Ralph Bakshi

All you want to know about Ralph Bakshi

Ralph Bakshi
Born October 29, 1938 (1938-10-29) (age 69)
Haifa, British Mandate of Palestine (now Israel)
Occupation Filmmaker and animator
Spouse(s) Elizabeth Bakshi

Ralph Bakshi (born October 29, 1938) is an American director of animated and occasionally live-action films. As the American animation industry fell into decline during the 1960s and 1970s, Bakshi tried to bring change to the industry as a pioneer of adult animation.[1][2] Bakshi started his career as a cel polisher at the Terrytoons studio, working his way up from cel painter to inker, then animator, and eventually began to direct animated television shows for the studio. Bakshi moved to Famous Studios in 1967, before starting his own studio in 1968.[2] Through developing a work relationship with producer Steve Krantz, Bakshi made his debut feature film, Fritz the Cat in 1972, the first animated film to receive an X rating from the Motion Picture Association of America.[1] The film was followed by Heavy Traffic and Coonskin. All three films were extremely controversial for their content and approach to animation.[1][2]

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Bakshi became a spokesperson for a new direction in animation with American Pop and the fantasy films Wizards; Fire and Ice, with fantasy painter Frank Frazetta; and the first film adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, a film that laid the groundwork for future adaptations of the book. In the mid-1980s, Bakshi returned to his roots in TV cartoons with a revival of the Mighty Mouse character,[1] and the animated specials Christmas in Tattertown and The Butter Battle Book, based on the book by Dr. Seuss.[2] Following the troubled production history of Bakshi's 1992 feature film Cool World, he did not complete another animated feature film. Bakshi's films have been ranked among the greatest animated films of all time.[3][4]

Contents

Biography

Early life

Ralph Bakshi was born of Krymchak descent on October 29, 1938, in Haifa, then part of the British Mandate of Palestine (now Israel). In 1939, his family, Eliezer, Mina and Eve went to New York to escape World War II.[2][5] He grew up in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn. As a child, Bakshi loved comic books and art in general.[2] He was also a boxer during his teenage years.[6] Bakshi attended the Thomas Jefferson High School, and was then transferred to the School of Industrial Art,[5][6] where he graduated in 1957 with an award in cartooning.[2][1] Bakshi made a name for himself in animation during the fading days of theatrical studio cartoons. At the Terrytoons studio (best known for the Mighty Mouse cartoons), he started as a cel polisher then graduated to cel painting. Practicing nights and weekends, he quickly became an inker and then an animator. By age 25, he was directing programs featuring characters such as Mighty Mouse, Heckle and Jeckle, Deputy Dawg, Foofle and others.[2]

Bakshi was introduced to the work of J. R. R. Tolkien by a director at Terrytoons in 1956. In 1957, he started trying to convince producers that the Lord of the Rings books could be animated and tried to obtain the rights.[7] In 1966, during a series pitch meeting with the CBS Television Network after all of the pitches prepared by Terrytoons had been rejected, an unprepared Bakshi pitched the concept for a superhero spoof cartoon called The Mighty Heroes. CBS greenlit the series and production began with Bakshi serving as director.[8] In 1967, Bakshi became head of Famous Studies, the animation division of Paramount Pictures. Here he hired Mort Drucker, Wally Wood, Jack Davis, Joe Kubert, Jim Steranko, Gray Morrow, and Roy Krenkel,[2] and produced several experimental animated short cartoons. The studio closed later that year, and the following year, Bakshi founded his own studio, Ralph's Spot, and headed the Spider-Man TV series until 1970. After 1970, Bakshi left the world of television and went into full-length animated feature films.[2]

Fritz the Cat, Heavy Traffic and Coonskin

Bakshi's 1972 theatrical film debut, Fritz the Cat, was his biggest commercial success, grossing over $100 million worldwide.
Bakshi's 1972 theatrical film debut, Fritz the Cat, was his biggest commercial success, grossing over $100 million worldwide.

