While Rocky and Bullwinkle suffer the indignity of being limited to reruns of their once-famous cartoon show, their foreign foes from the series have somehow managed to crossover into reality.
After years of being trapped in a two-dimensional animated world, those villainous spies from Pottsylvania, Boris Badenov (Jason Alexander of Seinfeld) and Natasha Fatale (Russo), have finally broken the secret code and made the leap into the real world.
Under orders from the criminal mastermind, Fearless Leader (De Niro), they have devised a plot to take over the world... and while they're at it, get rid of moose and squirrel.
Agent Karen Sympathy (Perabo) is employed by the FBI to find a way to break Rocket J. Squirrel and Bullwinkle J. Moose loose from their cartoon existence.
It's up to her, with the help of her new-found furry friends, to save America from the clutches of the evil Fearless Leader.
It's a funny idea, as is the idea of the villainous Fearless Leader's (De Niro) plot to entrap a Hollywood producer (Janeane Garofolo) by offering her the movie's rights.
There are more than a few decent gags in the script, like the aptly named RBTV (Really Bad Television), Fearless Leader's perfectly awful TV station, which will turn America's population into mindless Zombies (just like regular TV!).
The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle is not a bloated big-screen vehicle that misses the point of its source material entirely.
The opening five minutes represent a surprisingly clever brand of self-awareness, the kind that promises a fast and fulfilling fix of cartoon nostalgia.
Jay Ward's cartoons always displayed a strangely smart mixture of sharpness and stupidity, which is actually a fairly accurate description of this movie.
Complete with cameo appearances from the likes of Whoopi Goldberg, John Goodman, Billy Crystal and Nickelodeon's Kenan & Kel, this movie is worth a look.
And, as a cheerful film that's perfectly suited to kids, the adult references and lack of pretentiousness make it all the easier to swallow.
Dominic Bloch
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