Amazon reboot of ‘Bullwinkle’ a victim of times

serves as the narrator. The 13-episode season begins with an ill-advised cooking contest in which Gordon Ramsay — or, at least his voice — makes a cameo.

There are a few reasons why it took so long for a reboot to happen. One was a misbegotten 2000 movie that dimmed future prospects; another was terrible animation.

A Mexico-based studio haphazardly turned out errorriddled storyboards for the cartoon. Those quickly became part of the show’s charm, and part of the joke, too. In any event, the animation was singular, for better or worse.

That’s why viewers, or adult ones with long memories, will be suspicious of the prominent DreamWorks logo in the title card. DreamWorks isn’t in the business of making lousy animation, and it certainly isn’t lousy here. This “Rocky and Bullwinkle” is slick and dazzling — reminiscent of contemporary animated series.

The animation is vastly better, but what about the rest of the show? The antic lunacy and sheer illogic of the original aren’t entirely missing, but they have faded somewhat. The puns are mostly gone, too. That’s a reasonable omission because this version is designed for young viewers, not necessarily their parents.

In another obvious improvement, this “Rocky” has a diverse cast, most notably Director Peachfuzz (Fuschia J. Walker). And Kevin Michael Richardson of “American Dad!” and “Family Guy” voices President Leader in a couple of episodes.

The reboot is good. but what’s wrong with it is beyond the show’s control. The original was an antidote to the madness. In 2018, a single cartoon can’t be such an antidote; it’s just another cartoon.