Legendary animator Ralph Bakshi is one of those few creator who really deserve the “legendary” before his name. Besides just directing the first x-rated cartoon movie (FRITZ THE CAT), he pioneered animation as an adult medium with movies like COONSKIN, HEAVY TRAFFIC and the fantasies WIZARDS and the first LORD OF THE RINGS adaptation. Sadly, he gave up movies after the controversial COOL WORLD. Black Book has a new and meaty interview with Bakshi that fills in some of the picture:
BB: How do you think Fritz the Cat would have turned out if the studio heads at Warner Bros. had gotten their way?
RB: There’s a picture called The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat, the sequel to my movie. If you want to see how Fritz would have turned out, look at that. It would have been this cat that, once in a while, said something hip, and then falls in love with some girl and chases her all over town. [Laughs.] You should have seen their faces in the screening room when I first screened a bit of Fritz. I’ll remember their faces until I die. One of them left the room. Holy hell, you should have seen his face. “Shut up, Frank! This is not the movie you’re allowed to make!” And I said, Bullshit, I just made it.
Bakshi will also be making three upcoming appearances in New York, including NYCC 08 in conjunction with a new book on his work:
Ralph Bakshi will be appearing in person in New York City at the following events! Also you will find the co-authors of Unfiltered: The Complete Ralph Bakshi Jon M. Gibson and Chris McDonnell and copies of the book at each event.
Thursday, April 17th:
Animazing Gallery Exhibition and Book signing.
6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
416 Broome Street
New York, NY 10013
RSVP at their site.
Friday, April 18th
New York Comic Con Panel Talk & Book Signing
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
IGN Theater
6:30 PM – 7:30 PM
655 West 34th Street
New York, NY 10001
Presented by MoCCA.
Saturday, April 19th
Anthology Film Archives Author Q&A, Book Signing & Film Screenings
7:00 PM Heavy Traffic
9:00 PM Coonskin (on a restored 35mm print)
32 2nd Avenue
New York, NY 10003
Tickets $8 at the door, good for one or both features.
yikes. Ralph has done a lot of cool animations in his life, but as a primary lover of comics, I have to side with Crumb on this.
Bakshi’s craptastic moviemaking set BACK the concept of animated movies for adults by a couple decades, and I wonder if Vaughn Bode got any royalty checks for the designs blatantly ripped off for Wizards. I’m guessing no.