The MBC Blog

Note: A new version of the MBC blog is coming soon with more posts - but for now, please enjoy this preview post!

ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE AT 50

One of American television’s most sophisticated programs debuted fifty years ago.  It was a show about a talking moose and squirrel.

Rocky and His Friends started as a primitively animated kids’ show on ABC’s weekday afternoon schedule on November 19, 1959.  It soon became apparent, however, that it wasn’t just for children.  The tortured puns, oblique literary references, and Cold War political satire set this series apart from anything else on the air at the time.  Under a new title, The Bullwinkle Show, it moved to an early Sunday prime-time slot on NBC in 1961.

The show brought out a parade of characters that have since become enshrined in the pantheon of American popular culture: Dudley Do-Right and Snidely Whiplash, Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale, Mr. Peabody and his Wayback Machine.  Voices and narration were supplied by the likes of Hans Conried, William Conrad, and Edward Everett Horton.

In a way that The Flintstones and The Jetsons never quite managed, Rocky and Bullwinkle managed to use the form of the television cartoon to tell multi-layered stories that could appeal to a wide variety of audiences.  Not until The Simpsons (which was, according to its creator Matt Groening, heavily influenced by The Bullwinkle Show) and the Nickelodeon shows would the TV cartoon again reach this level of artistry.

If you haven’t seen it since you were a kid, it’s worth another look.  You’ll be surprised how much went right over your head the first time around.

Robert Thompson, Syracuse University

Watch Rocky and Bullwinkle in these episodes from the MBC Archives:

1. Rocky the Flying Squirrel & Bullwinkle J. Moose save the circus and the Fractured Fairy Tales episode is The Ugly Duckling.

2. Rocky and Bullwinkle race Boris and Natasha in their search for the mooseberry bush. The Pied Piper is the Fractured Fairy Tale.

3. In the first of a six-episode adventure, Rocky & Bullwinkle get involved with bank robbers. Other segments include Mr. Peabody, Fractured Fairy Tales, and Mr. Know-It-All.

4. In the second part of a six-episode adventure, Bullwinkle has to save Rocky from a dynamite pit. Aesop's Fables, Mr. Peabody, & Mr. Know-It-All are also included.

5. In part three, Bullwinkle is suffering from amnesia and accidently takes the wrong suitcase. Also includes Aesop's Fables, Dudley Do-Right, & Mr. Know-It-All.

6. Bullwinkle and Rocky are tricked into giving back the suitcase of money. Also included are Fractured Fairy Tales, Mr. Peabody, and Mr. Know-It-All.

7. As our story continues, Bullwinkle is hiding in a jail cell with the suitcase of cash. Also included is Aesop's Fables, Dudley Do-Right, and How to Be a Beatnik.

8. Rocky saves the day when the suitcase of money develops a leak and the boys become heroes as Babyface gets iced. Also included is Fractured Fairy Tales, Mr. Know-It-All, and Mr. Peabody.

9. Rocket J. Squirrel is joined by his pal Bullwinkle as they fight the enemy, Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale. Other segments include Mr. Know-It-All and Mr. Peabody.