Where's the love for Rocky and Bullwinkle?

[minor muppetz]

I think perhaps it's because Rocky and Bullwinkle always engaged in ample amount of adult humor (not vulgar like Simpsons or Family Guy, more like topical and political humor) that goes right over the kids heads and only adults understand - even moreso than anything else you've mentioned . . . and considering how dumb kids are today from watching so much SpongeBob, there probably isn't a market for Rocky and Bullwinkle without compromising the source material's integrity by dumbing it down so much that it would appeal to kids and turn off adults.

Regardless of whether it's the same quality, dumbed down, better, whatever, it's still a bit odd. Many big franchises have had movies, specials, and so on, there have been many revivals in considerably different styles (for better or worse). Heck, it would have been great if, following the end of the shows original run, they had come out with Rocky and Bullwinkle specials, back when specials were really common. Reminds me of when I was starting to get back into the show, I had been fantasizing about growing up to make television specials and movies featuring the characters (I especially wanted to make a series of Boris and Natasha specials, whether animated or live-action, and this was a little before I saw the Boris and Natasha movie).

Then again, in The Moose That Roared, it says that Bullwinke started to have a sudden surge in popularity during the last few years of Jay Wards life. Perhaps the 1970s and early 1980s would have been the wrong time for a new series or special or something (or would such things have helped keep them popular?). Still, with them suddenly becoming more popular then, the late-1980s/early-1990s would have been a great time to produce some specials.

 

[mr3urious]

The closest thing to a new R&B-type show we got was Sheep in the Big City back in 2000, which had a lot of the same irreverent fourth wall-breaking stuff from that show. Didn't seem to catch on as well with kids, which explains its 26-episode run.

One of the "commercial" bits made fun of puns that get lost in translation. It was a movie trailer about a 50-foot monster, which is made of 50 feet as well. But in countries that use the metric system where it wouldn't have made sense, they called it something like "Attack of the 15.24-meter Monster... who is Made of 50 Feet".

There's also the Bureaucrat Song sung by antagonist Lisa Rental.

 

[D'Snowth]

The closest thing to a new R&B-type show we got was Sheep in the Big City back in 2000, which had a lot of the same irreverent fourth wall-breaking stuff from that show. Didn't seem to catch on as well with kids, which explains its 26-episode run.

So there, I rest my case.

 

[D'Snowth]

It just occured to me why there doesn't seem to be much of a market for Rocky and Bullwinkle in the modern era: because in addition to engaging in a lot of adult humor, much of that humor would be considered far too politically incorrect and offensive today. I can think of an example right off the top of my head:

BULLWINKLE: If we want to make room for Indians. . . .
INDIANS: We just make-um reservations. Ho-ho-ho.
BULLWINKLE: Oh, you know that joke?
INDIANS: We know-um all Indian jokes.
INDIAN 1: Who you think write-um Indian jokes?
ROCKY: Indian comedians?
INDIAN 1: Certainly. You never hear-um Bob Hopee?
INDIAN 2: Redskin Skelton?
INDIAN 3: Phil Silverhills?
BULLWINKLE: Yeah, come to think of it, I'm part Indian myself.
INDIANS: You Indian?
BULLWINKLE: You never hear-um Sitting Bullwinkle?
INDIANS: Ho-ho-ho. Good show.

 

[minor muppetz]

The closest thing to a new R&B-type show we got was Sheep in the Big City back in 2000, which had a lot of the same irreverent fourth wall-breaking stuff from that show. Didn't seem to catch on as well with kids, which explains its 26-episode run.

I caught that show occasionally and noticed some similarities, mainly with a narrator, but didn't really care for that show. But then again, that was around the time that I was starting to care less for new Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon shows.

 

[D'Snowth]

So apparently DreamWorks is rebooting Rocky and Bullwinkle for a Flash animated series.

The bad news it's getting dumped straight to Amazon.

 

[LittleJerry92]

To be honest,

That doesn't surprise me. It's just an excuse to not have to look for a TV network.

 

[Froggy Fool]

Amazon Prime used to be SO much better. Nowadays all they have is really crappy shows.

I prefer Netflix at this point.

 

[mr3urious]

I think Dreamworks' contract with Netflix expired, and they may choose not to renew it. Which explains why it's going to Amazon Prime.

 

[D'Snowth]

And with NBC/Universal owning DreamWorks now, I don't suppose it could be on Nickelodeon or something like their other shows, since Nick is a Viacom property.