Cool News
The Spyder reveals a web of news about Moose and Squirrel and their attempt to take down THE PERFECT STORM, THE PATRIOT
Hey dere lucky pals, Harry J. Knowles here with another amazing adventure.... Duh, hey what's this scoop about anyway, oh yah, Bullwinkle J. Moose and Rocky J Squirrel I believe. Anyway, this here SPYDER J. SPY is coming in with all the wiley news of their latest epic battle with those baddest of bad guy and gal... Boris and Natasha... Read on...
Hail Head Geek and all the Geeks at sea,
A few months ago, I had the odd opportunity to free an unusually large gray
squirrel with blue goggles from the sticky strands of my humble abode.
Evidently, the fellow was training diligently for an upcoming movie role and
was still working the kinks out of his technique. It has been a while since
the little squirrel had flown. Looked like he needed a little more practice
to me. (then again, I’m a Spyder who lives in a web and writes movie
reviews… who the heck am I to criticize a flying squirrel?) Anyhow, in
appreciation for my aid, he slipped me a copy of the screenplay he was
training for, "The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle."
It wasn’t until tonight that I saw a "first look" piece on Access Hollywood
which showed quite a bit of footage from his picture that I remembered the
gift the little fella left me. Given how much of the story they’ve already
shown, it seemed like it might be a good idea to speak up about the script.
It’s important to remember a couple of things about writing for animation.
Animation scripts are often rather dynamic, subject to change and multiple
drafts written with the input of a number of people. Though it looks like the
basic story of "The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle" remains intact from the
draft I read (from 1998, it appears), I trust that any number of lines and
situations will be punched up by the time we see the finished result on
screen.
Having said that, the footage shown tonight seems pretty close to what I
read. Though, De Niro’s "Are you talking to me" moment is one of those
fortunate things that happen once you cast a part. It wasn’t in the script
(as far as I remember) but it was kind of funny.
"The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle" is directed by Des McAnuff (a former
Artistic Director of the La Jolla Playhouse, which was the original home of
what became Broadway’s "Tommy" – no doubt Des plays that up to no end). It
features Robert De Niro as Fearless Leader, and Jason Alexander and Rene
Russo as the live-action Boris and Natasha. Rocky and Bullwinkle will be
playing themselves. (good for them… hope they have a good agent and got some
of the ancillary rights). Writing credits appear to be going to Jay Ward and
Ken Lonergan, but you never know just how many people really had a part in it
(unless you’re one of them). I think this is who the WGA (Writers Guild of
America) decided should get it.
On with the show: in what I read, the story is pretty simple. Boris, Natasha,
and Fearless Leader manage to get themselves into the real world and plot to
take over the United States using our own greatest weakness: television.
Rocky and Bullwinkle are called on to leave their cartoon world to save the
day, and team up with Agent Karen Sympathy, played by Piper Perabo. Together,
Moose, Squirrel, and a cute FBI agent save us from the bad guys and the
hypnotic influence of bad television (for the moment, at least).
[Piper appears on page 67 of the current Entertainment Weekly, the X-Men
cover issue, under a description of her upcoming role in "Coyote Ugly." –
amazing what one finds lying around the web.]
The script had me in stitches, actually laughing out loud, for the first
thirty or so pages. It suffered a bit from what they call "second act sag,"
which is usually when that first act momentum can’t be sustained for the
45-60 minutes the middle section of the story usually takes. It does pick up
toward the end of the second act, though, and gets pretty funny once more.
The middle has some laughs, it just doesn’t have quite the pace the first and
third acts did.
My only concern is that the humor is a tad Industry oriented. Given that
you’re reading this review sent into a site that does nothing but watch the
Industry, maybe that won’t be such a hurdle. I caught myself laughing at a
number of lines that sounded like something out of a story meeting, ("Sure,
but how can you justify that dramatically?" ) and wasn’t sure just how
broadly appealing some of the jokes would be.
Don’t worry, though, it’s not all Industry jokes. There are plenty of really
bad puns and one-liners like what you’d expect from the "Rocky & Bullwinkle"
cartoon shorts of yesteryear. Combined with what appear to be pretty cool
special effects (the cartoon duo actually looks rather three-dimensional in
the footage) I think the picture should be some fun.
I’m just hoping the punched up the second act a little bit. Maybe what I read
will play out better on screen. Like they say in comedy, timing is everything.
Back into the web,
A Spyder.
P.S. I do hope the Talkback Gallery won’t be too upset I don’t go into the
details of the ending. It’s a Rocky and Bullwinkle picture. They can do the
math on who wins.
-
+ Expand All
-
Can anyone one name at least one film based on anything Jay Wards done ever wind up being anything but strident.Chances are this one's going to be pretty headache inducing to. -
With the Patriot and the Perfect Storm, there will be no mercy for the moose and squirrel; and who wants to see a fag squirrel and dumb ass moose anyway?
-
that fails.. The Patriot will be R rated, and the Perfect Storm doesn't seem to family oriented. The Patriot will rule the adult market, Me, Myself and Irene will still be going strong, and Rocky & Bullwinkle will mop up the family end no doubt. I forsee the Perfect Storm being the big looser here.. it will only do Three Kings kind of biz. Not a bad return on $140 million huh? After last years 4th of July debarcle, WB should shift quick, they don't deserve to win the slot. They won't.
