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''The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle'' is a 2000 American live-action/animated
adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...
slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such ...
comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the old ...
directed by Des McAnuff and produced by
Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...
, based on the television cartoon of the same name by
Jay Ward Joseph Ward Cohen Jr. (September 20, 1920 – October 12, 1989), also known as Jay Ward, was an American creator and producer of animated TV cartoon shows. He produced animated series based on such characters as Crusader Rabbit, Rocky & Bu ...
. Animated characters
Rocky ''Rocky'' is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise and stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burges ...
and Bullwinkle share the screen with live actors portraying Fearless Leader (
Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...
, who also co-produced the film), Boris Badenov (
Jason Alexander Jay Scott Greenspan (born September 23, 1959), known professionally as Jason Alexander, is an American actor, comedian, host and director. An Emmy and Tony winner, he is best known for his role as George Costanza in the television series ''Sei ...
) and Natasha Fatale (
Rene Russo Rene Marie Russo (born February 17, 1954) is an American actress and model. She began her career as a fashion model in the 1970s, appearing on magazine covers such as ''Vogue'' and '' Cosmopolitan''. She made her film debut in the 1989 comedy '' ...
) along with
Randy Quaid Randy Randall Rudy Quaid (born October 1, 1950) is an American actor known for his roles in both serious drama and light comedy. He was nominated for an Academy Award, BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award for his role in '' The Last Detail'' i ...
,
Piper Perabo Piper Lisa Perabo () (born October 31, 1976) is an American actress. Following her breakthrough in the comedy-drama film '' Coyote Ugly'' (2000), she starred in '' The Prestige'' (2006), '' Angel Has Fallen'' (2019), and as CIA agent Annie Wa ...
,
Kenan Thompson Kenan Thompson (; born May 10, 1978) is an American actor and comedian. He has been a cast member of the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' since 2003, making him the longest-tenured cast member in the show's history. He was also th ...
and
Kel Mitchell Kel Johari Rice Mitchell (born August 25, 1978) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. He was an original cast member of the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series '' All That'' for its first five seasons (1994–1999), where he was often paired ...
.
June Foray June Foray (born June Lucille Forer; September 18, 1917 – July 26, 2017) was an American voice actress. She was best known as the voice of such animated characters as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Natasha Fatale, Nell Fenwick, Lucifer from Disney ...
reprised her role as Rocky, while Keith Scott (no relation to original voice actor Bill Scott) voiced Bullwinkle and the film's narrator. It also features
cameo appearances A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...
by performers including
James Rebhorn James Robert Rebhorn (September 1, 1948 – March 21, 2014) was an American character actor who appeared in over 100 films, television series, and plays. At the time of his death, he had recurring roles in the series '' White Collar'' and ''Hom ...
, Paget Brewster,
Janeane Garofalo Janeane Marie Garofalo ( ; born September 28, 1964) is an American comedian, actress, and former co-host on the now-defunct Air America Radio's ''The Majority Report''. Garofalo began her career as a stand-up comedian and became a cast member on ...
,
John Goodman John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American actor. He gained national fame for his role as the family patriarch Dan Conner in the ABC comedy series ''Roseanne'' (1988–1997; 2018), for which he received a Golden Globe Award, a ...
,
David Alan Grier David Alan Grier (born June 30, 1956) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his work as Bernard on '' Damon'' (1998), as David Bellows on ''Life with Bonnie'' (2002–2004), as Joe Carmichael on '' The Carmichael Show'' (2015 ...
,
Don Novello Donald Andrew Novello (born January 1, 1943) is an American actor, comedian, singer, writer, film director and producer. He is best known for his work on NBC's ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1978 to 1980, and again from 1985 to 1986, often as the ...
,
Jon Polito Jon Raymond Polito (December 29, 1950 – September 1, 2016) was an American character actor. In a film and television career spanning 35 years, he amassed over 220 credits. Notable television roles included Detective Steve Crosetti in the fir ...
,
Carl Reiner Carl Reiner (March 20, 1922 – June 29, 2020) was an American actor, stand-up comedian, director, screenwriter, and author whose career spanned seven decades. He was the recipient of many awards and honors, including 11 Primetime Emmy Awards, ...
,
Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ' ...
, Max Grodenchik,
Norman Lloyd Norman Nathan Lloyd (' Perlmutter; November 8, 1914 – May 11, 2021) was an American actor, producer, director, and centenarian with a career in entertainment spanning nearly a century. He worked in every major facet of the industry, including ...
,
Jonathan Winters Jonathan Harshman Winters III (November 11, 1925 – April 11, 2013) was an American comedian, actor, author, television host, and artist. Beginning in 1960, Winters recorded many classic comedy albums for the Verve Records label. He also ...
and
Billy Crystal William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. ...
. The film follows a young rookie FBI agent named Karen Sympathy enlisting the help of Rocky and Bullwinkle to stop Boris, Natasha, and Fearless Leader from taking over the United States. Released on June 30, 2000, the film was a
box office bomb A box-office bomb, or box-office disaster, is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the production, marketing, and distribution costs combined exceed the revenue after ...
, grossing $35.1 million worldwide against its $76 million budget and making it one of the biggest box office bombs in history and received generally mixed reviews with criticisms toward its writing, plot, and humor while praising the performances, visual effects, and faithfulness to its source material.


