As the picture begins, the duo (also known as "Moose and Squirrel" by their enemies) are living in an animated forest. Their show has long been cancelled, and occasionally a royalty check for 3 1/2 cents shows up in the mail. Meanwhile, their old nemesis Fearless Leader has left the cartoon world and entered the real world (he's played by Robert DeNiro). He has brought Boris (Jason Alexander) and Natasha (Rene Russo) along with him. Of course, they have a scheme to gain world control; using really bad TV shows, they plan to zombify the nation. The FBI gets wind of what's happened and assigns a young agent named Karen Sympathy (Piper Perabo) to stop them. To do so, she must locate Rocky and Bullwinkle and bring them into the real world as well. (Note: they play themselves.)

Moose and Squirrel are quite surprised to be called back into action; so surprised, in fact, that they initially don't realize that they're in the real world. (They remark that everything seems to be drawn more realistically these days.) With Karen, they must make their way to New York to stop the baddies from launching their bad-TV network. Boris and Natasha try to stop them before they can foil the sinister plan. The journey leads from Washington to Whattsamotta U, Bullwinkle's famous alma mater.

Rocket J. Squirrel, Bullwinkle Moose, and Piper Perabo

As in the original cartoons, The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle makes continual self-reference. The movie is silly, knows it's silly, and goes out of its way to tell you that it knows it's silly. The characters break down the fourth wall at every turn, commenting upon their own corny jokes, as well as the numerous contrivances that constitute the plot. I always got a kick out of this self-referential style of humor. Winking at the camera too much can be deadly, but because Rocky and Bullwinkle are animated, they get away with a lot more. Jay Ward actually turned this style of humor into a comedic art form with his wacky cartoons. You have to be smart to do it well; writer Kenneth Lonergan (Analyze This) and director Des McAnuff (Cousin Bette) capture the manic free-for-all spirit that have made Ward's work so timeless. (Could you ever imagine a Pokemon being sophisticated enough to turn to the audience and comment on the stupidity of the plot? Didn't think so.)

There are a number of big laughs in Rocky & Bullwinkle, and a lot of chuckles as well. (My favorite involves the President's military advisors: General Foods, General Store, and General Admission.) DeNiro is especially amusing as Fearless Leader. At one point, he launches into an impersonation of Travis Bickle, the Taxi Driver character best known for his "You talkin' to me?" speech. Alexander and Russo are good too, although I wish they'd had more to do. When they finally get an extended scene together, you realize just how well they take on their characters' personas. Boris and Natasha had their own disastrous big screen movie several years back (with SCTV's Dave Thomas and Sally Kellerman). Perhaps with this more effective casting, it's time to try again. There are also at least a dozen celebrity cameos from some big names in comedy.

As for Rocky and Bullwinkle themselves, they do superb work. I don't think I've ever seen a more affecting performance by an animated moose than the one Bullwinkle gives here. He's clearly the moose equivalent of DeNiro, and Rocky is his Joe Pesci. Their scenes with cute-as-a-button Perabo are sharp and full of wit. Isn't it time we honored them with an Oscar? Or a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame? Or at least a MTV movie award for Best Onscreen Duo?

Okay, the film's wacky spirit has affected me as I write this. But that's okay because it affected me in the theater too. The interaction of toons and humans is not quite as complex as in the breakthrough masterpiece Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle charmed me nonetheless. It's a good-natured picture that made me smile.

( out of four)

The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle is rated PG for mild brief language. The running time is 1 hour and 26 minutes.