Archive.org1h20Drame19756,1 (144) Coonskin
Ralph Bakshi • Philip Michael Thomas, Barry White, Charles Gordone
Ralph Bakshi (born October 29, 1938) is an American animator and filmmaker, known for his fantastical animated films. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions. Between 1972 and 1994, he directed nine theatrically released features, predominantly urban fiction and fantasies, five of which he wrote. He has also been involved in an assortment of television projects as director, writer, producer and animator. (( We've included some of Bakshi's other work, primarily those in the 1990s. )) Fritz the Cat (1972) In late 1960s New York City, fed up with monotonous college life and police repression, free-spirited Fritz, an impenitent seducer and unrestrained party-animal, decides to explore the world. And just like that, as he flees NYC, heading to San Francisco, Fritz embarks on an endless adventure of illumination. Immersed in a world surrounded by drugs and sex, Fritz participates in mad orgies, brings about a revolution, incites mass urban riots, and crosses paths with drug-addled Nazi bikers. The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat (1974) [ Bakshi has zero involvement in this project, and has even expressed that had Warner Bros. gotten their way with the first film, it would've turned out like this. ] Fritz, now married and a father, is desperate to escape the domestic hell he now finds himself in. Lighting up a joint, he begins to dream about his eight other lives, hoping to find one to provide a pleasant distraction. The drug-induced journeys he takes include spells as an astronaut, Hitler's psychiatrist, a courier travelling in hostile territory during a race war, and as a pupil of an Indian guru in the sewers of New York. Heavy Traffic (1973) A white dropout struggles to become a cartoonist and filmmaker, drawing inspiration from the harsh, gritty world around him. Still sharing his rundown apartment with his middle-aged parents, an oafish slob of an Italian father and a ditzy nutcase of a Jewish mother, he's ridiculed and looked down upon by his friends, hypocrites who run with violent gangs and the Italian Mafia, and a shallow Black girl who makes her living downtown with the pimps and pushers. The cartoonist gets a chance to pitch a film idea to a movie mogul, but the story proves too outrageous: a far-future Earth, depleted by war and pollution, where a mutant antihero challenges and kills God. Coonskin (1975) A multi-layered satire of race relations in America. Live-action sequences of a prison break bracket the animated tale of Brother Rabbit, Brother Bear, and Preacher Fox, who rise to the top of the crime ranks in Harlem by going up against a con-man, a racist cop, and the Mafia. Wizards (1977) After the death of his mother, evil mutant wizard Blackwolf discovers long-lost military technologies. Full of ego and ambition, Blackwolf claims his mother's throne, assembles an army, and sets out to brainwash and conquer Earth. Meanwhile, Blackwolf's gentle twin brother, the bearded sage Avatar, calls upon his own magical abilities to foil Blackwolf's plans for world domination — even if it means eliminating his own flesh and blood. J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings (1978) Young Hobbit Frodo Baggins is thrown into an amazing adventure when he's tasked with destroying the One Ring, created by the dark lord Sauron. Frodo must travel in a small fellowship of nine warriors and accomplices. But it won't be an easy journey for the Fellowship of the Ring, on the ultimate quest to rid Middle-earth of evil. American Pop (1981) The history of American popular music runs parallel with the history of a Russian Jewish immigrant family, with each male descendant possessing different musical abilities. Hey Good Lookin' (1982) (( In our opinion, the movie is good but the soundtrack is phenomenal. )) In 1953 Brooklyn, charismatic hood and The Stompers leader Vinnie Genzianna, his friend and second-in-command Crazy Shapiro, and their respective girlfriends Roz and Eva get wrapped up in an escalating conflict with the rival Black gang, The Chaplains, lead by Boogaloo Jones. Fire and Ice (1983) The villainous Nekron and his mother, Queen Juliana, plot against the human race from their frigid fortress. Creating mass destruction with huge glaciers, mother and son incur the wrath of Larn, a warrior whose entire village was destroyed by ice. When Nekron's underlings kidnap the beautiful Princess Teegra, Larn sets out to rescue her, assisted by the fierce and enigmatic Darkwolf. Christmas in Tattertown (1988) [ TV special ] Told by an anthropomorphic saxophone, a young girl named Debbie, her pet dog, and her toy doll Muffet are sent to a magical world called Tattertown, where Muffet comes to life and, seeking freedom, refuses to go back to Debbie. As Debbie learns more about Tattertown, she realizes that they have no Christmas, so she tries to bring some holiday cheer to the little town. However, Christmas reminds Muffet of the day she was given to Debbie and plots to sabotage it with the help of her minion Spider. A pilot for Nickelodeon's second-ever series, created by Ralph Bakshi, and later repurposed into a Christmas special. The Butter Battle Book (1989) [ TV special ] Deemed by Dr. Seuss as the most faithful adaptation of his work, this anti-war/Cold War allegory tells of the Yooks and the Zooks, two factions of birds on opposite sides of a wall, whose biggest discourse is which side butter is spread on bread. Cool World (1992) While incarcerated for murder, cartoonist Jack Deebs found escape by creating Cool World, a series featuring a voluptuous femme fatale named Holli Would. But the artist becomes a prisoner of his own fantasies when Holli transports Jack into Cool World with a scheme to seduce him and bring herself to life. Hard-boiled detective Frank Harris – the only other human in Cool World – cautions Jack with the law: Noids (humans) don't have sex with doodles (cartoons). However, flesh proves weaker than ink as Holli takes human form in Las Vegas, staring in a trans-universal chase that threatens the destruction of both worlds. Cool and the Crazy (1994) [ live-action TV movie –part of Showtime's Rebel Highway – starring Alicia Silverstone and Jared Leto ] High school sweethearts Roslyn and Michael, now in their twenties, co-exist in a deeply unfulfilling marriage with kids. Both embark on extramarital affairs, unaware of the violent repercussions that await. Spicy City (1997) [ six-episode series edited into single film (not by us) ] In a neo-noir future, nightclub hostess and classy femme fatale Raven presents various stories that either involve some of her guests or even herself. Some are sleazy, some violent, some about love, and some about loneliness, some darkly humorous, and some bittersweet and tragic, some are gritty cyberpunk thrillers and some are more fantastical and lighthearted, but they are all spicy and original. Last Days of Coney Island (2015) In the cheap glitter and glow of a fading Coney Island, a group of characters live out their sordid, strange lives trying to get somewhere fast - any way they can. Desperately trying to love and be loved. These cops, call girls, mafia hoods, transvestites, fortune-tellers, clowns, and freaks are all intertwined, heading on a crazy rollercoaster ride into a black hole they think is life. All of these characters are totally removed from the 1960s America that, at the same time, is violently changing its values, fast. It is how hard they try, with the deck stacked against them, that we root for them in amazement.
