The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show is the collective name for two separate
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
televisionTelevision is a widely used telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images, either monochromatic or color, usually accompanied by sound. "Television" may also refer specifically to a television set, television programming or television transmission...
animated seriesA cartoon series is a set of regularly presented animated television programs created or adapted for television broadcast with a common series title, usually related to one another. Cartoon series either appear once a week or daily during a prescribed time slot and are usually created to be...
:
Rocky and His Friends (1959 – 1961) and
The Bullwinkle Show (1961 – 1964).
Rocky & Bullwinkle enjoyed great popularity during the 1960s. Much of this success was a result of it being targeted towards both children and adults. The zany characters and absurd plots would draw in children, while the clever usage of puns and topical references appealed to the adult
demographicDemographics or demographic data are selected population characteristics as used in government, marketing or opinion research, or the demographic profiles used in such research...
. Furthermore, the strengths of the series helped it overcome the fact that it had choppy,
limited animationLimited animation is a process of making animated cartoons that do not follow a "realistic" approach. One of its major trademarks is the stylized design in all forms and shapes, which in the early days was referred to as modern design...
; in fact, some critics described the series as a well-written
radio programRadio Drama is a form of audio storytelling broadcast on radio. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the story....
with pictures.
Background
The idea for the series was created by
Jay WardJ Troplong "Jay" Ward was an American creator and producer of animated television cartoons. He produced animated series based on such characters as Crusader Rabbit, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Dudley Do-Right, Peabody and Sherman, Hoppity Hooper, George of the Jungle, Tom Slick and Super Chicken...
and Alex Anderson, who had previously collaborated on
Crusader RabbitCrusader Rabbit was the first animated series produced specifically for television. The concept was test marketed in 1948, while the initial episode - Crusader vs. the State of Texas - aired on KNBH in Los Angeles, California on August 1, 1950....
, and was based upon the original property
The Frostbite Falls Revue. This original show, which never got past the proposal stage, was about a group of forest animals running a TV station. The group included Rocket J. Squirrel, Oski Bear, Canadian Moose (Bullwinkle), Sylvester Fox, Blackstone Crow, and Floral Fauna. The show in this form was created by Jay Ward's partner Alex Anderson.* Bullwinkle's name came from a friend of Jay Ward's, Clarence Bullwinkel, who was a property owner/landlord in
BerkeleyBerkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
,
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
and also owned a
ChevroletChevrolet is a brand of automobile produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant in 1911, Chevrolet was acquired by General Motors in 1917...
dealership in
Oakland, CaliforniaOakland is the eighth-largest city in the U.S. state of California and a major West Coast port city, located on San Francisco Bay about eight miles east of the City of San Francisco. Oakland is a major hub city for the Bay Area subregion collectively called the East Bay, and it is the county seat...
.
Ward wanted to produce the show in
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
; however, Anderson, who lived in the San Francisco Bay area, did not want to relocate. As a result, Ward hired Bill Scott, who became the head writer and co-producer at
Jay Ward ProductionsJay Ward Productions is an animated cartoon studio, founded in 1949 by American animator Jay Ward.It was best-known for producing The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show and many other films and series...
, and who wrote all of the
Rocky and Bullwinkle features. Ward was also joined by writers
Allan BurnsAllan Burns is an American screenwriter and television producer. Burns is best known for creating and writing for the television sitcoms, The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Rhoda.-Biography:...
(who later became head writer for
MTM EnterprisesMTM Enterprises was an independent production company established in 1969 by Mary Tyler Moore and her then-husband Grant Tinker to produce The Mary Tyler Moore Show for CBS. The name for the production company was drawn from Moore's initials...
) and
Chris HaywardChris Hayward was an American television writer and producer. He was the co-creator, with Allan Burns, of the 1960s television show The Munsters and the creator of Dudley Do-Right....
.
Production
The series began with the pilot
Rocky the Flying Squirrel. Production began in February 1958 with the hiring of
voice actorVoice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters and radio and audio dramas and comedy, doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.Performers are called voice actors,...
s
June ForayJune Foray is an American voice actress, best known as the voice of many animated characters . Her career has encompassed radio, theatrical shorts, feature films, television, record albums , video games, talking toys and other media...
,
Paul FreesPaul Frees was an American voice actor and character actor.-Biography:Born Solomon Hersh Frees in Chicago, he began his acting career in 1942, and remained active for over forty years...
, Bill Scott, and
William ConradWilliam Conrad was an American film and television director and an actor and narrator in radio, film, and television known for his baritone voice, as well as his sizable girth.-Early life:...
. Eight months later,
General MillsGeneral Mills is an American Fortune 500 corporation, mainly concerned with food products, which is headquartered in Golden Valley, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. The company markets several well-known brands, such as Betty Crocker, Yoplait, Colombo, Totinos, Jeno's, Pillsbury, Green Giant,...
signed a deal to sponsor the cartoon, under the condition that the show be run in a late-afternoon time slot, where it could be targeted towards children. Subsequently, Ward hired most of the rest of the production staff, including writers and designers. However, no animators were hired, since Ward was able to convince friends of his at
Dancer, Fitzgerald, & SampleDancer Fitzgerald Sample was a top tier Madison Avenue advertising agency during the 20th century. They were responsible for developing the "Oh What A Feeling" Campaign for their client Toyota USA Inc...
— an advertising agency that had General Mills as a client — to buy an animation studio in Mexico called
Gamma ProductionsProducciónes Animadas Gamma SA was an Mexican studio that served as an animation house for cartoons produced by Jay Ward and Total Television. Founded in 1959 as Val-Mar Studios, it was set up to do animation production for Rocky and His Friends. Harvey Siegel served as a supervisor for most of...
S.A. de C.V. (originally known as Val-Mar Animation). This
outsourcingOutsourcing is subcontracting a service, such as product design or manufacturing, to a third-party company. The decision whether to outsource or to do inhouse is often based upon achieving a lower production cost, making better use of available resources, focussing energy on the core competencies...
of the animation for the series was considered financially attractive by primary sponsor General Mills, but caused numerous problems. Bill Scott, when interviewed by animation historian Jim Korkis in 1982, described some of the problems that arose in the production of the series:
We found out very quickly that we could not depend on the Mexico studio to produce anything of quality. They were turning out the work very quickly and there were all kinds of mistakes and flaws and boo-boos... They would never check... Moustaches popped on and off Boris, Bullwinkle's antlers would change, colors would change, costumes would disappear... By the time we finally saw it, it was on the air.
Network television: 1959-1973
- See also: List of Rocky and Bullwinkle episodes
The show was broadcast for the first time in the fall of 1959 on the
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. It first broadcast on television in 1948...
television network under the title Rocky and His Friends
twice a week, on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, at 5:30pm(et). In 1961, the series was moved to NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices in Burbank,California...
where it was renamed The Bullwinkle Show
, and first appeared on Sundays at 7pm(et), just before Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color; eventually, it was rescheduled on late Sunday afternoons, and early Saturday afternoons in its final season. Subsequently, in 1964, the show returned to ABC, where it was canceled within a year. However, reruns of episodes were still continually aired on ABC's Sunday morning schedule [11am(et)] until 1973, at which time the series went into syndication. In addition, an abbreviated fifteen minute version of the series ran in syndication in the 1960s under the title The Rocky Show
. This version was sometimes shown in conjunction with The King and Odie
, a fifteen minute version of Total Television's King Leonardo and His Short SubjectsKing Leonardo and his Short Subjects was an animated cartoon series released in 1960 by Total Television , sponsored by General Mills.-Plot:...
. The King and Odie
was similar to Rocky and Bullwinkle in that it was sponsored by General Mills and animated by Gamma Productions.
Episodes:
- Jet Fuel Formula 1 of 40/ Fractured Fairy Tales: Rapunzel/ Peabody: Show Opening (pilot)/ Jet Fuel Formula 2 of 40.
- Jet Fuel Formula 3 of 40/ Fractured Fairy Tales: Puss and Boots / Peabody: Napoleon/ Jet Fuel Formula 4 of 40.
- Jet Fuel Formula 5 of 40/ Fractured Fairy Tales: The Fisherman Wishes/ Peabody: Lord Nelson/ Jet Fuel Formula 6 of 40.
- Jet Fuel Formula 7 of 40/ Fractured Fairy Tales: Fairy Tales/ Peabody: Wyatt Earp/ Jet Fuel Formula 8 of 40.
- Jet Fuel Formula 9 of 40/ Fractured Fairy Tales: Fee Fi Fo Fum/ Peabody: King Arthur/ Jet Fuel Formula 10 of 40.
Syndicated package
Sponsor General Mills retains all United States television rights to the series, which remains available in domestic syndication through The Program Exchange, although the underlying rights are now owned by Bullwinkle Studios, a joint venture of copyright holder Ward Productions and
Classic MediaClassic Media, Inc. is an American production company and distributor of family programming. Formed in 1998 after acquiring Golden Books Family Entertainment, their library consists of properties which they acquired from other companies, including Entertainment Rights, Harvey Comics, Jay Ward...
. Two packages, each containing different episodes, are available. The syndicated version of The Bullwinkle Show
contains 98 half-hour shows (#801-898). The first 78 comprise the Rocky & Bullwinkle storylines from the first two seasons of the original series (these segments originally aired under the Rocky And His Friends
title). Other elements in the half-hours (Fractured Fairy Tales,
Peabody's Improbable HistoryMr. Peabody is a fictional dog who appeared in the late 1950s and early 1960s television animated series Rocky and His Friends and The Bullwinkle Show . Peabody appeared in the segments entitled Peabody's Improbable History created by Ted Key. All were Jay Ward productions...
,
Dudley Do-Right Of The MountiesDudley Do-Right was the eponymous hero of a segment on The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show which parodied early 20th century melodrama and silent film in the form of the Northern genre...
, Aesop And Son
, and short cartoons including Bullwinkle's CornerBullwinkle's Corner is a segment on The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends. It stars Bullwinkle J. Moose reading the Mother Goose stories. But some bad stuffs happens ....
and Mr. Know-It-AllMr. Know-It-All was a popular supporting segment of The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. There were 50 produced. The segments featured Bullwinkle giving advice on a specific topic, such as how to catch a bee or how to sneak into the movie theater without a ticket. Of course, true to Bullwinkle's...
) do not necessarily correspond to the original broadcast sequence. The final 20 syndicated Bullwinkle Show
episodes feature later Rocky & Bullwinkle
storylines (from "Bumbling Bros. Circus" through the end of the series, minus "Moosylvania") along with Fractured Fairy Tales, Bullwinkle's Corner
, and Mr. Know-It-All
segments repeated from earlier in the syndicated episode cycle. Originally, many of the syndicated shows also included segments of Total Television's The World of Commander McBraggCommander McBragg is a cartoon character who appeared in short segments produced by Total Television Productions and animated by Gamma Productions...
, but these cartoons were replaced with other segments when the shows were remastered in the early 1990s. Another package, promoted under the Rocky And His Friends
name but utilizing The Rocky Show
titles, features other storylines not included in the syndicated Bullwinkle Show
series.
