t's been just over 30 years since the cancellation of the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon series, and the world is a very different place, especially for Rocky (Foray) and Bullwinkle (Scott). Still living in their modest home just outside Frostbite Falls, the once-famous cartoon heroes now subsist on tiny residual checks from reruns of their TV show. Their hometown, once sustained by a thriving animated economy, has become a seedy, bankrupt eyesore. Even the cartoon duo's faithful narrator has been forced to move back in with his mother and is reduced to narrating the mundane events of his own life. Worst of all, Rocky the flying squirrel has grown so depressed that he has lost the desire and even the ability to fly.
But even if Moose and Squirrel have lost their vim and vigor, their archenemies certainly have not. The thoroughly evil Fearless Leader (De Niro), aided by his equally unkind cohorts Boris Badenov (Alexander) and Natasha Fatale (Russo) have hatched a devious plan to leave the confines of their syndicated cartoon existence, enter the real world and seize control of the entire United States government. By tricking a powerful movie producer into signing a development contract for The Rocky and Bullwinkle Movie, Fearless Leader, Boris and Natasha are transformed from two-dimensional toons into flesh-and-blood baddies. Once they arrive in real-life New York City, the dastardly trio start their own television network, RBTV (Really Bad Television), purchase all of the country's cable channels and proceed to saturate them with programming so awful that it has the power to instantly turn viewers into mindless zombies.
Realizing that no human is quite animated enough to thwart Fearless Leader's plans, the FBI charges idealistic young agent Karen Sympathy (Parabo) with the task of bringing Rocky and Bullwinkle into the real world. By the time she succeeds in yanking the cartoon duo into the third dimension, only 40 hours remain before Fearless Leader will address the brainwashed nation and command them to vote him into the presidency. Can Rocky and Bullwinkle, with the help of Sympathy, make it to New York in time to stop them? Will Boris and Natasha blow them to colorful smithereens first? Will Rocky ever fly again?
It's a bird! A plane! A cliché!
Ever since the show first hit the airwaves back in the '60s, the appeal of Rocky and Bullwinkle has been a difficult thing to categorize. The program constantly ran the risk of being supremely irritating, loaded as it was with simplistic animation, slapstick, silly voices and groan-inducing puns. But the show also had wildly creative storylines that, when mixed with a finely honed sense of satire and a pinch of self-deprecation, somehow made the whole thing work like gangbusters for adults and children alike. Strangely, The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle contains many of the ingredients of the classic TV series, but the proportions are off, the winning recipe seems to have been misplaced, and the resulting dish, well, just doesn't taste like much of anything.
Perhaps this lack of flavor comes from omitting the key ingredient: creativity. There is quite simply nothing in this film that has not been done better before. Sure, the computer-rendered Rocky and Bullwinkle look impressively like cartoons come to life, but not as much as Roger Rabbit and company did more than a decade ago. Sure, there are scads of celebrities who meet up with Moose and Squirrel on their grand road trip, but without most of the wit and charm that accompanied such cameos in The Muppet Movie. Most of all, the film groans under the weight of the umpteenth tacked-on message about how we can all conquer cynicism simply by seeing the world through the idealistic eyes of a child.
This rampant lack of originality might have been forgiven, however, had The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle managed to capture or expand upon the spirit of the TV cartoon show. Unfortunately, it can't seem to do so, try as it might. And, to be fair, the film really does try. The situations are appropriately silly, the puns are plentiful, and De Niro, Russo and Alexander crank their performances up to authentic cartoon levels. But the necessary foundation of a smart, funny story is just not there. So--like Rocky himself throughout much of the movie--despite some sincere effort, this film just won't fly.
