The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle

Starring: Robert De Niro, Jason Alexander, Rene Russo, June Foray (voice), Keith Scott (voice), Piper Perabo, Randy Quaid, Janeane Garofalo, John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, Carl Reiner, Kenan Thompson, Kel Mitchell, David Alan Grier
Directed by: Des McAnuff
Rating: PG
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
2000

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: When cartoon villains enter the real world, Rocky and Bullwinkle are called into service once again.

Review:

Tim: As a kid, I enjoyed watching "Rocky and Bullwinkle". I wouldn't say that I ever loved the show (it could be frustratingly silly and boring), but it passed the time. So, it was with some tentative interest (mostly trepidation, though) that I watched this movie. Live action movies of cartoons don't always work out well, and there wasn't a lot here to suggest it would be a classic. What I found interesting is that this film took the approach that the whole thing was going to be completely ridiculous, so why not embrace that? The movie had fun with the craziness of the whole story, and it never took itself too seriously. I really appreciated that approach, and while it doesn't save the movie, it makes it better than it otherwise would have been. Even with that positive, though, this is a pretty poor movie.

I do appreciate the attempt to come up with a different story. We have the real world and the animated world blending together in a humorous way. The whole process is completely absurd, but it's done in a lighthearted manner, so I went with it. The film is a road trip movie, but also a movie about saving the world from turning into mindless zombies (due to bad TV, of course). The story is beyond any form of logic, and that does hurt the film.

There is an impressive amount of talent in the cast, but most of it is wasted. I get why Jason Alexander signed on, and I suppose he does look like Boris. Rene Russo was slumming a bit here, but I guess she works as Natasha. I have no clue why Robert De Niro would sign onto this film, and I cringed watching him give an over-the-top performance as Fearless Leader. Piper Perabo was fine as the lead actress, but I can't claim she gave a great performance. It was fun seeing the extensive supporting cast, including Randy Quaid, Janeane Garofalo, John Goodman, Billy Crystal, and Whoopi Goldberg, among others. Unfortunately, the whole cast is caught up in a lackluster film, so none of their presence can turn this film around.

I thought the animation was decent, but not great. It was fun to see Rocky and Bullwinkle brought to life with new computer animation, but they weren't realistic enough characters- I had a hard time identifying with them, or caring about them at all. They felt like secondary characters to the human ones. That might have been intentional, but I wish the film had developed them more as characters and cut out some of the unnecessary cameos.

Look, I doubt anyone expected The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle to be a classic. It just looked pathetic from the very start. I admit I was impressed with the audacious attempt, but the execution is really lacking. This film is not very good on any level. I tried to get myself to like it more, but there's not enough substance here to fill a 92 minute movie. This is a huge failed attempt.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 5



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