Rating: 
Summary: Nothin' up my book sleeve!
Review: Having seen and enjoyed the movie SHREK, I can't help but think it's the kind of "Fractured Fairy Tale" that Jay Ward (famed creator of "Rocky and Bullwinkle") would have made if he'd only had the budget. This observation comes after having read THE MOOSE THAT ROARED, a delightfully irreverent biography of Ward, his partner Bill Scott, and their unique animated creations.It's hard to believe that about thirty years ago, animation was a dying art with little or no recorded history. Happily, it is now receiving the accord it deserves, and this encyclopaedic bio of Ward is the latest evidence. Author Keith Scott (no relation to Bill) began as a star-struck fan, moved on to meeting his idols, and eventually became the narrator of the live-action movie versions of "Bullwinkle" and Ward's other wacko masterpiece, "George of the Jungle." Scott's love of all things Wardian shines through on every page and gives these wonderful cartoons their due. At the same time, Scott has no qualms about showing Jay Ward's darker side, inspired perhaps by a late-'40s car accident that nearly killed him and assuredly caused his mental breakdown. It was after that accident that Ward started pursuing TV animation as a viable outlet for his nuttier side. Ward created "Crusader Rabbit" as the first made-for-TV cartoon creation, had it taken away from creditors who resemble Snidely Whiplash, and vowed never to answer to anyone else but himself from now on. This eventually resulted in Rocky and Bullwinkle, who were never a ratings hit but inspired a feverish cult that continues to this day. Ward was not one to share the wealth explicitly--he indulged in sports cars and high-priced art while his workers toiled away--yet his peers have mostly fond memories of working for Ward, who kept TV sponsors and censors at bay while they indulged their wildest ideas. Scott seems to have tapped into that spirit in eulogizing Ward, and it makes for a breezy, satisfying read.
Rating:
Summary: Nothin' up my book sleeve!
Review: Having seen and enjoyed the movie SHREK, I can't help but think it's the kind of "Fractured Fairy Tale" that Jay Ward (famed creator of "Rocky and Bullwinkle") would have made if he'd only had the budget. This observation comes after having read THE MOOSE THAT ROARED, a delightfully irreverent biography of Ward, his partner Bill Scott, and their unique animated creations. It's hard to believe that about thirty years ago, animation was a dying art with little or no recorded history. Happily, it is now receiving the accord it deserves, and this encyclopaedic bio of Ward is the latest evidence. Author Keith Scott (no relation to Bill) began as a star-struck fan, moved on to meeting his idols, and eventually became the narrator of the live-action movie versions of "Bullwinkle" and Ward's other wacko masterpiece, "George of the Jungle." Scott's love of all things Wardian shines through on every page and gives these wonderful cartoons their due. At the same time, Scott has no qualms about showing Jay Ward's darker side, inspired perhaps by a late-'40s car accident that nearly killed him and assuredly caused his mental breakdown. It was after that accident that Ward started pursuing TV animation as a viable outlet for his nuttier side. Ward created "Crusader Rabbit" as the first made-for-TV cartoon creation, had it taken away from creditors who resemble Snidely Whiplash, and vowed never to answer to anyone else but himself from now on. This eventually resulted in Rocky and Bullwinkle, who were never a ratings hit but inspired a feverish cult that continues to this day. Ward was not one to share the wealth explicitly--he indulged in sports cars and high-priced art while his workers toiled away--yet his peers have mostly fond memories of working for Ward, who kept TV sponsors and censors at bay while they indulged their wildest ideas. Scott seems to have tapped into that spirit in eulogizing Ward, and it makes for a breezy, satisfying read.
Rating: 
Summary: The world's no1 moose and squirrel and their friends.
Review: Hi its me again. I just received the copy of this book and quite frankly, once again its brilliant. Keith Scott has certainly done his homework. Keep up the good work, Keith.
