The Moose That Roared: The Story of Jay Ward, Bill Scott, a Flying Squirrel, and a Talking Moose

by Keith Scott

Overview

The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show featured some of the wittiest, most inspired, and relentlessly hilarious animation ever created. The legendary Jay Ward and Bill Scott produced the gleeful wonder and cumulative joy that transcended the crude drawings and occasionally muddy sound. Jay Ward was the magnificent visionary, the outrageous showman, while Bill Scott was the genial, brilliant head writer, coproducer, and all-purpose creative whirlwind. With exclusive interviews, original scripts, artwork, story notes, letters and memos, Keith Scott has written the definitive history of Jay Ward Productions.

The Moose That Roared tells the story of a rare and magical relationship between two artists wildly, exuberantly ahead of their time, and a fascinating account of the struggle to bring their vision of bad puns and talking animals to unforgettable life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780312283834
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	11/20/2001
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	480
Sales rank:	997,720
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.94(d)

About the Author

Keith Scott is a veteran voice artist and animation historian who became friends with his childhood idols Jay Ward and Bill Scott. He has worked extensively in animation and radio as an expert voice mimic. He recently narrated Disney's live action movie George of the Jungle, and starred as Bullwinkle J. Moose in the movie The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle.

Editorial Reviews

His enthusiasm is as infectious as that of his subjects.” —New York Times Book Review

“Rocky and Bullwinkle aficionados rejoice: here's a ripsnorting celebration of the cartoon characters and their humon creators.... Thoroughly researched and brightly written, this is a fine tribute to the famed moose and squirrel duo and their creators.” —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

Cross-marketing efforts are seldom worthwhile, but this cartoonish history of Rocky and Bullwinkle is a fabulous exception. Scott, a lifelong "cartoon junkie" and the voice of Bullwinkle in the upcoming film from Universal Pictures, delves deep into animation lore to reveal the magic and mayhem that went into the most irreverent and grown-up cartoon until The Simpsons. Rocky and Bullwinkle were invented in 1957 by two perpetually goofy guys named Jay Ward and Bill Scott (no relation to the author). When the two men persuaded a distribution company to fund a series based on their characters, a legend was born. The Rocky and Bullwinkle adventures were unlike any cartoon on TV: topical (the Cold War was a favorite subtext), self-referential ("Have you forgotten, Bullwinkle--we're TV heroes!" cries Rocky in one episode) and unapologetically sophisticated (references to Dostoyevski and Aesop were not atypical). But above all, Scott insists, the Rocky and Bullwinkle show was often outrageously, sometimes painfully, funny. The mismatched duo (a squirrel and a moose) entertained adults and children alike for six years and 326 episodes. Although Jay Ward and Bill Scott created a gaggle of other popular cartoon characters--including Dudley Do-Right, George of the Jungle and Cap'n Crunch--Rocky and Bullwinkle were always their favorites. Scott's enthusiasm for his subject is infectious--when he veers into giddiness, it's forgivable, perhaps even appropriate to this delightful salute to the most famous flying squirrel and dimwitted moose in history. (July) FYI: The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, starring Robert De Niro, Rene Russo, George Alexander and the author, will be released June 30. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Rocky the Flying Squirrel and Bullwinkle J. Moose, Frostbite Falls, MN s most popular residents, are returning to active duty this summer in a feature-length film combining live action with animation. This book is not just the inside story of their animated adventures but the whirlwind tale of the creative successes and frustrations of Jay Ward and Bill Scott, the duo who introduced them. Behind-the-scenes information about Jay Ward Productions (both before and after Rocky and Bullwinkle) makes this book valuable to both animation historians and ordinary cartoon buffs. A superlative reference section serves up convenient and detailed episode information not only on each Rocky and Bullwinkle feature but on all of Jay Ward s creations from the 1940s through the 1980s, including Dudley Do-Right and George of the Jungle. Actor and cartoon historian Scott will supply the voice of Bullwinkle in the movie. A logical purchase for most public libraries. David M. Lisa, Mercyhurst Coll. Lib., Erie, PA Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Rocky and Bullwinkle aficionados, rejoice: here's a ripsnorting celebration of the cartoon characters and their human creators. A voice actor who works mostly in Australia, Scott has been an ardent admirer of Bullwinkle T. Moose and Rocky Squirrel since childhood—the kind of fan who pestered the cartoon's production company until it finally gave in and allowed him access to the key players, led by Jay Ward and Bill Scott. (He also got to do his beloved moose's voice in the forthcoming Rocky and Bullwinkle movie.) His history of the series, written over many years, is full of anecdotes about the team's improbable success with their sarcastic parody of Cold War-era politics, a pun- and double entendre-riddled send-up of "intrigues, spies and history" that first aired in 1959 and enjoyed a cult following for years to come. Born from the ashes of an earlier ("pretty primitive") cartoon series called Crusader Rabbit, Rocky and His Friends (those friends being, of course, the likes of Dudley Do-right, Sherman and Peabody, Boris and Natasha), the show was startlingly fresh, even downright subversive. Its corporate sponsors, chief among them the food-production giant General Mills, didn't quite know what to make of the proceedings and raised frequent objections to matters of content (demanding, for instance, that the word "darn" be removed from a script on the grounds that its use would inspire young viewers to take up swearing). Ward and company, however, generally prevailed, and they inspired others to raise the kiddie-show bar. Their enduring work, writes Scott, reminds us "of a time when the sole purpose of cartoons was laughter—not tie-ins withunprepossessingplush toys, or the dictums of network censors concerned with cutting jokes and substituting tedious ‘new age' relevance." Thoroughly researched and brightly written, this is fine tribute to the famed moose and squirrel duo and their creators.

Kirkus Reviews