Fritz the Cat (1972)

Director:

Ralph Bakshi

Writers:

Ralph Bakshi (screenplay)
Robert Crumb (characters)

Release Date:

16 October 1972 (Sweden)

Genre:

Animation | Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

He's X-Rated and Animated!

Plot:

A hypocritical swinging college student cat raises hell in a satiric vision of various elements on the 1960's.

Plot Keywords:

Satirical | Sexual Freedom | Blood | Sexual Abuse | Crumb

Cast

Skip Hinnant	...	Fritz the Cat (voice)
Rosetta LeNoire	...	(voice)
John McCurry	...	(voice)
Phil Seuling	...	(voice)

Runtime:

78 min | Sweden:79 min | Argentina:80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Yiddish

Color:

Black and White (end credits) | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

New Zealand:R18 | USA:R (re-rating) | Iceland:16 | Italy:VM14 (re-rating) (1994) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Italy:VM18 (original rating) | France:-16 (re-release) | UK:18 (video rating) (1994) | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Finland:K-18 | France:-18 (re-rating) | France:X (original rating) | Germany:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:X (original rating) | USA:Unrated (video rating) | West Germany:18 | Germany:16 (re-rating) (1995) | USA:X (rating surrendered) | Canada:18+ (Quebec)

Company:

Aurica Finance Company

Trivia:

"Fritz the Cat" creator R. Crumb sued to have his name removed from the credits.

Goofs:

Continuity: When he emerges from the trash can, Fritz's outfit changes color from red to blue to red again between shots.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: Hey, yeah - the 1960s? Happy times, heavy times.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 100 Greatest Cartoons (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Yesterdays

Existentialism

Anyone who didn't like Fritz the Cat is not looking at the film in the right way. A lot of the reviews I've read basically said that it is nothing more than a bad film that strives only on shock value to get an audience. I also read that it doesn't have much of a storyline and only revolves around sex and drugs......so what else did you expect a movie about the slackers of the 60s to have? Did the stoners of that decade NOT behave the way Fritz does in the movie? In order to understand the point of the movie you have to put yourself into Fritz's shoes and let him guide you through his life as a college drop-out trying to find his purpose (Existentialism for those who are not familiar with philosophy) in life and still have a good time. Of course his journey leads you to animal orgies and a crow that hides pot in awkward places, but that is the beauty of this movie--it's about freedom! I also do not believe it is outdated because Fritz's trippy surroundings and his pseudo-intellectual thoughts were enough to make me melt! It's all about the mood. The animation and music put the viewer in a hypnotic state where nothing else matters except pleasure and happiness. If you can't identify with Fritz then you have lost the feel of what it's like being young.

And just for some peoples' info. the movie is not X-rated because it has explicit sex scenes (any viewer of pornography, also X-rated in some form, knows that we have seen much more of the human body then is depicted in this film), it is X-rated because there are CARTOON ANIMALS HAVING SEX. Anyone who would give this film an R-rating because there are no close-ups should not plan on an MPAA career in the near future