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The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (film)

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The Adventures of
Rocky and Bullwinkle
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDes McAnuff
Written byKenneth Lonergan
Produced byRobert De Niro
Jane Rosenthal
StarringJune Foray
Keith Scott
Piper Perabo
Robert De Niro
Rene Russo
Jason Alexander
Randy Quaid
Narrated byKeith Scott
CinematographyThomas E. Ackerman
Edited byDennis Virkler
Music byMark Mothersbaugh
Production
companies
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release dates
  • June 30, 2000 (2000-06-30) (United States)
  • January 11, 2001 (2001-01-11) (Australia)
  • February 9, 2001 (2001-02-09) (United Kingdom)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$76 million
Box office$35,134,820

The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle is a 2000 American live-action/animated adventure comedy film produced by Universal Pictures, based on the television cartoon The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show by Jay Ward. The animated characters Rocky and Bullwinkle shared the screen with live actors portraying Fearless Leader (Robert De Niro), Boris Badenov (Jason Alexander), Natasha Fatale (Rene Russo). The film also featured supporting roles done by Piper Perabo, Randy Quaid, Kel Mitchell and Kenan Thompson.[1] June Foray reprised her role as Rocky, whilst Keith Scott voices Bullwinkle and the film's narrator.

This film has an ensemble cast featuring guest appearances by performers including Paget Brewster, Janeane Garofalo, John Goodman, David Allen Grier, Don Novello, Jon Polito, Carl Reiner, Whoopi Goldberg, Max Grodenchik, and Jonathan Winters.

Plot

35 years since the cancellation of their show in 1964, Rocket "Rocky" J. Squirrel and Bullwinkle J. Moose have been relegated to the reruns. Their home, Frostbite Falls, has been destroyed by deforestation, Rocky has lost his ability to fly and the show's unseen Narrator now lives with his mother, spending his time narrating his own mundane life. Meanwhile, their enemies Fearless Leader, Boris Badenov, and Natasha Fatale have lost power in Pottsylvania following the end of the Cold War. However, the three escape to a real world Hollywood film studio, where they trick executive Minnie Mogul (Janeane Garofalo) into signing a contract which gives her rights to the show, transforming the villains from their two-dimensional cel animation cartoon forms into live-action characters (portrayed by Robert De Niro, Jason Alexander, and Rene Russo). The klutzy, but well-meaning FBI agent Karen Sympathy (Piper Perabo) and her manager Cappy von Trapment (Randy Quaid) inform President Signoff (James Rebhorn) that Fearless Leader intends to make himself the President by brainwashing television viewers using a cable television network of his own named "RBTV" (short for "Really Bad Television"), which airs mind-numbing programming designed to zombify the public and persuade them to elect him as president of the United States. Karen is sent to a special lighthouse bring Rocky and Bullwinkle to the real world by literally greenlighting a movie starring the pair. She succeeds, with the Narrator being brought along as well but never being physically seen.

Fearless Leader is informed that Rocky and Bullwinkle have returned and sends Boris and Natasha to destroy them. The two are given a weapon called the CDI (standing for Computer Degenerating Imagery) which can remove cartoon characters from the real world by sending them to the Internet. Karen manages to steal Boris and Natasha's truck, but she is then arrested by an Oklahoma state trooper (John Goodman). Natasha and Boris in turn steal a helicopter to pursue Rocky and Bullwinkle. Rocky and Bullwinkle are given a ride by "Martin and Lewis" (Kel Mitchell and Kenan Thompson)[2]), two students at Bullwinkle's old university, Wossamotta U. Boris and Natasha get there first and make a large donation to the university in Bullwinkle's name. In return, the head of the university gives Bullwinkle an honorary "Mooster's Degree" and Bullwinkle addresses the student body, whilst Boris attempts to kill him with the CDI from a water tower. Rocky recovers his lost ability to fly and saves the oblivious Bullwinkle.

Martin and Lewis lend the two their car, which Bullwinkle drives to Chicago. Boris and Natasha once again attempt to kill the two but instead destroy their helicopter by accident. Meanwhile, Karen escapes prison with help from a love-struck Swedish guard named Ole. Karen, Rocky, and Bullwinkle are reunited but they are quickly arrested for various misdemeanours that they have committed during their journey and put on trial, where Bullwinkle's dimwittedness takes over him and he sabotages their case by cross-examining Karen as the prosecutor, not the defense attorney. However, the presiding Judge Cameo (Whoopi Goldberg) dismisses their case upon recognizing Rocky and Bullwinkle, stating to the District Attorney (Jeffrey Ross) that celebrities are above the law.

The three then obtain an old biplane from a man named Old Jeb (Jonathan Winters) and escape Boris and Natasha once again. The evil duo consider quitting their evil occupations and getting married, but are interrupted by a call from Fearless Leader. Afraid to admit they have failed, they lie to Fearless Leader, saying that they have killed Rocky and Bullwinkle. Fearless Leader puts his plans into motion, brainwashing the entirety of the US. Meanwhile, the plane is unable to carry the weight of all three aboard. Rocky flies Karen to New York City to stop Fearless Leader, however they are captured. Meanwhile, Bullwinkle accidentally flies the plane to Washington, D.C. (confusing it with New York) and lands at the White House. To get Bullwinkle to New York in time to stop Fearless Leader, Cappy scans Bullwinkle into the White House's computer and emails him to RBTV's headquarters, where he interrupts the broadcast and saves Rocky and Karen. A battle follows, with the heroes winning and convincing the American public to vote for whomever they want, as well as replant Frostbite Falls' trees. Bullwinkle accidentally activates the CDI and inadvertently zaps the villains, reverting them back to their two-dimensional cartoon forms and banishing them to the internet once and for all.

At the film's conclusion, RBTV becomes "Rocky and Bullwinkle Television", Karen and Ole start dating and Rocky, Bullwinkle and the Narrator return home to a rejuvenated Frostbite Falls.

Cast

Songs

In the film, there are several songs, including:

There was also a soundtrack for the film to be released by New Line Records, but was later canceled.

The soundtrack that was produced for the film was released in the end by the RCA Records Label of BMG Entertainment. [4]

Reception

On review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a rating of 43% based on 96 reviews with an average rating of 4.8/10. The critical consensus stated, "Though the film stays true to the nature of the original cartoon, the script is disappointing and not funny."[5]

Roger Ebert gave the film three stars out of four, saying that it "has the same mixture of dumb puns, corny sight gags and sly, even sophisticated in-jokes. It's a lot of fun."

On a $76 million budget the film grossed $35 million worldwide.[6]

Awards and nominations

Award Category Subject Result
Golden Raspberry Award Worst Supporting Actress Rene Russo Nominated
Saturn Award Best Supporting Actress Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Jason Alexander Nominated

References

  1. ^ Roos, John (1999-04-12). "Keeping Her Father's Legacy Alive". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-11-07.
  2. ^ The name is an apparent play on the 1950s comedy duo of Martin and Lewis; Mitchell and Thompson were also a famous comedy duo in their own right.
  3. ^ Scott, Keith. "Keith Scott". Voice Chasers. Keith Scott. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  4. ^ "The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle". IMDB.com. Amazon. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  5. ^ Goldstein, Patrick (2000-07-11). "The Misadventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Other Tales From Remake Hell". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
  6. ^ "The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (2000) - Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2010-06-04.
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