The turn of the millennium was an interesting time for children’s cinema.The 3D animation ofPixarandDreamWorksthrough titles such asToy Story, Bug’s Life, andAntzset a new precedent for cartoons with a completely different production process than that of the hand-drawn,2D classics of yesteryear. Live-action family films seem to be slowly losing their popularity, with fewer of theHollywood blockbusters for kids' of the 90sgetting made, likeJumanjiorParent Trap, replaced with cynical, industry-driven productions like the post-Home Alone 2sequels or theCheaper by The Dozenremake, which bombed critically and failed to garner any staying power. Right in the middle of this strange, transitory period for kid’s entertainment, we got one of the weirdest family films ever made, with an even weirder choice of star for the role of the main villain:The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, with an all-star cast includingRobert De Niroin what may be the most goofy, oddball role of his career.
The Rocky And Bullwinkle Movieis one of the biggest flops of all time, failing miserably in both sales and reviews, but despite this, the film has some redeeming qualities that make it a fun watch in 2023. The biggest attraction is undoubtedly De Niro’s performance as the hilarious “Fearless Leader,” which sees the actor at his silliest, proving that the man known for playing Stoic gangsters is more than willing to have some fun.
‘The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle,’ Was A Historic flop
The film is based ona popular cartoon from the 60stitledThe Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, following the lives of the titular moose and squirrel on their escapades against a fascist dictator called Fearless Leader and his henchmen, Boris (Alexander) and Natasha (Russo),. The show was a classic for the baby boomer generation, pioneering the"visuals for kids, gags for adults"model thatso many cartoon staples likeSpongeBobare famous for, but ultimately, the show was canceled due to difficulties with time slots. It wasn’t until 1992 that a script for a deliberately biting, cynical, and satirical reboot/parody of reboots would begin circling Holywood. The project even had legends such asMeryl StreepandDanny Devitoattached at one point, butafter many rewrites and a few years in development hell, the film would finally be shot and released for the new millennium.
Robert De Niro Saved Martin Scorsese’s Life by Demanding He Make This Movie
The ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ director was granted another round in the ring by his most famous collaborator.
The result was as lukewarm as you may get when having suchan insanely star-studded castincluding De Niro,Rene Russo, Jason Alexander, Whoopie Goldberg, and 90s comedy iconsKeenan & Kel. The filmlost well over $40 million in box office returns, making it anall-time historic flop, and besidesa surprisingly positive review from Roger Ebert himself, both critics and audiences disliked the film’s mostly unfunny jokes, horrible set design, disjointed plot (a clear sign of Frankenstein’s monster-like splicing of alternate scripts and rewrites) and overly obnoxious, in-your-face attitude without any of the charm to back it up. The only generally agreed positive aspects of the film were the occasionalMel Brooks' esque visual gag and the somewhat clever fourth wall breaks and meta-commentary on Holywood (things that weren’t in almost every film like they are now), and of course, De Niro as Fearless Leader.
Despite being undeniably original and daring, the film is, at best, not that funny; and at worst, downright annoying. It just didn’t do enough to appeal to the nostalgia of the original cartoon’s fans or to replicate the hyperactive, colorful adventures that 90s kids wanted to see. Now, an attempt to remake an older, nostalgia-inducing property into a hip, new cartoon for thecool kidsof the current year and failing miserably has become a common occurrence, butThe Rocky And Bullwinkle Moviemay have been among the first to do it so, credit where credit is due!
Robert De Niro Makes ‘The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle’ Worth Watching
But despite a lot of things making the film a tough watch, it does have some positives. For example, the film’s opening is full of energy and what was (at the time) original fourth-wall-breaking, as the characters ofThe Rocky And Bullwinkle Showescape the purgatory of canceled television thanks to a corrupt Holywood exec making a deal with the film’s villains. The cameo ofWhoopie Goldbergis a lot of fun as well, playing a character literally called Judge Cameo and delivering one of the best lines in the film, “You are hereby free of all charges (…) Celebrities are above the law!” But without a doubt, the best part of the film is De Niro. NowDe Niro has done plenty of comedies, but he always plays the straight man. For perhaps the only time in his career, De Niro plays a complete and utter goofball, channeling theabsurdist parody of villainyfound in characters likePeter Sellers’Dr. Strangelove orMike Meyers’Dr. Evil. The actor’s sorta-German, kinda-Russian-sounding accent is borderline offensive, sure, but the way De Niro uses that voice to switch between cartoonishly screaming at his henchmen and giving squeaky, high-pitched monologs of evil is so endearingly silly.
Complementing the character’s ridiculous voice and hilarious line delivery is De Niro’s twitchy, frantic, flailing gestures. From one moment to the next, Fearless Leader switches between an overly stiff parody of a sort of military stance/march, to the enraged flailing and flapping of what could almost be a parody of Hitler’s body language when giving speeches. To top off both the vocal and physical performances, the character’s aesthetic is fittingly ridiculous as well. De Niro shines in this role in more ways than one, as the actor supports one of the greasiest, most blindingly shiny slickbacks in hairstyling history, making his scalp look like a polished 8-ball. He also supports a monocle that makes popping noises whenever his shocked face shoots it out of his eye socket, as well as a dastardly Batman’s Penguin-esque shit-eating grin and oversized cigarette. He also has an air ofCharlie Chaplin’sGreat Dictator in the way his uniform so closely resembles a Gesthappo general. Is it possibly a bit too on the nose for a kid’s film?Bah, not at all. It’s good for a kid’s film to ridicule fascism as the painfully stupid and child-like ideology that it is!
Robert De Niro Has Great Chemistry With the Cast of ‘The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle’
Finally, Fearless Leader and his henchmen, Boris and Natasha, combine to make a pretty damn funny villainous trio with great chemistry. The scenes in which the three characters are the movie’s best, as they’re honestly some of the only moments that can guarantee a light chuckle.Alexander was fresh off of the set ofSeinfeldand carried his brilliant line delivery and hilarious body language over to the character of Boris, and Rene Russo does a frankly brilliant parody of the exaggeratedly Russian femme fatale character archetype, bringing both silliness and sexiness to the fray withdazzling character design and wardrobe choices.
There are multiple standout moments between these three characters that make the film worth watching. One such scene parodiesTaxi Driver, as De Niro delivers his “Are You Talking To Me?” monologue to intimidate Boris and Natasha into confessing their failure at capturing Rocky and Bullwinkle. Another fun scene involves the trio comically dancing to a ska song together to celebrate the success of their evil plan, each character giving a uniquely cartoonish dance that reflects each personality: De Niro stiffly and awkwardly shuffles, Russo keeps it groovy and hip-shaky, and Alexander just goes full Eastern European stereotype as he cha-chas, claps, and jives while frantically singing.
All in all,The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkleisn’t a very good movie, but it’s an interesting anomaly in early 2000s cinema and an example ofstar power not being the be-all and end-all of ticket sales. Either way, it still features a uniquely bonkers performance from De Niro at his utmost silliest, and it’s kind of worth watching for that alone.
The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkleis available to stream on Starz in the U.S.