In 1971, Steve Krantz agreed to produce what was to be Bakshi's first feature film. They mulled over various projects, finally deciding on Robert Crumb's successful underground comic book Fritz the Cat. Bakshi was initially reluctant to direct the film because he had spent years working on animated productions featuring animal characters and wanted to make films focusing on human characters.[9] The film was made using a number of experimental animated film production techniques that Bakshi would continue to use throughout his career. Fritz the Cat was the first animated feature film to receive an X rating in the United States.[10][6] It was also the first independent animated film to gross more than US$100 million at the box office.[11] Although the film received largely positive reviews,[1] the film also received criticism, notably from creator Robert Crumb.[12] Bakshi is quoted as saying that "A lot of people got freaked out. The people in charge of the power structure [...] thought I was a pornographer, and they made things very difficult for me. The younger people, the people who could take new ideas, were the people I was addressing. I wasn't addressing the whole world. To those people who loved it, it was a huge hit, and everyone else wanted to kill me."[13]

In 1973, Bakshi began production on Heavy Traffic, a personal tale of inner-city street life. The film incorporated many of Bakshi's trademark filmmaking techniques from his debut, and also incorporated the heavy use of live-action footage, which Bakshi would continue to use in his films throughout his career. While Fritz the Cat and Heavy Traffic both encountered controversy, Bakshi encountered the most negative reactions of his career with his third feature, Coonskin. Originally produced under the working titles Harlem Nights[1][14] and Coonskin No More...,[15] the film, culled from Bakshi's interest in African American history in America, was an attack on racism and racist stereotypes.[16] The film's release was stalled by protests from the Congress of Racial Equality long before its release, who accused the film and Bakshi himself of being racist.[1][16] The film was eventually given limited distribution advertised as an exploitation film, and disappeared from theaters. Although initial reviews of the film were negative, the film was eventually reappraised, and has since been considered by many to be one of Bakshi's best films.[1][16]

Wizards and The Lord of the Rings

Bakshi turned away from race and cultural issues and began producing fantasy films. His first was Wizards in 1976. Bakshi ran into trouble when he was unable to complete the battle sequences with the budget 20th Century Fox had given him, and the studio refused to raise his funds, resulting in Bakshi having to use his own money to fund the production, using rotoscoping for the battle sequences, which borrowed live-action material taken directly from World War II stock footage and feature films.[17][18] In 1977, the film was released and received with great acclaim.[2][17] Bakshi's next project was an animated adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. This was the first attempt at filming the epic novel to actually see release. Originally pitched as a trilogy, the adaptation was reduced to two parts after negotiation with United Artists,[19] and released as a standalone film in 1978. The film, as with much of Bakshi's work was very experimental, incorporating the use of rotoscoping, brief snippets of cel animation, and live-action footage mixed with animation. Bakshi later regretted his use of the rotoscoping technique, stating that he made a mistake by tracing the source footage rather than using it as a guide.[20] The film received mixed reviews from critics. However, it was a financial success,[21] cited by film critic Leonard Maltin as being one of only two major commercial successes in Bakshi's career, the other being Fritz the Cat.[10] Despite this, the studio refused to fund the sequel, which would have picked up half-way through the story and adapted the remainder of the book.[19] The Lord of the Rings won the Golden Gryphon at the 1980 Giffoni Film Festival.[22]

Later work

In 1981, Ralph Bakshi made American Pop, followed by Hey, Good Lookin' and Fire and Ice, a collaboration with fantasy illustrator Frank Frazetta. In 1986, Bakshi directed the live-action sequences for the Rolling Stones music video "Harlem Shuffle". John Kricfalusi directed the video's animated sequences.[2] Bakshi and Kricfalusi also conceived Bobby's Girl, described as being "a sort of [1950s] teen-comedy thing".[23] Bakshi's biggest success in the 1980s was a TV cartoon series aired in 1987, Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures. The series ran for two years. Complaints from television watchdog groups about perceived drug references were a driving force in its cancellation.[1][24] In 1988, Bakshi received an Annie Award for "Distinguished Contribution to the Art of Animation".[22]

