Overall Rating Awesome: 42.86% Worth A Look: 47.62% Average: 0% Pretty Bad: 0% Total Crap: 9.52% 1 review, 15 user ratings

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by Rob Gonsalves

"Bakshi gets personal."

Rather than do the 'Fritz the Cat' sequel (he left that to lesser hands — trust me, I’ve seen it), Ralph Bakshi dove into an intensely personal, autobiographical piece.

It's about a sexually frustrated young cartoonist living in Brooklyn with his viciously squabbling parents — a psychotic Jewish mother and a corrupt Italian dockworker father (who, to modern eyes, may resemble a cruder, stupider Homer Simpson, if such a thing is even possible).

Leaving funny animals and R. Crumb’s style behind, Bakshi reveals a vision much closer to Martin Scorsese (whose Mean Streets premiered the same year) than to Disney; amusingly, the young hero closely resembles the young Harvey Keitel. (The hero is also named Michael Corleone — Bakshi’s middle-finger salute to The Godfather, which he felt romanticized the Mafia.) Bakshi also inaugurates his technique of presenting us with stereotypes so blatantly over-the-top that they somehow land on the other side as vital, unique, richly funny human beings. Not only that, he uses live action backdrops — which, here as elsewhere in his work, sometimes adds to the canvas and sometimes distracts.

For the most part, though, this is a zesty abstract-jazz riff of a film, hinting at much bigger ambitions to come.

link directly to this review at http://www.efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=5175&reviewer=416
originally posted: 04/05/07 09:04:52

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User Comments

7/04/10 Yo Really took me by surprise. 4 stars

5/11/10 brian Absolute trash. Revolting and without redeeming factors. 1 stars

7/02/09 Josie Cotton is a goddess One of the greatist things ever put on celluloid! 5 stars

3/10/09 Dane Youssef Bakshi's best. One of the years best. One of the decade's best. One of animation's best. 5 stars

1/01/08 mr.mike good...damn good I said 4 stars

3/04/07 Z-Man If you don't like this movie, you are a twit. 5 stars

10/27/06 Isaac Baranoff My favorite animated film of all time. Nothing comes close. 5 stars

8/06/05 Zack If you don't like this film, there is something wrong with you! 5 stars

8/06/05 Pierre A masterpiece 5 stars

2/16/05 Wilt Chamberlin Cool classic! Check it out! 5 stars

1/30/05 Dom DeWilde More of the same -- EXCELLENCE! Bakshi's best film! 5 stars

12/14/04 Yvette Johnson A brilliant masterpiece from a brilliant film maker. Viva Ralph Bakshi! 5 stars

3/02/03 Charles Tatum More of the same- junk 1 stars

9/30/02 Butterbean Trippy and dark fun! I just wish that there was more to the story. 4 stars

3/16/01 The Bomb 69 sex and violence rule in cartoons 4 stars

IF YOU'VE SEEN THIS FILM, RATE IT!
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USA 07-Nov-1973 (R) UK N/A Australia 07-Nov-1974

Directed by Ralph Bakshi Written by Ralph Bakshi Cast Lillian Adams Beverly Hope Atkinson Michael Brandon Jamie Farr Candy Candido Frank DeKova

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