The current syndicated Rocky And His Friends
package still retains the 15-minute format (consisting of 156 individual episodes), but like The Bullwinkle Show
, its content differs from the versions syndicated in the 1960s. In fact, neither package includes all the supporting cartoon segments; however, all of the Fractured Fairy Tales
(91), Peabody's Improbable History
(91), and Aesop And Son
(39) segments are syndicated as part of Tennessee Tuxedo And His Tales
, and 38 of the 39 Dudley Do-Right
cartoons are syndicated as part of Dudley Do Right
(sic) And Friends
. Syndicated versions of the shows distributed outside of the United States and Canada are again different, combining all of the various segments under the package title Rocky And Bullwinkle And Friends; it is this version of the show that is represented on official DVD releases by Classic Media.
Characters
The lead characters and heroes of the series were
Rocket "Rocky" J. SquirrelRocket J. Squirrel, usually called by the nickname "Rocky", is the name of the flying squirrel protagonist of the 1959-1964 animated television series Rocky and His Friends and The Bullwinkle Show , produced by Jay Ward. His sidekick is the cartoon moose, Bullwinkle...
, a
flying squirrelFlying squirrels, scientifically known as Pteromyini or Petauristini, are a tribe of 44 species of squirrels .-Description:...
, and his best friend
Bullwinkle J. MooseBullwinkle J. Moose is a fictional character in the 1959–1964 animated television series Rocky and His Friends and The Bullwinkle Show, often collectively referred to as Rocky and Bullwinkle, produced by Jay Ward and Bill Scott...
, a dim-witted but good-natured
mooseThe moose or common elk , , is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a "twig-like" configuration....
. Both characters lived in the fictional town of
Frostbite Falls, MinnesotaFrostbite Falls, Minnesota is a fictional small town seen on the American animated series Rocky and His Friends and The Bullwinkle Show. It is located in the location of Koochiching County in Minnesota....
, which was based on the real life city of
International Falls, MinnesotaInternational Falls is a city in and the county seat of Koochiching County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 6,703 at the 2000 census....
. The scheming villains in most episodes were the fiendish, but inept, agents of the fictitious nation of
PottsylvaniaPottsylvania is a fictional country that appeared in the television series Rocky and His Friends and The Bullwinkle Show, collectively referred to as Rocky and Bullwinkle....
:
Boris BadenovBoris Badenov is a fictional character in the 1960s animated cartoons Rocky and His Friends and The Bullwinkle Show, collectively referred to as Rocky and Bullwinkle for short...
, a pun on
Boris GodunovBoris Fyodorovich Godunov was de facto regent of Russia from 1584 to 1598 and then the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605...
, and
Natasha FataleNatasha Fatale is a fictional character in the 1960s animated cartoons Rocky and His Friends and The Bullwinkle Show, collectively referred to as Rocky and Bullwinkle for short...
, a pun on
femme fataleA femme fatale is an alluring and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. She is an archetypal character of literature and art...
. Boris and Natasha were commanded by the sinister
Mr. BigMister Big was a villain on the 1960s cartoon series Rocky and His Friends and The Bullwinkle Show, both shows often collectively referred to as Rocky and Bullwinkle. He is voiced by Bill Scott doing an imitation of Peter Lorre.-History:Mr...
and
Fearless LeaderFearless Leader is a fictional character in the 1959-1964 animated television series Rocky and His Friends and The Bullwinkle Show, both shows often collectively referred to as Rocky and Bullwinkle...
. Other characters included
Gidney & CloydGidney and Cloyd are fictional characters originally appearing in the American animated television program Rocky and His Friends . Their names were adapted from the names "Sidney" and "Floyd", which Jay Ward said were the most boring names ever...
, little green men from the moon who were armed with scrooch guns;
Captain Peter "Wrongway" PeachfuzzCapt. Peter “Wrong Way” Peachfuzz was a supporting character on the animated television programs Rocky and His Friends and The Bullwinkle Show, now known collectively as The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show...
, the captain of the S.S. Guppy; and the inevitable onlookers, Edgar and Chauncy.
Structure
When first shown on NBC, the cartoons were introduced by a Bullwinkle puppet, voiced by Bill Scott, who would often lampoon celebrities, current events, and especially Walt Disney, whose program Disneyland was the next show on the schedule. On one occasion, "Bullwinkle" encouraged children to pull the tuning knobs off the TV set. "In that way," explained Bullwinkle, "we'll be sure to be with you next week!" After the network received complaints from parents of an estimated 20,000 child viewers who apparently followed Bullwinkle's suggestion, Bullwinkle told the children the following week to put the knobs back on with glue "and make it stick!" The puppet sequence was dropped altogether. He also did a segment called "Dear Bullwinkle," where letters specially made for the show were read and answered humorously. Four episodes of "Dear Bullwinkle" are on the Season 1 DVD.
Each episode comprises two "Rocky & Bullwinkle"
cliffhangerA cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma, or confronted with a shocking revelation...
shorts that stylistically emulated early
radio and film serialSerials in television and radio are series that rely on a continuing plot that unfolds in a serial fashion, episode by episode. Serials typically follow main story arcs that span entire seasons or even the full run of the series, which distinguishes them from traditional episodic television that...
s. The plots of these shorts would combine into much larger
story arcA story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and in some cases, films. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story...
s that would span numerous episodes. For example, the first and also the longest story arc of the series was called
Jet Fuel FormulaJet Fuel Formula is the first and the longest Rocky and Bullwinkle story arc. It is also noteworthy in that it established most of the characters, themes, running gags, and other elements that would be employed in later stories and that would become so closely identified with the...
and consisted of 40 shorts (20 episodes). Each story arc would place the mighty moose and plucky squirrel in a different adventure, ranging from seeking the missing ingredient for a rocket fuel formula, to tracking the monstrous whale Maybe Dick, to a desperate attempt to prevent mechanical, metal-munching, moon mice from devouring the nation's television antennas. Rocky and Bullwinkle confront a number of obstacles and enemies in the course of their adventures, most frequently the two Pottsylvanian nogoodniks, Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale.
