Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends: Complete Season 3

Rocky and Bullwinkle is one of those rare TV shows that actually kept getting better as the seasons went on instead of experiencing a decline in quality. This DVD set consisting of the third season of the misadventures of the moose and squirrel is sure to please longtime fans of the work of Jay Ward. While the set isn't perfect, it does include lots of material sure to make you laugh. The strong material overcomes the flawed presentation.

Example of an altered opening

Like the previous two season sets, the packaging for this set is very clever and captures the feel of the show perfectly. Be sure to take a peek inside of the DVD box after you take out the DVDs for a surprise (which I won't spoil here). Unfortunately, this set, like the previous two, have the altered show openings and closing created in 1997 for foreign syndicated TV purposes (altered theme music and the modern-day "Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends" logo digitally inserted over the original show titles). I was hoping that since the sets are now heading into the shows created for the prime-time NBC Bullwinkle Show era that they would have dug up the famous Bullwinkle Show opening (the moose dancing on stage and ending with many exploding light bulbs). Sadly, this wasn't case. I wish they had done it, because its rather jarring for these later shows to to be presented with the early Rocky and His Friends opening and closing sequences. The small "R&B" logo in the corner of the screen at the start of each segment is also once again present here.

In addition to the altered opening, the supporting segments in-between the R&B serials (Dudley Do-Right, Mr. Peabody, Aesop & Son, and Fractured Fairy Tales) don't accurately reflect how the shows originally aired. However, the more casual Ward fans will be pleased to see a good sampling of all their favorite characters are included.

It is also disappointing to report that the set also shows signs of DVNR. If you don't know what Digital Video Noise Reduction is, go take a minute and read this article and this one. It seemed more noticeable to me on this volume than on the previous sets, perhaps because the pace of the shows got faster. The DVNR is especially noticeable when characters' mouths are moving rapidly, when the screen shakes (due to a crash, explosion, etc), or when characters are running. While it doesn't totally destroy the enjoyment of the cartoons, it is sometimes very distracting and impossible to ignore. Three examples of DVNR on this DVD set are pictured below:

Example 1: A falling giant causes an off-screen crash that shakes the screen in this Fractured Fairy Tale. This causes lots of DVNR blurring.

Example 2: An elderly musketeer shakes his finger at a townsperson rapidly. You can see what DVNR has done to his hand.

Example 3: Mr. Know-It-All has trouble training his doggy. Notice how the lines have blurred and disappeared during the fast action.

I hate to dwell on the DVNR since there is a lot to enjoy about the set. These DVD season sets are a great way to enjoy the R&B cartoons. You can choose to watch the entire half-hour shows or you could just watch your favorite segments individually. It is also nice to be able to watch the shows chronologically and watch the show evolve from the slower paced Season 1 episodes to the later, fast paced, crazier Jay Ward style we are all familiar with. The Rocky and Bullwinkle stories included through the four discs of this collection are "Missouri Mish Mash", "Lazy Jay Ranch", "The Three Moosketeers", and "Topsy Turvy World". "Missouri Mish Mash" is one of the essential must-see R&B adventures with its plot revolving around the search for the famous Kirward Derby (a hat that automatically makes whoever wears it the smartest person in the world). Bullwinkle fans will also be pleased to see such memorable characters as Gidney and Cloyd the Moonmen and Captain Peter "Wrongway" Peachpuzz show up in some of these episodes.

Other highlights include the always hilarious Dudley Do-Right cartoons --- including a very funny short where Snidley Whiplash kidnaps Dudley and replaces him with a mechanical double (who turns out to be a better Mountie than the real Dudley!). There are many twisted tales by Fractured Fairy Tales including a sequel to "Jack and the Beanstalk" taking place 10 years after the original story (Jack's son is now living a life of luxury thanks to the goose who lays golden harps) and the story of "Little Fred Riding Hood". Aesop and Son present such oddball fables of "The Son of the Masked Clock" where a Jerry Lewis-type Fox attempts to give a lost watch to a convict by making many failed attempts to break into jail. Mr. Peabody and Sherman travel back in time to meet such historical figures as Jules Verne, Sir Isaac Newton, and Edgar Allen Poe. That doesn't even begin to cover everything that's included among the 33 half-hour shows here (I should also note that unlike the Season 2 box set, all the discs in Season 3 are single-sided and not double-sided).

Like the previous sets, the bonus material here is kind of skimpy. We get a short segment of clips titled "The Best of Bullwinkle Follies" (its nothing spectacular and is pretty much just filler) and a "Preview of Season 4" (one segment of "The Painting Theft" storyline). However, one piece of bonus material is excellent: a few minutes of original intros and closings of the "Bullwinkle Show" with the short-lived live-action Bullwinkle puppet. These are very funny and, yes, they even included the infamous clip of Bullwinkle encouraging the kiddies to rip the knobs off of their TV sets so they'll be sure to tune in next week. Also included are clips of the Bullwinkle puppet poking fun at NBC and Walt Disney

While Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends: Complete Season 3 set has its share of flaws these season sets from Classic Media are still the best treatment our heroes have ever got on home video. If you already have Seasons 1 and 2, than you probably need no encouragement to buy Season 3. If you are just starting to get to know the works of Jay Ward and company than this is a perfect place to start --- you'll get a chance to see that studio and its characters in their prime.

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