Ralph Bakshi
The celebrated artist, Ralph Bakshi is famous for his mature animation with principals that align with political interpretation and irony. Even though he was born in October, 1938 in Haifa, Israel, his family soon immigrated to New York in 1939 to escape World War II (www.animationarchive.org/bio/2005/12/bakshi-ralph). In Brooklyn, he attended the former High School of Industrial Arts which is now the High School of Art and Design. Bakshi displayed giftedness in the arts from a young age in elementary school. Therefore, it came as no surprise, when Bakshi graduated in 1957 when he began his journey in cartooning at the age of eighteen. Terrytoons animation studio in New Rochelle hired him as a cell polisher, and eventually he was promoted to cell painting (www.tv.com/ralph-bakshi/person/45086/summary.html).
Freshly acquired by the CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System) productions network, Terrytoons experienced an age of reformation and reorganization, so it was a perfect opportunity for a young, creative man to fabricate an impact. Since Bakshi was industrious and worked nights and weekends, he rapidly changed positions to an inker. With his new title, he staked claim of a vacant desk in the animator’s department then asserted that he was now promoted to an animator (www.ralphbakshi.com). Next, he requested to animate scenes for shows such as “Mighty Mouse,” “Heckle & Jeckle,” “Deputy Dawg,” “Foofle,” and “Lariat Sam.” Additionally, at the age of twenty five, Bakshi directed some episodes of these shows as well as “Sad Cat” and “James Hound”. In 1965, he was assigned by CBS at age twenty-eight to produce a television superhero cartoon series. At this time, Bakshi was then named creative director of Terrytoons. He confirmed his contempt of this title by the creation the “Mighty Heroes,” which were some of the most absurd, slightly striking superheroes ever: Tornado Man, Cuckooman, Ropeman, Strongman and Diaper Baby. Unbelievably, CBS prized the idea, and the transitory but spirited series was conceived (www.imdb.com/name/nm0000835/bio).
In 1967, when Terrytoons dissolved, Bakshi was promoted to Producer and Director of Paramount Cartoon Studios, also called Famous Studios. At this time, he completed four projects: “Super Basher and Bop,” “Marvin Digs,” “Mini Squirts” and “The Fiendish Five” (www.imdb.com/name/nm0000835/bio). Unexpectedly, the cartoon marketplace studio shut down and Bakshi was acquired by Steve Krantz Productions to control direction and production of “Rocket Robin hood” at Al Guest Studios in Toronto. At this time, Bakshi also produced and directed “Spiderman”. Spidey was then presented to screens for the first time (www.ralphbakshi.com).
By 1968, Bakshi launched a studio of his own named Ralph’s Spot. There, he operated alongside Peter Max on a variety of projects and completed commercials spots for the companies such as Fanta and Encyclopedia Britannica. Still allied with Krantz, Bakshi produced his initial theatrical animated piece, which was a raw, almost X-rated adaptation of Robert Crumb’s subversive comic strip “Fritz the Cat.” Together they journeyed to Oakland for negotiations with Crumb to secure the rights. Crumb was delighted to connect with them in the endeavor. Just about halfway through the construction of Fritz the Cat, the whole studio was transported to Los Angeles because the Cartoonists Union declined to collaborate with the studio. Rather than suspend their efforts, Bakshi and Krantz also relocated to California where the Los Angeles Union was pleased to receive the project. “Fritz the Cat” was then produced entirely in 2D animation. The audio tracks were recorded virtually in full on the streets of New York, with the exclusion of Fritz and a small number of supplementary characters. “Fritz the Cat” opened in April of 1972 receiving enthusiastic reviews. While Crumb despised the completed creation, Fritz was confirmed to be a frontrunner on the late-night movie marketplace. The Museum of Modern Art even screened the film. A sequel to Fritz was planned, however Bakshi, who had a falling out with Krantz, declined to be involved (www.ralphbakshi.com).
Bakshi’s subsequent intense feature, “Heavy Traffic,” was more extreme than “Fritz the Cat.” The live action shots were filmed for “Heavy Traffic” and then integrated with the animation. In 1973, the film was screened at the Museum of Modern Art where it stunned and confounded its viewers (www.ralphbakshi.com). Countless cartoon enthusiasts regard this revolutionary, scattered account of a juvenile artist daydreaming in New York as Bakshi’s most superb effort.