Plot

Rocky the Squirrel and
Bullwinkle J. Moose Bullwinkle J. Moose is a fictional character which premiered in the 1959–1964 ABC network animated television series ''Rocky and His Friends'' and ''The Bullwinkle Show'', often collectively referred to as '' Rocky and Bullwinkle'', produced b ...
live a melancholic life ever since their
television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed bet ...
was cancelled in 1964. Their animated home, Frostbite Falls, is deforested, Rocky can no longer fly, and their show's unseen
Narrator Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the a ...
lives with his mother. Meanwhile, their archenemies, Fearless Leader, Boris Badenov, and Natasha Fatale, have all lost power in Pottsylvania following the end of the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...
. They escape by tunneling to a
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...
film studio, where they trick executive Minnie Mogul into signing a rights contract to their series and green-lighting a potential movie, dragging the villains out of the animated world and transforming them into live action characters. Six months later, Fearless Leader and his minions have founded RBTV ("Really Bad Television"), a cable television network in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
that is programmed to control the population by
brainwashing Brainwashing (also known as mind control, menticide, coercive persuasion, thought control, thought reform, and forced re-education) is the concept that the human mind can be altered or controlled by certain psychological techniques. Brainwashin ...
American audiences into voting Fearless Leader in as the next
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United St ...
.
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
Director, Cappy von Trapment, deploys agent Karen Sympathy to recruit Rocky and Bullwinkle to stop RBTV's intended broadcast. Karen travels to a movie-generating
lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mark ...
in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, summoning Rocky, Bullwinkle, and the Narrator into the real world. Upon learning of Rocky and Bullwinkle's return, Fearless Leader deploys Boris and Natasha to destroy them. They are given the CDI ("Computer-Degenerating Imagery"), a
laptop A laptop, laptop computer, or notebook computer is a small, portable personal computer (PC) with a screen and alphanumeric keyboard. Laptops typically have a Flip (form), clam shell Form factor (design), form factor with the computer scr ...
-like weapon that can trap cartoon characters within the
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...
. The villains' truck is stolen by Karen, who is swiftly arrested by Oklahoma State Police troopers when Natasha poses as her. Boris and Natasha later steal a
helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribute ...
to continue their pursuit. Karen is sent to prison, but manipulates a love-struck Swedish guard named Ole to help her escape. Rocky and Bullwinkle are picked up by students Martin and Lewis, who attend Bullwinkle's alma mater Wossamotta U. Boris and Natasha launch an elaborate plan to assassinate Bullwinkle, donating a cheque to the university in his name, inspiring the academic board to award Bullwinkle with an honorary "Mooster's Degree". As Bullwinkle addresses the students, Rocky regains his ability to fly, stopping Boris from killing Bullwinkle with the CDI. Boris and Natasha chase Rocky and Bullwinkle through
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
, but disintegrate their own helicopter. Karen reunites with Rocky and Bullwinkle, but the trio are arrested again by numerous state troopers. They are trialed for numerous misdemeanors in ten states, but the presiding Judge Cameo has the charges dropped upon recognizing Rocky and Bullwinkle, informing the district attorney that celebrities are above the law. The trio buys a rickety
biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. Whil ...
and escape Boris and Natasha once again. The two villains consider retiring, lying to Fearless Leader that they had defeated Rocky and Bullwinkle, confident that they have already won. Meanwhile, the heroes' plane begins to lose altitude due to the combined weight. Rocky flies Karen to New York to stop the broadcast, but they are captured by Boris and Natasha. Fearless Leader initiates his plan and broadcasts programs to brainwash most of the country. Bullwinkle crash-lands the plane outside the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 180 ...
in Washington, D.C., and finds the President to be brainwashed by the RBTV programs, which Bullwinkle is immune to due to his natural stupidity. Cappy finds Bullwinkle and scans him into the White House's computer system, then e-mails him to the studio just as Fearless Leader addresses the nation, disrupting the broadcast, and a chaotic fight breaks out, leading to the capture of the villains. Karen, Rocky, and Bullwinkle then ask the American public to replant Frostbite Falls, and Bullwinkle accidentally activates the CDI, transforming the villains back to their animated forms and banishing them to the Internet once and for all. In the aftermath, Rocky and Bullwinkle's careers are renewed in RBTV, renamed to "Rocky and Bullwinkle Television", and Karen goes on a date with Ole as Rocky, Bullwinkle, and the Narrator return home to a rejuvenated Frostbite Falls.