Bakshi returned to the big screen with another live-action/animated film in 1992 with Cool World. The film was originally pitched as an animated horror film, but the original screenplay was scrapped and heavily rewritten during production.[25][26] Cool World was a critical and box office disappointment, although the film's soundtrack album received positive reviews.[27] In 1994, Bakshi directed the live-action feature Cool and the Crazy, which aired as a part of Showtime's Rebel Highway series.[2][28] Bakshi worked on a short-lived animated TV series called Spicy City in 1997, and in 2003 he made a guest appearance on protégé John Kricfalusi's Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon". The same year, The Bakshi School of Animation and Cartooning, founded by Bakshi, went into operation. It is currently being run by artist and educator Jess Gorell and Bakshi's son Eddie.[29][30]

In 2003, Bakshi received a Maverick Tribute Award at the Cinequest San Jose Film Festival.[22] Availability of his work on the Internet spiked a recent resurgence of interest, resulting in a three-day retrospective at American Cinematheque at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, California, and the Aero Theater in Santa Monica, California, in April 2005. At the proceedings, Bakshi announced plans to finance and produce a low-budget animated feature titled Last Days of Coney Island, although the film's current production status is uncertain. In September 2008, it was announced that Main Street Pictures would collaborate with Bakshi on a sequel to his film Wizards.[31][32]

Unfiltered: The Complete Ralph Bakshi, a hardcover book of Bakshi's art, was released on April 1, 2008. The foreword was written by Quentin Tarantino, and Bakshi wrote the afterword.[33] The Online Film Critics Society ranked four of Bakshi's films on their list of the "Top 100 Animated Features of All Time": Fritz the Cat, The Lord of the Rings, Coonskin and Fire and Ice.[3] Fritz the Cat was ranked at number 56 on Channel 4's list of the 100 Greatest Cartoons.[4] Bakshi currently lives in southwestern New Mexico, working as a painter.[30] The Museum of Modern Art has added his films to their collection for preservation.[2]

Filmography

From 1972 until 1994, Ralph Bakshi directed nine feature films, writing five of them. He made voice cameos in six of his animated features, and in episodes of Spicy City and Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon". He also directed an animation sequence featured in the 1984 live-action film Cannonball Run II, and was interviewed for the 2003 documentary feature Frazetta: Painting with Fire, and the segment Ralph Bakshi: The Wizard of Animation, which appears as a special feature on the 2004 DVD release of Wizards.[34]

