- Title: USA: AMERICAN PREMIERE OF CARTOON ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE
- Date: 18th June 2000
- Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (JUNE 18, 2000) (REUTERS) SCU [SOUNDBITE] (English) ROBERT DE NIRO SAYING "Well, I took it off the cartoon and I just looked at the voice and the movements and extended it into live action, being me and us and Jason and Rene, and then trying to retain some of the cartoonish stuff - like the ears out and the nose longer and the chin l
- Embargoed: 3rd July 2000 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK AND LA, US/
- Country: USA
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA9Y6RYD1O06A8NPHDF16O2BCDP
- Story Text: After three and a half decades in re-runs, beloved US TV cartoon heroes Rocky the Squirrel and Bullwinkle J. Moose are back in their first motion picture. While noticeably absent from the film's world premiere over the weekend, the Moose and squirrel's co-stars Robert Deniro, Rene Russo and Jason Alexander did make an appearance.
After 35 years of repeated defeat at the hands of Rocky and Bullwinkle, cartoon baddies Boris Badenov, Natasha Fatale and their Fearless Leader have devised the ultimate plan to take over the world.
The Pottsylvania baddies, respectively portrayed by Jason Alexander, Rene Russo and Robert DeNiro, make the jump out of re-runs and out of animation to become living, breathing criminals set loose upon an unsuspecting 21st century by a movie executive looking for a good script. Enter, Rocky and Bullwinkle.
While still cartoons, the moose and squirrel have been summoned to foil the plans of Fearless leader one last time with the aid of fledgling F.B.I. (Federal Bureau of Investigation) agent Karen Sympathy at their side.
"The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle" marks the return of the 1960's Cold War cult cartoon that was yanked off the air by then rightsholder NBC in 1964. And while the no new episodes have been produced during that time, the cartoon has never gone off the air, and was a part of the childhoods of each of the movie's stars.
"It is exactly the same," said Jason Alexander, of "Seinfeld"
fame, "I went back and looked at some of the old cartoons to get ready for this and things that I had never imagined ... I missed it the first time around. I just thought it was Bullwinkle falling into the tub of water. You know, all of the double entendres and the puns and the political content, you just go wow. This stuff was really ahead of its time, a little subversive little cartoon show there."
In perhaps the most bold casting move in the film, Academy Award winner Robert DeNiro stars as the ruthless Fearless Leader, turning in a comedic performance that has overshadowed the release of the film itself.
"Well, I took it off the cartoon and I just looked at the voice and the movements and extended it into live action,"
said DeNiro of his over-the-top performance, "trying to retain some of the cartoonish stuff - like the ears out and the nose longer and the chin longer - and we would do tests to see how far we could go with that without looking ridiculous and make it arch but not too over the top."
The performance even threw his co-stars for a loop.
"It wasn't that I didn't think DeNiro was funny. I've seen him be very funny. I've just never seen him be stupid and silly," said Alexander, "I mean, you read the script and you go this need to be a bunch of clowns. It's clowns. And, I couldn't imagine him doing that. And then, you step out on the set and you see him with his ears pushed out to there and this ridiculous hairsut and doing this funny little German accent and you go he's going for it. God bless him, he's really doing it."
"The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle" opens across the United States on June 30th. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None