Western Animation / Rocky and Bullwinkle (2014)

"Hey, Rocky... I think she likes you."

Rocky and Bullwinkle (or, as the cliffhanger puts it, Another Fine Moose You've Gotten Me Into!! or The Man In The Iron Moose!) is a 2014 DreamWorks Animation short film directed by Gary Trousdale of Beauty and the Beast fame, based on Jay Ward's characters of the same name. Originally planned to be released theatrically before Mr. Peabody & Sherman, it was instead put on the film's Blu-ray 3D release as a bonus feature on October 14, 2014.

After trying for more than fifty years to murder Rocky and Bullwinkle with no success, Fearless Leader puts his newest plan into action, which is to get Bullwinkle to fall in love with a killer robot, designed to resemble a female moose, that will do him and Rocky in when they least suspect it. Meanwhile, Rocky and Bullwinkle head back to Frostbite Falls after rescuing a Mayan princess to attend a special day at a town ceremony made in their honor, at which moment Boris comes in, manning the Lady Moosebot, and tries failure after failure to end the mindless moose's life.

Tropes:

• Adaptational Dye-Job: Boris has Caucasian skin in this short as opposed to the completely white skin he had in other Rocky and Bullwinkle media.
• Animal Gender-Bender: Granted, it's just a robot and not an actual moose, but the killer robot moose, while clearly designed to be feminine in appearance, has antlers, which real female moose don't have
• Answer Cut: After so many years of the viewers wondering just why Fearless Leader wants Rocky and Bullwinkle dead so badly, this short finally confirms his motivation for doing so during the impromptu sword fight between Natasha and Rocky.
  Rocky: I still don't understand. After all these years, why does Fearless Leader wanna kill us anyway?
  Natasha: If you saw his rumpus room, you would totally get it.
  (Cut to two empty trophy mounts on a wall respectively labeled "Moose" and "Squirrel"; the camera zooms out to show Fearless Leader sitting by the fireplace, surrounded by trophies of several other animals he has apparently successfully killed in the past)
• Any Last Words?: Natasha has Rocky at her mercy during the mock-sword fight and threatens him just as Boris is falling from the sky towards her.
  Natasha: Any last words, squirrel?
  Rocky: Look up there!
  Natasha: Please, that is oldest trick in the- (gets hit by a falling Boris and is knocked into the ocean with him)
• Ash Face: Boris and Natasha are covered in soot after the self-destructing robot moose lands on them and explodes.
• Brain/Computer Interface: Boris assumes that this is how he controls the Lady Moosebot upon seeing it for the first time, via by linking through it through a plug in his cerebral cortex. However, Fearless Leader states that although they were considering something like that, budget cuts prevented them from doing so, thus forcing him and Natasha to stuff Boris inside the robot instead.
• Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs: As she, Boris and Fearless Leader pass through the conveyor belt to the latter's newest invention, Natasha lists dynamite, scorpions and dynamite tied to scorpions as some of their unsuccessful attempts to off Rocky and Bullwinkle.
• Brick Joke: During the dance between Bullwinkle and the robot moose, Boris is hit by a bowling ball that was somehow present inside the robot, prompting him to question who kept it in there. Then, during the mid-credits sequence, Fearless Leader is about to go bowling in his rumpus room when he cannot find his bowling ball and questions his unseen mother if she has seen it. She replies by asking him if he looked in his killer robot, at which point Fearless Leader realizes he has kept said ball in the robot all along.
• Butt-Monkey:
  • To no one's surprise, Boris Badenov, continuously failing to kill Bullwinkle while piloting the Lady Moosebot.
  • To a lesser extent, Snidely Whiplash. When the Lady Moosebot blasts fire from its eyes that torch the tops of glasses with champagne, Snidely's hat is also set on fire. And then, when the robot moose slices part of the wedding cake with a chainsaw from its head, he is the only one who does not end up with a slice on his plate.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall:
  • Rocky and Bullwinkle address the narrator when he finally returns to them after fifty years (assuming the short takes place in 2014).