At the end of most episodes, the narrator,
William ConradWilliam Conrad was an American film and television director and an actor and narrator in radio, film, and television known for his baritone voice, as well as his sizable girth.-Early life:...
, would announce two humorous titles for the next episode that typically were puns of each other. For example, during an adventure taking place in a
mountain rangeA mountain range is a chain of mountains bordered by highlands or separated from other mountains by passes or valleys. Individual mountains within the same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geology, though they often do; they may be a mix of different orogeny, for example volcanoes,...
, the narrator would state, "Be with us next time for '
AvalancheAn avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, from either natural triggers or human activity. Typically occurring in mountainous terrain, an avalanche can mix air and water with the descending snow...
Is Better Than None,' or 'Snow's Your Old Man.'" The narrator also frequently had conversations with the characters, thus breaking the
fourth wallThe fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play. The term also applies to the boundary between any fictional setting and its audience...
in the process.
Each episode was introduced with one of four standard opening sequences:
- Rocky flies about snow-covered mountains. Below him, hiking on a snowy trail, Bullwinkle is distracted by a billboard featuring his name, and walks off a ledge. He becomes a large snowball as he rolls downhill. Rocky flies to him and pushes against the snowball, slowing it to a halt just at the edge of another cliff. Bullwinkle pops out of the snowball to catch the teetering squirrel at the cliff edge.
- In a circus, Rocky is preparing to jump from a very high diving board into a tub of water tended by Bullwinkle. However, when Rocky jumps, he ends up flying around the circus tent, while Bullwinkle chases after him carrying the tub. As Rocky lands safely, Bullwinkle tumbles into the tub.
- Rocky is flying acrobatically about a city landscape. Bullwinkle is high atop a flagpole painting a sign, and is knocked from his perch as the squirrel flies by. Rocky attempts to catch the plummeting moose with a butterfly net, but the moose falls through it. Rocky then flies lower to find his friend suspended from a clothesline, having fallen into a pair of long johns
Long underwear, often called long johns, is a style of two-piece underwear with long legs and long sleeves that is normally worn during cold weather. It offers an advantage over the union suit in that the wearer can choose to wear either the top, bottom, or both parts depending on the weather...
.
- Similar to the previous opening, Rocky is again flying about the city. Bullwinkle is suspended from a safety harness on a large billboard, posting a sign. He loses his balance as the squirrel zooms past him and tumbles off the platform. The moose lands on a banner pole mounted on the side of a building, and the recoil springs him back into the air. He lands on a store awning, slides down it, and drops a few feet to a bench on which Rocky is seated. The impact launches the squirrel off the bench, and Bullwinkle nonchalantly catches him in his left hand to end the sequence.
In addition, episodes ended with a
bumperIn broadcasting, a commercial bumper, ident bumper or break bumper is a brief announcement, usually two to 15 seconds, placed between a pause in the program and its commercial break, and vice versa...
sequence in which a violent lightning storm destroys the landscape, appearing to engulf Rocky and Bullwinkle in the destruction and accompanied by dramatic
pianoThe piano is a musical instrument which is played by means of a keyboard. Widely used in Western music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
music. The music would become more lighthearted, and the ground would scroll upward while the outlines of the heroes gradually appeared. We then see a smiling sun overlooking a barren field which rapidly fills with
sunflowerSunflowers are annual plants native to the Americas, that possess a large inflorescence .-Description :...
s until Rocky and Bullwinkle finally sprout from the ground. This sequence was parodied in the couch gag for
Simpson Tide"Simpson Tide" is the nineteenth episode of The Simpsons
' ninth season and originally aired on the Fox network on March 29, 1998. After being fired from the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, Homer decides to join the United States Navy Reserve...
, a
9th seasonThe Simpsons
' ninth season originally aired between September 1997 and May 1998, beginning on Sunday, September 21, 1997 with "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson". The show runner for the ninth production season was Mike Scully...
episode of
The SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated television sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its eponymous family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie...
.
Supporting features
The "Rocky & Bullwinkle" shorts served as "bookends" for several other popular supporting features, including:
- Dudley Do-Right of the Mounties
Dudley Do-Right was the eponymous hero of a segment on The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show which parodied early 20th century melodrama and silent film in the form of the Northern genre...
, a parody of early 20th century melodramaThe theatrical genre of melodrama uses theme-music to manipulate the spectator's emotional response and to denote character types. The term combines "melody" and "drama" . While the use of music is nearly ubiquitous in modern film, in most cases it is used within a fairly rigid structure...
and silent film serials of the Northern genreThe Northern is an American and Canadian genre in literature and film made popular by the writings of Rex Beach and Zane Grey. It is similar to the Western genre but the action occurs in the Canadian North and typically features Mounties instead of, for example, Cowboys or Sheriffs...
. Dudley Do-Right was a Canadian MountieThe Royal Canadian Mounted Police is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal, provincial and municipal policing body...
in constant pursuit of his nemesis, Snidely WhiplashSnidely Whiplash is the cartoon archvillain to Dudley Do-Right in the tongue-in-cheek Dudley Do-Right of the Mounties segments of The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show by American animation pioneer Jay Ward....
, who sported the standard "villain" attire of black top hatA top hat, top-hat, silk hat, cylinder hat, plug hat, chimney pot hat or stove pipe hat is a tall, flat-crowned, broad-brimmed hat worn prior to and including the 19th and early 20th centuries...
