
Fritz the Cat
- Sat, Apr 19
Director: Ralph Bakshi Run Time: 78 min. Format: Digital Projection Release Year: 1972
Starring: John McCurry, Judy Engles, Phil Seuling, Rosetta LeNoire, Skip Hinnant
Adult animation pioneer Ralph Bakshi’s inspired adaptation of R. Crumb’s Help! magazine comic strip became the first X-rated animated feature as well as one of the most successful independent animated films of all time. Bakshi (Wizards, Lord of the Rings) follows the libidinous, pot-smoking feline on an amoral odyssey across New York City, as he indulges his primal urges, dodges the police and incites the occasional riot, aided and abetted by a heroin-addict rabbit and other assorted accomplices. Crumb was reportedly appalled by the end result, but 40 years later Fritz the Cat endures as a cheerfully profane, equal-opportunity send-up of the right and the left, fascist pigs and self-righteous revolutionaries, and just about everything in-between. (AFI)
“Imaginatively conceived, engaging and irreverent!” – Leonard Maltin
“Very rude and very funny!” – The New Yorker
“The world’s first X-rated full-length cartoon.” – Variety
No guests under the age of 18 allowed.