Rating: 
Summary: Funny & Enchanting in Places, But Largely a Chore to Read
Review: I once read a review that began: "This book told me more about penguins than I ever wanted to know about penguins." Similarly, I'm tempted to say that this book told me far more about Jay Ward, Bill Scott, and the ups and downs of their years in show business than I ever wanted to know--and far less about one of the favorite t.v. programs of my long-ago adolescence, Rocky and Bullwinkle. (The book spends a lot of time discussing Ward's and Scott's other ventures into cartoon series, including Crusader Rabbit, Hoppity Hooper, and George of the Jungle as well as ads for Captain Crunch and other Quaker cereals.) If you venture into this book expecting it to be as full of zany humor and excruciating puns as Rocky and Bullwinkle were--as I did--you are in for a disappointment. While parts of the book are quite absorbing, it is on the whole a chore to read. The book badly needs edited down, especially given its repititiousness. The author tends to be a bit too gushingly adulatory of the work of Ward and Scott, too; while they were comic and artistic geniuses, they did misfire a few times. There are gems along the way--including the origin of the name Bullwinkle, the real identity of Ponsonby Britt, how the names Gidney and Cloyd were chosen for the moonmen, and the never-ceasing wars between Ward and Scott and their sponsors and networks--but you have to sift through a lot of gratuitous detail to find them. One of the most engaging parts of the book is the Reference Section. (Curiously, the reference section, the appendices, and the index account for 128 pages of the book's total 442 pages.) In the Reference Section, the reader finds synopses of all the episodes of Rocky and Bullwinkle, Fractured Fairy Tales, Bullwinkle's Corner (aka, Mr. Know-It-All), Mr. Peabody's History, Aesop and Son, and Dudley Doo-Right. Just glancing through the names of the Rocky and Bullwinkle episodes is a delight (e.g., "A Creep in the Deep, or Will Success Spoil Boris Badenov?" "Fast and Moose or Charlie's Antler"). It is a reminder, too, of how much funnier and more engaging this book might have been if better focused and better written.
Rating:
Summary: And now for something you'll really like...
Review: I've always believed in the maxim that the best books on animation are written by animation fans--and this book proves my point. Longtime Rocky and Bullwinkle fan Keith Scott takes us on a long-overdue historical tour of the studio run by one J. Troplong Ward. Ward, a former real estate salesman, started with a vague desire to "get into television" during the medium's infancy in the late forties. Through his lifelong friendship with animator Alex Anderson, he drifted into the pioneering field of made-for-TV animation. Anderson, nephew of Terrytoons founder Paul Terry, had been knocking around a "comic strip for television" for some time with no takers. Once teamed with Ward and armed with a wicked sense of humor, he introduced the world to Crusader Rabbit, TV's first animated star. Scott (no relation to Bill Scott, legendary voice of our favorite moose) has penned a winning addition to the ever-growing number of behind-the-scenes books on animation. It is far more detailed than another recent history of the Jay Ward studio (the name of which escapes me). Too detailed, perhaps--the long, convoluted legal battles Ward fought with the "Crusader Rabbit" distributors (and those of "Bullwinkle" and other Ward creations) are spelled out in excruciating detail, and can get more than a little boring. The book, however, does give us a glimpse inside the wackiest animation studio since Termite Terrace. The only studio (in the words of head ringmaster Ward) approved by the Food and Drug Administration. This, by the way, turns out to be no joke: Ward had popcorn, peanut, and cotton candy vendors stationed in the lobby. Ward himself occasionally could be seen decked out in a ridiculous uniform that made him bear more than a passing resemblance to Cap'n Crunch. That may well have been the inspiration for the character, as Ward's studio produced those commercials until 1984. Scott recounts for us the sometimes silly, often hilarious promotions (Ward parading with girls in mock Salvation Army uniforms, exhorting "sinners" to "watch the Bullwinkle Show," for one). And, of course, the infamous "Statehood for Moosylvania" campaign which, in a classic example of lousy timing, Ward brought to the doorstep of the White House at the height of the Cuban missle crisis. See Ward go apoplectic in the face of too-tight budgets and incompetant Mexican animators. See Ward battle idiot censors and executives (when one such network "suit" objected to a scene with Rocky and Bullwinkle in a cannibal's pot, screaming "You can't show cannibalism!" the response was typical Ward. "Is it really cannibalism," he asked, "to eat a moose and a squirrel?") The book also tells us of lesser-known projects, such as "Fractured Flickers" and "Hoppity Hooper", as well as those that didn't quite make it (one abortive project, a puppet show called "Watts Gnu" seemed quite promising). We also get a rare glimpse of Jay Ward behind the public facade--the nervous, insecure, giggling, shy individual racked with chronic pain from a near fatal injury. It makes the brilliant legacy he left all the more remarkable.
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: 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).
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