Raging Bullwinkle

By STEVE PERSALL

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 30, 2000

"How Our Cartoon Heroes Come Back from the Brink of Obscurity,'' or, "If Boris is Badenov, Moose and Squirrel are Back for Good.''

Rocky and Bullwinkle are back, making the movies safe for terrible puns, hokey coincidences and animated gags some children probably won't understand.

That's the way Jay Ward's cartoons worked on TV, too. The artwork was elementary, but the humor was steeped in complex satire. Viewers were given credit for their intelligence about politics and show biz even while the dumbest things happened. Parents explained punchlines to kids, helping them to be smarter and wittier about the world.

Many of those children grew up to make us laugh today. Any mocking comedy show currently on television, from Saturday Night Live to The Daily Show, likely evolved from a moose and a squirrel.

The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle picks up where the series left off when it was canceled in 1964, with the same animated look and cheeky demeanor. The duo has been living in Frostbite Falls in a corner of Cartoon World, living on residual checks shrunk to 3 1/2 cents by dwindling reruns. An ecological crisis has them on the road to Washington, D.C., to ask the president for aid.

Meanwhile, Rocky and Bullwinkle's Cold War rivals, Fearless Leader, Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale -- also animated -- have a new scheme to conquer the world. They tunnel out of Cartoon World into real-life Hollywood and become flesh and blood. More precisely, they become Robert De Niro, Jason Alexander and Rene Russo, respectively, in superb impersonations of Ward's characters.

The plan hinges on Fearless Leader taking over all cable television channels and broadcasting lousy TV programs that will zombify the masses. If you believe that already happens, you're right in step with this movie. The FBI assigns rookie agent Karen Sympathy (Piper Perabo) to retrieve Rocky and Bullwinkle from Cartoon World to vanquish these bad guys again.

What gets done in The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle isn't as important as how it's accomplished, bursting with pride over each stretch for a pun and celebrity cameo. Whoopi Goldberg makes a cameo appearance as a judge named Judge Cameo. Billy Crystal, John Goodman and Janeane Garofalo have funny moments. Nickelodeon stars Kenan and Kel play Wossamotta U. students named Martin and Lewis. And, it is a pleasure to see Jonathan Winters on screen again, especially in three roles.

De Niro, who also co-produced, displays yet another level of comedy we never knew he possessed. It's a one-note role, and the actor plays it amusingly shrill. Alexander and Russo don't have much dialogue matching their uncanny appearances. Perabo is a find, a mix of Natalie Portman and Sarah Jessica Parker with a properly spunky spirit.

The sharpest lines are reserved for the ever-present Narrator, in a News of the World voice by Keith Scott, who also does Bullwinkle. Probably no other character from the old show had such an impact on contemporary comedy, lampooning everything with an authoritative air. The Narrator was one of the first hands pulling back the curtain to expose phoniness in politicians, celebrities and history.

Inside jokes comes fast and furry as Rocky and Bullwinkle spoof computer-animated technology and the stupidity of television, like endangered species who won't go down without bite. The momentum weakens after an hour, as expected. The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle is missing one good self-deprecating joke about overstaying its welcome.

The movie isn't as daring or seamless as Who Framed Roger Rabbit about mixing toons and humans. "This is completely different!" Fearless leader snaps to a henchman who dares mention that movie. Director Des McAnuff keeps the look of the movie deceptively average, just as Ward did with his TV show.

Like every other joke, you either get it or you don't. But, who can't appreciate a river called Crymia or military generals named Foods, Store and Admission? Anyone who doesn't understand the Hollywood term "greenlighting a project" can still enjoy the gleefully literal definition offered here. If those silly gags and dozens like them aren't funny, then Wossamotta U.?

MOVIE REVIEW

The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle
GRADE: B
DIRECTOR: Des McAnuff
CAST: Rocky, Bullwinkle, Robert De Niro, Rene Russo, Jason Alexander, Piper Perabo, Randy Quaid, Jonathan Winters, Kenan and Kel
SCREENPLAY: Kenneth Lonergan
RATING: PG; mild profanity, slapstick violence
RUNNING TIME: 96 min.