![]() ![]() With his low budget, Bakshi faced substantial challenges to get the film made. Crumb mostly kept his distance from the production and, on its release, was so appalled by the film that he responded by writing the very last Fritz comic, Fritz the Cat – Superstar, where the character had become a sleazy sell-out and movie star who meets with Bakshi and Krantz, before meeting his Leon Trotsky-style fate of murder by ice-pick.Ĭopyright, though, was only the first hurdle. In a bargain with details that remain somewhat murky, co-producer Steve Krantz eventually produced a contract that was signed by Crumb's wife, Dana, who held power of attorney. But Crumb was reluctant to hand over the copyright. It was partly this that drew Bakshi to admire, and seek to animate, Fritz. His stories had a sometimes meandering, conversational social focus that, whether the characters were animals or not, leaned closer to life in the US than the likes of Captain America. Crumb's creation was part of the underground "comix" movement, the 1960s DIY illustration scene that challenged what comics and illustration could do and say. What began as a depiction of Robert Crumb's family cat Fred, Fritz eventually evolved into a self-assured beatnik who roamed (and slept) his way through the counterculture of 1960s US and the anthropomorphised "supercity" he inhabited. But it inarguably disrupted the animation industry, and its breakout success occurred against all odds. Critics called it debased and pornographic fans called it gritty and real: the jury is still out in the academic world over whether its explicit nature advanced the cause of animation for adult audiences, or hindered it. As rough and raw as it was, Fritz held up a mirror to inconvenient truths about US social issues that have never faded – fraught race relations, inequality and police brutality. Asserting that animation could be for adults too, it was unquestionably influential in the way that it changed the industry, showing that independent animations outside of the traditional studios could be successful too. It was a runaway success, in spite of its less-than-shoestring budget of under $1 million, and it went on to become the highest grossing independent animated film of all time. For audiences more used to the wholesome hijinks of Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy, Fritz, which stuffed in more graphic sex scenes and bloody violence into its short run time than most live action films, came as a shock. An adaptation of three comic books by original Fritz creator and cult comic legend Robert Crumb, Fritz the Cat's scrappy animation contrasted its bright, lively main characters with often drab and gritty, realistic backdrops. Using social commentary equal parts scandalous and nihilistic, Bakshi completely flipped the script on what animation could do, in a world that had until then been dominated by Disney. The 10 greatest animated films for adults ![]() Fritz the Cat, a bawdy 1972 rampage through New York's underworld, is the work of Ralph Bakshi, a legendary but equally divisive cult cartoonist who has never been a stranger to controversy. ![]() These outrageous moments would have pushed boundaries in any number of grindhouse exploitation films, but this student was a cat, and the star of the very first X-rated animated film – decades before the likes of South Park hit our TV screens. A blazer-clad student called Fritz attends drug-fuelled orgies, steals guns from corrupt cops, sets his college on fire, finds himself in the middle of a race riot, and blows up a power plant. ![]()
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