Dudley Do-Right was the eponymous hero of a segment on The Bullwinkle Show which parodied early 20th century melodrama and silent film. Dudley Do-Right was a Canadian Mountie who was always trying to catch his nemesis Snidely Whiplash, invariably without success. He romantically pursued Nell Fenwick, the daughter of the head of the Mountie station. However, a running gag throughout the series was Nell's interest in his horse, to the point that she scarcely noticed Dudley's interest.

In 1969, Dudley Do-Right was featured in his own show, The Dudley Do-Right Show, which consisted primarily of existing episodes from the series, produced by Jay Ward Productions and Total Television.

In 1999, a live-action film starring Brendan Fraser (as Dudley), Sarah Jessica Parker (as Nell), and Alfred Molina (as Snidely) was released. According to the Box Office Mojo website (http://www.boxofficemojo.com), the movie had an opening weekend gross (domestically) of $3,018,345, which then went on to have a "domestic total gross" of $9,974,410. According to the website, the movie was made on a budget of $70 million.

It is interesting to note that although Dudley Do-Right has since become a Canadian icon, The Bullwinkle Show was initially banned from broadcast in Canada, due to the Dudley Do-Right segments.

Theme Park Ride

Universal spawned a Dudley Do-Right flume attraction for its Islands of Adventure theme park titled "Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls". Guests find themselves in a movie theater readying to watch a Dudley Do-Right cartoon. They board cartoon logs and journey "into" the story where Snidely has sinisterly captured Nell Fenwick. The ride's queue envisions the cartoon as a theater-style setup, envisioning that Dudley, Nell, Snidely and Horse are all actors. Horse and Dudley make their first appearance in front of a cyclorama backdrop, theatrically "charging" to the rescue.

Dudley's drop is 85 feet and steeper than Splash Mountain at Walt Disney World. It is a hybrid flume/coaster that utilizes steel track to not only shoot guest-filled logs down the final drop, but under the water's surface and over a bunny hill.

Memorable Lines

Inspector Fenwick: "Do-Right! What's making that noise?!"

Dudley Do-Right: "I think it's a mockingbird, sir."

Inspector Fenwick: "At this time of the night?"

Dudley Do-Right: "How about Nell?"

Inspector Fenwick: "No, she's still in her cell."

Dudley Do-Right: "Oh the irony of it all. A Royal Canadian mountie one day, a creature of the woods the next. I wonder if it happened to Thoreau in just this way?"

Cultural References

• The extended version of the Prince song "Gett Off" contains the line: "Dudley Do-No Wrong 2night if Nell just let him kick it."
• The Beastie Boys reference Dudley in the song "Oh Word" on the album To the Five Boroughs: "Yo, what the doofus, say good night..You're Snidely Whiplash I'm Dudley Do-you-right"
• In Lil' Flip's song "I Came to Bring the Pain," Ludacris makes the following reference: "Now the clique is called DTP, so get your crew right/ We peer pressure fools, even Dudley don't Do-Right."

External links

Rocky and Bullwinkle characters | Fictional Canadians | Fictional police officers | Animation protagonists

Rickard Rättrådig