Bullwinkle J. Moose

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 and Bill Scott. When the show changed networks from ABC to NBC, its name was changed to The Bullwinkle Show, reflecting the popularity of Bullwinkle.^[3]

In 1996, Bullwinkle was ranked #32 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.^[4]

Creation

Ward and his business partner 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 Jay Moose, Berry " 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.

From his debut along with Rocky, Bullwinkle's gloves were blue. Later in the second story arc and for the rest of the series, they become white. Also, in contemporary promotion art, Bullwinkle's antlers are a yellowish orange in contrast to the rest of his body; originally they were brown.

Biography

Bullwinkle shared a house with his best friend Rocky in the fictional small town of Frostbite Falls, Minnesota, a spoof of the real-life American town of International Falls, Minnesota. Bullwinkle attended college at "Wossamotta U" on a football scholarship. He is a long-time supporter of the Bull Moose Party, and at one time was the part-owner, part-governor of the island of Moosylvania. Bullwinkle is shown at numerous times to be quite wealthy; In seasons 1 and 2, he makes reference to having an Uncle Dewlap, who bequeathed Bullwinkle vast amounts of wealth (in the form of a cereal boxtop collection, and an Upsidaisium mine); he also has a large petty cash stockpile hidden in his mattress that he accumulated delivering newspapers (as revealed in "The Last Angry Moose"). In the half-cartoon, half-live-action movie The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, Bullwinkle receives an Honorary Mooster's Degree from Wossamotta U, due to the nefarious plans of Boris Badenov.

Personality

Bullwinkle was noted for being well-meaning, but also quite dim-witted, which made for a source of jokes and plot devices 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. Although not as intelligent as Rocky, Bullwinkle often made references breaking the fourth wall, so he was not always as clueless as he appeared. His apparent lack of intelligence also had positive side effects, making him immune to mind-numbing chemicals in "Goof Gas Attack" and being the only person able to properly handle the Kirwood Derby hat in "Missouri Mish Mash."

Bullwinkle also hosted other segments of the program, including: "Mr. Know-It-All," where he tried to demonstrate his supposed (albeit nonexistent) expertise at a subject, such as disarming bombs or curing hiccups; "Bullwinkle's Corner," where the moose would attempt to read poetry, notably I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud (The Daffodils) of William Wordsworth; 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: "Again?!" or "But that trick never works!", and Bullwinkle's canonical rejoinder, "Nothing up my sleeve...Presto!" or "This time, for sure! Presto!"), only to pull out something unexpected instead such as a bear, lion, rhino, tiger, and occasionally even Rocky himself. After each failed attempt, Rocky segued to a commercial by saying, "Now, here's something we hope you'll really like!"

Powers and abilities

Bullwinkle could remember everything he ever ate. While obscure, this ability came in handy in the "Banana Formula" caper.

At times, Bullwinkle has exhibited near-superhuman strength, known as his "mighty moose muscle".

Voice

Bill Scott, Ward's partner and head writer of the series, was the original voice of Bullwinkle. In the 2000 Universal Pictures film The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, Bullwinkle was voiced by Ward fan Keith Scott (no relation to Bill), as Bill had died of a heart attack in 1985. At the time, he had finished the first season of voicing another Moose character, Moosel, for The Wuzzles. Bullwinkle was voiced by Tom Kenny for the short film Rocky & Bullwinkle, which was to be premiered with Mr. Peabody & Sherman, but the short was cancelled and was replaced with an alien-themed short called "Almost Home", based on the then-upcoming film from Dreamworks, Home. However, the short is available in both 2D and 3D on the Blu-ray 3D disc of Mr. Peabody & Sherman.

References

External links

• Bullwinkle J. Moose on IMDb
• Hokey Smoke! Rocky and Bullwinkle
• Episode Guide
• My Native Land Sir Walter Scott poem with Bullwinkle voice impression