    Narrator: When we last left our intrepid duo...
    Rocky: For one thing, it was 1964.
    Bullwinkle: Yeah, how long did you expect us to stay frozen like this? (clutches his groin) I could use a potty break!
  • When we first see Snidely Whiplash at the wedding, he introduces himself to us with "Snidely Whiplash, friend of the bride" and flashes a Slasher Smile at the audience.
  • When Rocky flies in to interrupt the wedding between Bullwinkle and the killer robot moose:
    Narrator: Is this the end of Bullwinkle J. Moose's bachelor days? Will Rocky the flying squirrel save his friend in time?
    Boris: (still inside the robot moose) Will I ever go to normal toilet again?
  • After Bullwinkle and the robot moose are "married" and kiss:
    Boris: (sadly shedding a tear) I always cry at weddings... (to the audience) now, let's change to kill moose and squirrel!
• Celebrating the Heroes: After making it back to Frostbite Falls, Rocky and Bullwinkle attend a town ceremony celebrating a special day named after them. Little do they know, it's Boris' cue to enter, disguised as and piloting the killer robot moose.
• Chirping Crickets: Heard during the "Poetry Corner" segment after Bullwinkle stops himself from inadvertently cussing while reciting Eminem's "Superman" as if it were a poem.
• Cool Key: During the Rocky and Bullwinkle Day celebration in Frostbite Falls, the mayor bestows the key to the city upon our heroes.
• Cliffhanger: Happens in the middle of the short when Rocky shows up to intervene at the wedding, bringing in a "Poetry Corner" segment that is ended prematurely due to Bullwinkle's inability to recite "Superman" without dropping any of the curse words present in it. Afterwards, we go back to Rocky interrupting the wedding, and the short continues as normal.
• Curse Cut Short: Bullwinkle should've picked a cleaner song for his "Poetry Corner" segment...
  Bullwinkle: They call me Superman
  Leap tall
  Superman ain't savin' sh- (realizes he is about to say the word "shit") WHOA!
  (pauses for a moment and flips through the pages to see if he can finish the song without cursing, to no avail) Okay, that is all for today! Next week, the complete works of Mr. Fifty Cents!
• Crossover Cameo: Dudley Do-Right and Snidely Whiplash make guest appearances as attendants of Bullwinkle and the Lady Moosebot's wedding.
• Dartboard of Hate: At the beginning, Fearless Leader tries to toss a machete at a dartboard pinned with a picture of Rocky and Bullwinkle, which misses and hits the wall around it instead. And judging by the darts, machetes and axes that have previously failed to nail the photo, it suggests that Fearless Leader's inability to successfully harm our heroes extends to a photograph taken of them.
• The Ditz: Bullwinkle, like he usually is. He immediately falls head over heels for the female robot moose out to kill him and doesn't even notice its awkward movements and obviously mechanical parts.
• Either/Or Title: A classic Rocky and Bullwinkle tradition.
  Narrator: Tune in next time for "Another Fine Moose You've Gotten Me Into!!" or "The Man In The Iron Moose!"
• Flat Joy: The audience at the Rocky and Bullwinkle Day ceremony cheer for our heroes by tossing their hats in the air and saying a bland, boring-sounding "Yay". The attendants at the wedding also do this when Bullwinkle and the robot moose kiss, when their champagne glasses get torched, and when they get slices of the wedding cake.
• Go-Karting with Bowser: Dudley Do-Right and Snidely Whiplash attend the wedding between Bullwinkle and the killer robot moose with none of their usual rivalry present. The Mayan people who tried to sacrifice our heroes at the beginning of the short are also present at the wedding.
• Harmless Electrocution: When Bullwinkle and the Lady Moosebot are "married", they exchange a kiss, which results in the former being electrocuted.
