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Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends - The Complete First Season

Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends - The Complete First Season

List Price: $39.98
Your Price: $29.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Money Well Spent
Review: My viewing of this show as a kid was rather spotty; with no video machines in those days, if you missed an episode, you missed it.
I remember being irritated at myself for having missed the first three shows and the main thrust of those first "Jet Fuel Formula" episodes, as well as the cryptic but intriguing truth behind the "relationship" of Mr.Peabody and Sherman. This DVD puts all these insecurities to rest, and I did indeed feel a great sense of closure as I watched it!
One of my favorite things to do is trying to see how many different voices June Foray can come up with for young maidens, paperboys, fairy godmothers, evil sisters and old hags. Wow. Such versatility, like her male counterpart Mel Blanc. And all the other voice artists have been perfectly cast in their roles as well. Who could EVER do the Fractured Fairy Tales like Edward Everett Horton?
All the reviews on this page are worth reading through; by all means, check them out. For my part, I can say that I bought the set, watching it is GREAT fun, and it's worth every penny!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Hokey smoke is right
Review: Rocky & Bullwinkle complete season 1.. it's about time we get a classic cartoon dvd collection. This is a superb set with the always present crisp dvd format. Attractive packaging, spanish audio, tv spots and all the fun of the show. Now kids who have not had the chance to see these classics can and those who have can relive it again. It's one of the funniest and most relevant cartoon's television had to offer and now pop it in and enjoy the gang like never before. I just can't wait for The Wakey Races and other Hanna Barbara classics turn at bat.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Let's paint over the "Mona Lisa"
Review: As mentioned above, the maker of this DVD has made title changes, music changes, plus narrator Bill Conrad's voice appears to have been badly redubbed in the first episodes by another actor, and the early episode laugh tracks are missing. What is this? This is a historical document these DVD producers are screwing with. Tampering of this sort simply defaces a cultural artifact and lessens the value of the package. Which Philistine was running the show on this release? If the intent was to cater to the nostalgia crowd, how does releasing it in an altered form serve that end? This set is indispensible for a lot of us, so we'll buy it--but it's a bitter pill to swallow when you purchase a da Vinci only to find the canvas has been altered by LeRoy Neiman.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Altered History
Review: I am FED UP with those who just can't resist the temptation to MESS AROUND with historical documents. WHY did the producers of this set feel the need to ALTER the title sequences? WHY did the producers of this set feel the need to ALTER the music? The reasons I have heard sound dubious and inadequate. If there were unavoidable copyright issues involved I can see where there MIGHT be a decent excuse. Otherwise there is NO excuse. After seeing the JARRING modern insert of the new title and hearing the changed music intros, I found myself suspicious of the rest of the contents of the set. I couldn't help but wonder if the cartoons themselvesd had been "altered". This same problem infected the Underdog sets. For pete's sake, LEAVE WELL ENOUGH ALONE!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Amazon -- Get Your Facts Straight
Review: The creative genius behind Rocky & Bullwinkle was Alex Anderson the creator of the series as well as many other beloved cartoons (i.e., Crusader Rabbit). I am shocked and appalled that Amazon would put up such a slipshod review of a product. Get your facts, then put them up. Jay Ward financed the series as the producer, but did not create the series. Bill Scott was the voice of Bullwinkle.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Great show -- mediocre handling by DVD company
Review: Three cheers for making this TV classic available in nicely cleaned-up prints. BUT... when I pay this much money to buy a TV series on disc, I expect an *unobstructed image*. I want to be able to sink into the era the show is from, and pretend I'm watching it during the original airing. That's impossible to do with this box set.

