Synopsis:

In 1964 Rocky and Bullwinkle went off the air and were taken out of production. Since then, they have been subsisting on extremely meager residual checks (31/2 cents) from poor syndication throughout the world. Boris, Natasha and Fearless leader have been on the rocks as well. With the collapse of the Iron Curtain, they lost all power and the residents of the then embattled country of Pottslyvainia fled, their tyrannical regime (smile) One day a Hollywood producer in search of the next big hit stumbles across a "living Re-run" of The Rocky and Bullwinkle show. Only, not our heroes but those dastardly three, Boris, Natasha and Fearless Leader! In a moment of sheer evil, These three cross the barrier between cartoon and reality and set up camp in New York City. In an attempt to rule the live side of things, Fearless leader buys every cable access channel and establishes RBTV (Really Bad Television). His plan is to flood the airwaves with mind numbing idiotic programming so that he can turn the minds of Americans into pliable mush whereby he can plant subliminal messages. Essentially, he wants to rule the world and he wants to start with America. The FBI won't stand for this so they call upon the one dynamic duo that can handle this terrible three! That's right you guessed it…Rocky and Bullwinkle! The fur flies and the dastardly are even more comical in this live action/cartoon mix of clever humor and a great retrospective treat!

Audio/Video:

The disc boasts both Dolby Digital and DTS. The DD 5.1 platform is extremely powerful and has great effects. The back to front, Left to right action is pretty impressive and the sub is definitely put to good use in the film. The dialogue is clear and crisp and the overall aural textures are wonderfully employed. While I have a receiver capable of reproducing DTS I haven't gotten around to getting a player that has it so for now, I can only comment on the DD platform. Suffice it to say, if the DTS is anywhere near as loud as the DD, it's got to be awesome!

The video is a beautiful artifact free anamorphic widescreen presentation. The colors are true and the fleshtones are accurate. Very rich pastels and deep blacks are the order for this disc and it's presentation is extremely impressive.

Extras:

A Spotlight on Location: The Making of Rocky and Bullwinkle is included that features interviews with the cast as well as the production crew behind the scenes. Also featured in this segment are behind the scenes bits on the CGI process used to render "our heroes" as well as the extents gone to by the crew to make the actors believe they are interacting with "Moose and Squirrel". Roughly 30 minutes in length.

The film's theatrical trailer is also included as well as trailers for DragonHeart, Babe and The Flintstones.

For those with DVD-ROM capability, a voice-activated segment entitled Screen friends is included. It features all of the cartoon characters.

Overall:

After seeing the trailer, I dismissed this one quickly. It looked as though it would stink to the high heavens. However, I must say I was extremely pleasantly surprised. The film is great! Seeing Rocky and Bullwinkle in action again was more than worth the price of admission! Deniro is perfect and Russo and Alexander are Boris and Natasha! I don't know how they pulled it off but they fit perfectly. Unlike some other cartoon-based films, this one is fun and full of laughs! Great movie for any age! Highly recommended