Boris and Natasha (1992)

Interesting facts

Boris and Natasha: The Movie is a 1992 American comedy television film that was loosely based on the characters from the animated television series The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. Rocky and Bullwinkle are reimagined as two minor human characters with the codenames "Agent Moose" and "Agent Squirrel". This was due to the production company's inability to secure the rights to the animated characters' likenesses for this film. Originally intended for a theatrical release, this film was produced by Management Company Entertainment Group for Showtime Networks, and aired on Showtime on April 17, 1992.

Production

Writer and associate producer Charles Fradin came up with the initial pitch for a Boris and Natasha movie as he was a fan of Jay Ward's work on The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle. After developing the story with Brad Hall, Fradin felt Sally Kellerman had the perfect voice for the role, describing her as a mixture of Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo, and took the pitch to producer Jonathan D.

At Kellerman's suggestion, Dave Thomas was cast as Natasha's counterpart Boris. In an interview with Comics Scene magazine, Natasha's original voice actress, June Foray, felt Thomas was not proper casting for Boris and voiced her desire to see Bob Hoskins in the role noting her experience working with him on Who Framed Roger Rabbit and feeling his short stature and gruff demeanor made him perfect for the role.

The film began shooting in September 1988. Following a test screening where audience reaction to the film was negative with particular confusion at the humor and pacing of the film, the filmmakers spent 18 months trying to re-edit the film to make it work. According to Thomas, a number of scenes were never shot, which made it impossible to properly edit the film.

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