Rating: Summary: Wonderful book for Rocky, Bullwinkle, Jay Ward fans Review: If you are a fan of Jay Ward and Bill Scott's zany animated creations, you really owe it to yourself to read this book. "The Moose That Roared" is filled with entertaining and enlightening quotes, observations, tales and all kinds of enjoyable information about the voice artists, writers, musicians and other folks responsible for these unforgettable programs. I can't imagine any author doing a better job at presenting the vast amount of material Keith Scott has compiled. In short, this is a terrific book.
Rating: Summary: Hokey Smokes! A Book All About Rocky and Bullwinkle!!! Review: If you love Rocky, Bullwinkle, Dudley-Do Right, Peabody and Sherman and all their zany, wonderful contemporaries, you must have this book. It's as simple as that! Author Keith Scott combines the passion of a true animation lover with the rigorous attention to detail of a genuine scholar. This is the most comprehensive history we will likely ever have of Jay Ward Productions, and their wonderful offspring. The story of the Bullwinkle show is the heart of the book, to be sure, but there's also everything you'd want to know about Crusader Rabbit, George of the Jungle, Cap'n Crunch and the talented men and women who created them. Scott had dozens of exclusive interviews and full access to the Ward Productions files. There are mini-biographies of all the key players, plus an episode guide with voice credits. Keith Scott has reached into his hat...and pulled out a piece of magic, almost as great a treasure as those timeless, wonderful cartoons themselves.
Rating: Summary: Overcomes its technical flaws Review: In many ways, this is the perfect summation of Jay Ward Productions; like the early shows, it's marred by technical flaws (typos, repetition, lapses in research), but the strength of the story overcomes those problems and provides a great view of what must have been a wonderful working environment. While it can't quite measure up to a true insider's journal like Chuck Amuck, Scott still had remarkable access to everyone involved, and makes good use of it.
Rating: Summary: A good book for Ward aficionados Review: The book is essentially a biography of Bullwinkle creator Jay Ward, with brief capsules of other important players in Jay Ward's cartoon studio. It's also a nice linear history of the many, now famous, Jay Ward creations and their aftermath's. The short biographies on the many voice talents used by Ward were welcome. Ward's voice talent stable may have been the best in the history of animation. Hans Conreid, Paul Frees, William Conrad, Bill Scott, June Foray, Daws Butler brought the now famous Ward creations to life with voice, but they were also well known for other characters and voice work outside the Ward influence. The book ends with a well-written appendix of the Ward cartoons, their production dates, and other significant information. If you're a big fan of Ward's work, you'll get a lot out of the book. If you have a more casual interest, you may not like it.
Rating: Summary: A good book for Ward aficionados Review: The book is essentially a biography of Bullwinkle creator Jay Ward, with brief capsules of other important players in Jay Ward's cartoon studio. It's also a nice linear history of the many, now famous, Jay Ward creations and their aftermath's. The short biographies on the many voice talents used by Ward were welcome. Ward's voice talent stable may have been the best in the history of animation. Hans Conreid, Paul Frees, William Conrad, Bill Scott, June Foray, Daws Butler brought the now famous Ward creations to life with voice, but they were also well known for other characters and voice work outside the Ward influence. The book ends with a well-written appendix of the Ward cartoons, their production dates, and other significant information. If you're a big fan of Ward's work, you'll get a lot out of the book. If you have a more casual interest, you may not like it.
Rating: Summary: A detailed history of Bullwinkle and his creators Review: There are probably only three truly great houses of animation: Disney (of course), Warner Brothers, and Jay Ward Productions. Of the three, the latter seems to get the least attention, something this book attempts to remedy. This is a history of Bullwinkle and his creators, from when they first got into the business until their last creative efforts, i.e., pretty much up until the George of the Jungle movie, though there is mention of the Rocky and Bullwinkle movie as forthcoming. Though Ward and his cronies were comparatively good at keeping to their artistic vision despite outside pressures, there were enormous complications of business and dollars-and-cents issues that dogged them throughout. Most notably, much of the detailed animation of their key show was done in Mexico City. The goal was to save money, though all it accomplished in the short term was to reduce the quality of the product. This book covers those issues in detail, which are significant but not that interesting. More interesting is to hear about the madcap antics of Jay Ward, Bill Scott, and the others as they work together and play practical jokes on one another. Ward in particular has a gift for publicity, sending out bizarre weekly notices to the press to publicize the show via mock-pyramid schemes and other parodies of mail-order silliness. It's harder than usual to make a judgment about this book. Casual readers like me would probably have been happier if it had skimped on the business issues, sticking just to the creative aspects. People wanting to know how showbiz really works, on the other hand, will probably be fascinated by the business details described here, as unbelievable as they frequently are.
Rating: Summary: Natasha! Moose and Squirrel have their own book! Review: This is the best reference to "Rocky and Bullwinkle" out there. In it is information about the show itself, Jay Ward (the show's creator), Bill Scott (coproducer and voice of Bullwinkle), and info on the other voice actors (Paul "Boris Badenov" Frees, June "Rocky" Foray, Daws Butler ("Fractured Fairy Tales"), Hans "Snidely Whiplash" Conried, and others). Throughout the book, you see information about Jay Ward's pre "Bullwinkle" show, "Crusader Rabbit", along with "Fractured Fairytales," "Dudley Do-Right," "Peabody and Sherman," "George of the Jungle," "Super Chicken," "Tom Slick," and a variety of other Ward productions such as "Hoppity Hooper" and "Fractured Flickers." This is the best reference guide to Jay Ward and "Rocky and Bullwinkle," and it includes a full list of episodes of all of Jay Ward's cartoons, which includes voice credits (as you know, Bill Scott, June Foray, Paul Frees, and Daws Butler did many a character on the Ward cartoons).
Rating: Summary: Natasha! Moose and Squirrel have their own book! Review: This is the best reference to "Rocky and Bullwinkle" out there. In it is information about the show itself, Jay Ward (the show's creator), Bill Scott (coproducer and voice of Bullwinkle), and info on the other voice actors (Paul "Boris Badenov" Frees, June "Rocky" Foray, Daws Butler ("Fractured Fairy Tales"), Hans "Snidely Whiplash" Conried, and others). Throughout the book, you see information about Jay Ward's pre "Bullwinkle" show, "Crusader Rabbit", along with "Fractured Fairytales," "Dudley Do-Right," "Peabody and Sherman," "George of the Jungle," "Super Chicken," "Tom Slick," and a variety of other Ward productions such as "Hoppity Hooper" and "Fractured Flickers." This is the best reference guide to Jay Ward and "Rocky and Bullwinkle," and it includes a full list of episodes of all of Jay Ward's cartoons, which includes voice credits (as you know, Bill Scott, June Foray, Paul Frees, and Daws Butler did many a character on the Ward cartoons).
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