40 years ago) and that dumb 6'7" moose weighing 400 lbs of 'mostly mooscle'
(wonderfully voiced by Australian Keith Scott, who also shines as the narrator). (A little
aside - when we published Encore Magazine some years ago, Scott voiced our ansaphone
messages for us; many would ring just to hear his humorous messages that borrowed the
voices of Gregory Peck, John Wayne, Richard Nixon, Bob Hawke and others.) With its bright
and melodic soundtrack and themes of friendship nurturing the child in each of us, The
Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle is welcome escapism in a world where the lines
between good and evil are clearly drawn, in this world of good, clean, innocent fun."
Louise Keller
"If ever two illustrated stereotypes were fashioned directly from Cold War
paranoia they were R&B’s arch nemeses Boris and Natasha. Any generation loves a
soaring squirrel and a moronic moose, but the No-Goodnik duo from Pottsylvania don’t
readily appeal as feasible villains for a Year 2000 feature. The solution? A plot that
simultaneously yanks them past the fall of the Berlin Wall and into reality. Good
manoeuvre. Making the CGI—real life combination a key element of the narrative
affords a plethora of self-parody possibilities, and smug cleverness was always the
cartoon series’ definitive feature. It never dumbed down for children, they reached
for it. As a pre-pubescent fan I adored the satire, the word play, the witty asides, and
the flippant commentary of the supercilious narrator. Only kidding. I really loved the
cute creatures and the fantastic absurdity. It was already in reruns before I was born,
but growing up with it, and gradually realising how much previously went over my head,
revealed its enduring quality. Attempting to cater to both adults and children can be a
recipe for boring all ages, but Rocky and Bullwinkle has always, including this latest
incarnation, pulled it off. The only disappointing aspect is that the fascinating casting
of De Niro and Alexander doesn’t quite deliver what it promises. They’re far too
talented to portray cartoon characters in a sketchy way (sorry), but somehow their cartoon
counterparts seem more animated (puns are the spirit here, you know). Instead, Australian
voice mimic extraordinaire, Keith Scott, steals the show with his brilliant vocalisations
of Bullwinkle and our loveably cynical narrator. Even more importantly, the writing’s
as sharp as ever. Bullwinkle’s conjurer’s hat has vanished, but the overall
magic materialises delightfully on the silver screen."
Brad Green
"The Hollywood scramble to turn baby boomer childhood television viewing habits
into box office gold continues. Now it's the turn of the five-minute morning cartoon
staple Rocky and Bullwinkle. All begins well and we can't wait for Bullwinkle's cheesy
'hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat!' followed by the inevitable failure and
typical ‘I better get another hat!' The first five minutes or so is extremely
faithful to the old series with all the characters still in corny fast-paced animation
land. We still have hope as they break free from their drawn world with the quality of
actors cast as the villains. De Niro is masterful as the evil Fearless Leader, Jason
Alexander gives it all he has, and Reno Russo is delightfully throaty and wicked as the
worldly Natasha. New York based playwright Kenneth Lonergan provides a script that
initially shows much promise, retaining the corn of the original while adding some
extremely witty observations of the nature of the movie business. Studio exec Janeane
Garofolo rejects a pile of scripts as 'too intelligent'. There is an actual green light
house, allowing films to be made. The cartoon humour includes FBI talk of the three
Generals: Foods, Store, and Admission; and signs such as Crymia River. Yet somehow, as is
so often the case with both these revival attempts and live action - cartoon hybrids, it
doesn't work. Both the cuteness and sophistication disappear, the Rocky and Bullwinkle
animations present a seemingly unmanageable challenge for the human actors, and not once
do we get the 'watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat' schtick. Disappointed.
Lee Gough
"I chuckled, I giggled, I laughed and I squirmed with pleasure at the bad puns. I
never did have much to do with Rocky and Bullwinkle before, so I am a test case. Did I get
the movie? Yesssiree, I did. I dig the zany puns and silly humour of it, I like the
inventive story telling that delivers our cartoon characters across the time and
technology gaps, and I felt thoroughly entertained. This is a worry, since the film is
aimed at people young enough to be my …er…grandchildren. But the fun
doesn’t come from sophistication v crude bins; it comes from the original creative
premise that it was possible to entertain kids without treating them like morons.
Don’t you be a fool, go and see it.
Andrew L. Urban
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HEAR Andrew L. Urban & Louise Keller talk about the film in Real Audio.

TRAILER
CRITICAL COUNT
Favourable: 3
Unfavourable: 0
Mixed: 1
See Andrew L. Urban's interview with KEITH SCOTT



ADVENTURES OF ROCKY & BULLWINKLE, THE (G)
(US)
CAST: Robert De Niro, Jason Alexander, Rene Russo, Randy Quaid, Janeane Garofalo, John
Goodman, Whoppi Goldberg, Billy Crystal – and the voices of Keith Scott as Narrator
and Bullwinkle
DIRECTOR: Des McAnuff
PRODUCER: Jane Rosenthal, Jay Ward
SCRIPT: Kenneth Lonergan
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Thomas Ackerman, A.S.C.
EDITOR: Dennis Virkler
MUSIC: Mark Mothersbaugh
PRODUCTION DESIGN: Gavin Bocquet
RUNNING TIME: 88 minutes
AUSTRALIAN DISTRIBUTOR: UIP
AUSTRALIAN RELEASE: January 11, 2001
The characters of Rocky & Bullwinkle first appeared in Jay Ward’s series Rocky
& His Friends on ABC TV (US) in November 1959.
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