For one thing, there's a modern "bug" in the corner of the screen -- an "R&B" logo that fades up and down every few minutes. Then, to add insult to anachronistic injury, the DVD company has changed the series' title... not just on the box, but on screen during the show. During the opening of each episode and at the top of each R&B cartoon within the episodes, the screen cuts jarringly to a newly-created title card. The series (originally "Rocky and His Friends") and the R&B shorts (originally "The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle") have inexplicably become "The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends." How do the copyright holders hope to stem the commerce in bootleg recordings if the legitimate, licensed discs aren't going to contain what the box says -- "The Complete First Season" as aired WayBack when? Utterly stupid.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Like having your own "way back" machine!
Review: I'm just old enough to remember watching the reruns of this show, but not quite old enough to remember the original broadcasts. So, this is like having a Mr. Peabody type "way back" machine so I can go into the past and watch this entire classic series in chronological order. And in color! When I was a kid my family couldn't affort one of those expensive color TV sets!

The show I do remember is the next Jay Ward series that ran for three years in the mid 1960's called Hoppity Hooper. It's just as funny and clever as Rocky & Bullwinkle, but almost nobody remembers it, which is very sad.

So, hooray for Bullwinkle! And, how about rescuing Hoppity Hooper from the garbage pile of history?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great overall package and highly recommended!
Review: I'm just a casual R&B fan, so things mentioned in earlier reviews such as different opening titles, music, etc. don't bother me at all. The video quality is probably as good as it can get. The transfer is fine, it's just that the 40+ year old source material has seen better days. Don't get me wrong, overall the quality is excellent, just don't expect scratch-free remasters or anything. Upon starting to view the first disc, I was a tad disappointed in what I'll call "First Season Simpsons Syndrome". That is, while they had their moments, the early episodes showed weaker humor and more crude animation than we care to remember. However, by the start of the second disc, everything started to come around and by the end, all was well in Frostbite Falls!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Definitely NOT the "WRONG HAT"!
Review: What a treat! My only "complaint" is having to wait for the release of season 2 and the 6FT Metal Munching Moon Mice. It is so much fun to see these shows restored with bumpers I'd long forgotten. Plus the FIRST Peabody & Sherman,Dudley Do-Right, Aesop & Son, Fractured Fairytales. My favorite "extra" is the 30 second "UNFAIR" promo, which likely hasn't seen the airwaves in more than 30 years because it was produced in black & white. Plus, At 40 episodes in length, there are BOUND to be episodes of THE JET FUEL FORMULA that you never saw. A worthy tribute to Jay Ward & Bill Scott and a MUST HAVE for Rocky & Bullwinkle fans.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Here's something you'll really like ...
Review: Pop-culture historians can draw a line from "Bullwinkle" to "MASH," "Saturday Night Live" and "The Simpsons." Matt Groening did just that when he paired Bullwinkle and his Homer Simpson on the cover of TV Guide's issue celebrating the "50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time."

Those who missed out on the fun need not fret. Sony Wonder finally has brought the show's first season to DVD. The four-disc set packs in 26 shows, more or less as they aired back in the day. The first season of "Rocky and His Friends" -- as it was called at the time -- covered two "R&B" arcs: the epic "Jet Fuel Formula" (40 episodes) and "Box Top Robbery" (12). The "R&B" adventures have been returned to twice-a-show cliffhangers, unlike on past videos that mashed together the segments.

Hard-case nostalgists will note that intros and some music come from the second season, a decision apparently based on Jay Ward's preference. The addition of modern watermarks during intros will inspire some head-scratching. And dashing Dudley Do-Right makes a premature entrance. But all in all, the "R&B" experience remains intact. Only the Cap'n Crunch ads are missing.

"R&B" animation was done on the cheap in Mexico, so it's hard to say how much quality has been lost. The DVDs' images are colorful and reasonably sharp, but with non-stop minor wear. Audio sounds crisp, with some odd variations in volume. The presentation is probably as good as it's going to get -- and it's good enough.

Extras are fun, but seem thrown together. The rarely seen Bullwinkle puppet dispenses advice to the lovelorn in unaired live-action bits. Black-and-white promos hype "Rocky and His Friends" while "The Bullwinkle Show" sports color bumpers. Moose and squirrel do their patriotic bit for U.S. bonds. Season 2, expected next year, is teased in two episodes about moon mice. A short but sweet booklet surveys the show and its creators.


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