, capeCape can be used to describe any sleeveless outer garment, such as a poncho, but usually it is a long garment that covers only the back half of the wearer, fastening about the neck. They were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon, and have had periodic...
, and over-sized moustacheA moustache is facial hair grown on the upper lip. Often the term implies that the wearer grows only upper-lip hair while shaving the hair on his chin and cheeks...
. This is one of the few Jay Ward cartoons to feature a background music track. As was standard in Ward's cartoons, jokes often functioned on two levels. A standard gag was to introduce characters in an irised close-up with the name of the "actor" displayed in a caption below, a convention seen in some early silent films. However, the comic twist was using the captions to present silly names or subtle puns. Occasionally, even the scenery was introduced in this manner, as when "Dead Man's Gulch" was identified as being portrayed by "Gorgeous Gorge," a reference to professional wrestler Gorgeous GeorgeGeorge Raymond Wagner was an American professional wrestler best known by his ring name Gorgeous George...
.
- Peabody's Improbable History featured a talking dog genius named Mister Peabody
Mr. Peabody is a fictional dog who appeared in the late 1950s and early 1960s television animated series Rocky and His Friends and The Bullwinkle Show . Peabody appeared in the segments entitled Peabody's Improbable History created by Ted Key. All were Jay Ward productions...
who had a pet boy named Sherman. Peabody and Sherman would use Peabody's "WABAC machine" (pronounced "way-back", and partially a play on names of early computers such as UNIVACUNIVAC is the name of a business unit and division of the Remington Rand company formed by the 1950 purchase of the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation, founded four years earlier by ENIAC inventors J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly and the associated line of computers which continues to this day...
and ENIACENIAC , short for Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer, was the first general-purpose electronic computer. It was a Turing-complete, digital computer capable of being reprogrammed to solve a full range of computing problems. ENIAC was designed to calculate artillery firing tables for the U.S...
) to go back in time to discover the real story behind historical events, and in many cases, intervene with uncooperative historical figures to ensure that events actually transpire as history has recorded. They are famous for including a terrible pun at the end. For example when going back to the time of Pancho Villa, they show Pancho a photo of a woman and he promptly gets the urge to take a nap. When Sherman asks why this is so, Peabody says that the woman's name is Ester, and whenever you "see Ester" (siesta) you fall asleep.
- Fractured Fairy Tales presented familiar fairy tale
A fairy tale is a fictional story that may feature folkloric characters such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, giants, gnomes, and talking animals, and usually enchantments, often involving a far-fetched sequence of events...
s and children's stories, but with storylines altered and modernized for humorous effect. This segment was narrated by Edward Everett HortonEdward Everett Horton was an American character actor with a long career in film, theater, radio, television and voice work for animated cartoons.-Early life:...
; June Foray, Bill Scott, Paul Frees, and an uncredited Daws ButlerDaws Butler was a voice actor born in Toledo, Ohio. He originated the voices of many famous animated cartoon characters, including Yogi Bear, Quick Draw McGraw, Snagglepuss, and Huckleberry Hound.Daws Butler trained many working actors including Nancy Cartwright and Joe Bevilacqua...
often supplied the voices.
- Aesop & Son was similar to Fractured Fairy Tales (complete with the same theme music), except it dealt with fable
A fable is a succinct story, in prose or verse, that features animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature which are anthropomorphized , and that illustrates a moral lesson , which may at the end be expressed explicitly in a pithy maxim.A fable differs from a parable in that the...
s instead of fairy tales. The typical structure consisted of Aesop attempting to teach a lesson to his son using a fable. After hearing the story, the son would subvert the fable's moral with a pun. This structure was also suggested by the feature's opening titles, which showed Aesop painstakingly carving his name in marble using a mallet and chisel and then his son, with a jackhammer and raising a cloud of dust, appending "& Son." Aesop was voiced (uncredited) by actor Charlie RugglesCharles Sherman “Charlie” Ruggles was a comic American actor. In a career spanning six decades, Ruggles appeared in close to 100 feature films. He was also the brother of director, producer, and silent actor Wesley Ruggles .-Background:Charlie Ruggles was born in Los Angeles, California in 1886...
and his son, Junior, was voiced by Daws Butler.
- Bullwinkle's Corner featured the dimwitted moose attempting to inject culture into the proceedings by reciting poems and nursery rhyme
The term nursery rhyme is used for ‘traditional’ songs for young children in Britain and many English speaking countries, but usage only dates from the nineteenth century and in North America the older ‘Mother Goose Rhymes’ is still often used.-Lullabies:...
s, inadvertently and humorously butchering them. Poems subjected to this treatment include several by Robert Louis StevensonRobert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. Stevenson was greatly admired by many authors, including Jorge Luis Borges, Ernest Hemingway, Rudyard Kipling, Marcel Schwob, Vladimir Nabokov, J. M. Barrie, and G. K...
("My Shadow", "The Swing", and "Where Go the Boats"); William WordsworthWilliam Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....
's "Daffodils"I WANDERED LONELY AS A CLOUDI wandered lonely as a cloudThat floats on high o'er vales and hills,... , "
Little Miss Muffet"Little Miss Muffet" is a nursery rhyme, one of the most commonly printed in the mid-twentieth century. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 20605.-Lyrics:-Alternative Lyrics:...
", "
Little Jack Horner"Little Jack Horner" is a popular English language nursery rhyme. It has the Roud Folk Song Index number of 13027.-Lyrics:The most common modern lyrics are:
Little Jack HornerSat in the corner,Eating a Christmas pie;He put in his thumb,...
