Gidney & Cloyd

Gidney and Cloyd are fictional characters originally appearing in the American animated television program "Rocky and His Friends" (now known, along with "The Bullwinkle Show", as "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show"). Their names were adapted from the names "Sidney" and "Floyd", which Jay Ward said were the most boring names ever. (Gidney is also an actual surname indigenous to New England and neighboring areas of Canada. Cloyd is both an actual surname and a given name -- see former major league baseball player Cloyd Boyer.)

Gidney and Cloyd are both "Moon Men", inhabitants of Earth's Moon. They are essentially anthropomorphic but are shorter than most humans. Their skin is green with black spots and they have tufts of hair on the tops of their heads; they appear to be unclothed. They are able to disappear and reappear at will; they can disappear completely but sometimes their eyes remain visible (á la the Cheshire cat's smile). Physically, they are nearly identical, although Gidney has a mustache, while Cloyd wears a belt and holster for his scrootch gun. The scrootch gun has the power to immobilize its targets for a variable length of time.

The Moon Men appeared in "Jet Fuel Formula", the first Rocky and Bullwinkle story arc, broadcast 1959-1960. In this story they come to Earth in an attempt to thwart a rush of tourists to the Moon, only to become media celebrities themselves. They initially succumb to the temptations of fame but soon tire of it. With the help of Rocky and Bullwinkle they are eventually able to get home. They returned in the second-season story arc, Metal-Munching Mice, and in the third season Missouri Mish Mash.

Cloyd was voiced by legendary voice actor Paul Frees. Gidney was voiced by Bill Scott; although Scott was credited as a producer and writer for the series he was uncredited for his voice work, which included Bullwinkle and Dudley Do-Right as well as Gidney.

Home video

"Jet Fuel Formula" was released on DVD on August 5, 2003, as part of "Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends Complete Season 1". This 4-disc set includes both "Jet Fuel Formula" and "Box Top Robbery" (the other season 1 story arc) in their entirety, along with all supporting features from the first season (1959-1960).

"Metal-Munching Mice" was released as part of "Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends Complete Season 2" on August 31, 2004.

External links

[http://www.toontracker.com/bullwink/bulleps.htm Rocky and Bullwinkle Episode Guide] at Toontracker

[http://www.tv.com/the-bullwinkle-show/show/5187/summary.html?full_summary=1 The Bullwinkle Show] at TV.com

[http://amazon.imdb.com/title/tt0052507/ Rocky and His Friends] at IMDB