Rocky the Flying Squirrel

Rocky the Flying Squirrel
Rocky the Flying Squirrel
Created by	Alex Anderson, Jay Ward
Voiced by	June Foray
Information
Species	Flying Squirrel
Gender	Male

Rocket 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 (both shows often referred to collectively as The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show), produced by Jay Ward. Rocky's sidekick is the cartoon moose, Bullwinkle. Both Rocky and Bullwinkle were given the middle initial "J" as a reference to Ward.

Rocky's personality was meant to be that of an upstanding, if slightly naive, all-American youth. As the brains of the "moose and squirrel" duo, Rocky often was shown as coming up with creative solutions to the various situations the duo found themselves in on their adventures. However, he is no less gullible toward Boris Badenov's and Natasha Fatale's disguises than Bullwinkle. The best he can do is to occasionally remark, "Those two look familiar!" or "That voice, where have I heard that voice?"

Besides his cleverness, Rocky also made extensive use in the series of his ability to fly, which was presented with, appropriate to his full name, a jet engine sound effect (the original opening of Rocky and His Friends introduces Rocky as "that Jet Age aerial ace", complete with Rocky performing an air show for a crowd of spectators). His airborne abilities have been depicted inconsistently; some episodes presented this ability as limited to gliding (similar to a real flying squirrel), while others presented it as similar to that of Superman (hovering in mid-air, ascending in altitude, carrying objects, etc.). According to the series, Rocky learned his aerial skills at Cedar Yorpantz Flying School (a play on the idiomatic expression "seat of your pants").

Rocky shared a house with Bullwinkle, in the fictional small town of Frostbite Falls, Minnesota, a parody of the real-life American town of International Falls, Minnesota.

Rocky's most frequently used catch phrase was "hokey smoke!"

Veteran cartoon voice artist June Foray was the voice of Rocky as well as the voice of Natasha Fatale and other characters. Foray continues to voice the character in current media, including The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle.

External links

• Rocket 'Rocky' J. Squirrel at the Internet Movie Database
• Hokey Smoke! Rocky and Bullwinkle