Ralph Bakshi

[SSJ Jake]

Love him or hate him, there's no denying Ralph Bakshi had influence on the animation industry. On the bright side he introduced the world to the first X-rated films, Fritz the Cat and Heavy Traffic. Before cartoons were mostly looked at as kids stuff and Bakshi helped pave the way for adult animation. On the other hand, his movies were infamous for using rotoscope and live-action backgrounds instead of drawn ones. I know it takes time and money to draw, but in todays day and age it looks really cheap. He's also somewhat responsible for bringing John Kricfalusi to the animation world, whom I have mixed feelings on.

Now late last decade I was starting to be a fan of his work. I've seen all of his movies except for American Pop and Fire & Ice. Out of all of them my favorites would have to be Coonskin, Hey Good Lookin and Heavy Traffic. If it's one thing Bakshi really excelled in doing was making movies about urban life. It's just a shame to see animators like him and Don Bluth be forced to call it quits with their last films being huge bombs and no one willing to hire them.

[Avaitor]

I love Fritz the Cat to death but I haven't seen anything else he's done.

Heavy Traffic has been high on my to-watch list, but I haven't got around to it yet.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I loved Fritz the Cat the first time I saw it, but upon repeated viewings I wasn't quite as fond of it. That said I still think its a great film in its own right, but its more of a commentary on the 1960's then something I see as a film that's genuinely enjoyable to watch all of the time. It does have some good comedy that has still managed to age fairly well, though.

Anyways, like Avaitor, I have to admit that I have yet to see any other works by the guy, so I can't judge whether I'd like him as a creator or not, yet.

[Dr. Insomniac]

Saw a bit of his LOTR film, which while interesting, looked to be no acceptable alternative to either the books or Peter Jackson. Been meaning to watch Coonskin though.

[Mr. Big]

Bakshi is best known for his adult films, but personally I want to give a shout out to his early directing efforts on short films at Terrytoons and Paramount Cartoon Studios (formerly Famous Studios).

They're not perfect; they're very low-budget and crudely made. BUT, as cartoon making business became an assembly-line production in the '60s it's refreshing how Bakshi managed to give a neat, Don Martin-esque style to them.

Here are some video links

Gadmouse the Apprentice Good Fairy (1965 - Bakshi's first screen credit for directing)
Dr. Ha Ha (1966)
Mini-Squirts (1967)
The Fuz (1967)
Marvin Digs (1967)
Mouse Trek (1967)

I consider "Marvin Digs" to be a brilliant film, but Bakshi disowned it, remarking that he vomited when he saw the finished product.