The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (2000)

An inoffensive children's film which is liable to puzzle British viewers with no prior knowledge of Jay Ward's apparently seminal early 1960s TV cartoon (think Dangermouse), especially since American affection for the show has attracted some vastly overqualified names to the cast. Robert DeNiro overbalances the whole thing as 'Fearless Leader', a fairly minor character, while Rene Russo (very good) and Jason Alexander (fair only) are Pottsylvanian spies Boris and Natasha, previously played by Sally Kellerman and Dave Thomas in a forgotten all-live-action spin on the same material, Boris and Natasha. The three villains escape from cartoonland to Hollywood by emerging through a TV set in the office of Minnie Mogul (Janeane Garofalo) then become live-action threats, planning to zombify America with Really Bad Television (lots of shows about spies – which doesn't seem quite bad enough compared to real US TV), but the cartoon flying squirrel and dumb moose follow to team up with inept FBI agent Karen Sympathy (Piper Perabo) and set off across America to thwart the schemes. Mildly pleasant jinx ensue. There's one good Roger Rabbit joke, as DeNiro insists this film is nothing like that, and a strange not-actually-funny moment when he reprises his 'you talkin' to me?' Taxi Driver speech in a silly cartoon accent. Perabo is winning, but the 3D-ised cartoon squirrel (who has to learn how to fly again) and moose just don't work, even with original voice star June Foray called in to do a series of outrageously bad puns. Its eclectic cast includes current kids' TV nonentities Kenan and Kel (who blithely assume they'll never become reruns), Randy Quaid as the head of the FBI, Philip Rebhorn as dim President Will Signoff, Carl Reiner, Norman Lloyd and Whoopi Goldberg as Judge Cameo (who rules that celebrities are above the law).

First published in this form here.

Visit Kim's Official Website at www.johnnyalucard.com