-
...Cuz I dont see any other flying squirrels here.
-
I've been waiting for 20 years for this movie to come out and you had to go flailing your arms around saying "Oh! Oh! I know the ending!". Okay, you didn't actually do that, and no, I wasn't really surprised about the ending. Come to think of it, I haven't even been waiting 20 years for this movie. Never mind.
-
Inspector Gadget made $20 million during its opening weekend with the worst buzz you could possibly imagine. How do you think this picture will do with a decent trailer and from what we've heard, a decent script? Despite the Patriot being #1 that weekend (you can count on it) and The Perfect Storm (I don't think it will draw that many this weekend), I think Rocky & Bullwinkle will pull in at least $20 million it's first weekend, and if it's good, it'll easily reach $100 million domestically.
-
Apr 26, 2000 2:29:36 AM CDT
When I first heard about a live action Rocky & Bullwinkle film..
by jackburton
I thought, 'Oh Christ, not again', but then I remembered Who Framed Roger Rabbit and realised that if it was handled just right and with the right cast it *could* work. I'm still not holding my breath, but I won't rule it completely out as rubbish just yet, it could be cool, I kinda doubt it, but the possibility is there. We shall have to wait and see.
-
"DeNiro as Fearless Leader, however, just seems too cool."
Indeed, azazello, Fearless Leader is such a fascinating and complex character.
We must both be quite deep thinkers.
Certainly this will be the most brilliant film of all time. They can burn all the motion picture cameras, for how can this be topped. God bless Hollywood.
-
I wouldn't be surprised if ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE runs off with the biggest piece of the box-office cake this 4th of July weekend. THE PATRIOT and THE PERFECT STORM will divide adult audiences while R & B will attract family audiences and a fair amount of single adults (thanks to De Niro's presence), too. R & B's strongest competition could be CHICKEN RUN, which will open a week earlier. Will kids go back for seconds or will they want something new and flock to R & B, instead? I predict the latter. Also, keep in mind that THE PATRIOT is 3 hours long, THE PERFECT STORM has George "box-office poison" Clooney (TPS's target audience consists mostly of teenagers and twentysomethings who'd probably rather see second-weekender ME, MYSELF & IRENE again or for the first time.
-
I swear to God that I will kill the one who says it. It seems that every stupid little movie that comes out nowadays is labeled as an Epic, which in all actuality, they aren't! Harry, I would have expected you to find a thesaurus to pick a better word than that one, but then again, the world is lazy, isn't it? Reminds me of how the world suddenly got stuck on the word "plethora", doesn't it?
-
...Upon hearing they were making a Rocky and Bullwinkle movie was, "Oh, great, ANOTHER one." But after reading a bit about the truly bizarre plot, seeing the preview, and learning about the talent involved in the production, I'm actually looking forward to this one...For all the box-office predictions floating around on this talkback, remember, in Summer, anything can happen. Last year, people were predicting nothing could hold its own against TPM, but Notting Hill did quite well. A few years ago, Phenomenon opened on the same day as ID4 and did quite well. If the films are good, they will all make money. There's plenty of audience to go around.
-
For even more on Piper, check out the small article in the newest issue of Premiere on the girls of Coyote Ugly. I knew Piper when she was in undergrad at Ohio University and worked on some student films with her. Not only is she really, really talented - she is so very cute. Now I wish I had flirted with her even more. Big, big star, you wait and see.
-
Though I manage to get out of the house on Saturday nights once in a blue moon, I try never to miss Rocky and Bullwinkle on cartoon network. That show is like the basis for everything that tiny toons, animaniacs,etc. stood for. Judging from the review, it looks as if there will finally be one cartoon to live action flick that will actually be kinda faithful to the series. the fact that the characters are all aware of their 1960's tv show is already proof enough that the script is not crap.
Readers Talkback
User Login
Top Talkbacks
- Whitney Houston 1963 - 2012 -- 439 total posts 159 posts
- WTF HOLLYWOOD: SOLARBABIES -- 144 total posts 142 posts
- Herc’s Seen Tonight’s Return Of THE WALKING DEAD!! Discuss Also DOWNTON ABBEY, FEAR FACTOR, PAN AM, ONCE, SIMPSONS, DYNAMITE, LUCK, SHAMELESS, BAIT CAR, THE GRAMMYS And More!! Sunday Is Sweeps Day 11!! -- 155 total posts 140 posts
- Avid Comic Reader Hercules Does Battle With Tedium During Kevin Smith’s COMIC BOOK MEN! -- 55 total posts 45 posts
- There's a STAR TREK video game that is going to lead into JJ's STAR TREK 2 apparently... -- 196 total posts 45 posts
- I am The Behind the Scenes Pics of the Day! No, I’m the Behind the Scenes Pic of the Day! -- 35 total posts 35 posts
- If the Behind the Scenes Pics of the Day drops her pen, pick it up, but don’t look at her legs or else it will be on your record. -- 60 total posts 34 posts
- New JUDGE DREDD post production footage pops up -- 127 total posts 32 posts
- To Commemorate The 3D Release Of STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE, George Lucas Wants You To Know...Greedo Shoots First!! -- 513 total posts 29 posts
- The Sensorties Revisit The Friday Docback (And Still Smell)!! DOCTOR WHO Story #7 Again, The Coming Of Season/Series 7, And More!! -- 118 total posts 27 posts