When TV fans think of iconic cartoon characters, they may conjure images of Scooby-Doo or even Fred Flintstone. Thus, it seems like more obscure characters like Dudley-Do-Right have faded into obscurity. However, a lot of audiences still appreciate this Canadian Mountie and believe that his character inspired some of the more contemporary characters that fans know and love today.

The character was first introduced in a segment of The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, and fans were quick to fall in love with his quirky persona. Yet, by Episode 2, criticism started to swarm, and certain US officials became very concerned about the messages the sketches were showing to children. As a result, one Dudley-Do-Right episode was banned just after being released.

Stokey the Bear Parodied a Huge Part of American Culture

Before fans delve into the banned episodes, it’s important that the unacquainted become familiar with Rocky, Bullwinkle, and, of course, Dudley-Do-Right. The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show first aired in 1959 and welcomed the titular characters. The former is a flying squirrel, known best for his straight-man persona and being the brains between the two. Bullwinkle, on the other hand, was the show’s main source of humor and depicted a slow and foolish moose. Together, the pair would spend their days in the fictional town of Frostbite Falls. Each episode would consist of two arcs that spanned across the series. These shorts would give the audience more insight into the protagonist and their wacky adventures.

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Alongside these arcs, The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show featured a range of supporting features, one of which was “Dudley Do-Right of the Mounties.” Accompanied by his noble steed, simply named Horse, Dudley would scour the nearby mountains and ensure that they were safe and sound. Yet, Dudley’s plans were often ruined by his arch-nemesis Snidely Whiplash. Although this skit enjoyed parodying a lot of 20th-century silent films, it’s hard to deny that it also poked a lot of fun at Canadians. Not only does Dudley sport an old-fashioned Mountie uniform, but he also rides his horse backwards, suggesting that he’s not that bright. Another key aspect of these sketches is Dudley’s love interest, Nell Fenwick.

As fans can see, these characters are relatively harmless, especially from the 1950s and 60s. There wasn’t too much slapstick violence, and the show followed many of the same tropes that Looney Tunes and Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color were following. However, everything changed in Season 1, Episode 16 of The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. “Stokey the Bear” is the second segment featuring Dudley Do-Right, but the sketch almost got the character banned for good.

The story starts with a group of lumberjacks who are working in a forest near Mount Upp. Suddenly, the entire forest bursts into flames and continues to spread across the camp. Fortunately, Dudley and Horse are on the case and quickly discover that Stokey the Bear was responsible for these outrageous fires because he was hypnotized by the evil Snidely Whiplash. But, even as the fire spreads throughout the town, Dudley manages to save Stokey and suggests that he head to Chicago for a change of scenery. However, things go from bad to worse when Stokey also starts a major fire in Chicago and Dudley convinces him to blame it on a cow.

The US Forest Service Was Not Impressed by Dudley’s Jokes

For those who haven’t guessed by now, Stokey the Bear is, of course, a crude parody of Smokey the Bear. This fictional character was first created in 1944 as a way to educate Americans about the hazards of unplanned man-made wildfires. The character was inspired by a real bear cub who suffered awful burns from an intense fire. Not only is it the longest-running PSA in the US, but Smokey has since become a bit of a celebrity across the pond. This campaign was highly effective and, at one point in time, managed to reduce the average number of annual wildfires by over 40,000. Yet, Stokey the Bear had the opposite effect and seemed to enjoy starting wildfires across the snowy landscape of Frostbite Falls.

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While it’s perfectly clear that this skit is meant in jest, the U.S. Forest Service was not pleased. This skit not only shows a bear starting wildfires, but it also subtly suggests that Stokey was responsible for the Chicago Fire of 1871. As such, the Forest Service wasn’t going to just let this slide and made some pretty serious complaints to the animators and ABC. They apparently arrived at Jay Ward Productions in full uniform and were determined to give the team a piece of their minds. Eventually, the episode was scrubbed from syndication until after 200 and was omitted from any DVD or VHS releases. As expected, the segment is not available on any streaming services either.

However, like most banned TV content, the segment can be found online via video-sharing platforms like YouTube and The Internet Archive. While “Stokey the Bear’s” censorship doesn’t have the same impact as other shows like The Simpsons‘ “Stark-Raving Dad” episode, fans are still sad it’s inaccessible. That being said, a lot of audiences find the whole situation a bit ironic. The fact that the U.S. Forest Service marched up to Jay Ward’s office in full uniform to complain about a cartoon sounds exactly like something the righteous Mountie Dudley Do-Right would do.

Dudley-Do-Right Managed to Climb Back Up the Ranks

Although audiences almost witnessed the end of Dudley Do-Right before he had even begun, The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show managed to grow from strength to strength following the Stokey the Bear fiasco. In 1973, the show went into syndication, producing a number of partner shows like The Rocky Show and The Adventures of Bullwinkle and Rocky. Some may also be shocked to hear that this lively squirrel and moose duo are still relevant today. In 2018, Dreamworks and Amazon Prime Video joined forces to bring these characters back to life again. The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle used a more modern animation style to bring these creatures straight into the 21st century and allowed them to enjoy a wealth of silly situations.

Dudley also received a successful spin-off back in 1969, The Dudley Do-Right Show explored the Mountie’s adventures in Canada as well as his consistent pursuit of Nell Fenwick. While this show didn’t vary too much from the original sketches, fans appreciated seeing more of this loveable dim-wit. So, while a lot of people tend to roll their eyes at Dudley Do-Right and see him only as a crude stereotype, his success on primetime TV proves that he’s so much more than a lazy caricature of Canadians.

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Unfortunately, it would be biased to discuss the success of Dudley Do-Right without discussing the universally-hated 1999 movie. Although it was packed with an all-star cast, including Brendan Fraser, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Eric Idle, Dudley Do-Right was an epic failure at the box office. Even with a modest $70 million budget, the film only managed to scrape $10 million, making it one of the biggest commercial movie failures in history. While some fans appreciated its overly slapstick and exaggerated nature, the vast majority of viewers believed that a live-action overlay really didn’t suit this character.

However, even with the film’s failure hanging over him, Dudley Do-Right remains a staple of animation and is reminiscent of a more prosperous time, in the medium. With color television well and truly in swing, fans were free to revel in the gorgeous red of his Mountie coat and the dark green nature of the forest. These things may seem really silly to modern audiences, but back in the day, Dudley Do-Right and his animated friends represented a key shift in American television. Admittedly, it’s been a bit of a struggle to get Dudley Do-Right back on viewers’ screens, but theme park fans can still spot him in Universal Studios’ Island of Adventure on the infamous Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls.