Fritz The Cat-1972

Animated films are a weakness of mine, especially in the style of Max Fleisher through Robert Crumb, to Richard Elfman.

The Heavy Metal movies are also a favorite of mine, and in hindsight seem to owe quite a bit to this era of animation.

"The 60's? Happy times, heavy times...."

The lead in vocal says it all about the spirit of this film. Somewhat factual, always naively whimsical; it strikes me that as early as 1972, people were pining for the hedonism and high mindedness of the supposed decade of love.

The X-rating this film garnered at the time is a bit laughable, and as director Ralph Bakshi has pointed out, "Now they do as much on "The Simpsons" (1989) as I got an X rating for Fritz the Cat." Yet I still would not have the kiddies watching this ;)

As anachronistic and hypocritical the hero might be; I found myself first crying about the ugliness the film exposes about the era, then laughing at the "why can't we all just drop the crap and have a love-in" ending.

If you've ever just heard about this film and wondered if it's worth the time, I'd tell you it's good fun. If you are an animation fan, I'd say it's a must see.