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The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat More at IMDbPro »

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17 out of 20 people found the following review useful:
PRETTY GOOD IMPROVEMENT, 27 September 2002
Author: Bill Treadway (treads22@hotmail.com) from Queens, New York

If you know me at all, you'll know that I was not a fan of Ralph Bakshi's FRITZ THE CAT. So imagine my horror when I found out there was a sequel! Well, I had to be dragged kicking and screaming to see THE NINE LIVES OF FRITZ THE CAT. By some stroke of good luck or divine intervention, it happens to be better than the original.

The film, made without Bakshi's involvement, (who was knee deep in the controversy stemming from COONSKIN) begins by finding our hero in a slum, living on welfare with a wife and child. The wife is pretty abusive (although she does have a point-you'll understand when you see the film. Fritz smokes pot to escape and imagines himself in nine other lives (hence the title)

It's actually a pretty good film. The film is less raunchy and vulgar than the first, but I know some people out there will still be offended. The film is a scathing look at society in the 70's and doesn't have the dated feel the first did. Drugs and street language are present, but it's used much more successfully here

There is one sequence that is some kind of masterpiece. A white military leader and a black militant are perched on two opposing mountains and they take turns attacking one another. Live action footage and stills run in the background. In just five minutes, they've managed to convey exactly what the racial unrest of the 70s was.

There are some flaws. The film doesn't have a very satisfying ending and the score is a little too upbeat for a film laden with such stinging social commentary. But I applaud THE NINE LIVES OF FRITZ THE CAT for taking chances; it could have been more of the same, but instead strives to be better. It's not a perfect film, but it's a good one.

*** out of four stars

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16 out of 20 people found the following review useful:
Things may get intresting., 19 April 2000

Author: Doug Galecawitz (dougg@evilnet.net) from Lisle, IL

I watched this puppy baked last night. I felt like the loser at a game of chicken, daring each scene to be more twisted and vile then the last, and being ultimately pulled down and run over by a movie that actually dared to go farther then me. Put this 70's blaxploitation, hitler, porno, acid-fest cartoon on the shelf between Meet The Feebles and Story Of Ricky. This movie has all the things to needed to be great after a bong session including an unfollowable plot, and deja vy. Put this genuinely bizarre freakshow of a movie on for someone who's never seen it and tell them that it's Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas. As is this movie is equally neuroticly addictive. If you enjoy way way off beat humor that's just on the border line of a buzz killer bad bake find this. Some might view it as racist (which it probably is) but we all need to laugh at ourselves. The less you know about this movie the better it will be baked. Kind of reminds me of a cartoon version of Street Trash.

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12 out of 16 people found the following review useful:
Witty, lively satire of the 70s., 7 March 2000

Author: Matt-377 from Charlottesville, VA

Follow up to X-rated predecessor is a witty, lively satire of the 1970s, spoofing such topics as war, race, sex, drugs, and child-rearing.

Perverse and off-color, to be sure, with potentially offensive material to certain tastes, but never fails to entertain those with open minds.

Just remember, this film was made in 1974, and it covers socially relevant material pertaining to that time period, NOT the 1990s. So don't watch it expecting to see issues that Americans face today. View it as somewhat of a period piece, and try to imagine yourself in any of Fritz's given scenarios.

**1/2 out of ****.

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11 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
Animated Mindwarp- 101, 17 August 2002
Author: MisterWhiplash from United States

The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat is a movie, or something like it, that I got to see on night late on a Showtime channel, and when I started watching, it had the material that made me want to change the channel, and maybe not. There are many weird and surreal scenes, most involving sex and marijuana, some with racism (Hitler cat), some with unique and bizarre characters, and it connected as that while Fritz the cat tries to cash a welfare check he goes over the different deaths in his life, getting blown up, getting blown up in space, getting shot in the batoot, etc. At times it's too patched together, and makes no sense in the scene where funky 70's music plays while images from the days of black and white flash by and then images pass by like an amateur Kubrick ala 2001, but it oddly works for a mature audience (kids will be freaked out if they should for some chance watch this) on the levels on comedy and of being a all out stoner/druggie flick (most of you out there who watch this will eithe rgo wow or uggh). Very satirical, very strange. B+

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9 out of 13 people found the following review useful:
a dark twisted film, 27 May 2005

Author: jon_lajoie from Australia

This film is twisted and dirty. I just wanted to get that off my chest. Now to my review. I was fascinated by the idea of an R rated cartoon, and Fritz the cat seemed the obvious choice. The film begins with Fritz' wife harassing him about the state of his life. To escape the ranting, he lights up a joint and reminiscences how he came to lose many of his lives. The film ultimately shows that Fritz has no chance to improve his life, as every opportunity he gets he sees as another chance to have sex, smoke, cheat the system, and make an idiot of himself. some trippy scenes follow in this dark movie. I would not recommend this to the faint hearted, the violent scenes of murder and assassination are examples, but if you're looking for something different, give it a look.

