Rocky and His Friends

"The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle" was the most unconventional cartoon show ever devised for television during the late-1950's and throughout the entire 1960's. Arguably for its time,was the pun-laden,satirical "The Bullwinkle Show". Bullwinkle was a dim-witted moose from Frostbite Falls,Minnesota whose diminutive pal Rocky was a flying squirrel with an aviator's cap. The unlikely duo faced another twosome of Cold War combatants,trench-coat clad Boris and husky-voiced Natasha,whose sole mission was to "kill moose and squirrel." They never succeeded,with thanks due in varying proportions to Boris' stupidity,Rocky's quick thinking,and interactions with other odd types,including aliens from outer space,robots,demented bureaucrats,and much more. Topping it off was a narrator whose comments brought occasional responses in support or opposition from the participants,ending it all by telling viewers to "tune in to our next episode",or "be with us next time for",or "don't miss our next episode of",and giving two jokey titles for the next serialized adventure(which lasted no more than about eight minutes in length giving within a half-hour show). The result was a concoction that appealed to both adults and children.

One supporting segment later had its own spin-off consisting of various characters like Sherman and Peabody and of course Dudley Doright. Another was "Fractured Fairy Tales",the title segment of which featured a hapless fairy opening the first pages of a volume of classic fairy tales,then getting snapped up by the suddenly closing book.(If you're wondering where the producers got their ideas for the movie "Shrek",they got the insight from this segment of the Bullwinkle Show) Narrated by Edward Everett-Horton,the segment of "Fractured Fairy Tales" was an off-the-wall rendition of Cinderella,Sleeping Beauty,Rapunzel,and other well-known classics,plus along with the narrator who,as in the main show talked with the characters. "Peabody's Improbable History" had a bespectacled pooch(with a Ph.D and highly intelligent)take his pet boy Sherman back in time via his Waybac machine and make dry comments about circumstances that did not square with what history said had happened. The "Mr. Know-It-All" segment featured Bullwinkle's helpful but bumbling attempts to answer viewers' questions. And "Aesop and Son" featured a young looking curly-haired kid named Aesop telling his tunic-wearing offspring so-called parables with such characters as a lion who caught a cold every time he roared because he wanted to sing. The moral of of that one was "Psychiarists are very good,but they're never cured the common cold." And this within a segment of other stories that ran within an eight to nine minute time frame within a half-hour show. Another Bullwinkle segment was "The Poetry Corner",where Bullwinkle takes a stab of classic poetry with hilarious results.

The cartoon was the only original series in ABC's late-afternoon lineup when it premiered on November 19,1959(which was by the way filmed in color but telecast in black and white),airing under the title of Rocky and Friends. However,it continued successfully well at ABC-TV until September 3,1961. On September 23,1962 the series moved from ABC over to NBC-TV,and this time around was in color with new episodes and under a new title "The Bullwinkle Show". Series creator and also executive producer Jay Ward offscreen antics were the keys to some of the great writing that they had on this animated classic(along with co-writers Allan Burns and Chris Hayward the writing team behind a lot of classic TV shows including "Mister Ed","Get Smart",and so forth). The series remained with the peacock network until September 5,1964. At the start of the 1964-65 season,the "Bullwinkle" show return to ABC in repeated episodes from September 20,1964 until September 2,1973 and was mostly shown on Saturday and Sunday Mornings for the remainder of its run on the ABC network. From 1963 through 1973(ten years)the show not only aired on weekends in repeated episodes,but also had a loyal cult following in the syndicated markets too from 1973 until 1981. There was a final network run of the series for NBC during the 1981-82 season. Did you know that William Conrad was the narrator for this series and later on Bill Scott? Voice regulars included June Foray(who basically did the voices for all of the female characters on the show and also the voice of Rocky and other young boys),Bill Scott(was one of the co-producers and was one of the writers for the show and was not only the voice of Bullwinkle,but did the voices for the characters of Mr.Peabody,Dudley Doright,and Aesop),Charles Ruggles,Paul Frees(who was the voice of Boris and other characters),and Walter Tetley.

