Rocky and Bullwinkle the characters premiered on ABC in the fall of 1959. The show was originally named "Rocky and his Friends." However, it was renamed "The Bullwinkle Show" when the program went from ABC to NBC.
Kids watching the show would still laugh at the dimwitted moose Bullwinkle and his pal Rocky, the Flying Squirrel. In reality, however, there's no doubt that many of the jokes were meant for adults, not children. It wasn't in terms of being politically incorrect, as perhaps jokes on "The Simpsons" or "Family Guy" might be, but rather the humor was simply too nuanced to be caught by a child.
In fact, as Tiffany Ward told CNN about her father, who created the series, Jay Ward "wanted kids to enjoy the pictures while grown-ups laughed at the quick wit and inside jokes." Those were the jokes that simply were way above the heads of children.
The lead characters and heroes of the series were the aforementioned "Rocky," or rather Rocket J. Squirrel, who was a flying squirrel, and his best friend Bullwinkle J. Moose, the rather dim-witted but lovable moose. They lived, together, in the fictional town of Frostbite Falls, Minnesota.
Many of their episodes involved the villains Boris Badenov, a short, stocky, dressed-all-in-black villain, and his female counterpart Natasha Fatale. Both had rather obvious accents, and they came from the fictional country of Pottsylvania. Their commandants, so to speak, were Fearless Leader and his boss, Mr. Big.
Recurring characters in the series of misadventures included Gidney & Cloyd, moon men who were armed with scrooch guns; Captain Peter "Wrongway" Peachfuzz, and Edgar and Chauncy, who always commented on "there's something you don't see every day."
In 2000 a Rocky and Bullwinkle live-action film combined with computer animation was made. It starred Jason Alexander and Rene Russo as Boris and Natasha respectively. Now, there is a Dreamworks animated film in production.
Happy Birthday, Moose and Squirrel (as Boris would say)!
Written by Michael Santo
HULIQ.com
Posted November 27th, 2009 by Michael Santo
