TV Reviews : A Gleeful Tribute to Rocky and Bullwinkle

“Of Moose and Men: The Rocky and Bullwinkle Story,” which airs at 8:45 tonight on KCET Channel 28, pays gleeful tribute to the most beloved and imaginative cartoon show of the baby-boom era.

Director Marino Amoruso and producer Benjamin Magliano (who also co-wrote the special) have assembled a collage of clips from various adventures and interviews with writers Allan Burns and Chris Hayward, director Bill Hurtz, voice actors June Foray and William Conrad, and publicist Howard Brandy.

In its better moments, “Of Moose and Men” evokes the freewheeling nuttiness (on and off screen) that earned Jay Ward’s “Bullwinkle” its loyal following. In one episode, moonmen Gidney and Cloide came to Earth seeking the Kurwood Derby, a fabulous hat that made whoever wore it the smartest man in the world. When Durward Kirby’s lawyer sent a cease-and-desist letter, Ward replied that if Kirby would promise to sue, he’d pay the attorney’s fees--for the publicity. Hayward recalls that Bullwinkle’s creators always “wrote to entertain themselves.”

Curiously, Amoruso and Magliano don’t mention that “Rocky and Bullwinkle” was made under an odd arrangement with General Mills, which owned the show, although Ward retained creative control. The animation was done on the cheap in Mexico while the directors remained in Los Angeles, which produced numerous mistakes: Sharp-eyed viewers will notice jiggling backgrounds and other errors in the clips.

Nor do they discuss the show’s widespread influence. Burns, who went on to create “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “Lou Grant,” has frequently cited Ward’s influence on his work; Matt Groening, the creator of “The Simpsons,” is a loyal “Rocky and Bullwinkle” fan.

It’s sad to note that so few of the creators are still around to enjoy the accolades “Bullwinkle” is belatedly receiving. Jay Ward died in 1989; Bill Scott, who served as co-producer, head writer and the voice of Bullwinkle, Dudley Do-Right and Mr. Peabody, died in 1985. Both men would undoubtedly be delighted by the incongruity of thick-witted Bullwinkle on PBS.