Irishchatter
I swear, some of the scenes would really laugh your a*se off. They can just be so stupid yet hilarious at the same time. I wouldn't even consider getting children to watch it, there's so much violence and sex. Even there's upsetting scenes where the crows get killed by the police pigs. It does reflect on today's news where you are a white cop killing an ordinary black person wrongly in America. I didn't like how they made fun of the Jewish people in this because it just didn't make it funny. Like what's the point? Jewish people are humans too like why do movies like this poke fun at religion? It's just not right even if this was a 1970's movie. It might be a good idea if there was less poking fun at religion, race and also women as if they were sex toys. I was surprised to hear that this is one of the "greatest movie" out there. I honestly didn't find it great but i have to say, it does get the message across. Lets just say, I'm not gonna bother with watching the sequel. I think watching this one was enough...
ClycanSlider
When it comes to animated films, there are plenty of iconic names in the industry: Walt Disney, Dreamworks, Hayao Miyazaki, Don Bluth, and Warner Bros. to name a few. But, no animation director stands out more then Ralph Bakshi. From the seedy world of Coonskin to the far off future of Wizards. From the war torn world of Fire & Ice to the legendary world of The Lord Of The Rings, Ralph Bakshi has a varied library of films under his belt. But, no film stands out more then his most famous, and controversial, animated classic 'FRITZ THE CAT'. Released in 1972, it was the first animated film to received the infamous X rating at the time of release and was based on the comic strip of the same name. It was released to a somewhat mixed reception but went on to become a cult favorite and received a sequel by the name of 'THE NINE LIVES OF FRITZ THE CAT'. But we are here to talk about the first film, and with this being my first time viewing it, I have to ask: Does it hold up to this day or should it be tossed away like cat turds from a kitty litter?The film's plot is, well, kinda non-existent. It's basically Fritz The Cat and his life....which is pretty much it. OK, so there are SOME plot lines involving Fritz getting involved with some crows and later a "Revolutionary Group", but mostly it just follows Fritz as he interacts with everyday people. "But, hang on!" you say "If there is no plot, then why is it rated 'X' and not 'R'?" Well...the film makes up for no plot with....how should I say this...over the top sex scenes and some very violent moments. Lets talk about the violence first. Most of the violence is cartoony, but there are three instances where the violence achieves a dark status. The first of which is when the one crow character is shot and killed and you can see the insides ALONG with some, well-done mind you, bleeding onto the hood of the car. The second is a full-scale riot scene that attributes nothing to the movie. BUT then...there is THAT SCENE near the end. I rather not go into full detail, but it involves a hippo character getting whipped with a chain gratuitously. That scene in particular ALMOST killed the movie for me. Now with the sex scenes...yeah they are there alright! Over the top and kinda messed up at times. There is a lot of sex throughout the film, with one scene in particular I had to look away from and play Bejeweled on my phone (It was after a Weed Smoking Scene...that's all I'll say).With the characters, it's kinda a mix bag. Fritz, being the main character, is a bit tricky to label. At times, he's over the top, other times he's quiet and surprisingly deep with his monologues, and at other times he's a sex addict. Then you got the three girls he meets in the beginning of the film and their only trait is that...well they like black people. That's it. Now, we got the crows, who are the black people of the film (Don't worry, it's not racist in anyway, from what I can tell. They do remind me of the crows from the Disney film Dumbo). They are just there for one scene and they really don't attribute much to the story. The rest of the characters ranging from just there to completely pointless....OH WAIT! There are also to two pig cops (Get it? Cause LOL Cops are pigs...bit of a cliché right there). These guys are probably the funniest characters and I do like how the one with the goofy voice is the straight cop and the veteran while the cop with the normal voice is the head-strong rookie. Nice change from the usual fare we usually see.Now, the animation, this is where the film shines. Sure, it's a bit over the top, but this is animation at its finest. Ralph Bakshi knows how to animate characters believably. All the characters move like they are real people (when it's not calling for a over-the-top moment) and the backgrounds are a beaut to look at. Granted, most of the background is rotoscoped (a favorite technique of Ralph Bakshi), but it's still amazing to look at. The only place where the animation fall flat is actually the character designs, specially the males, OK, so this is kinda a nit-pick, but it's still worth bringing up: While I get it that they are anthropomorphic and you wouldn't see their private parts, but that does raise one question: Why do some male characters go around pant-less, while others have pants? I understand with the females (although if you REALLY look at a female animal, you'll notice that you don't see ANY private bits on them cause they are covered with fur/hair), but it's still something odd I noticed.All and all, Fritz The Cat is a great film and one I would highly recommend to anyone to watch. Just go in knowing that you will see sex and nudity throughout the film , so if you have issues with that, then I would avoid this film. Truthfully, if you remove the sex and nudity and keep everything else in the film, it's still would be a great film with a somewhat decent message.
FilmCriticLalitRao
American animation film 'Fritz the Cat' is special as it breaks a lot of taboos associated with animation films especially cartoons. It is considered to be one of the most popular X rated cartoon as it holds the record of being one of the first cartoons to depict physical intimacy among animated characters. If it is the depiction of sex scenes which gave it an X rating then there are other elements too which make 'Fritz the cat' a meaningful film. One has to just watch how Fritz the Cat talks animatedly about black people, war, peace, Arab- Israel conflict, riots and Jewish religion. The depiction of animals in animation cinema is something which needs to be closely observed in order to understand how their portrayal exerts tremendous influence on human beings. This is one reason why we have Mickey Mouse and other cartoon characters who continue to influence the way children look at animation especially cartoons. It is no secret that cartoons are also considered to be healthy entertainment as they convey a lot of innocence with notions of something sacred which needs to be respected.
