Many years ago, I talked June Foray in having lunch with me. What a delite! She was her charming self and wanted to know what I was doing? I'm not sure she got to eat much of her lunch as I kept her talking. LOL I also had many occasions to chat with at the Chuck Jones Gallery. It got so Craig Kausen (Chuck's grand son) would allow me to ask her the first question. It was always "Hey Rocky, wanna see me pull a rabbit out of my hat? Her response was always "Oh Bullwinkle, that trip NEVER works". I'd love to be able to walk with her again.
Oh yes, you can't never forget the narration of William Conrad who is known for the 1970s TV series stars as private detective Cannon, who also has done radio back in the late 1940s and movies. He has voiced commercials on TV. And also he has appeared in other TV series in the 70s and the 80s.
So this is by far my all time favorite cartoon, and best in b&w too. Mr Know-it-all the best and can’t forget William Conrad doing back and forth with the characters so good thank you Jay Ward for this
I have the dvd box sets of Rocky and Bullwinkle, and I am super depressed that I'll never get the full experience without this music. Oh, well. I guess many others are stuck in the same boat, since the dvd makers couldn't be bothered to get the damn rights to the timeless, iconic music!!
Animation for the ads & maybe some of the bumpers was done in the USA while the cartoons themselves were done in Mexico. Gerard Baldwin (see closing credits) animated the Cheerios ad.
That were great. Frank Comstock, who did the music cues for first couple of seasons has just passed away, May 21st. Apparently, he retained publishing rights to all his music, unbeknownst to Jay Ward and Bill Scott, the producers. They redubbed new musical themes, composed by Fred Steiner that were used in later seasons. This explains why the DVD release has none of the Comstock themes, since they didn't want to pay royalties.
The great thing, to my mind about these cartoons is the way they pounded their humor to you, right up to the last, with the two titles for the next episode, as shown at 2:14.
Whatever you call it, be it "Rocky and His Friends" (original title) "The Bullwinkle Show" (the re-titled title), "The Rocky Show" (syndicated title), "The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle" (syndicated title), "The Adventures of Bullwinkle and Rocky" (syndicated title), "Bullwinkle's Moose-A-Rama" (Nickelodeon), "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show" (Cartoon Network), or "The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends" (the DVD release title), this early cartoon from the early sixties, even preceding "The Flintstones", is a true classic.
This is really cool getting to see the rare original version knowing I only ever seen the syndicated versions back then. That's how I'm always going to remember the show is from my time watching it on Nickelodeon back in the early to late 90's. But still getting to see it how it was during the 60's is still a cool thing!
After leaving ABC's weekday line-up, Rocky and His Friends was retooled for NBC's primetime line up and retitled The Bullwinkle Show. (Repeats under the title Rocky and His Friends ran concurrently in syndication as 30-minute strips, and as The Rocky Show in 15-minute strips.) In 1989, plans were made for Disney to revive Rocky and Bullwinkle for a new TV show, under the impression that they had rights to the characters (they in fact had home video distribution rights and nothing more). When they found out that MCA/Universal had the rights to the characters, Disney quickly churned out a replacement--Darkwing Duck.
After that, most of the segments from both “Rocky and His Friends” and “The Bullwinkle Show” were later appeared in syndication as part of “Tennessee Tuxedo And His Tales”, because Total TV produced that show where they borrowed Jay Ward’s material, and also appeared again in syndication as “Uncle Waldo’s Cartoon Show” with Hoppity Hooper.
Frank Comstock's themes for Rocky and Bulwinkle indoctrinated at least a generation of children in modern dissonant music. Rocky's theme (NOT the Fred Steiner one) has some especially odd harmonies that stuck with me all my life.
Pretty cool seeing the original "ROCKY THE FLYING SQUIRREL" title animations! I'm mostly used to the post-1961 versions that edited in a title card saying "THE ADVENTURES OF BULLWINKLE AND ROCKY" (on DVD, this new title would be replaced with the modern Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends logo.)
Same here. No idea why the card was inserted in the first place, outside of equal billing for Rocky and Bullwinkle. However, that meant that Bullwinkle's name appears twice! ("featuring Bullwinkle the Moose")
@@brotftheyhaveusernamesnow *Sigh* And once again, RU-vid makes a video unavailable (replying to your comment above.) Writing this in the year 2020 in the month of October, on the 21st day.