His next feature was entitled “Coonskin,” which depicted an assault on Hollywood racial typecasts. It was so ruthless that the movie was protested and as a result, debates over Bakshi as a racist ensued. The production of “Coonskin” initiated in 1973 at the recently opened Bakshi Studios in Hollywood. Yet again, live action footage was utilized in this project and coupled in conjunction with the animation. “Coonskin” opened a few years later in 1975 which premiered at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. The debate over racism caused so many hullabaloos that Paramount quickly retreated from its release. Thankfully, Bryanston Pictures promptly supported the movie and released it in theatres even though with the persistent debate (www.imdb.com/name/nm0000835/bio).
Written, directed and produced by Bakshi, the film “Wizards” was released in 1977 and acknowledged with immense approval. Rotoscope (traced live-action footage, then subsequently animated drawings) was not used in “Wizards,” however, Bakshi managed to include original Nazi war footage (www.ralphbakshi.com). Although not immediately successful, “Wizards’” popularity improved through the years and the sci-fi fantasy tale, which paralleled the Holocaust, is presently a common fan favorite today.
An animated version of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” commenced directly after “Wizards.” A two-part version of the famous tale, which is also said to be parallel for World War II, was designed. Bakshi filmed the whole movie in live action first and then utilized the rotoscoping method to animate the infamous story. The film was released in 1978; however, it was unfortunately a disappointment to the critics. The second part of the sequel, which was in mid-production, was cut short and was never accomplished (www.spock.com/Ralph-Bakshi).
“Hey, Good Looking” was released in 1980, which was also entirely written, directed, and produced by Bakshi. This film was completely animated with live action footage applied for certain elements such as backgrounds. “Hey, Good Looking”, a wistful glimpse of 1950’s street gangs, was originally finished in 1975; however, it was shelved from release by Warner Brothers until 1980. Bakshi directed “American Pop” in 1982, which was his own personal praise to rock music. Somehow Bakshi’s common rotoscope recipe hindered the film’s success and earned it lukewarm reviews. In 1983, amidst mixed reviews, the release of “Fire and Ice”, Bakshi disappeared from the film and animation scene for just about a decade (www.ralphbakshi.com).
During this time period, Bakshi relocated back to New York and continued his artistic journey now as a painter full-time (www.ralphbakshi.com). He occasionally interrupted his work to aid in the productions such as the “Harlem Shuffle” video for the Rolling Stones in 1985 (www.xs4all.nl/~hwalther/ralphbakshi). Bakshi also found time to contribute for a short film for PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) entitled “This Ain’t Be Bop,” in 1987, starring Harvey Keitel. “This Ain’t Be Bop” was a glance at the standards of the beat generation (www.animazing.com/gallery/pages/bio_bakshi).
However, Bakshi soon appeared in Los Angeles to focus on the animated series “The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse” which broadcasted throughout 1987 and 1988. For this endeavor, Bakshi appointed John Kricfalusi (who later earned his fame when he created the infamous “Ren and Stimpy”). However, the Mighty Mouse series stirred up controversy when the religious rightwing media accused the series of drug use promotion. For instance, in one episode, Mighty Mouse was revitalized by smelling a white flower. What eventually eradicated Mighty Mouse, though, was not the media but the ratings. CBS maintained that the show was popular in adult audiences; however, it was a dud with the children’s audiences, for whom the series targeted (www.ralphbakshi.com).
After that unfortunate incident, in 1991, Bakshi directed a live action and animation big-screen feature called “Cool World” which was released by Paramount. The cast included Brad Pitt, Kim Basinger and Gabriel Byrne. In 1994, his subsequent work was the live action movie “The Cool and the Crazy”, featuring Alicia Silvertsone and Jared Leto, which was written and directed by Bakshi was aired exclusively on the Showtime network. Bakshi wrote, directed and produced two animations for Hannah Barbera in 1995: “Babe He Calls Me” and “Malcolm and Melvin.” He also created a sci-fi detective series meant for HBO dubbed “Spicy City” in 1996 (www.ralphbakshi.com).
Ralph Bakshi’s work initiated discussion and controversy in all his projects while he incessantly breached new ground in his art form. Throughout his career as an artist, he encouraged the audience to view cartoons in a new influential manner through his imaginative environments. Without question, Bakshi pioneered animation film’s future with mature premise by means of political interpretation and irony. For this reason, the Museum of Modern Art has supplemented his animations to their collected works for conservation (www.animazing.com/gallery/pages/bio_bakshi).
Work Cited
www.animationarchive.org/bio/2005/12/bakshi-ralph.html
www.animazing.com/gallery/pages/bio_bakshi
www.imdb.com/name/nm0000835/bio
www.ralphbakshi.com
www.spock.com/Ralph-Bakshi
www.tv.com/ralph-bakshi/person
www.xs4all.nl/~hwalther/ralphbakshi
