Animation Wiki

Welcome to the Animation Wiki

Want to contribute to this wiki? Don't hesitate to sign up for an account today! And please read the wiki's rules and policies too.

If you have an account, please log in.

READ MORE

Animation Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Rocky bullwinkle-jay ward
The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show
Information:
Country of Origin USA
Channel ABC
NBC
Studio Jay Ward Productions
Original Airdate September 24, 1961
Final Airdate Septermber 1, 1973
Number of Episodes 98
Creators Jay Ward
Alex Anderson
Key Production Staff Executive producer
Ponsonby Britt

Producers
Bud Gourley
Peter Piech
Bill Scott
Jay Ward

Animation Department
William Henson
Voices June Foray
Paul Frees
Hans Conried
Charles Ruggles
Walter Tetley
Edward Horton
Julie Bennett
William Conrad
Daws Butler
Dorothy Scott
IMDb entry


The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show consists of two American television series, Rocky and His Friends and The Bullwinkle Show. Despite the use of abrupt, limited animation, the show was very popular in the 1960s. The episodes were focused around the adventures of Rocket "Rocky" J. Squirrel, a flying squirrel, and his best friend Bullwinkle J. Moose. Various other shorts were included with the Rocky and Bullwinkle shorts, including Dudley Do-Right of the Mounties, Peabody's Improbable History, Fractured Fairy Tales, Aesop & Son, Bullwinkle's Corner, Mr. Know-It-All, the Rocky and Bullwinkle Fan Club, and The World of Commander McBragg.

Animation Style[]

The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show utilized very limited, cost efficient animation. The abrupt animation was complemented with almost continuous narration. In this sense, the show was structured very similarly to radio programs. The show is a good example of Chuck Jones' description of much contemporary animation as illustrated radio.

The characters were all drawn in a very iconic style. The backgrounds used abstract artistry and a minimal amount of necessary objects, which was quite similar to the style of UPA and much 1960s animation. Also, the colors used on the background and characters varied little in scenes. Backgrounds typically used one prominent color, while the objects in front of them had more various colors, but still usually had a complementing color scheme.

Anti-communism Themes[]

The show was created and aired during the Cold War and because of this exhibited many anti-communist themes. The two primary antagonists of the Rocky and Bullwinkle shorts were stereotypically Russian spy characters. During almost every episode, these two characters failed at their mission to sabotage the Americans Rocky and Bullwinkle. Despite elaborate schemes, the spies were always unable to outwit the very simple-minded moose or constantly distracted squirrel.

Advertisement