- Title: The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle
- IMDb: link
Throwback Tuesday takes us back to the year 2000 and the adventures of a moose and squirrel. Adapted from the 60s cartoon, The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle brought Rocky the Flying Squirrel (June Foray) and Bullwinkle J. Moose (Keith Scott) into the real world to stop the latest nefarious plot by Fearless Leader (Robert De Niro), Natasha Fatale (Rene Russo), and Boris Badenov (Jason Alexander) to use television to take over the world. Their guide on their journey through the real world is plucky young FBI Agent Karen Sympathy (Piper Perabo) who needs to get the two beloved 60s cartoon characters from Hollywood to New York in time to foil the villains’ plot.
With its disappointing box office and mixed critical response, The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle was seen as a failure. However, it wasn’t without its fans capturing the puns, gags, and all-around silliness from the original cartoon. It is, in every respect, exactly what was marketed as (if perhaps a bit too early, or late, to cash-in on the nostalgia of the show). Of the various films of this type (such as Dudley Do-Right, George of the Jungle, and Mr. Peabody & Sherman), it’s easily my favorite and it has garnered more fans over the years.
All three villains were reimagined as live actors (literally being pulled into the real world by Janeane Garofalo) while the two titular characters were rendered in CGI (and pretty well for the time). Both Russo and Alexander were praised for the performances with each earning a Saturn nomination for their takes on the classic baddies. And along with Coyote Ugly (released just over a month later), Perabo put her stamp on the summer of 2000. Don’t worry too much Ole (Rod Biermann), I would have melted in her hands as well.
Most of the gags and jibes towards society found in the film have aged well including the commentary on all highway towns looking the same, celebrities being above the law, a computer illiterate unable to find the “any key,” Boris and Natasha’s incompetence, and Karen’s love for, but frustration at, getting the hardheaded Bullwinkle to understand what needs to be done. In the end, everything works out well for our heroes with Karen reconnecting with the child within and Rocky and Bullwinkle saving the world from Really Bad Television (completely different from regular television).