Alternate version for syndicated edition of show [1:08]- ROCKY: "NOW, what are you doing?" BULLWINKLE: "Writin' my autograph! Les'see....'John Smith'!" ROCKY: "But your name is BULLWINKLE!" BULLWINKLE: "I know- but that's hard to spell...."
Even in black and white and slightly out of sync, how great to see the actual title instead of that tacky, unmatching "Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends" logo they superimposed onto the picture for the DVDs. Of course even that is better than the synthesized music Disney invaded the VHS set with in the '90s. Why can't home video packagers leave things alone?
Does anyone remember, of have footage, of the closing w the hour glass where the General Mills "G" was on a swing and said, w a creepy voice, 'this show has been brought to you by General Mills." Boy oh boy did that scare the bejabbers out of me as a kid. Would love to see it now. Thanks for posting thes
The little bits of the end of the episode shows this came for the original release of the "Whailing Whale" story arc. It also proves that the DVD does not have it grouped with the right side features. The main story arcs might be in the original broadcast order, but the other stuff isn't. Why did they have to change all of the themes on the DVD anyway? I get some music rights things, but when Rocky and Bullwinkle can't use their own theme there's something wrong. I've been getting out my VHS tapes from the early 2000s to find as much with the original music as I could. [Cartoon Network's "You Call This A Marathon" Marathon was on the same day I went to see the movie in theaters. The marathon included "The Ruby Yacht" and "Wossamatta U".]
This is SOOOO cool -- I remember all these intros -- but it's been at least 50 years since I've seen some of them! Thanks for the trip down memory lane! :)
+Juliaflo Probably so. I was 5 years old in 1960. I hadn't seen a lot of theses opening/closings since I was a kid, so it was a great trip down memory lane! :)
When I was at CDS, I saw Karla Poore,and I did an impression of Bullwinkle, and Karla howled with laughter. "Hey, Rocky! Watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat!! Presto!" she said, and laughed. "Hey, Rocky?? Watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat?? What's Ruggieri's last name?? What is this, Mark Weintraub?? Are you making Karla laugh at you?? It's no wonder that Karla laughs at you!! You make ANYONE laugh at you, you're so funny!! You're Mr. Hilarious, that's who you are, indeed!" Yvonne said. -Mark Weintraub.
2:20 scared Hell out of me . Running in a lightning storm, struck at the top of the mountain, their bodies invert, and following a strange transformation, they rise out of the ground.
That seemed to scare everyone, lol. For me, it was the General Mills "G" on a swing w/the creepy voice at the end (during the Hourglass closing.) I wish it was on this clip.
Thank you so much for doing this!! I've been a major Rocky and Bullwinkle fan my whole life and have been searching for a comprehensive list of all the ipenings/music a d sound effects lost to the "Digital restoration" process. 😅 Granted, there are a few if these even I didn't know because the tapes I had were from the 80's
It's really strange to see how different the little title and intermission segments were during the show's original run. Ever more surreal to see the titles used then compared to the syndicated titles and the ones used in the DVD. Thanks for uploading! :D
True. It's kinda rare to see fans of the show these days. Btw, I made a channel and posted some episodes from one of the tapes Just for Kids released. The channel's called StarStreetTV.
No "Eenie meenie chili beanie the spirits are about to speak!" But this is a good compilation. Ever notice how Sherman (who doesn't have a speaking part here) sounds an awful lot like Rocky? Hmmm... Well, anyway, he was voiced not by June Foray, but by Walter Tetley.
Walter Tetley was among those male voice actors who suffered from a glandular disorder that prevented his voice from maturing from boy to man. Dick Beals was another.
Don't forget that June Foray's wonderful animation career continued well after "Rocky and His Friends" left the air. She went on to do several successful animated shows on TV, such as the likeable Grammi Gummi in "Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears" (1985-91) and also as both Jokey Smurf and the very grandmotherly Mother Nature in "The Smurfs"(1981-90). In 1998, June voiced her last ever character when she gave life to the funny Grandmother Fa in Disney's "Mulan". June opened the door for a lot talented voice actresses-Verna Felton, Kathryn Beaumont,Jean Vanderpyle,Janet Waldo,Mae Questel, Jane Webb,Nancy Cartwright and Tress McNeille.
***** From what I remember, Jay Ward's own studio did the animation for many of the General Mills ads. The only exception I can guess is the "Gee what goodness" jingle at the start, which Gamma or some other studio probably did.
