The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat (1974)

Fritz the Cat may have lost one of his lives in the comics, but in his new movie, he has eight more lives left to go! While his wife screams at him, Fritz lights up a joint and reminiscences about what could have been.

Director:

Robert Taylor

Writers:

Fred Halliday, Eric Monte

Stars:

Skip Hinnant, Reva Rose, Bob Holt

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Skip Hinnant	...	Fritz (voice)
Reva Rose	...	Fritz' Old Lady (voice)
Bob Holt	...	Many voices (voice)
Robert Ridgely	...	(voice)
Fred Smoot	...	(voice)
Dick Whittington	...	(voice) (as 'Sweet' Dick Whittington)
Luke Walker	...	(voice)
Peter Leeds	...	Juan / Various Characters (voice)
Louisa Moritz	...	Chita (Juan's Sister) (voice)
Larry Moss	...	(voice)
Joan Gerber	...	(voice)
Jay Lawrence	...	(voice)
Stanley Adams	...	(voice)
Pat Harrington Jr.	...	(voice)
Carole Androsky	...	(voice) (as Carol Androsky)

Storyline

Fritz, now married and with a son, is desperate to escape from the domestic hell he now finds himself in. Lighting up a joint, he begins to dream about his eight other lives, hoping to find one that will provide a pleasant distraction. The drug-induced journeys he takes include spells as an astronaut, Hitler's psychiatrist, a courier travelling in hostile territory during a race war, and as a pupil of an Indian guru living in the sewers of New York.

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Plot Keywords:

1970s | cat movie | fritz the cat | reincarnation | past lives | 

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Taglines:

I've come a long way, Baby!

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 September 1974 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

As Nove Vidas do Gato Fritz

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Steve Krantz Productions, Cine Camera, American International Pictures (AIP)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color Black and White (archive footage)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Because of his involvement with Fritz the Cat (1972), several film books erroneously list Ralph Bakshi as the director of "The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat", and many have come to believe that he actually directed the film. Bakshi expressed a dislike of "The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat", stating that had Warner Bros. been allowed to make the changes they demanded in order to distribute Fritz the Cat (1972), the film would have turned out similar to "The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat". "It would have been this cat that, once in a while, said something hip, and then falls in love with some girl and chases her all over town."

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Quotes

Fritz: [after a series of flashbacks] This is about the worst life I ever had.

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Alternate Versions

Earlier prints of the film have the live-action stock footage during the "Jump Back" sequence in black and white, while the 2001 MGM DVD release has the stock footage in sepia tone. In both prints, the animation cel of Fritz remains in color.

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Connections

Referenced in Heavy Metal (1981)

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Soundtracks

In My Next Life
Lyrics by Dave Palmer
Music by Max Bennett (uncredited)
Performed by Merry Clayton (uncredited)

User Reviews

a dark twisted film

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.