• Heart Symbol: Red hearts appear around Bullwinkle once he sees the killer robot moose for the first time.
• Here We Go Again!: With Boris and Natasha defeated and the Lady Moosebot destroyed, Bullwinkle vows to never let anything come between him and Rocky again, only for the latter to notice a robot squirrel with a lit fuse on its head walking up to the two and become smitten with it.
  Bullwinkle: Hey, Rocky... I think she likes you.
• Human Sacrifice: As a "reward" for rescuing the Mayan princess, the Mayan chief gives Rocky and Bullwinkle their "greatest honor", which is to be sacrificed and have their hearts cut out. Rocky even lampshades how surprisingly deadly the "reward" is, and when Bullwinkle questions what they do for punishment, the Mayan chief assures them it's the same thing, minus the necklaces.
• Humiliation Conga: Boris falls on Natasha after a parachute doesn't come out of his backpack, knocking both of them off of the cruise ship and into the ocean. Then, Rocky propels the self-destructing robot moose out of the ship and onto the two villains, blowing them up instead. And finally, they are eaten by a shark from below for good measure.
• Killer Robot: A moose-esque robot built by Fearless Leader serves as the short's main conflict, with Boris controlling it from inside and attempting without any success to harm Bullwinkle, and later, Rocky.
• Lame Pun Reaction: Near the end of the short, after Bullwinkle is saved from the killer robot moose's impending explosion.
  Narrator: And so, all's well that ends well for our high-flying friend and his lowbrow companion! I think it's safe to say that these boys really... put the "moan"... in matrimony. (the characters cringe at the narrator's lame pun)
• Law of Inverse Recoil: While riding a tandem bike with Bullwinkle, Boris tries to blast him with a cannon from the Lady Moosebot. However, when he blasts the cannon, the robot is instead shot backwards while the cannonball stays suspended in the air for a while and falls down afterwards.
• Letting the Air out of the Band: Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" winds down as a dejected Rocky receives an invitation to Bullwinkle and the Lady Moosebot's wedding in the mail.
• Logo Joke: Rocky is seen on the moon in the DreamWorks logo at the beginning and inadvertently reels in Bullwinkle.
• Manly Tears: Boris sheds tears when he remarks how he always cries at weddings, then abruptly brushes it off when he again tries to kill Bullwinkle.
• Mayincatec: After the cold opening with the villains, the short begins with Rocky and Bullwinkle atop a Mayan temple to rescue a princess from an unknown perilous situation. They are also shown being confronted by the spear-wielding Mayan people and are even about to be sacrificed by them, prompting them to hightail it out and back to Frostbite Falls.
• Mythology Gag: In terms of music, an abridged version of The Bullwinkle Show theme song is heard during the title card.
• Painted Tunnel, Real Train: Implied. Boris mentions "painting tunnels on sides of buildings" as one of their many unsuccessful attempts to catch Rocky and Bullwinkle.
• Piranha Problem: The slideshow that recaps what Rocky and Bullwinkle did on their way to rescue the Mayan princess shows a picture of the moose and squirrel swimming underwater with a shoal of piranhas hot on their tails.
• Potty Dance: Bullwinkle does this when he says to the narrator that he could use a bathroom break from being left hanging for so long.
• Replacement Goldfish: When Bullwinkle becomes too smitten with the robot moose to hang out with Rocky, the latter is reduced to riding a tandem bike and playing ping pong with a stand-up photo of Bullwinkle, and in the winter, a snowman in the moose's likeness.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Rocky and Bullwinkle know it is a good time to race out of the Mayan temple and back to Frostbite Falls when they find out that their "reward" for saving the Mayan princess is a sacrifice which involves their hearts being cut out.
• Self-Destruct Mechanism: After all of his attempts to do in Bullwinkle in the Lady Moosebot fail, Boris eventually presses "Last Resort" on the control screen, which causes the robot to emit smoke from the sides of its head as Boris ejects himself out of it. Then, after Boris and Natasha are knocked off of the cruise ship, Rocky saves Bullwinkle from being blown up by stomping on a floorboard which propels the robot moose from the cruise ship as well, where it lands on Boris and Natasha and blows them up instead.
