( CNN ) -- Fifty years ago , Jay Ward 's animated moose and squirrel duo , `` Rocky & Bullwinkle , '' debuted on ABC , forever changing the way the world looked at animated television . His daughter , Tiffany Ward , continues her father 's legacy as executive producer of the feature films `` The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle , `` Dudley Do-Right '' and `` George of the Jungle , '' and Cartoon Network 's ( sister channel to CNN ) new `` George of the Jungle '' animated TV series . `` My dad was a true eccentric , '' Ward said . `` His studio was a wonderland for me . It had a soda fountain , ice cream sundaes , a snow cone machine , a popcorn maker and candy bars everywhere . '' Tiffany Ward grew up in Berkeley , California , and did n't move to Hollywood until 1959 at age 13 when her dad set up his television studio . `` Dad was always doing fun things , '' Ward said , recalling a 1961 Sunset Boulevard block party her father hosted to promote `` The Bullwinkle Show . '' The show was originally named `` Rocky and his Friends , '' but was renamed `` The Bullwinkle Show '' when the program went from ABC to NBC . Ward was a one-man public relations machine , churning out first-rate promos in the days before PR companies were entrenched in the system . In another promotional stunt , Jay Ward tried to buy an island between Minnesota and Canada that he named Moosylvania ( he leased it instead ) . In efforts to have Moosylvania made into the 51st state , Ward traveled cross-country by bus , collecting signatures along the way . When Ward reached the White House gates , he asked to speak to President John F. Kennedy about statehood for Moosylvania , but guards brusquely turned him away . As it turned out , Kennedy was dealing with the Cuban Missile Crisis on that exact day . Jay Ward did not have a favorite character , his daughter said , because to him it would have been like selecting a favorite child ( Incidentally , Ward had three kids ) . Of all the characters he created , Ward did n't have a favorite per se , but Tiffany Ward does recall his partiality to Dudley Do-Right , the slow but well-meaning Canadian Mountie . When asked about `` Rocky & Bullwinkle 's '' everlasting appeal , Ward said she thinks it struck such a chord and remains popular today because her father never wrote for children , he wrote for adults . Jay Ward wanted kids to enjoy the pictures while grown-ups laughed at the quick wit and inside jokes . In one episode , Rocky and Bullwinkle are propelled to the moon when their oven explodes while the pair are following Bullwinkle 's grandmother 's recipe for mooseberry fudge cake . Fun for kids for obvious reasons , but adults certainly got a chuckle when the moose griped about still having to make payments on the oven . Bullwinkle also mentions having graduated from MIT -- the Moose Institute of Toe-Dancing , that is . Furthermore , Mr. Peabody the dog , a Harvard graduate , lives in a Manhattan penthouse , practices yoga and has an adopted son , because as he puts it : `` Every dog should have a boy . '' Peabody chooses an orphan because he `` always roots for the underboy . '' It 's these little jokes that set the show apart from typical children 's programming of its time . Today those jokes may not have us rolling on the floor laughing ( or ROTFL , as the kids say ) , but they were the 1960s equivalent of Stewie 's reaction to being rejected by `` American Idol '' on `` Family Guy . '' The 50th anniversary of `` Rocky and Bullwinkle '' also means that spy duo Boris & Natasha , Mr. Peabody & Sherman and the Fractured Fairytales are celebrating birthdays as well . Fractured Fairytales offered a skewed take on traditional children 's stories . The moral was the same , but modern , funny dialogue was tossed in with slapstick humor . Rapunzel , for example , visits a barber shop and laments about having `` no future . '' `` Incredible writing is the reason the show resonates to this day , '' Ward said . Today , cartoons are more popular than ever . There are cable networks devoted to animation , and it is commonplace for cartoons to be written specifically for adults . Fox 's Sunday night animation domination block featuring `` The Simpsons '' and `` Family Guy '' comes to mind . `` Rocky & Bullwinkle '' was among the first animated series to hit prime time television . Matt Groening even paid special homage to Jay Ward when he created `` The Simpsons '' by giving Bart , Homer and Grandpa Simpson the middle initial `` J , '' as in Rocky 's full name : Rocket J. Squirrel . Tiffany Ward said she is thrilled there 's such a wide array of animation available to viewers today , especially since in her father 's era it was difficult to even get airtime for the genre . New projects are always coming the duo 's way , and an animated Dreamworks feature film is in development .
age 13 , Jay Ward 's ABC debuted on `` Rocky & Bullwinkle '' . Ward 's daughter Ward continues the legacy with `` Rocky & Bullwinkle '' films . Ward pictures appealed to kids , but show was written with adults in mind .