Fritz the Cat (1972)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Ralph Bakshi

Writers:

Ralph Bakshi (screenplay)
Robert Crumb (characters)

Release Date:

16 October 1972 (Sweden)

Genre:

Animation | Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

He's X-Rated and Animated!

Plot:

A hypocritical swinging college student cat raises hell in a satiric vision of various elements on the 1960's.

Plot Keywords:

Cat | Underground | Crumb | 1960s | Violence Against Women

Cast

Skip Hinnant	...	Fritz the Cat (voice)
Rosetta LeNoire	...	(voice)
John McCurry	...	(voice)
Phil Seuling	...	(voice)

Runtime:

78 min | Sweden:79 min | Argentina:80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Yiddish

Color:

Black and White (end credits) | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | New Zealand:R18 | Iceland:16 | Italy:VM14 (re-rating) (1994) | Italy:VM18 (original rating) | France:-16 (re-release) | UK:18 (video rating) (1994) | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Finland:K-18 | France:-18 (re-rating) | France:X (original rating) | Germany:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:X (original rating) | USA:Unrated (video rating) | West Germany:18 | Germany:16 (re-rating) (1995) | USA:X (rating surrendered) | Canada:18+ (Quebec)

Company:

Aurica Finance Company

Trivia:

According to a 1986 interview with Ralph Bakshi, he met producer Steve Krantz, and told Krantz of his plans to start a studio for producing animated films for adults. Bakshi had planned to produce Heavy Traffic (1973) as his first feature film, but was told by Krantz that he was more likely to get funding if the production was an adaptation of another's property, which led them to Robert Crumb's "Fritz the Cat." Bakshi states that he did not originally intend to direct the film because he had already spent years working on animated series starring animal characters and had wanted to make a feature film starring human characters.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Fritz is attempting to fix Winston's Volkswagen Beetle after it's broken down in the desert, he opens the hood. Since it's a Beetle and the engine is located in the back of the car, he goes around to the back but leaves the hood up. Throughout the rest of the scene, the hood alternates from either being up or down.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: Hey, yeah - the 1960s? Happy times, heavy times.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Confessions of Robert Crumb (1987)

Soundtrack:

Bo Diddley

How far have we progressed in 30 years?

I came across the recently released DVD of this film in, of all places, the children's video section of Virgin Megastore. Whether or not this poorly miscategorized placement was of simple ignorance or whether the intent weas subversive and it was intentionally and deliberately placed in the children's section, I found myself grinning and reluctant inform anyone of the error. After all, nobody gave me any forewarnings when I was a kid either, as some things you just have to discover on your own, and the thought of some poor innocent parents popping this film on for their kid only to look on in horror at the visions that would soon unfold sounded dastardly and funny indeed.

I was 7 years old when Fritz the Cat first hit the screen, and while I didn't see the film for the first time until I was well into my twenties, the film nevertheless had a lasting impact on my childhood. This film had taken on a reputation of mythical proportions in my Brooklyn hometown neighborhood, partly due to the older teens on my street who were all too eager to share shocking details contained therein, as only the best subversive intentions can do, and further securing the film's status as "every parent's nightmare". To a child about to undergo serious growing pains and a naturally growing curiosity towards all things "adult-related", Fritz the Cat was very much my earliest childhood memory of the themes of sex, drugs, rock-n-roll, racism, you name it, and it was a symbol for naughtiness that all coming of age kids couldn't wait to catch a sneak peak of, or at least couldn't wait to reach the age when we could view such subject matter freely.

As a movie, it hasn't lost any of it's impact in 30 years, and fewer films truly capture the grittiness and raw edge of New York city in the 70's (French Connection is another good example). I dare say that it could be considered more offensive now than ever, as I fear that today many just might not "get it," despite our self-proclamation that we've come a long way in maturity and tolerance of such sensitive issues. Modern society has become so politically correct and desensitized to controversial issues that we're less tolerant and understanding of the original intent of a film such as this, especially when it's messages are not consistent with our modern value system. Thus, some of the obvious stereotypes presented in this film (such as the pigs portraying cops and the crows portraying blacks, for example), could never be presented in a film today. Granted, these images were meant to be offensive in the 70's as well, but they were obviously taken in a different light back then, as they were indicative of a specific brand of biting satire found in the 70's and hippie culture and a reflection of how that particular generation could openly address such social issues. These issues, such as racism, are clearly still relevant today, we just address them in a different manner, which is why Fritz the Cat still has potency yet is more or less looked upon as a curious time capsule of a bygone era today.