Ralph Bakshi: animation in a new direction

Ralph Bakshi is an American director of both animation and live action. And in the 70’s he took animation in a new direction. Establishing an alternative to mainstream animation by making independent and adult base productions. Bakshi made his debut with fritz the cat released in 1972. It was the first animation to get an X rating from the motion picture association of American. And still remains the most successful independent animated movie of all time. Bakshi is known for his style of mixing animated sequence with live action one to crate a gritty and in his fantasy movies a since of but it his trilogy of mature animation movies that are his crowning achievements. As they tracked everything from racism, sex, violence, drugs, crime and instead of just exploited this things he picked at them to create a message in a very clever way about these topic especially on racism.

Starting out as a cel polisher for animation studio terrytoons working his way up to director, then after moving on to paramount picture in 1967 and stared his own studio. Called Bakshi productions producing a number of ads for coke cola before starting on his own independent movie with producer Steve krantz, original heavy traffic was going to be his first movie. But krantz convinced him that the Hollywood studio executives would not want to fund that movie because of its content and Bakshi lack of film. As all that he had done before that was just animated short and commercial. But even with all that, all he did was making the same movie as heavy traffic but instead of people there animal and that movie was fritz the cat in 1972.

Fritz is sex obsessed college student, who after dropping out goes on an adventure try and find himself. And ends up running into Black Panther and hell’s angels along the way. As the movie takes a satire look at 1970’s American. Filled with sex and drugs and a satire look at racism.

 Getting a budgets of 850,000 dollars from Warner brothers they where away. But there when afraid that Warner would pull there funding during production due to the adult content. So they animated a 15 minute short sequence first from the middle of the movie the junkyard scene it’s known as. In which fritz get high on weed, has sex and starts a revolution. The plan was so that if production fell through they could still release this sequence as an animated short. Warner brother did pull there funding after Bakshi refused to tone down and to get big named celebrities to voice the characters. Luckily they were able to get the funding they needed from cinemation industries a film company that specialize in exploitation films. Losing Warner brothers funding mend they had to work on an even smaller budgets. So they where no storyboards and everything had to be just flip booked by Bakshi personally before going to ink. Many scenes featured documentary recording instead of scripted dialogue to keep the voice cast small. All the backgrounds where watercolour tracing over real photos taken by Bakshi and others this was the first time this process was using for animation cause before that it was all cel backgrounds done in studio.

 When fritz the cat was finish it was quickly given an x rating by motion picture association of American.  Which made cinemation very happy and exploited that rated for adverting promotional purposes? And worked in drawing in a large audience becoming a major hit so much so that no other independent animation movie has had the same level of success.

The movie made Bakshi a celebrity but he didn’t want to be known as the guy who directed that one dirty movie. So he quickly started on his next which movie even though he still had not gotten payed for fritz the cat. Heavy traffic is consider by most as the best out of Bakshi three movies as it was by smarter then fritz and more tame then coonskin. Getting funding for this movie was easier because fritz the cat prove that there was a market for adult base animation. Heavy traffic is about the story of a 22 year old comic artist. Who when word gets out that he’s still a virgin in set off a series of events involved a large range of colourful characters. Bakshi used this movie to focus on his dislike of mafia culture. Saying that he hated the hero worship these wiseguys criminals where getting cause of movies like the godfather.

The third movie in Bakshi trilogy of mature animation was coonskin made in 1975. This movie was a directly attack on racism, prejudice and stereotypes from all parties.  Bakshi got some big names for the voice work and to act. Scatman Crothers, Philip Michael Thomas, Charles gordone and Barry white. The movie cuts in out of the animated and the live action moment abruptly rather them seamlessly like in heavy traffic. This was work in the message about lack coexisted in society at the time. The movie is about three black men called bear, fox and rabbit after the main character from the song of the south story. That after breaking out of jail set out to Harlem. Running into religionist con artist named black Jesus to the mafia who go as far as to dress up in back face in order to try and kill one of the main character. Bakshi see coonskin as his best movie. The movie itself got negative review there was  even where cinemas being attack for showing the movie. but was a still major cult movie with black American, even with that the movie was never released on DVD in American and only getting a DVD release in the UK in 2012.