", and "
Wee Willie Winkie"Wee Willie Winkie" is a Scottish nursery rhyme, whose titular figure has become popular the world over as a personification of sleep. The poem, written by William Miller and titled Willie Winkie, was first published in Whistle-binkie: Stories for the Fireside in 1841...
";
J. G. WhittierJohn Greenleaf Whittier was an influential American Quaker poet and ardent advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. He is usually listed as one of the Fireside Poets...
's "Barbara Frietchie"; and "The Queen of Hearts" by Charles Lamb.
Simple Simon"Simple Simon" is a is a popular English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19777.-Lyrics:A modern version of the first two verses is:*The Three Stooges did a variant version, which began the usual way, and ended:...
is performed with Boris as the pie man, but as a variation of the famous
Abbott and CostelloWilliam Abbott and Lou Costello performed together as Abbott and Costello, an American comedy duo whose work in radio, film and television made them the most popular comedy team during the 1940s and 50s...
routine "
Who's on First?Who's on First? is a vaudeville comedy routine made most famous by Abbott and Costello. In Abbott and Costello's version, the premise of the routine is that Abbott is identifying the players on a baseball team to Costello, but their names and nicknames can be interpreted as non-responsive answers...
".
- Mr. Know-It-All again featured Bullwinkle posing as an authority on various topics. Disaster invariably ensued.
- Rocky and Bullwinkle Fan Club, a series of abortive attempts by Rocky and Bullwinkle to conduct the club's business. The fan club
A fan club is a group that is dedicated to a well known person, group, idea or sometimes even an inanimate object . Most fanclubs are run by fans who devote considerable time and resources to supporting them. There are also "official" fanclubs that are run by someone associated with the person or...
consisted only of Rocky, Bullwinkle, Boris, Natasha, and Captain Peter Peachfuzz. Notably, these shorts seemingly break the fourth wall by showing these characters "out of character," as opposed to their portrayals in the serialized Rocky and Bullwinkle episodes.
- The World of Commander McBragg
Commander McBragg is a cartoon character who appeared in short segments produced by Total Television Productions and animated by Gamma Productions...
, short features on revisionist history as the title character would have imagined it; this was actually prepared for Tennessee Tuxedo and His TalesTennessee Tuxedo and His Tales was a popular, semi-educational animated cartoon TV series that originally aired on CBS from 1963 to 1966. It was produced by Total Television, the same company that produced the earlier King Leonardo and the later Underdog, and primarily sponsored by General Mills...
(and later shown on The Underdog Show). Although the shorts were animated by the same animated company, Gamma Productions, they were actually produced for Total Television, rather than Ward Productions. These segments were part of pre-1990 syndicated versions of The Bullwinkle Show (and also appear in syndicated episodes of The Underdog Show, Dudley Do Right And Friends, and Uncle Waldo's Cartoon Show).
Reception and Cultural Impact
- Rocky and Friends has aired in over 100 countries. A popular urban legend claimed that it was banned in Canada, because of the portrayal of Dudley Do-Right, even though neither Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) (nor its predecessor, the Board of Broadcast Governors
The Board of Broadcast Governors was a Canadian arms-length government agency created in 1958 to regulate television and radio broadcasting, originally taking over that function from the CBC. It was replaced by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission in 1968....
) has the ability to ban TV shows—it can only fine broadcasters that violate broadcast standards which deal mostly with obscenity, violence, and racism, and not with depictions of Mounties. The show aired in Canada in the early 1960s, and was on YTV throughout the 1990s. It is currently a part of Canada's Teletoon RetroTeletoon Retro is a Canadian English language category 2 digital cable specialty channel based on the Teletoon programming block Teletoon Retro. The service consists of animation series from Canada and around the world, all of which commenced production at least 10 years prior to their exhibition...
lineup.
- As a publicity stunt, Ward and Scott campaigned for statehood for "Moosylvania", Bullwinkle's fictional home state. They drove a van to about 50 cities collecting petition signatures. Arriving in Washington DC, they pulled up to the White House gate to see President Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, and were brusquely turned away. They learned that the evening they had arrived was during the height of the Cuban Missile CrisisThe Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation between the United States, the Soviet Union, and Cuba in October 1962, during the Cold War. In Russia, former Eastern Bloc, and communist countries , it is termed the "Caribbean Crisis" , while in Cuba it is called the "October Crisis"...
.
- British Invasion band Herman's Hermits got its name because bandmates thought lead singer Peter Noone looked like Sherman of "Mr. Peabody" fame, and the name "Herman" was close enough to "Sherman" for them.
- TSR, Inc.
TSR, Inc. was an American game publishing company most famous for publishing the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. The company was purchased in 1997 by Wizards of the Coast, which no longer uses the TSR name for its products.-Tactical Studies Rules:...
produced a role playing game based on the world of Bullwinkle and Rocky in 1988. The game consisted of rules, mylar hand puppets, cards, and spinners.
- A pinball machine
Pinball is a type of arcade game, usually coin-operated, where a player attempts to score points by manipulating one or more metal balls on a playfield inside a glass-covered case called a pinball machine. The primary objective of the game is to score as many points as possible...
dedicated to Rocky and Bullwinkle was released in 1993 by Data Eastalso abbreviated as DECO, was a Japanese video game company. Their main headquarters were located in Suginami, Tokyo, while their American subsidiary, Data East USA, was headquartered in San Jose, California...
.
- When this show aired on Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon is an American cable television channel owned by Viacom. Since the mid-1990s and early 2000s Nickelodoen as a brand has expanded into other territories including Europe, the Middle-East, Russia and Asia.It is often referred to by its shortened name, Nick, a practice that dates back to...