+Quentin T. If you reference my post to daffy 2006..Jay Ward Productions had total control over the franchise,from commercials to contacts with the NBC affiliates...the only thing that was different was that each affiliate could choose which side episodes to use along with the main Rocky episode for that particular week..some weeks it was Peabody and Sherman with the FFT's or it could be Aesop and Son...The Affiliates had to return all of the previous week's episode(including splices) to JWP by Tuesday or they would not get the current week;s episode...
Been trying to figure out who the busts in the Peabody closing titles were. I think Julius Cesar is the one next to the janitor, and George Washington is there too
The Jay Ward cartoons were the best; I actually put them in front of Warner Bros, though they're a close second. The animation in the Jay Ward cartoons was secondary to the dialogue, which across the short segments was just as suitable for adult audiences. Aesop, Fractured Fairy Tales, Peabody & Sherman, and so many distinct voice-overs -- William Conrad, June Foray, and Edward Everett Horton being three of them. These toons take me back to my earliest memories of childhood - back to the age of 4 or 5. The first bookmark for my life.
Well actually the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons were inspired by Warner Bros cartoons as a matter of fact Bill Scott used to work for Warner Bros/Leon Schlesinger as a writer during the late 40s.
I see at 7:12 you have the rare hourglass close, however, the part that freaked me out as a kid, was what was clearly edited out-it was the "G" (for General Mills) on a swing saying "this show was brought to you by General Mills." Idk how you got all this footage, but if there is anyway you can show that part too... Id truly like to see what scared me so. It seems impossible to find. Thanks.
Alternate version for "network" edition [7:09]- ROCKY: "Well, it looks as if our time has just about run out!" BULLWINKLE: "Hmmm.....just enough time to tell 'em who the sponsor was..." (insert closing sponsor I.D. here)
Some of the music sounds different for the opening and closing of Peabody and Sherman and for the segment/bumper where Rocky and Bullwinkle fall of the cliff and pop up from the ground.
Frank Comstock provided the music for the original "Rocky And His Friends". After the network jump, re-runs of the "Rocky" seasons featured new music by Fred Steiner, who also did the music for "The Bullwinkle Show". The Fred Steiner music is all you'll hear on the DVD releases, as well as the international versions.
I used to work with a black guy a long time ago who looked like that smiling sun with the closed eyes at 2:25...Troy was his name...they say he dead...
I was 8 yrs. old in 1960, Used to watch this show everyday. Love the music. Didn't like the new music when "The Bullwinkle Show" came out sever years later. BTW, the short where R and B pop their heads out of the field with the sun.....what drugs were they on when they did this?
For one episode of "The Simpsons" (it was the one where Homer joins the Army), the couch gag pays tribute to Jay Ward and Bullwinkle,with the thunderstorm and instead of Rocky and Bullwinkle's heads pulling out, but all of the Simpsons heads pop out in the field with the sun with Bart spitting out a flower pot. Funny!
@@Rwb... and I’ve been freaked out by the General Mills “G” on the swing at the closing w the hourglass (edited out here.) Funny how these things can stay w us. I’d love to see it as an adult but is impossible to find.
Some of this music isn't all _that_ rare: at least, the syndication package by The Program Exchange retained these for the most part, with some minor exceptions, such as AESOP AND SON, and this particular PEABODY'S IMPROBABLY HISTORY intro utilizing Fred Steiner's themes. Even on some occasions, the flowers intermezzo would use this Frank Comstock theme, particular episodes from the final season.
As before The Bullwinkle Show on NBC, this one looks way early during ABC’s first 2 seasons of Rocky and his friends (The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends)
I have a color 16mm of that opening sequence, but have never before seen that Cheerios commercial with Boris. I just received a color 16mm of The Rocky Show with the original General Mills sponsor billboard, different from the one you have here.
This is so obviously a kinescope of the syndicated version of the openings and closings, but wow, to own a kinescope or copy somehow of the actual network opening, where the music didn’t suddenly disappear for the sponsor mention. Yes, there was actually a sponsor worked into the opening of the program! Sure wish I had it, because this is how I remember the program. It’s nice to see this little section of it though. Anyway, this is the second season opening, not the first. If anyone has the first season, please include it.
