Cool World (1992)

A comic strip vamp seeks to seduce her cartoonist creator in order to cross over into the real world.

Director:

Ralph Bakshi

Writers:

Michael Grais, Mark Victor

Stars:

Kim Basinger, Gabriel Byrne, Brad Pitt

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kim Basinger	...	Holli Would
Gabriel Byrne	...	Jack Deebs
Brad Pitt	...	Detective Frank Harris
Michele Abrams	...	Jennifer Malley
Deirdre O'Connell	...	Isabelle Malley
Janni Brenn	...	Agatha Rose Harris (as Janni Brenn-Lowen)
William Frankfather	...	Cop
Greg Collins	...	Cop
Maurice LaMarche	...	Interrogator #2 / Mash / drunken bar patron / Dr. Vincent "Vegas Vinnie" Whiskers / Jack Deebs (super hero version) (voice)
Joey Camen	...	Interrogator #1 / Slash / Holli's door (voice)
Michael David Lally	...	Sparks (voice)
Carrie Hamilton	...	Comic Bookstore Cashier
Stephen Worth	...	Bash (performance model) / Comic Store Patron
Murray Podwal	...	Store Patron
Jenine Jennings	...	Holli Would / Lonette (performance model) / Craps Bunny (voice)

Storyline

Jack Deebs is a cartoonist who is due to be released from jail. His comic book "Cool World" describes a zany world populated by "doodles" (cartoon characters) and "noids" (humanoids). What Jack did't realize is that Cool World really does exist, and a "doodle" scientist has just perfected a machine which links Cool World with our world. Intrigued at seeing his creating come to life, Jack is nonetheless wary as he knows that not everything in Cool World is exactly friendly.

---

Plot Keywords:

cartoonist | sex | comic book | alternative reality | alternate dimension | 

---

Taglines:

Holli Would if she could ...and she will

---

Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Fantasy

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language and sensuality

Details

Official Sites:

director's page for the film

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 July 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cool world: el mundo de Holli

Filming Locations:

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$14,110,600 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ralph Bakshi wanted Brad Pitt to play Jack Deebs.

---

Goofs

When Jack and Holli are about to have sex, Jack can be heard moaning. But in an up-close shot where Holli gets on top of him, his mouth doesn't move at all.

---

Quotes

[Deebs and Harris watch Holly dance]
Frank Harris: You think she's got a thing for you, don't you? That's cute... but don't flatter yourself. That one... she's a waste of ink.

---

Connections

Referenced in Horror Business (2005)

---

Soundtracks

"DISAPPOINTED"
by Johnny Marr, Bernard Sumner & Neil Tennant
Performed by Electronic
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records Inc.
by arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

Cool in name only

It is obvious watching this movie that it was high-quality stuff until some team of idiots destroyed the script through multiple rewrites, forced it to be released early and threw away any integrity it had left by making it adhere to a PG-13 rating. If you think cartoon characters having sex with live humans sounds like a badass movie idea, you are quite right, because it is. And there's an intriguing, though never developed, concept of Brad Pitt's character choosing to live in a cartoon fantasy land because he can't emotionally face the real world (that's the most frustrating part of all: the feeling that this movie was supposed to be *about* something). Too bad the final product looks like something Don Bluth would create if he went insane. It's like "Rock-a-Doodle" times 1000.

Nothing in this bad trip of a movie—not one line nor scene—makes sense. Watching it you are faced with endless unanswered questions: What the hell is Cool World? How did Jack the cartoonist dream up an exact replica of a world that has apparently existed since before he was born? Why are Cool World comic books so popular when the actual Cool World appears to be so lame? Why is Brad Pitt so hell-bent on preventing Noids from having sex with Doodles? Why does Holli Would complain that she can't feel anything in cartoon form when by all indications she can? Why does Holli want to touch a spike on top of a hotel to turn the entire universe into a cartoon land when she previously wanted to be a real person? Come to think of it, why IS there a spike on top of a hotel that turns the entire universe into a cartoon land? Why is Jack turning into a cartoon? Why is the scientist dude running around Las Vegas in a trenchcoat? Why is any of this happening?

At some point, it's best to just quit asking questions and let the train wreck unfold. The only part of Cool World that is actually cool is the hellish, twisted background art of the cityscape, but it contrasts heavily with the badly designed and animated characters in the foreground who look like they're out of some early 90s Nickelodean cartoon. They're unlikable and irritating, and their dialogue is endlessly corny and stupid ("He's fulfilling his destiny! He's becoming a hero!"). The human actors look extremely uncomfortable in every scene. Ralph Bakshi completely blew it with this one. Another year in production and a smarter script and it may have been legendary. Instead it's a painful viewing experience that you'll want to get rid of with intense therapy. 2/10.