Rocky and His Friends (1959–1964)

Animated antics of flying squirrel Rocket J. Squirrel, or Rocky, and his dim companion, Bullwinkle J. Moose. And let's not forget the two spies who always complicate things for our heroes: ... See full summary »

Stars:

June Foray, Edward Everett Horton, Bill Scott

2 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
June Foray	...	Rocket J. Squirrel (47 episodes, 1959-1961)
Edward Everett Horton	...	Fractured Fairy Tales narrator (36 episodes, 1959-1961)
Bill Scott	...	Bullwinkle J. Moose (36 episodes, 1959-1961)
Paul Frees	...	Boris Badenov (34 episodes, 1959-1961)
William Conrad	...	Narrator (34 episodes, 1959-1961)
Walter Tetley	...	Sherman (32 episodes, 1959-1961)
Leon Askin	...	Fearless Leader (29 episodes, 1959-1960)

Storyline

Animated antics of flying squirrel Rocket J. Squirrel, or Rocky, and his dim companion, Bullwinkle J. Moose. And let's not forget the two spies who always complicate things for our heroes: Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale, who incognito try and help Rocky and Bullwinkle then immediately put them in life-threatening situations that result in major cliffhangers. Also features Grimm Fairy Tales Jay Ward-style and Peabody and Sherman taking intriguing trips through time courtesy of the Way-Back machine.

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Plot Keywords:

time travel | cult tv | breaking the fourth wall | cold war | cartoon moose | 

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Details

Official Sites:

Classic Media Jay Ward Productions, Inc.

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 November 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

Frostbite Falls Follies

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bullwinkle Studios, Jay Ward Productions, P.A.T.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first episode, Part One of the Jet Fuel Formula story arc, was recorded in February 1958. However, subsequent episodes were not recorded until February 1959, using a different soundtrack stock. This led to some notable changes in the performances of the voice cast - in Part One of Jet Fuel Formula the clarity of the voice cast is noticeably better than in subsequent episodes, particularly the voice performances of June Foray and Paul Frees; a close listen finds that the studio echo of the session bleeds into the soundtrack. For subsequent episodes the different soundtrack stock used eliminated this echo. In addition, the voice cast's performances began changing, particularly William Conrad's narrations. Throughout Part One, Conrad's narration is totally straight, but in Part Two he began in inject a mild flamboyance to his narration in keeping with the show's whimsical flavor, and as the series continued his narration became ever more comically melodramatic.

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Quotes

Bullwinkle J. Moose: Hey, Rocky; watch me pull a rabbit outta my hat!
Rocket J. Squirrel: Again?
Bullwinkle J. Moose: Nothin' up my sleeve - Presto!
[pulls Rocky out of the hat]
Bullwinkle J. Moose: Well, I'm gettin' close.

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Connections

Referenced in Fish Police: The Shell Game (1992)

User Reviews

no matter what you call it...

No matter what you call it - "Rocky and His Friends", "The Bullwinkle Show", "Rocky and Bullwinkle", or something else - you can't deny how great this show is. A total parody of the Cold War, they hit everything right on the mark.

Equally as great as the parts where Rocket J. Squirrel and Bullwinkle J. Moose battle the evil-and-proud-of-it Soviet spies Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale, are the Fractured Fairy Tales (narrated by Edward Everett Horton), Mr. Peabody's Improbable History, and Dudley Do-Right. Whether Prince Charming turns Sleeping Beauty into a circus attraction, Galileo needs help with a scientific experiment, or whichever dastardly scheme Snidely Whiplash is plotting, it's one of the greatest shows of all time. The "Simpsons" of its era, if I may say so.

So, June Foray has every reason to be proud of her work on this. I'll always love it. I never saw the 2000 movie, but every review said that it sucked.