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As Cars 2 races into theaters and IMAX screens this weekend, I couldn’t help but think that it isn’t summer without a wide-appealing kids film. While some hit (most likely Cars 2) and some flop (see you never, Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer), 11 years ago another children’s film was released trying to appeal to all ages.

The movie was The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle.

Now you might be asking, “They made that into a movie?” And the answer is, “Yes, and it is fairly good.”

With a budget of $76 million, Universal Studios obviously had a lot of hope that Rocky & Bullwinkle would be a hit able to appeal to little kids, their parents and grandparents who watched the show. With potential amusement park rides, toys, stuffed animals, and the show back in syndication, Universal would have made a mint if they could revitalize the franchise that ended its TV run in 1964.

While the film did not restart the Rocky & Bullwinkle franchise, it can be dubiously noted for starting the trend of taking 2D cartoons and setting them in the real world with CGI-animal stars.

I barely remember watching the film in theaters (granted, I was nine), but I must have enjoyed it somewhat since it turns out that I own the film on DVD. Not touching the DVD since probably the day I got it, I popped it into the Blu-Ray player to sit through what I was expecting to be a painful 92 minutes.

However, I was pleasantly surprised on how biting the film was. Cynicism at its finest; The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle starts out in classic hand-drawn format where it turns out our titular heroes have been stuck in reruns since 1964. Meanwhile, arch nemesis Fearless Leader (played by… Robert De Niro?!?!?!) and his henchmen Boris (Jason Alexander) and Natasha (Rene Russo) have escaped from TV by convincing a movie executive to greenlight the series into a live action film. Fearless Leader then wreaks havoc on the real world by brainwashing Americans through their television sets to vote him President.

FBI Agent Karen Sympathy (Piper Perabo) is sent to get Rocky and Bullwinkle out of syndication to thwart Fearless’s plans and reintroduce her childhood heroes to a new generation.

Taking Hollywood literally, screenwriter Kenneth Lonergan (Analyze This, Gangs of New York) constantly zings the movie industry left and right. For instance, we see a studio executive shredding scripts because they are, “Too intelligent,” and a judge letting a certain character out of prison, because “Celebrities are above the law.” But we also get Rocky and Bullwinkle’s classic goofy wordplay that can appeal to the humor of a six-year-old, 16-year-old, and even a 60-year-old. This is where the movie succeeds. But with its shockingly pessimistic behind-the-scenes look at the entertainment industry, it is easy to see why little kids would be off put by the film. With the trailer highlighting none of the witty, adult-oriented jokes, it is even easier to see why there was no audience traction.

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