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Special Features
4 "Dear Bullwinkle" segments (show bumpers)
Classic commercials and promos
"Rocky & Bullwinkle Savings Stamp Club" special episode
The Many Faces of Boris Badenov
Sneak peek at "Complete Season 2"
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Linking these cliffhanging episodes are such hilarious segments as "Fractured Fairy Tales," which upend familiar storybook favorites (Red Riding Hood, for example, is a predatory fur merchant after the unwitting wolf), "Mr. Peabody," the canine genius who travels through time in the company of his boy, Sherman, and forthright Dudley Do-Right of the Mounties, who must contend with his own horse for the affections of sweet Nell. Bullwinkle gets extra credits as Mr. Know-It-All and as the host of Poetry Corner. And watch him pull a rabbit out of his hat! These cartoons are as fresh and funny as when they first aired more than four decades ago. Boomer-era adults will be amazed at the jokes that no doubt soared over their heads as children. --Donald Liebenson
Product Description
Customer Reviews
PROS:
* Remastered sound and video - there are still imperfections in the video, but the color is more vivid than I've seen on TV broadcasts
* Two complete stories: Rocket Fuel Formula and Box Top Conspiracy
* Play All - Watch all episodes on each of the four discs in succession
* Entire episodes shown - including all periphral cartoons (Dudley Do-Right, Peabody, Aesop & Son, and Fractured Fairy Tales) as well as commercial lead-ins
* Nice packaging - when the first thing you see on opening a DVD set is a moose saying, "Hello Low IQers!", you know the makers respect the Jay Ward tradition!
CONS:
* Altered Title - The title sequence is altered in the middle to change it from the original to "Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends", with an obvious switch in voice and animation quality. The alteration is cheap and unnecessary
* Season Two Intro - The documentation says that the intro to each episode was the one used in the second season, which was Jay Ward's favorite. If this were a collection, that would be a good decision, but as a "season one", it should have the season one intro. This makes me think there may not be a season two set in which to display Ward's favorite intro, which would be sad indeed. All I know is I sure would have preferred to see Season One EXACTLY as it was originally presented.
* Dubious accuracy - All the tampering (season 2 intro) has achieved is to ensure that the Rocky And Bullwinle show will never be accurately reproduced.
BOTTOM LINE:
* The only way to enjoy watching Rocky Bullwinkle is to see the episodes in proper sequence
* This DVD set provides the first two stories in their entirety that comprised the first season
* Each of the four discs provides almost 3 hours of uninterrupted Jay Ward & Friends brand hilarity, what more could you want? After all, you searched for "bullwinkle", didn't you?
* You read this far? Buy it already!
Those who missed out on the fun need not fret. Sony Wonder finally has brought the show's first season to DVD. The four-disc set packs in 26 shows, more or less as they aired back in the day. The first season of "Rocky and His Friends" -- as it was called at the time -- covered two "R&B" arcs: the epic "Jet Fuel Formula" (40 episodes) and "Box Top Robbery" (12). The "R&B" adventures have been returned to twice-a-show cliffhangers, unlike on past videos that mashed together the segments.
Hard-case nostalgists will note that intros and some music come from the second season, a decision apparently based on Jay Ward's preference. The addition of modern watermarks during intros will inspire some head-scratching. And dashing Dudley Do-Right makes a premature entrance. But all in all, the "R&B" experience remains intact. Only the Cap'n Crunch ads are missing.
"R&B" animation was done on the cheap in Mexico, so it's hard to say how much quality has been lost. The DVDs' images are colorful and reasonably sharp, but with non-stop minor wear. Audio sounds crisp, with some odd variations in volume. The presentation is probably as good as it's going to get -- and it's good enough.
Extras are fun, but seem thrown together. The rarely seen Bullwinkle puppet dispenses advice to the lovelorn in unaired live-action bits. Black-and-white promos hype "Rocky and His Friends" while "The Bullwinkle Show" sports color bumpers. Moose and squirrel do their patriotic bit for U.S. bonds. Season 2, expected next year, is teased in two episodes about moon mice. A short but sweet booklet surveys the show and its creators.
This is a collectors and R&B fans dream come true. All 5 seasons are planned for release and this is the first. Four discs, 26 shows, that include the entire 40 episodes of "Jet Fuel Formula" and 12 episodes of "Box Top Robbery".
You also get 20 Fractured Fairy Tales; 21 Mr. Peabody's; 6 Aesop and Son's and 5 Dudley Do-Right's.
The video and sound from these shows is the best you've seen or heard yet. Bill Conrads naration was so clean I thought, at first, it was someone else!
Extras include "Dear Bullwinkle" (footage of the Bullwinkle puppet originally planned as bumpers for the show); "Classic Commercials and Promo's" (used to promote the show); "Rocky & Bullwinkle Savings Stamp Club" (a rare episode to promote U.S. Savings Bonds); "The Many Faces of Boris Badenov" (a montage of Boris disguises) and a "Sneak Peak" at the release of "Complete Season 2" (two R&B episodes with the Metal Munching Mice).
My only concern (a minor one I suppose) is the comment made in the intro by Jay Ward's daughter, Tiffany Ward (in the enclosed 16 page booklet). She says, "We've brought all the episodes together under one name, using the rare second-season opening (Dad's favorite), beautifully restored the original prints, and replaced the music as Dad later requested with themes he specifically produced for the first two seasons."
I take that to mean that most of these shows do not use the original openings and music. If that's true, I would have preferred them "as shown on TV", but I've been waiting for this so long I will overlook that. Especially since the quality is so good.
This is a MUST for your DVD library.
But I must protest strongly that Dudley Do-Right was dropped. Read more
