Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle’ On Amazon, Which Brings Moose and Squirrel Into The 21st Century

Reboot-mania continues to grip television. As we saw with Muppet Babies, the kiddies aren’t immune to this trend; now, Amazon gives us new adventures of everyone’s favorite dopey moose and flying squirrel in The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle. Will kids like it as much as their parents will?

THE ADVENTURES OF ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: We scan what looks like a European city. A deep-voiced narrator (Daran Norris) saying “Prague. So beautiful, so peaceful, so… what the heck is that?” Then we see a flying squirrel with a moose dangling from his feet, carrying a glowing pie.

The Gist: Bullwinkle the Moose (Brad Norman) and his best friend Rocky J. Squirrel (Tara Strong) live in Frostbite Falls, MN. Bullwinkle has always wanted to enter the Master Yum Yum baking contest. He thinks he finally has the right recipe: his granny’s pie recipe. When he makes it for the local contest, it smells so bad, it knocks out all the other competitors (literally) and he wins by default.

Meanwhile, in the tiny European island nation of Pottsylvania, the Fearless Leader (Piotr Michael), after yet another weapon that’s designed to take over the world fizzles, gets wind of Bullwinkle’s stinky pie and starts to scheme to get the recipe. He sends his best spies, Boris Badenov (Ben Diskin) and Natasha Fatale (Rachel Butera), who both think they’re the best spy in the world, and can’t stand taking orders from anyone else. They try to intercept the moose and squirrel in Frostbite Falls by posing as TSA agents, but are foiled when Bullwinkle bends over to pick up a penny. In Paris for the Master Yum Yum contest, moose and squirrel defeat the spies once again when Boris takes the wrong glove from Bullwinkle, and a chase ensues (but not before the four of them pause to do a standard Mona Lisa gag at the Louvre).

Someone else is also tailing the moose and squirrel: a woman with a crewcut named Director Peachfuzz (Fuschia!…. yes, that’s the voice actor’s name, complete with punctuation), who wants the pair as much as the Fearless Leader does.

Our Take: If you’re a fan of Jay Ward’s original series featuring Rocky and Bullwinkle, which aired under various names between 1959-1964, and have been syndicated under the title of Rocky & Bullwinkle and Friends ever since, you’ll see elements of the original in this series. Lots of asides, lots of references that only grownups might get, and lots of awareness that all the characters are on a show instead of inside their own lives. Ward’s original cartoon was revolutionary at the time for its self-awareness and ability to break the fourth wall and address the audience directly, and the new version, from DreamWorks Animation, lives up to that.

But in 2018, many cartoons are self-aware, with references only grownups would get. While the original R&B was groundbreaking, it plays slow these days. So the folks at DreamWorks decided to not only animate the show in a style we still associate with the near-30-year-old Ren & Stimpy, with lots of stark lines and intensity, they’ve also decided to amp up the show to an almost frantic pace, with joke after joke being thrown out at a speed that even adults can’t keep up with.

Then again, there’s still a lot of funny gags, and your kid could be watching something that will make you want to bury your head in the couch cushions. If you look at it from that perspective, this new Rocky and Bullwinkle is pretty good.

What Age Group Is This For?: There’s a fair amount of cartoon violence, so despite its TV-Y rating, we think this is more appropriate for kids 7 and up.

Parting Shot: We see Peachfuzz for the first time, and there’s a preview of the next episode. Yes, this “Stink of Fear” storyline covers the first five episodes, with two other arcs covering the other eight.

Best Gag: After they climb the stairs to the top of the Eiffel Tower, Bullwinkle and Rocky collapse. Bullwinkle says, “You know how to fly, right?” Rocky, realizing his mistake, says “Aw, nuts!”

Our Call: Stream It. It’s still Rocky and Bullwinkle, just much more hit-and-miss than the original. At least you’ll be entertained while your kids try to figure out just how that ham got stuck to the mirror in R&B’s hotel bathroom.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, VanityFair.com, Playboy.com, Fast Company’s Co.Create and elsewhere.

Watch The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle on Amazon Prime Video