The sponsor was also omitted here during the Hour Glass closing. (You can see where it was cut out.) That talking G on a swing, really used to scare me, lol.
The weirdest part is that I recognize some of this music - the music from Peabody & Sherman, Fractured Fairytales, and the Rocky and Bullwinkle clip where they're in the snow and they roll down the mountain. I know people are saying the newer music was used in syndication, but did some reruns use this music? Because I'm under 30 so obviously didn't see it originally, but I definitely remember some of this music!
That's cool. I knew it was originally called "The Rocky Show," my question is when did they change it to the more familiar "Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends" opening. I know Bill Scott and William Conrad were deceased long before the DVDs came out. Did they change the opening for syndication? Does anyone have any info on this? This really gets my curiousity going.
The series was originally titled "ROCKY AND HIS FRIENDS" when it was on ABC- on Tuesday, Thursday, and eventually, Sunday afternoons at 5:30pm(et)- from 1959 through '61. Then, NBC presented "THE BULLWINKLE SHOW" from 1961 through '64.....and repeated under that title on ABC through 1973- and in syndication as well. The first season on "ROCKY" was repackaged in syndication as "THE ROCKY SHOW" IN 1960-'61....and also in syndication. For DVD and some syndicated releases in the early 2000's, the title became "ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE AND FRIENDS", with Fred Steiner's alternate theme replacing the original by Frank Comstock.
+Barry I. Grauman Thanks for that info. It would have been nice if the DVD's would have kept the original titles intact, but I guess they didn't want to release ROCKY & HIS FRIENDS and THE BULLWINKLE SHOW separately. I guess they used a sound alike to redub William Conrad's line when ROCKY & HIS FRIENDS became THE ADVENTURES OF ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE AND FRIENDS. Plus Rocky and Bullwinkle's lines were replaced in the DVDs as well. I wonder if they got sound alikes of Bill Scott and June Foray. I know June Foray is still around, but her Rocky voice probably would have sounded different when the new opening was made. This is a good look at history. But like I said, it really gets my curiosity going. But anyway, thanks again. This is interesting information.
+Daffyfan2006 On the DVDs, Jay Ward`s daughter insisted that it be called THE ADVENTURES OF ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE AND FRIENDS because she says that`s what Jay Ward always wanted it to be, resulting in irritating and unnecessary changes (at which time they also started screwing around with the music in the intros and closings). Australian voice actor Keith Scott (no relation to Bill Scott) is the guy doing the replacement announcement for the late William Conrad (he also does the voices of Bullwinkle [and, I think] Boris and the narrators in modern-day Jay Ward projects) and who, in fact, was a long-time friend of Bill Scott and Jay Ward`s and, as an historian, has written the book THE MOOSE THAT ROARED! I think the changes in R&B`s lines about the sponser in the intro were originally done in the 60s for a syndicated version, but that`s only a guess.
+David Farley Actually, I think I`m wrong about the music. They changed some of it for syndicated show, but music on the DVDs are probably the original network versions.
+David Farley That's interesting info. I just wonder why Jay didn't call it THE ADVENTURES OF ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE AND FRIENDS in the first place though since that's what he wanted it to be called. I should have guessed that Keith Scott did the Bill Conrad imitation in the DVD since he imitated Bill's voice at the narrator in the 2000 movie. That was classic.
That's not the main title of The Bullwinkle Show that I remember. It was similar to the ending titles... a theater district theme with searchlights, marques, and fast-tempo, rousing music.
Not the way I remember it. "The Bullwinkle Show" aired following "Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom" on NBC's Sunday line-up, just before "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color". :-)
Exactly- a "typical" Aesop & Son story might focus on a cowardly hare who discovers that if he wiggles his ears a certain way (thanks to his "agent", a frog), he becomes "Top Critter"....only to discover he's TOO confident if he tries it on someone that has "a stronger gimmick". "Peabody's Improbable History" has Mr,.Peabody- a super-intelligent dog- and his "boy", Sherman, always correcting an irregular aspect in time, and make history "truthful" {i.e. getting Marconi to invent the radio}.
Don't forget about "The Fractured Fairy Tales" narrated by Edward Everett Horton. Both openings were funny. The original had an elf holding the sign, but a giant ruins the sign and the elf kicks the giant in the knee. Next, a fairy opens the book and turns turns the pages, but as the fairy bows,the book snaps shut with the fairy still inside. These were parodies of popular fairy tales with updates.