New and (Mostly) Improved Rocky and Bullwinkle

Although a common reference point culturally, most people never see the original Rocky and Bullwinkle show from the 1960s. Not that most people would enjoy the show now. Jay Ward Productions made endless puns, endless arcs, and endlessly recycled animation. The stories carry with them the pace and ideas of a cold war America while maintaining a unique charm and sense of humor that grows on one gradually and only improves with age--not the age of the show, but the age of the audience. Fractured Fairy Tales give more of the source material's details than any other version, Mr. Peabody and Sherman educates children on various historical figures in a roundabout sarcastic way, Dudley Do-Right gives a pastiche on pantomime, Aesop and Son cleverly adapts the idea of a fable, and Rocky and Bullwinkle themselves shows optimism and courage despite the soap opera levels of crazy situations. Though dated and niche, they remain peerless in their niche.  Until recently.

Enter the Dreamworks/Amazon collaborative project Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle. What it retains from the original includes Bullwinkle's idiot savant personality, pastiche of spy thrillers, Boris and Natasha's penchant for costumes, and bizarre love of puns and continuity. What's changed is the self-aware manner in which they tackle the overuse of puns and continuity, the pace quickening, and the more fluid animation while keeping the design and texture similar to the original series. Whereas one cannot recommend the original series to general audiences, one can with the new series available on Prime. The story arcs have less continuity between but escalate and resolve faster than the original. The first story arc of the original series happened over 100 episodes (and you all thought anime had problems!), whereas the new series each arc stays around 5 episodes.

Though brilliant at adapting the show's core into a modern cartoon format, the way they've changed Rocky's character remains questionable. Tara Strong does the voice perfectly, but the way the character is written feels inconsistent. Sometimes acting as much the ignorant jock as Bullwinkle, sometimes the fearless squirrel of the original series, and most of the time a case study for anxiety. Although the original's Rocket J. Squirrel showed concern for Bullwinkle and was slow on the uptake, he was neither portrayed as ignorant or anxious. Original Rocky fearlessly rescued Bullwinkle and others like an ambulance worker if they also studied acrobatics. This new squirrel shows severe fright at public performance, gets seasick, runs from monsters, babbles when distressed, and suffers anxiety for Bullwinkle's safety and their social standing. If the writers made his anxiety more specific (for instance, social ostracization) this problem would sort itself out overnight.

The humor fits with the original, despite the faster pace of a more modern cartoon, and the references that show up don't halt the show and just reward the eagle-eyed observer with a belly full of laughter. Feeling like a cartoon version of Police Squad (In Color) with the frequency and absurdity of jokes, make sure you're watching and not just listening or you'll miss half the fun!

--Roz (@QLeeches)