, it was entitled "Bullwinkle's Moose-a-rama" with the same outro credits as "The Bullwinkle Show."
- Cartoon Network aired the show under the new "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show" title, featuring their own version of the characters among a purple and green checkerboard background while retaining the original outro credits.
- In January 2009, IGN
IGN is a multimedia news and reviews website that focuses heavily on video games...
named Rocky and Bullwinkle as the 11th best animated television series.
DVD releases
In 2002, Jay Ward Productions established a partnership with Classic Media called Bullwinkle Studios. In 2003 and 2004, the partnership produced
DVDDVD, also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc,is an optical disc storage media format, and was founded in 1995. Its main uses are video and data storage...
s of the first two seasons of the series, which were renamed (for legal reasons) Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends. In September 2005, the third season was released onto DVD. According to a
pamphletA pamphlet is an unbound booklet . It may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths , or it may consist of a few pages that are folded in half and stapled at the crease to make a simple book...
accompanying the DVDs for the first season, the DVDs use the second season opening, which Ward's daughter Tiffany says was her father's favorite. Nevertheless, the DVDs for the third season just use the opening and closing from the first season. In addition, the DVDs for the first two seasons replaced the original music with themes Ward produced for the third season. Also
The Program ExchangeThe Program Exchange is a syndicator of television programs. From 1987 to 2008, it was a division of Saatchi & Saatchi North America, an advertising agency...
logo is not in the DVDs box sets. So far, there has been no word on when (or if) the Complete Season 4 or Season 5 will be released.
The DVD releases of the shows differ in several respects from the originals. First, the renaming of the show to "Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends" led to the sometimes clumsy superimposition of the new title onto preexisting opening credits and interior bumpers. A
Bill ConradWilliam Conrad was an American film and television director and an actor and narrator in radio, film, and television known for his baritone voice, as well as his sizable girth.-Early life:...
impersonator was used to announce the new title, which some viewers have found jarring. Second, a semi-transparent 'R & B' logo appears for five seconds at the beginning of each segment. Lastly, some of the segments have been moved around from their placement in the original episodes.
In 2005, Bullwinkle Studios released a series of "best of" DVD compilations of popular segments of the series: two volumes of "The Best of Rocky and Bullwinkle", plus the single-volume "The Best of Boris and Natasha", "The Best of Mr. Peabody and Sherman", and "The Best of Dudley Do-Right". These compilations contain episodes from the entire run of the show, including the otherwise-unreleased seasons four and five.
Season Sets
| DVD Name |
Ep # |
Release Date |
Additional Information |
| Season 1 |
26 |
August 12, 2003 |
- 16 page booklet detailing the origins and popularity of the characters
- Never before seen Bullwinkle puppet segments
- Rarely-Seen "U.S. Saving Stamp Club" episode
- Vintage Rocky & Bullwinkle TV Spots
- Sneak Peek at "Complete Season 2"
|
| Season 2 |
52 |
August 31, 2004 |
- Classic Bullwinkle TV commercials
- June Foray Interview
- Sneak Peek at "Complete Season 3
- "Moosecalls: The Best of Bullwinkle Sings"
|
| Season 3 |
33 |
September 6, 2005 |
- Live Bullwinkle Puppet clips
- Best of Bullwinkle Follies
- Sneak Peak at "Complete Season 4"
|
Films
- Boris and Natasha
Boris and Natasha is a 1992 comedy film that was loosely based on the animated television series The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. The actors did not attempt to copy the accents of their animated counterparts, and although Rocky and Bullwinkle do not appear in this film, they are referred to by the...
, a live-action made-for-television feature filmIn the film industry, a feature film is a film made for initial distribution in theaters and being the "main attraction" of the screening...
starring the two spies, was produced in 1992The year 1992 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1992.-Events:*January 10 - The Days of our Lives nighttime special One Stormy Night airs on NBC....
. Neither Rocky nor Bullwinkle appear in this film; however two characters are identified as 'Moose' and 'Squirrel'.
- The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle
The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle is a 2000 film based on the television cartoon The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show by Jay Ward. The animated characters Rocky and Bullwinkle shared the screen with live actors portraying Fearless Leader , Boris Badenov , Natasha Fatale , and FBI agent Karen Sympathy...
, a theatrical film starring Rocky and Bullwinkle, was released in 2000The year 2000 in film involved some significant events.-Top-grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the United States and Canada in 2000...
. It was mostly live-action with Rocky and Bullwinkle appearing as computer-generated charactersComputer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
. For the film, June Foray returned to voice Rocky, while Bullwinkle was voiced by Keith Scott. Although the movie retained the spirit and feel of the original cartoons, most critics didn't think the film was as humorous as the original cartoon.
- Dudley Do-Right
Dudley Do-Right is a live action romantic family comedy, based on Jay Ward's Dudley Do-Right, produced by Davis Entertainment for Universal Pictures, and released to theatres in 1999. The motion picture stars Brendan Fraser as the cartoon's title character. It was shot in Vancouver, British...
, a theatrical live-action film, was released in 1999The year 1999 in film involved some significant events and was arguably the most successful year for films released in the 1990s. Several new feature films, including Star Wars Episode I, The Sixth Sense, The Green Mile, new sequel Toy Story 2, first of The Matrix, Disney's animated Tarzan,...
and starred Brendan FraserBrendan James Fraser is a Canadian-American actor of stage and screen. He has starred in many major Hollywood films, including The Mummy film series, Crash, Dudley Do-Right, Looney Tunes: Back in Action, George of the Jungle and Journey to the Center of the Earth.-Early life:Fraser was born in...
and Sarah Jessica ParkerSarah Jessica Parker is an American film, television and theatre actress and producer. She is best known for her leading role as Carrie Bradshaw on the HBO television series Sex and the City, for which she won four Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and two Emmy Awards...
