antagonist
An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.''Rocky and His Friends'' and ''The Bullwinkle Show'', so often appearing with his devious accomplice, Natasha Fatale, that the two are usually grouped together, as Boris and Natasha, a reference to Boris Drubetskoy and Natasha Rostova in
Tolstoy
Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using pre-reform Russian orthography. ; ), usually referr ...
’s ''
War and Peace
''War and Peace'' (; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, the work comprises both a fictional narrative and chapters in which Tolstoy discusses history and philosophy. An ...
''. He was originally voiced by
Paul Frees
Solomon Hersh Frees (June 22, 1920November 2, 1986), better known as Paul Frees, was an American actor, comedian, impressionist, and vaudevillian. He is known for his work on Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Walter Lantz, Rankin/Bass and Walt Disney the ...
. The character was created by Bill Scott, who based his appearance on that of
Gomez Addams
Gomez Addams is the patriarch of the fictional Addams Family, created by cartoonist Charles Addams for ''The New Yorker'' magazine in the 1940s and subsequently portrayed on television, in film, and on the stage.
Cartoons
In Charles Addams's ...
.
Badenov's name is a pun on that of 16th-century Russian
tsar
Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...
Boris Godunov (i.e., "good enough" vs. "bad enough"). His accent and explosive temper are a homage to Hollywood actor
Akim Tamiroff
Akim Mikhailovich Tamiroff (born Hovakim Tamiryants; October 29, 1899 – September 17, 1972) was an Armenian-American actor of film, stage, and television. One of the premier character actors of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tamiroff developed a pr ...
, especially his role in '' The Great McGinty''.
Boris is a spy from the fictional nation of Pottsylvania, and takes orders from the strongman known as Fearless Leader (and occasionally the rarely seen Mr. Big). Boris's missions range from trying to steal a secret rocket fuel
formula
In science, a formula is a concise way of expressing information symbolically, as in a mathematical formula or a ''chemical formula''. The informal use of the term ''formula'' in science refers to the general construct of a relationship betwe ...
to eliminating all television from the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
as part of Pottsylvania's various attempts to seize power. Boris, who is thoroughly dedicated to (and takes delight in) all manners of nefarious deeds, also sometimes engages in his own schemes, such as starting his own
organized crime
Organized crime is a category of transnational organized crime, transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a f ...
gang and hiring himself out as a professional executioner, and frequently conspires schemes simply to get rich (such as by posing as a
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood ...
Santa Claus
Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...
by taking advantage of a freak polar drift in " Topsy Turvy World"). Separately from the television series, a commercial for the ''Rocky and Bullwinkle Show'' featuring Boris established that he was an active member of Local 12 of the Villains, Thieves, and Scoundrels Union. During this commercial, Boris also claims to be "the world's greatest nogoodnik". Boris is also quite proud that the nicest thing Fearless Leader ever did for him was sending a picture of himself to Boris inscribed "Drop Dead — Fearless Leader". He is a master of disguise and aliases.
According to the Rialto Theater's " Moosebill" for "Downhill: The Musical" (a special table of contents insert created for the
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
box set ''Rocky and Bullwinkle & Friends, The Third Season''), Boris was educated in the Pottsylvania public schools before taking a scoundrelship to U.S.C. (the University of Safe Cracking), from which he graduated magna cum louse. He has a strong stomach and because of it was one of only three survivors of the ruling clique of Pottsylvania, the other two being his superiors Fearless Leader and Mister Big. Boris enjoys light reading; his favorite book is an anthology of fiendish plans called the ''Fireside Crook Book''. He is also a charter member of the
Van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artwork ...
Society, a Pottsylvanian club whose members collect human ears.
Early in the series, Boris was taller and had red eyes. After the first episodes, he changed to his normal short stature, but still retained the red eyes until a few episodes afterwards. Humorously, they changed from red to white after he had woken up from a long slumber, as if the redness was caused by sleep deprivation.
Boris is nearly always accompanied by his fellow spy, Natasha Fatale, an iconic
femme fatale
A ( , ; ), sometimes called a maneater, Mata Hari, or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and Seduction, seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype ...
with an icy smile who wears a slit dress. The first time he appeared without her was in the story arc "Buried Treasure". The first story arc in which neither appeared was " The Three Moosketeers".
Usually, Boris' misdeeds are thwarted by Rocky the Flying Squirrel and Bullwinkle the Moose. Boris's attempts at killing "moose and squirrel" (as he refers to them) also always end in failure, usually by his own scheme backfiring on him. "Of course, I've got plan!" he says. "I've always got plan! They don't ever work, but I've always got one!" As Boris expresses his plight in one promo: "I send in lady spy with package which is really bomb. Door gets locked, she can't get out, who gets blown up? Me!"
Boris appeared in all but three ''Rocky and Bullwinkle'' storylines: '' The Three Moosketeers'', ''The Ruby Yacht'', and ''Mucho Loma''. Boris often appeared in segments of '' Bullwinkle's Corner'', '' Mr. Know-It-All'', and ''The Rocky and Bullwinkle Fan Club''.
Catch phrases
Boris's main catch phrase (spoken when frustrated) is " Raskolnikov!" (a reference to the novel ''
Crime and Punishment
''Crime and Punishment'' is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published in the literary journal '' The Russian Messenger'' in twelve monthly installments during 1866.
'' by Dostoevsky), spoken in his Pottsylvanian accent (a mock-
Russian
Russian(s) may refer to:
*Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*A citizen of Russia
*Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages
*''The Russians'', a b ...
accent).
Boris would also say, "Sharrup you mouth!" to Natasha when his schemes failed. However, in the final segment of " Greenpernt Oogle", when he and Natasha were stuck in their own mine field, he says to her, "Natasha, next time I get fiendish plan, do me big favor? Sharrup my mouth!" She does indeed do this in one episode, saying those very words to Boris as the car they were in dropped over a cliff to the ground in the 8-segment story arc " The Treasure of Monte Zoom". Also, whenever his superior gives him an order, he utters the line "You sair it!"
Boris would usually greet a new acquaintance by saying, "Allow me to introducing myself. I am Boris Badenov, world's greatest no-goodnik".
Jason Alexander
Jay Scott Greenspan (born September 23, 1959), known professionally as Jason Alexander, is an American actor and comedian. Over the course of his career he has received an Emmy Award and a Tony Award as well as nominations for four Golden Globe ...
.
*Boris reappears in the 2014 3D
DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios or simply DreamWorks) is an American animation studio, owned by Comcast's NBCUniversal as part of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios, Inc, Universal Stud ...
short film '' Rocky & Bullwinkle'', voiced by Robert Cait.
*Boris appears in the 2018
Amazon Video
Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...
series '' The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle'', where he is voiced by Benjamin Diskin. This incarnation, while still mean and selfish, is also ditzy, easily distracted and somewhat childlike, almost an evil version of Bullwinkle. Instead of usurping Santa, he shows great admiration for him. ("I talk about Santa all I want. He's very magical man.") He's also a surprisingly gifted keytar player, although it appears his mother didn't approve of the instrument. He was sent to spy school because his mother had hoped for him to be Pottsylvania's next top model, but as time went on she realized that wasn't possible.
*Boris has appeared in two ''
Robot Chicken
''Robot Chicken'' is an American adult animation, adult stop motion, stop-motion animated sketch comedy television series created by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich for Cartoon Network's nighttime programming block Adult Swim. The twelve-minute ...