Animation Inspiration Week: Ralph Bakshi
I’ll start with a more recent inspiration of mine. I’ve known about Bakshi since high school and watched Fritz the Cat, which I thought was cool since it was super adult but I don’t think I was mature enough to really “get it”. About a year ago I rediscovered him and it just clicked. I became obsessed. Instead of looking at his work as smut or X-rated, I saw it as rebellion against popular animation in general. Does it all have to be pretty? Does it all have to be “Disney” animated? Does it all have to have straight forward story? Bakshi says no it doesn’t and I agree. My favorite films of his are mostly his early ones. Cooskin and Heavy Traffic might tie for his best film…with Wizards and Fritz close behind them. Hey Good Lookin’ is odd, underrated and virtually unknown but is also a personal favorite of mine. No one seems to appreciate the design sense of these films. The characters looks like no other and have an ugly, gritty yet appealing look to them. Some are even kind of graphic looking (IE Coonskin). Bakshi’s use of live action backgrounds as well as real footage looks way cool behind these gritty characters. His choice of music is also fantastic. From classic 50’s rock n roll, to more 60’s 70’s psychedelics and funk, it all fits super well the images. I’m not a fan of his rotoscope films but I do like his adaptation of The Lord of The Rings. Take a look at these five films I mentioned and I dare you tell me there is no merit to them. Bakshi creates from his heart and his gut, and both are pretty damn big. That’s why I dig him.
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