The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle - 3 stars out of 10

The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle - 3 stars out of 10

"The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle" is essentially exactly what you expect.  The dialogue is intentionally cheesy (in the style of the original tv show), the gags are slapstick, and the moose is not the brightest bulb in the box.  While the computer-generated characters are far from realistic, it is intentional to emphasize that they are cartoons in a real-world setting (a la "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," to which there is a hilarious reference in this film).  While most of the jokes are eye-rollers, the overall humor of the film is well done.  While the film is obviously geared toward families, It is a shame that they had to throw a few swear words in there to guarantee a PG-rating.  Most adults who are going to see this film by themselves [cough, me] won't be deterred by a G-rating - we know exactly what we're getting ourselves into.  That being said, for a family-focused film, the mere recreation of the classic cartoon is enough to keep the adults happy.  There are several big names in this film, such as Jason Alexander as Boris (not his finest performance), Robert DeNiro as Fearless Leader (getting warmer), Piper Perabo (before her "Coyote Ugly" fame), and of course the cameo by Nickelodeon's Kenan and Kel (which would have been cool at the time but now would cause kids to say "Who?").  But without question, the highlight of this film is Rene Russo whose Natasha voice is spot on.  She truly is the personification of the 60's cartoon character.  The other standout performance comes from June Foray, reprising her voice acting of Rocky and animated Natasha from the original Rocky and Bullwinkle show.  The best line of the film comes from John Goodman in his cameo as an Oklahoma cop: After Rocky and Bullwinkle argue that FBI agent Karen Sympathy really is with the FBI, he turns to the camera and responds "Yeah, and I'm really John Goodman."  The movie is worth watching for moments like that... and Whoopi Goldberg as the judge (who else!?!?)  And for the playful film score by Mark Mothersbaugh, perfectly in the same vein as the original cartoon.  The story line is pretty weak and it's really cheesy, but this film is all about the moose and that's what makes it a success.