.
- A live-action Peabody's Improbable History was planned for release in 2001, but the film was canceled due to Universal Pictures
This is a partial listing of films produced and/or distributed by Universal Pictures, the main motion picture production/distribution arm of Universal Studios, a subsidiary of NBC Universal.-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc...
' Dudley Do-Right and The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle underperforming at the box-office. More recently, the film's production has been revived by DreamWorks AnimationDreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. is an independent American animation studio which primarily produce a series of commercially successful computer animated films, including Shrek, Shark Tale, Madagascar, Over the Hedge, Bee Movie, Kung Fu Panda, Monsters vs Aliens, and How to Train Your Dragon...
to now be a computer-animated film.
Comics
- A syndicated daily newspaper comic strip titled Bullwinkle began in 1962 with original stories drawn by Al Kilgore
Al Kilgore was an American artist who worked as a cartoonist and filmmaker.-Biography:...
.
- Rocky and Bullwinkle comic books were released by Gold Key Comics
Gold Key Comics was an imprint of Western Publishing created for comic books distributed to newsstands.-History:Gold Key Comics was created in 1962, when Western switched to in-house publishing rather than packaging content for branding and distribution by its business partner, Dell Comics...
and, in the 1980s, by Star ComicsStar Comics was an imprint of Marvel Comics that began in 1984 and continued to publish comic books until early 1988. Several titles begun under the Star imprint continued under the Marvel brand...
(an imprint of Marvel ComicsMarvel Publishing, Inc., a company doing business as Marvel Comics, produces American comic books and related media. It forms a subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment, Inc....
). Both were called Bullwinkle and Rocky. The comics, although clearly for children, did contain numerous references spoofing issues such as celebrity worship or the politics of the 1980s. In one issue, Bullwinkle owns a small company, which makes him eligible to compete in a fun run in Washington DC for presidents of small companies. When Bullwinkle says he is there for the race, it is mistaken that he is campaigning for President. The comic also spoofed US President Ronald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States and the 33rd Governor of California .Born in Tampico, Illinois, Reagan moved to Los Angeles, California in the 1930s...
, and he personally thanks Bullwinkle for stopping Boris & Natasha by rewarding him with monogrammed jelly beanJelly beans are a type of confectionery that comes in many different flavors. They are small and generally have a hard candy shell and gummy interior...
s. Another comic broke the fourth wall when the narrator is outraged at a plot of Boris', to which Boris claims he has control of everyone "by capturing the Marvel Comics building and tying up the editor". When the narrator says how this is morally wrong, Boris quiets him by saying "you will agree or you will not find paycheck in mail this month!"
Recordings
A phonograph album of songs, Rocky the Flying Squirrel & His Friends
, was released in 1961 by Golden Record, using voice actors from the series. Boris and Natasha, for example sing: We will double, single and triple cross, our very closest friends!
Video games
- THQ
THQ Inc. is a worldwide international American developer and publisher of video games. Founded in 1989, the company develops products for video game consoles, handheld game systems, as well as for personal computers and wireless devices.The company publishes internally created and externally...
released
The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends
for the Nintendo Entertainment SystemThe Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe and Australia in . In most of Asia, including Japan , China, Vietnam, Singapore, and the Philippines, it was released as the , commonly abbreviated as the...
, Game BoyThe is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America on , and in Europe on . In Southern Asia, it is known as the "Tata Game Boy" It is the first handheld console in the Game Boy line...
, and Super NESThe Super Nintendo Entertainment System or Super NES is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
in 1992. Absolute EntertainmentAbsolute Entertainment was a video game developer and publisher that produced titles for the Amiga, Atari 2600, Atari 7800, Sega Game Gear, Sega Genesis, Sega CD, Game Boy, Nintendo Entertainment System, and Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game consoles, as well as for the PC. It also...
also released a version for the Sega Mega Drive, in 1994.
- Zen Studios
Zen Studios is a Hungarian software development company based in Budapest.-Notable works:*Flipper Critters *Ghostbusters: The Video Game *Pinball FX...
released an Xbox Live ArcadeXbox Live Arcade is a term used to refer to a type of video game available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for Xbox 360...
video game titled
Rocky and BullwinkleRocky and Bullwinkle is a downloadable video game created by Zen Studios for the Xbox Live Arcade. The title was released on April 16 2008 for 800 Microsoft Points.-Reception:Rocky and Bullwinkle received mostly negative reviews from critics...
for download on April 16, 2008.
See also
- List of Rocky and Bullwinkle episodes (including links to articles on the various story arc
A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and in some cases, films. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story...
s)
- Upsidaisium
Upsidaisium is a fictional element that appeared in the 1950s and 1960s Rocky and His Friends and The Bullwinkle Show animated series, in the story arc entitled Upsidaisium...
- Bullwinkle's Restaurant
Bullwinkle's Restaurant also known as Family Fun Center is a chain of family entertainment centers. Similar to Chuck E. Cheese's, most locations feature a sit-down pizza restaurant, complemented by arcade games and small rides for children, themed after its namesake, The Rocky and Bullwinkle...
- Dudley Do-Right Emporium
The Dudley Do-Right Emporium was a small, eccentric gift shop named after that fearless Canadian Mountie, Dudley Do-Right located on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California....
External links
Rocky and Bullwinkle Show free at AOL Video
- Toonopedia's The Bullwinkle Show page
- Toon Tracker's The Bullwinkle Show page
- Bob Claster's interview of June Foray and Bill Scott
- Hear the entire record of Jay Ward's "Jazz from the Swamp" A tribute to Moosylvania