Film directorial work

Television directorial work

Notes and references

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Cohen, Karl F (1997). Forbidden Animation: Censored Cartoons and Blacklisted Animators in America. North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., pages 6, 77, 81—88, 152, 195. ISBN 0-7864-0395-0. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Biography". Ralph Bakshi.com. Retrieved on 2007-01-23.
  3. ^ a b "Top 100 Animated Features of All Time". Online Film Critics Society. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
  4. ^ a b "Top 100 Cartoons". Channel 4. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
  5. ^ a b Buckley, Tom (February 20, 1981). "Ralph Bakshi, an immigrant's son, looks back". New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-02-07.
  6. ^ a b c Barrier, Michael (1972/73). "The Filming of Fritz the Cat". Funnyworld, Nos. 14 and 15. Retrieved on 2006-12-29.
  7. ^ Korkis, Jim. "If at first you don't succeed ... call Peter Jackson". Jim Hill Media. Retrieved on 2007-01-02.
  8. ^ Bernstein, Julie; Bakshi, Ralph. (April 2008). The Leonard Lopate Show - Ralph Bakshi, Animation Pioneer [radio interview]. New York, New York: WNYC. Retrieved on 2008-04-19.
  9. ^ Gallagher, John A.. The Directors Series: Interview with Ralph Bakshi (Part Two). Google Video.
  10. ^ a b Maltin, Leonard (1987). Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons. Plume. ISBN 0-978-0452259935. 
  11. ^ Saperstein, Pat (January 9, 2007). "Producer Krantz dies at 83". Variety. Retrieved on 2007-01-10.
  12. ^ Barrier, Michael (Fall 1973). "The Filming of Fritz the Cat: Feedback from R. Crumb". Funnyworld, No. 15. Retrieved on 2007-03-02.
  13. ^ "Who flamed Roger Rabbit?". The Guardian (August 11, 2006). Retrieved on 2006-12-29.
  14. ^ Kanfer, Stefan (2001). Serious Business: The Art and Commerce of Animation in America from Betty Boop to Toy Story. Da Capo, page 205. ISBN 9780306809187. 
  15. ^ Puchalski, Steven (2002). Slimetime: A Guide to Sleazy, Mindless Movies. Critical Vision, pages 72-73. ISBN 1900486210. 
  16. ^ a b c James, Darius (1995). That's Blaxploitation!: Roots of the Baadasssss 'Tude (Rated X by an All-Whyte Jury), pages 117-123. ISBN 0312131925. 
  17. ^ a b Bakshi, Ralph. Ralph Bakshi: The Wizard of Animation (DVD) [Documentary]. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. ISBN 2454312026.
  18. ^ Bakshi, Ralph. (2004). Wizards (DVD) [Audio commentary]. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. ISBN 2454312026.
  19. ^ a b Robinson, Tasha (January 31, 2003). "Interview with Ralph Bakshi". The Onion A.V. Club. Retrieved on 2007-01-09.
  20. ^ Gallagher, John A.. The Directors Series: Interview with Ralph Bakshi (Part One). Google Video.
  21. ^ Diamond, Jamie (July 5, 1992). "Animation's Bad Boy Returns, Unrepentant". The New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-03-21.
  22. ^ a b c "Awards for Ralph Bakshi". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2007-12-06.
  23. ^ Robinson, Tasha (March 4, 2001). "Interview with John Kricfalusi". Onion A.V. Club. Retrieved on 2008-01-23.
  24. ^ Finan, Christopher M.; Castro, Anne F.. "The Rev. Donald E. Wildmon’s Crusade for Censorship, 1977-1992". Media Coalition. Retrieved on 2007-04-24.
  25. ^ Naugle, Patrick (August 2, 2004). "Rotoscoped Memories: An Interview with Ralph Bakshi". DVD Verdict. Retrieved on 2007-01-02.
  26. ^ "Interview with Ralph Bakshi". IGN. Retrieved on 2007-01-10.
  27. ^ Mills, Ted. "Review of Songs from the Cool World". Allmusic. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.
  28. ^ Corliss, Richard (August 15, 1994). "I Was a Teenage Teenager". Time. Retrieved on 2007-06-23.
  29. ^ "THE BAKSHI SCHOOL OF ANIMATION AND CARTOONING". Ralph Bakshi.com. Retrieved on 2007-01-02.
  30. ^ a b Fryxell, David A.. "A Different 'Toon". The Desert Exposure. Retrieved on 2007-01-02.
  31. ^ "Main Street Pictures Teams Up With Top Hollywood Creators", Animation World Network (September 12, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-09-26. 
  32. ^ Ball, Ryan (September 15, 2008). "MacFarlane, Bakshi, Woo Move to Main Street", Animation Magazine. Retrieved on 2008-09-26. 
  33. ^ Gibson, John M.; McDonnell, Chris (April 1, 2008). Unfiltered: The Complete Ralph Bakshi. Universe. ISBN 0789316846. 
  34. ^ "Ralph Bakshi filmography". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2007-05-02.

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
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Ralph Bakshi
Feature films
Unfinished
Short films
This Ain't Bebop · Malcom and Melvin · Babe, He Calls Me
Television series
Television specials


Persondata
NAME Bakshi, Ralph
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Animator
Filmmaker
DATE OF BIRTH October 29, 1938
PLACE OF BIRTH Haifa, Palestine
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Bakshi"

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