Fritz the Cat (film)

Fritz the Cat
The film poster shows a blonde, pale-orange female cat wearing boots and a blue-striped shirt with a suggestive look sitting next to a grey male cat wearing a red-striped shirt on a green couch, with drugs and matches scattered on the floor. The background is a dark blue with the film's tagline spelled in big white letters on the top and the film's title on the bottom.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRalph Bakshi
Screenplay byRalph Bakshi
Based onFritz the Cat
by R. Crumb
Produced bySteve Krantz
Starring
Cinematography
  • Ted Bemiller
  • Gene Borghi
Edited byRenn Reynolds
Music by
Animation by
Production
companies
Distributed byCinemation Industries
Release date
  • April 12, 1972 (1972-04-12)
Running time
78 minutes[3]
CountryUnited States
Languages
  • English
  • Yiddish
Budget$700,000
Box office$90 million

Fritz the Cat is a 1972 American adult animated black comedy film written and directed by Ralph Bakshi in his directorial debut. Based on the comic strip of the same name by Robert Crumb, the film focuses on its Skip Hinnant-portrayed titular character, a glib, womanizing and fraudulent cat in an anthropomorphic animal version of New York City during the mid-to-late 1960s. Fritz decides on a whim to drop out of college, interacts with inner city African American crows, unintentionally starts a race riot and becomes a leftist revolutionary. The film is a satire focusing on American college life of the era, race relations, and the free love movement, as well as serving as a criticism of the countercultural political revolution and dishonest political activists.

The film had a troubled production history, as Crumb, who is a leftist, had disagreements with the filmmakers over the film's political content, which he saw as being critical of the political left.[4][5][6] Produced on a budget of $700,000,[7] the film was intended by Bakshi to broaden the animation market. At that time, animation was seen predominantly as a children's medium. Bakshi envisioned animation as a medium that could tell more dramatic or satirical storylines with larger scopes, dealing with more mature and diverse themes that would resonate with adults. Bakshi also wanted to establish an independent alternative to the films produced by Walt Disney Productions, which dominated the animation market due to a lack of independent competition.

The film's depiction of profanity, sex, and drug use, particularly cannabis, provoked criticism from more conservative members of the animation industry, who accused Bakshi of attempting to produce a pornographic animated film, as the concept of adult animation was not widely understood at the time. The Motion Picture Association of America gave the film an X rating (the predecessor of the NC-17 rating), making it the first American animated film to receive the rating, which was then predominantly associated with more arthouse films.

The film was highly successful, grossing over $90 million worldwide, making it one of the most successful independent films of all time.[8] It earned significant critical acclaim in the 1970s, for its satire, social commentary and animations, although it also attracted some negative response accusing it of racial stereotyping and having an unfocused plot, and criticizing its depiction of graphic violence, profanity, sex and drug use in the context of an animated film. The film's use of satire and mature themes is seen as paving the way for future animated works for adults, including The Simpsons,[9] South Park,[9][10] Beavis and Butt-Head, and Family Guy.

A sequel, The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat (1974), was produced without Crumb's or Bakshi's involvement.

  1. ^ "George Griffin". IMDb. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  2. ^ "gg.html". geogrif.com. Archived from the original on February 10, 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  3. ^ "Fritz the Cat (X)". British Board of Film Classification. June 2, 1972. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Maremaa was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Barrier-3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Barrier-5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cohen, Karl F. (1997). Forbidden Animation: Censored Cartoons and Blacklisted Animators in America. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, pgs 82-83, ISBN 978-0786420322.
  8. ^ "Ralph Bakshi". The A.V. Club. December 6, 2000. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  9. ^ a b "Before 'The Simpsons' and 'South Park,' there was Ralph Bakshi". CNN. September 21, 2011. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  10. ^ "How the Godfather of X-Rated Animation Paved the Way for 'South Park'". Tablet Magazine. November 30, 2012. Retrieved February 10, 2023.