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4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Gosh! What a Laugh!, 10 December 2008

Author: Richard Wheeler from South Africa

This was a film which was so crude but so funny! It's super to have a change from animals to humans and it is very satirical about how folk in the southern areas of the states react to those of the northern states, and how persecuted one feels if they are just a little bit different from anyone. The animation was very impressive as it creates the environment of the where the characters live as indicated by the dodgy folk and dilapidated apartments of the USA. The film has a well composed, slick and catchy sound track which really gives this film a very arty and zooty name. And the highlight of this film was to show how many chances one gets in this precious life and how important the lessons are to us when we look back at them. If one sees this film in a DVD store, get it out and watch it! It's the satirical laugh!

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
I thought it was pretty good, 20 May 2010

Author: TheLittleSongbird from United Kingdom

It does have its problems, but I liked it, and I do think there are worse sequels out there. I enjoyed Fritz the Cat and was all for a sequel, and I got a pretty good film. The story structure is episodic and there are moments that I would deem strange, but along the way I noticed some improvements as well. While I loved the unique look of Fritz the Cat, the animation here is really good here as well, even more colourful and vibrant than before. Plus the pacing I felt was much more secure first time around. The script is witty and funny, the soundtrack is hip and cool, the voice acting is good and Fritz still has both his hypocrisy and likability. Some of the supporting characters aren't as likable, and don't get enough screen time to shine though. Still, it is a pretty good film. 7/10 Bethany Cox

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4 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Totally cr*ppy!, 11 January 2005

Author: BadWebDiver from Perth, Australia

The saying "sequels ain't equals" is definitely demonstrated in this completely lackluster follow-up to the earlier brilliantly witty "Fritz the Cat".

While both films portray an anthropomorphic view of 70s counterculture using animals, and both use the shock value of drugs, sex and cursing to stir up a reaction; this movie by a totally different production team completely lacks any of the charm, personality, or essential feeling that made the earlier film so appealing.

While I am not a member of this counterculture and don't relate to it personally very well, I did try to keep an open mind while watching both movies, and neither one really shocked me that much - maybe because they're getting older and I've witnessed more shock value in recent movies. With the original FRITZ THE CAT I got the impression that the "naughty" stuff was true to life, and helped make the characters real and interesting. With NINE LIVES the whole thing just felt like some very bad schoolboy joke that merely shows off the "smutty" bits for their own sake, and doesn't go anywhere with them. It all seems just a bit overdone. The take on Nazi Germany had a teeny bit of satirical value, but it hardly seemed to be worth the trouble, and the idea has been done a lot more effectively elsewhere.

Summing up: don't waste your time with this one, unless you're a fanatical completest. But go and enjoy the original FRITZ THE CAT, if you feel you can handle it.

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Like Fritz, it doesn't reach its potential, 8 May 2010

Author: Grann-Bach (Grann-Bach@jubii.dk) from Denmark

I have not watched the original, as I have not been able to locate a copy of it. As for the comics, I found one issue at the library, four stories. I'm afraid I cannot draw many comparisons, but I am intrigued by Crumb's creation. While not everything controversial is necessarily funny or interesting, it can often point a spotlight(that we usually leave entirely switched off) at something that we actually *should* explore, and finding out where the line goes can serve to get us to reevaluate the boundaries, or at least ask the important question of "why to there, and no further?". Yes, this thing is offensive. It's primarily about drugs and sex, with plenty of nudity(some full-frontal, for both genders) throughout, there are numerous bits of bloody and brutal violence, it's disturbing, it's arguably racist, it's definitely disgusting, and it's got a moderate amount of strong language. At its best, it's biting satire, dramatic and even hilarious. I don't know if it's because I'm not American, because I wasn't born when this was made, or if the reason is to be discovered elsewhere; however, sadly, I can't claim that it attained aforementioned glory all that often. Don't get me wrong; this is never boring, the 70 minutes fly by at a marvelous pace(it gets to be frenetic at times). The animation employs style here and there, and can get creative and surreal. It's not all good, and there are those that will find it too basic on the whole, and I'm not going to claim that they're wrong; I don't go for a lot of drawn(by hand or computer) films. There are designs from the graphic novel. Live-action footage is used, mostly as background. Editing can be pretty cool, when it tries to be. There isn't really a plot to this, though several of the characters do get at least somewhat developed. There are a lot of stereotypes in this. The voice acting is great. Our title cat does deliver a little in the way of pseudo-philosophical/intellectual ramblings, an aspect I can recognize from what I read. There is slang in this(I was glad to get Danish subtitles). I recommend this to anyone who knows and/or remembers the problems of the period, as well as those who just want to experience it. Not for everyone. 6/10

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2 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Fritz, you old alley cat you!, 8 December 2006

Author: Michael O'Keefe from Muskogee OK

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

This is the sequel to the 1972 cult classic FRITZ the CAT. This raunchy animated feature is of course meant for adult viewing. Animation is excellent and the script is witty, hip and erotic. This streetwise alley cat(Skip Hinnant)is trying to escape his mundane existence and get as far away from his nagging and screaming wife(Reva Rose)he can. She helps him by throwing his fuzzy butt out. Fritz lights up a joint and thinks back about his wild and swinging life in the 1960's. Language is filthy and safe to say... virtually all of the scenes are nasty and hilarious.

Kudos to director Robert Taylor. Other voices are provided by: Bob Holt, Fred Smoot, Joan Gerber, Robert Ridgley, Peter Leeds and Pat Harrington Jr.

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