Just over one month ago, President Trump was feuding with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, arguing against free shipping and the fact that Bezos owns the Washington Post. At the same time, nobody would have expected an unintentional backlash that now seems like a particular jab at this feud, that of super evil spies Boris Badinov and Natasha Fatale. For those unfamiliar with these dastardly characters, they are Pottsylvanian spies working for Fearless Leader, often stopped in their plans by the famous moose and flying squirrel duo, Rocky and Bullwinkle. 

Rocky and His Friends, created by Jay Ward and Alex Anderson, originally premiered on ABC in 1959, becoming a hit with both children and adults. Using social commentary and satirizing current events and pop culture of the time, the series made it more widely acceptable for adults to follow cartoons, as Animaniacs would later do in the 1990s.  Along with the moose and squirrel duo, secondary stories would intermittently be incorporated into the show with the main story, including Peabody’s Improbable History, time travel stories about a scientist dog and his boy; Fractured Fairytales, comedic recreations of famous fairy tales; and Mr. Know-It-All, Bullwinkle’s scholarly lectures from what he learned at Wossamotta U. The series ran until 1974, changing names, networks, and characters until ABC finally cancelled the series and put all versions  into syndication. Meanwhile, Ward moved on to other famous animated series, such as Dudley Do-Right and George of the Jungle.

On May 11, Dreamworks’ new adaptation, The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, premiered on Amazon Prime Kids, returning with even more classic satire and social commentary on the word today. Executive producers Scott Fellows’ (Fairly Odd Parents) and Tiffany Ward’s (Jay Ward’s daughter, also producer of George of the Jungle, Mr. Peabody & Sherman) knowledge of the characters and experience with similar series provides a classic feel network cartoons sometimes lack, replacing it with more fighting-style animation. Instead, animators have chosen a more simplistic style reminiscent of Ward’s original two-dimensional drawings. While this may be a risky choice in gaining views from its child audience, the subject matter is exciting enough to pull away from this aspect.

Using a trio of story arcs across a 13-episode season, secondary stories are forgotten (aside from intermission breaks of bizarre magic tricks or fake commercials), having presented those stories in other formats previously. Mr. Peabody and Sherman earned its own animated feature in 2014, with an ongoing Netflix series the following year. While no feature or series was ever made of Fractured Fairytales, it later made its way into print in 1997. Straying from the interrupted-story style, longer adventures are shown over a series of 25-minute episodes, each arc focusing on one story type. In their first tale, “Stink of Fear,” Rocky & Bullwinkle, while trying to get into a globally-televised cooking show, are pulled into a 1960s spy movie where they first meet Boris & Natasha. The second arc, “The Dark Side of the Moose,” takes the duo to space camp as they attempt to reunite an alien family. Finally, “Moosebumps” incorporates the current ghost hunting phenomenon (in particular, Ghost Brothers) with classic 1960s monster movies and comedies. Each arc has its own theme song incorporating the style of the story, which at times works, while, in the case of “Stink of Fear”, is a 30-second long fart joke. According to Fellows, while this was a crazy idea to approve three separate title sequences, shows are viewed differently than when Rocky & Bullwinkle were originally on the air. For him, if the series would incorporate three separate arcs, it would need three openings to capture the different tones.

Overall, The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle is a wonderful new take on the old characters, introducing them to new situations that current family sitcom characters may face, without taking away from the broad commentary on life and how we view it. With divided stories it is also a great way to binge without watching the entire season in one sitting (though there is no reason to stop after “Stink”). If you’re still undecided, go with the beginning of Bullwinkle’s motto, “Yes! Maybe! I don’t know!”