Bullwinkle J. Moose
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Bullwinkle J. Moose is a fictional character in the 1959–1964 animated television series Rocky and His Friends and The Bullwinkle Show (often collectively referred to as Rocky and Bullwinkle), produced by Jay Ward. When the show moved networks (from ABC to NBC), its name was changed to The Bullwinkle Show, reflecting the popularity of Bullwinkle.
Ward and his then-assistant Alex Anderson created Bullwinkle for The Frostbite Falls Review, a storyboard idea which was never developed into a series. They gave him the name "Bullwinkle" after Clarence Bullwinkel, a car dealer, because they thought it was a funny name. Both Bullwinkle and Rocky were given the middle initial "J" in reference to Ward.
Bullwinkle shared a house with his best friend Rocky in the fictional small town of Frostbite Falls, Minnesota, a parody of the real-life American town of International Falls, Minnesota. Bullwinkle's college alma mater was "Wossamotta U."
Bullwinkle was noted for being well-meaning, but also quite dim-witted, which made for a source of jokes during the show's run. Despite this, the so-called "moronic moose" often aided the brains of the "moose-and-squirrel" duo, Rocky, during their various adventures. Although on opposite ends of the I.Q. scale, he and the "plucky squirrel" had a shared sense of optimism, persistence and traditional ethics and moral standards.
Bullwinkle also hosted other segments of the program, including: "Mr. Know-It-All," where he tried to demonstrate his supposed expertise at a subject, such as disarming bombs; "Bullwinkle's Corner," where the moose would attempt to read poetry; and various interstitial drop-ins. In one classic running gag, Bullwinkle would attempt to pull a rabbit out of a top hat (to Rocky's dismissal: "but that trick never works!", and Bullwinkle's canonical rejoinder, "This time, for sure!"), only to pull out something unexpected instead (such as a bear), and occasionally even Rocky himself.
Bill Scott was the original voice of Bullwinkle. His voice characterization was very similar to some of Red Skelton's own moronic characters, such as "Clem Kadiddlehopper". In the 2000 Universal Studios film The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, Bullwinkle was voiced by Ward fan Keith Scott (no relation to Bill).
In addition to the television series and movies, Bullwinkle has appeared in television commercials, a newspaper comic strip and a coloring book.
