American Pop (1981)

The story of four generations of a Russian Jewish family of musicians parallels the history of American popular music in the 20th century.

Director:

Ralph Bakshi

Writer:

Ronni Kern

Stars:

Ron Thompson, Mews Small, Jerry Holland

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ron Thompson	...	Tony / Pete (voice)
Mews Small	...	Frankie (voice) (as Marya Small)
Jerry Holland	...	Louie (voice)
Lisa Jane Persky	...	Bella (voice)
Jeffrey Lippa	...	Zalmie (voice)
Roz Kelly	...	Eva Tanguay (voice)
Frank DeKova	...	Crisco (voice) (as Frank De Kova)
Richard Singer	...	Benny (voice)
Elsa Raven	...	Hannele (voice)
Ben Frommer	...	Palumbo (voice)
Amy Levitt	...	Nancy (voice)
Leonard Stone	...	Leo Stern (voice)
Eric Taslitz	...	Little Pete (voice)
Gene Borkan	...	Izzy (voice)
Richard Moll	...	Beat Poet (voice)

Storyline

"American Pop" is the animated story of a very talented and troubled family starting with 19th century Russia and moving through several generations of musicians. The film covers American music from the pre-jazz age through soul, '50s rock, drug-laden psychadelia, and punk, finally ending with the onset of new wave in the early 1980s.

---

Plot Keywords:

musician | pop | 1980s | jewish | 20th century | 

---

Taglines:

All those years, all those dreams, all those sons... one of them is going to be a star.

---

Genres:

Animation | Drama | Music

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Hebrew Russian Yiddish

Release Date:

13 February 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

Amerykanska muzyka pop

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bakshi Productions, Aspen Productions (I), Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although not specifically stated, the incident in which Zalmie's mother dies appears to be the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, a one of the worst industrial disasters in New York City's history. 146 garment workers, mostly immigrant women, died either in the fire, or by jumping from the windows of the 8th-10th floors because the doors were locked shut. The fire prompted legislative and union action to improve safety and working conditions in garment sweatshops.

---

Goofs

The German Soldier who shoots the pianist is wearing an American Helmet with a Swastika painted on the front (which was not the case in any German forces during the war). Also, his weapon is obviously a semi-automatic rifle but he fires it full-automatic as though it were a sub-machine gun.

---

Quotes

Zalmie: Hey, Louie. I just seen the most beautiful thing I ever seen in the whole world.
Louie: Some pre-Prohibition booze, huh?
Zalmie: No. I seen the stripper gettin' dressed.
Louie: A stripper gettin' dressed ain't beautiful unless she's ugly to begin with.

---

Crazy Credits

Disclaimer before soundtrack listings: The following songs were depicted as being written by fictional characters. The producer would like to thank the true composers.

---

Connections

References The Jazz Singer (1927)

---

Soundtracks

"Slaughter on Tenth Avenue"
Composed by Richard Rodgers

User Reviews

Good, but underviewed and misunderstood.

This film was one that I was reluctant to see at first when it came out on video in the mid 90's. I eventually saw it and it interested me in many ways. The concept of a newly American family transcending through the century by ways of musical pop culture is an innovative idea. The main fault in the film resides on the fact that the filmmaker had somewhat misguided judgements on what exactly pop music and history was in the era that he was depicting. Apart from that I found the dialogue not condescending and the actor's voiceovers quite convincing. The verbal exchange between the character of Tony and the blonde was one of the most authentically written love scenes I have ever encountered in a movie. It was interesting to see the tortured characters succumb to weaknesses and eventually prevail at the end, however unrealistic it may have been represented. Some viewers of this film complain of the chopping rotoscoping used in it, but I found it refreshing seeing through the film to it's eventual endeavor by use of the actor's faces along with their voices. The grittiness of the film was more enjoyable to me. It showcased a lot of underrated talents of actors whose careers never took off such as Jeffrey Lippa and Lisa Jane Persky, among many others. It is often sad how talented represented actors get pushed aside the a world of notoriety. The most identifiable to me was Ron Thompson in the voice of Tony and Pete. I wish that I had seen him in so many other films. His verbal performance was enough to convince me that he was accomplished otherwise as an actor. I think that this film could have been a bit better if it were less presumptuous of the musical mainstream that carried the story through, but eventually it was entertaining. Though this film was not well known and a bit misguided I recommend viewing it at least once.