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BLOG-A-VERSARY!!! (Today Marks One Year...)

Who's Bad (Enough)? As a kid I enjoyed "The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle," the ironic and campy serialized cartoon exploits of a perky flying squirrel (Rocky) and his sidekick, a corny, dense, but ultimately endearing moose (Bullwinkle). I later learned that this 1959-1964 series, created by Jay Ward, was considered well ahead of its time: droll, self-mocking, and gently satirical of topics such as The Cold War, with Russia represented, as "Pottsylvania," by the villainous Boris Badenov and his protegé, Natasha (pictured right). (We won't even discuss the dreadful 2000 live-action Rocky and Bullwinkle movie, foolishly conceived and funded by Robert DeNiro.)

Over 25 years later I learned that Boris's name was really a pun from Mussorgsky's opera titled "Boris Godenov". The Russian last name sounds like "Bad Enough," yet another pun. So when "Rocky and Bullwinkle" was released on DVD I ordered it. And it does have a twinkle in its eye. Here's an example of its humor:

Bullwinkle: You just leave that to my pal. He's the brains of the outfit.
General: What does that make you ?
Bullwinkle: What else? An executive..

If you enjoyed that, this Rocky & Bullwinkle quotes link further captures the flavor of my erstwhile companions... As an adult I found it slower and more repetitive than I remembered, but in exchange its charm now includes nostalgia. I do love the animation. An extra bonus is the subversive "Fractured Fairy Tales" segment sandwiched between Rocky and Bullwinkle episodes. In these, Edward Everett Horton throughly lampoons Goldlocks, Rumplestiltskin, etc, providing good, wicked fun.