The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show (also known as Rocky and His Friends and The Bullwinkle Show) was a television animated series created and produced in the USA by Jay Ward. Rocky & Bullwinkle enjoyed great popularity during the 1960s, and is frequently re-run in the United States.

The heroes of the show are Rocket "Rocky" J. Squirrel, a flying squirrel, and his best friend Bullwinkle J. Moose, a dim-witted but good-hearted moose, from the fictional town of Frostbite Falls, Minnesota (inspired by International Falls, Minnesota).

Each episode involved the moose and squirrel in adventures that took them all over the world, ranging from trying to find a missing ingredient for a rocket fuel formula, to searching for the monstrous whale Maybe Dick, to preventing mechanical metal-munching moon mice from devouring the nation's television antennas. In nearly every episode, the villains behind these schemes were the fiendish but inept agents of the fictitious nation of Pottsylvania, Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale (see Boris Godunov, femme fatale), along with their bosses, the sinister Mr. Big and Fearless Leader. The episodes were serial, with cliffhanger endings; at the end of each episode, the show's narrator announced two possible titles for the next episode--- the second always a pun.

Other segments on the show were also popular. These included:

• Dudley Do-Right, a parody of early 20th century melodrama and silent film. Dudley Do-Right was a Canadian Mountie who was always trying to catch his nemesis, Snidely Whiplash, and who was so interested in his own horse that he scarcely noticed the flirtatious advances of his would-be love interest, Nell Fenwick.
• Peabody's Improbable History featured a genius dog named Mr. Peabody who had a pet boy named Sherman; Sherman and Peabody used Peabody's "WABAC machine" (pronounced "way-back") to go back in time to discover the real story behind historical events. The WABAC machine inspired the naming of the Wayback Machine, a web site that allows visitors to browse an archive of historically significant websites.
• Fractured Fairy Tales, presenting familiar fairy tales and children's stories with the storyline humorously changed.
• Aesop & Son, similar to the above, except dealing with fables instead of fairy tales. The usual framing portion consisted of Aesop attempting to teach a lesson to his son using a fable; after the story his son subverts its moral with a pun.
• Bullwinkle's Corner, presenting Bullwinkle reading a classic poem that he inadvertently and humourously distorts.
• Mr. Know-It-All, presenting Bullwinkle trying to give practical advice on something only to have it go disastrously wrong.

Each segment was announced by Rocky, who would invariably be interrupted by Bullwinkle's cry of "Hey, Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat." Undaunted by Rocky's response ("Again?"), Bullwinkle then pulls out something preposterous, like a rhinoceros. This running gag has been spoofed in other cartoons, such as comic strip FoxTrot and Cartoon Network originals The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy and Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi.

Much of the success of the series was due to its ability to work on two distinct levels. As an animated series with zany characters and plots, it appealed to children; its clever use of puns and topical references appealed to adults. The animation is quite limited while the scripts and audio are inventive and sometimes sophisticated. Some critics at the time described the effect as being like a well-written radio program with illustrations.

The show started in 1959 as Rocky and His Friends on the ABC television network. In 1961 the series moved to NBC and was renamed The Bullwinkle Show. The show moved back to ABC in 1964 and was cancelled that same year, although episodes continued to be aired on ABC until 1973 when it went into syndication.

A live-action made-for-TV movie, Boris and Natasha, starring the two spies, was produced in 1992; neither Rocky nor Bullwinkle appeared in this film. A movie (The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle) was released in 2000; this was mostly live action with the characters of Rocky and Bullwinkle added in animation. A live action movie Dudley Do-Right, featuring Dudley and friends, was released in 1999.

Cast

• Julie Bennett : minor female characters on Fractured Fairy Tales
• Daws Butler: Aesop's Son
• William Conrad: Narrator
• Hans Conried: Snidely Whiplash
• Edward Everett Horton: Narrator of Fractured Fairy Tales
• June Foray: Rocky, Natasha, Nell Fenwick
• Paul Frees: Boris, Cloyd (a moon man), Captain Peachfuzz, and Inspector Fenwick
• Charles Ruggles: Aesop
• Bill Scott: Bullwinkle, Mr. Peabody, Dudley Do-Right, Fearless Leader, and Gidney (a moon man); he also co-produced the show
• Dorothy Scott : additional voices
• Walter Tetley: Sherman

Memorable Lines

Bullwinkle: "Don't worry Rocky, I'll think of something."

Rocky: "I don't think I can wait that long."

Bullwinkle: "I'm going over there and giving them a piece of my mind."

Rocky: "That's what I like about you. No matter how little you have, you're always willing to share."

Bullwinkle: "Don't worry Rocky. I'll get you out if I have to do it piece by piece."

Natasha: "Fearless Leader, here?"

Boris: "He's doing a guest shot in this episode."

(Sfx: BANG!) Boris: "There goes a guest now."

Narrator: "There were two ways of dying in Jaipur. One was just living there."

Grand Vizier: "Take him [Bullwinkle] away and cut off his... no, that won't hurt him."

Inspector Fenwick: "Fie on you, Whiplash! You've got my post and my daughter. And I want my post back!"

Bullwinkle: "Hey Rocky - watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat!"

Rocky: "Again? That trick never works!" (Bullwinkle pulls a lion from hat)

Rocky: "Now here's something you'll really like!"

Bullwinkle: "When it comes to humility, I'm the greatest!"

External links

• Hokey Smoke! Rocky and Bullwinkle
• Boris and Natasha at the Internet Movie Database
• Dudley Do-Right at the Internet Movie Database
• Moosylvania web site

See also:

• Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle and Friends (video game)