Huge irony, as animation (aided by computers) is being re-discovered in the present, that the highest compliment one can pay to an animated feature in our current age is to say that "the market is kids, but adults will find things in the script to enjoy also." Folks, here is big revelation. That trick is not new. In fact, the producers of this ground-breaking series, Jay Ward and Bill Scott, not only invented that approach, they virtually patented it. The segments, especially the poetry, fractured fairy tales, and trips back in history, had puns within puns within puns. And, of course, puns only work if you already know the answer, so in effect this series was written by adults, for adults, and, in order to bring home a paycheck, I am sure these guys had to console themselves with the inevitable truth that the vast majority of their audience would, unfortunately, be children. (But, through the magic of DVD, streaming video and God-knows-what-new-media will arrive in the decades to come, adults can finally get a chance to match wits with the writers of this half-century old show.) And the casting? William Conrad was a "force" in Hollywood in those days, directing behind the scenes, doing voice-overs, and ultimately had his own show (Cannon). Horton had one of the most distinctive voices in the history of TV, with a pitch un-matched even to the present. And Hans Conried actually appeared on talk shows of the era to show how many different voices he could do. Even the intros to the commercials were unique and ahead of their time -- "SAY ROCKY WATCH ME PULL A RABBIT OUT OF A HAT!" Defines the word "classic."

There is no doubt that "Rocky and "The Avengers" were the most intelligently funny tv shows ever made. Like "Sesame St", "Rocky" was written to appeal to adults as well as children and more than half of the humor was aimed at the grownups. The show is vibrant proof that you don't have to plumb the depths of scatology, profanity, and smut - as tv today does - to be funny. "Rocky" left us laughing our keisters off, and we didn't feel we had to take a shower after seeing it.

There was a station in Huntsville, Alabama that used to play Rocky and Bullwinkle early on Sunday mornings. The reception was poor, but I would wake up early, nonetheless. I never got the jokes, but I knew that there was something there that I was missing and laughed anyway (Remember the Ruby Yacht of Omar Kiyam? Hilarious! What kid gets that joke?). I loved the other shorts too--Mr. Peabody, Bullwinkle's Corner, Dudley Doright, Fractured Fairy Tales, Mr. Know It All--which all seemed to be just as funny, and in some cases funnier, than the moose and squirrel.

I am only 27, but the show reminds me of better times, and I enjoy watching it to this day, finally being able to get the jokes. I can never find it, but when I do, and I rarely do, I sit and watch and remember. I am not sure if I will ever see the live action/animated version of the film, however, because I hate what modern technology has done to the animated characters I grew up loving in flat monotone colors. Isn't this the only way to view Rocky and Bullwinkle, and if Peabody the dog and his boy Sherman ain't in it do I really want to pay money to watch? Oh well, maybe the film will make the TV show more available. One can only hope.

Rocky and Bullwinkle is "Must See TV" today as it was for me when I was four years old. Back then, the story lines went over my head, but the star characters were so strong, their personalities so vivid that they have stood the test of time while many of their contemporaries and those that followed have languished in obscurity.

Looking back at the very onset of the show with the Adventures Of Rocky & Bullwinkle DVD set, the show seemed to attempt to find itself both from a story nature and the art (Rocky's appearance changes quite drastically between episodes seven and eight of the "Rocket Fuel" serial and again between episodes five and six of "Box Top Robbery"), but once the show found itself deservedly attracting a grown-up audience, the story writers let it all hang out. Pop culture wasn't the target of the show, it was culture of all persuasions. It came fast and furious and that's what made the show so funny. Consider the following from the "Treasure Of Monte Zoom" serial, when Boris Badenov sets fire to a bridge:

Bullwinkle: "This is an ethical dilemma fraught with portents!"

Rocky: "What does that mean?"

Bullwinkle: "I dunno...I heard it on 'Meet The Press'."

Rocky and Bullwinkle has shown that brilliant writing and terrific heroic characters can offset the low-budget animation, and that heroes that can thrill us and make us laugh will have a spot in our hearts for life.