Cast


Production

In October 1998, it was announced
Monica Potter Monica Gregg Potter (née Brokaw; born June 30, 1971) is an American actress. She is known for her starring roles in the films ''Con Air'' (1997), '' Patch Adams'' (1998), and '' Along Came a Spider'' (2001). She also appeared in the horror films ...
had been cast as the lead. Robert De Niro was also announced to be in negotiations for the role of Fearless Leader, with Des McAnuff set to direct from Kenny Lonergan’s screenplay. In November 1998,
Jason Alexander Jay Scott Greenspan (born September 23, 1959), known professionally as Jason Alexander, is an American actor, comedian, host and director. An Emmy and Tony winner, he is best known for his role as George Costanza in the television series ''Sei ...
was cast as Boris Badenov. In January 1999,
Rene Russo Rene Marie Russo (born February 17, 1954) is an American actress and model. She began her career as a fashion model in the 1970s, appearing on magazine covers such as ''Vogue'' and '' Cosmopolitan''. She made her film debut in the 1989 comedy '' ...
was cast as Natasha Fatale. In February 1999, Potter dropped out from the lead role and was replaced by
Piper Perabo Piper Lisa Perabo () (born October 31, 1976) is an American actress. Following her breakthrough in the comedy-drama film '' Coyote Ugly'' (2000), she starred in '' The Prestige'' (2006), '' Angel Has Fallen'' (2019), and as CIA agent Annie Wa ...
.


Reception


Box office

''Rocky & Bullwinkle'' opened in 2,460 venues, earning $6,814,270 in its opening weekend and ranking fifth in the North American box office and third among the week's new releases. It closed on October 5, 2000 with a domestic total of $26,005,820 and $9,129,000 in other territories for a worldwide gross of $35,134,820, making it a box office bomb. The failure of the film was attributed to the film not being fresh enough for young audiences or appealing to the nostalgia of
Baby boomers Baby boomers, often shortened to boomers, are the Western demographic cohort following the Silent Generation and preceding Generation X. The generation is often defined as people born from 1946 to 1964, during the mid-20th century baby boom. ...
.


Critical response

On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
, the film has an approval rating of 43% based on 100 reviews, with an average rating of 4.81/10. The critical consensus stated, "Though the film stays true to the nature of the original cartoon, the script is disappointing and not funny." On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
the film has a score of 36 out of 100 based on reviews from 30 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film a grade "B" on scale of A to F.
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
of the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' gave it 3 out of 4 stars and wrote: "Has the same mixture of dumb puns, corny sight gags and sly, even sophisticated in-jokes. It's a lot of fun."


Accolades


Home media

''The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle'' was released on VHS and
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
on February 13, 2001, and on
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
on May 15, 2018.


See also

* '' Mr. Peabody & Sherman''


References


External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle, The The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends 2000 films 2000 comedy films 2000s English-language films 2000 animated films 2000s comedy road movies 2000s adventure comedy films 2000s buddy comedy films 2000s fantasy comedy films 2000s American animated films 2000s children's animated films American fantasy comedy films American animated fantasy films American animated comedy films American adventure comedy films American buddy comedy films American fantasy adventure films American comedy road movies Box-office bombs Films about the Federal Bureau of Investigation Films scored by Mark Mothersbaugh Films about shapeshifting Films produced by Robert De Niro Films set in 1964 Films set in 1999 Films set in Minnesota Films set in New York City American films with live action and animation Live-action films based on animated series Live-action films based on Jay Ward cartoons Films with screenplays by Kenneth Lonergan Self-reflexive films Rotoscoped films Universal Pictures animated films Universal Pictures films 2000s fantasy adventure films