• Shout-Out: To another DreamWorks property. When the missiles from the Lady Moosebot fail to hit Bullwinkle, who has conveniently ducked just in time to pick up a penny, and destroy all of the balloons in a funfair attraction instead, the owner of the attraction gives Bullwinkle a giant Shrek plush as a prize; Bullwinkle then gives the plush to the robot moose, knocking it down and Boris inside.
• Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace: Captain Peachfuzz, serving as the priest of the wedding, naturally says this before Rocky flies in to intervene.
• The Stinger: After the main credits roll, we get a scene where Fearless Leader is about to go bowling in his rumpus room, but is unable to find the bowling ball needed to play it and asks his mother if she has seen it. He then realizes he has been keeping it in the Lady Moosebot all along when she replies if he looked inside of it.
• Stock Audio Clip: When the "Poetry Corner" title card is displayed, we hear a recording of Rocky from the original series saying "Now here's something we hope you'll really like!".
• Sword Fight: Natasha and Rocky engage in one when the latter tries to stop Boris from trying to kill Bullwinkle, using a kebab skewer and a knife, respectively.
• Tempting Fate: After Boris and Natasha are knocked off of the cruise ship and blown up by the self-destructing Lady Moosebot:
  Boris: Ha! It will take more than that to do in Boris Badenov!
  (A shark appears out of nowhere from below and devours him and Natasha)
  Boris: Me and my big mouth...
• To Know Him, I Must Become Him: When Fearless Leader is about to unveil the Lady Moosebot to Boris and Natasha:
  Fearless Leader: To catch moose, you must become moose!
• The End: Appears after the mid-credits scene with Fearless Leader.
• Threatening Shark: Not long after they are blown up by the robot moose, Boris and Natasha are swallowed whole by a shark from below.
• Toon Physics: In a gag that wouldn't be out of place in a Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner cartoon, the Lady Moosebot uses its ice skates as buzzsaws to slice a heart in the ice around Bullwinkle, expecting it to fall and take him with it. Instead, the rest of the ice around Bullwinkle falls with the robot moose still on it, leaving Bullwinkle standing on a heart-sized platform of ice in the middle of the pond.
• Vaudeville Hook: Miss Frostbite Falls, the beauty queen at the Rocky and Bullwinkle Day ceremony, is yanked away in this manner by Natasha, who just as quickly replaces the mayor's speech with another one that ends with "Miss Moosylvania".
• Villains Out Shopping: Snidely Whiplash is among the attendants of the wedding on the cruise ship, and other than flashing a sneaky smile when introducing himself to the audience, he's not in the act of committing any evil deeds. However, he does suffer some bad luck there, like having his hat set on fire and failing to get a slice of cake on his plate, both courtesy of the killer robot moose.
• Wingding Eyes: As he is awkwardly making his way onto the stage in the Lady Moosebot, Boris flicks a switch inside labeled "Flirt", which causes the robot to assume heart-shaped pupils and attract Bullwinkle to it. An illustration of a love-stricken Bullwinkle with heart-shaped eyes is also seen during the second credits roll.
• Wrong Parachute Gag: After activating the Self-Destruct Mechanism in the killer robot moose and ejecting himself out of it, Boris then yanks the cord on his backpack to deploy a parachute, but instead receives a note that reads "I owe you one parachute. Signed, Fearless Leader". He then falls back down, lands on Natasha and falls off of the cruise ship with her.
• You Didn't See That: Boris is knocked out of the Lady Moosebot when Bullwinkle spins it around for the dance party at their wedding. He quickly rushes back inside, telling everyone to "Pay no attention to the man in the moose's butt!", but Rocky already finds out and tries to stop him.