The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle
rated PG 88 minutes Universal Pictures starring Rene Russo, Jason Alexander, Robert De Niro, and Piper Perabo featuring the voices of Keith Scott and June Foray written by Ken Lonergan directed by Des McAnuff
A Review by Frankie Paiva
In the spotty two film history of Jay Ward’s animated television shows making their way to the big screen, along comes Rocky and Bullwinkle. The duo is probably the most popular of his creations, but these two have something George of the Jungle and Dudley Do-Right don’t. When the program aired during the 1960s, there was always a political aspect to it. Winking, nudging, and in conclusion suggesting that a dimwitted moose and above average flying squirrel could beat the Russians was never completely through the back door. Since the Russian paranoia in the states has subsided, what purpose would the creatures serve today? To satirize Hollywood of course! Their mission is pretty much the same, but technology has changed everything. Keeping the original cheap wordplay intact, this new movie smacks all former cartoon characters into '90s reality, a time of influential entertainment, improved communication, and an evil villain to bring to justice.
Boris (Jason Alexander) and Natasha (Rene Russo) get pulled out of reruns. Their leader, aptly named Fearless Leader (Robert De Niro), also pops up in the real world. He comes up with a brilliant scheme. He buys all of the television stations in the United States so he can broadcast his own network, Really Bad TV, across the nation. After watching just a few short minutes, viewers become stupefied and settle into a hypnotic trance. When the majority of Americans are under his spell, Fearless Leader will force them to vote for him as president. Naturally, the only people that can save the day are Rocky and Bullwinkle. They too get pulled out of reruns. Teaming up with FBI agent Karen Sympathy (Piper Perabo), Moose and Squirrel travel the countryside to stop the evil television station. With Bullwinkle’s mental capacity, Karen’s identity issues, and Rocky past his prime the adventure is a rough one.
The greatest pleasures of this movie are the cameos. Randy Quaid, Janeane Garofolo, Carl Reiner, Jonathan Winters, Billy Crystal, John Goodman, and Whoopi Goldberg all make appearances. Piper Perabo fits her character well. Jason Alexander and Rene Russo are deliciously evil as Boris and Natasha. The chemistry between them is great. Robert De Niro hams it up to hilarious extremes, and he even spoofs his famous, “You talkin’ to me?� scene from Taxi Driver. Keith Scott is satisfactory as the narrator and new Bullwinkle. While he doesn’t have the blundering Bullwinkle tone of the late Bill Scott, his lines are really funny. The wonderful June Foray is still the voice of Rocky.
The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle runs into difficulties in its presentation. Boris, Natasha, and Fearless leader are actual people. Rocky and Bullwinkle must settle for being awkward computer animated images. Why is that? One character raises this question during the movie, but receives no answer. Complete animation would mean the loss of already animated and excellent human performances. An actual live moose and squirrel would just be bizarre. Another problem I always have with Jay Ward movies is the way characters interact and converse with the narrator. He's just another character rather than being omnipotent. This was amusing in George of the Jungle, made Dudley Do-Right worse, and works only occasionally here.
Now I’m forgetting the context of the story. This is a live action cartoon with lots of witty or so bad it’s funny lines. It succeeds at what a movie should do, entertain. Even though some of the jokes fall flat, this should be an enjoyable time for kids, and a nostalgia trip for baby boomers. Despite its many flaws, this is 88 minutes of pure fun.
B-
Frankie Paiva SwpStke@aol.com http://homestead.com/cinemaparadise/mainpage.html
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