Fun Fact: Wizards is one of Mark Hamil’s first roles before becoming famous in Star Wars

@CaptainCat101

Ай бұрын

More so his first voice over role, which would eventually lead to him play the Joker

@erichfiedler1481

Ай бұрын

Related fun fact: Anthony Daniels (the voice of C3P0) would later play Legolas in Ralph Bakshi's adaptation of Lord of the Rings

@orcatwar9810

Ай бұрын

another fun fact: one of the guys running fox and checks in on funding and productions of movies was in charge of both wizards and star wars (can't remember the guys name but he was the one who okayed both movies)

Fun fact: Before starting his work in adult animation Ralph Bakshi worked on the 60’s Spider Man, he was hired mainly to save money for the animation so later episodes featured heavy amounts of reused animation, even from other television shows that Bakshi worked on like Rocket Robin Hood.

@titangirl161

Ай бұрын

He literally unintenionally smuggled animation from Rocket Robin Hood across the Canadian border to the US which then got recycled and used in the Spiderman series. He was definitely quite the interesting guy

@sonofdragon5530

18 күн бұрын

I did not freaking know that. Thanks for telling me.

Ralph Bakshi is definitely an acquired taste when it comes to his films, but that doesn't stop him from being one of the most unique and impactful directors in animation history.

@username-mk4qv

Ай бұрын

I tried to introduce my bf to some Bakshi films, Fritz the Cat and Heavy Traffic being some of my top favs. He broke up with me…

@noahbossier1131

Ай бұрын

Agreed and makes sense

@kingbash6466

Ай бұрын

@@username-mk4qv Damn, that sucks.

Ralph Bakshi was one of the first few people who opened the door to adult animations and proved to the world that cartoons aren't "just for kids." Him and Don Bluth are two of my most favorite non-Disney animators.

@harmonetheanimationaddict4419

Ай бұрын

His work isn’t really my thing, but I certainly respect him.

@darkzeroprojects4245

Ай бұрын

Proven, yet sadly never broke the stigma.

@Elvusmiw

Ай бұрын

Now we need somone to revolutionize adult animation with mature story telling

@SwaggyG_2102

Ай бұрын

@@Elvusmiw There's plenty of modern adult animated films that do that.

@ironfox4990

Ай бұрын

@@darkzeroprojects4245 Besides Japan, I’m still confounded why it is so disrespected globally?

I actually got to meet Steven E Gordon, someone who worked alongside Bakshi throughout the years, at LA Comic Con last year. He explained that Bakshi is currently doing really well and part of the reason why he’s retired from movie making is because he realised he wasn’t spending any time with his family due to his work. He said Bakshi’s doing well and he’s still enjoying doing art

Fun fact: Dr. Seuss considered Bakshi's adaptation of The Butter Battle Book to be the most faithful of any of his works.

Ralph Bakshi’s legacy is that of a humble one. He made his mark on the world, slowed down, and now in his golden years, he’s still able to be relevant through his art.

I don't know if you say this, but Bakshi's Lord of the Rings actually had a huge influence on Peter Jackson's adaptations. He even used the scenes as storyboards.

Ralph Bakshi inspired me both as a writer and artist. He was able to make the art he wanted

I legitimately didn’t realize Bakshi was anymore than the guy who made the movie about cats that fuck before this video. It is insane how influential this man was in the indie animation headspace and I know fully respect him, despite him being the guy who made the movie about cats that fuck

@Aratlikecreature

Ай бұрын

Man not to be that person but as a life long bakshi fan youve been missing out bigtime, please watch Heavy Traffic its genuinely one of the greatest animted films of all time

@misanthropicservitorofmars2116

Ай бұрын

You’re missing out, yes yes, he helped create many furries that exist today. But he’s a genius of animation. Dudes a mad genius.

I thought Bakshi died. I'm pleasantly surprised to find out otherwise.

To anyone whoever has the mindset that “animation is only for children”; WATCH ANY OF THIS MAN’S MOVIES!! It’s pretty dang crazy!🤣

@darkcrydotmrihavetoomanyst1440

Ай бұрын

I've seen Wizards and that movie is a acid trip

@darkzeroprojects4245

Ай бұрын

If they didn't listen before, doubt they will now.

@RubykonCubes3668

Ай бұрын

Based Ralph Bakshi, tbh

@SirBlackReeds

8 күн бұрын

Fun fact: if you look at the premier photos for Bambi, the audience is largely, if not entirely, adults.

Omg for my Senior final in Film class I reviewed Fritz’s opening monologue in Fritz the Cat. I really like the message and irony…plus it was cool to proudly claim “I got away with analyzing the first ever x cartoon for my last year” in my final year of highs school….and got an A+ !!!!!! (I showed the scene, the dialogue- everything!) 😂 (hey I fought tooth and nail to get it approved!) I left my mark before graduation!!! 😂 (the monologue also did tie into college life and freedom which I used as part of my message about youth and our current reckless ambitions).

@samwhary5498

Ай бұрын

You are amazing and I hope your future endeavors show even greater success. :D

@harmonylynx252

Ай бұрын

@@samwhary5498 Aww thank u and u too! ⭐️

@ViktorErikFade

Ай бұрын

Hey, highschool sucks so finding ways to push the envelope just enough to make it interesting is good sometimes

@vcdgamer

Ай бұрын

Hey, you dropped this. 👑

@harmonylynx252

Ай бұрын

@@ViktorErikFade ikr! It makes it fun! 🤩

Cool World is one of those things you try to watch to maybe find something to love, because you REALLY want to, but theres just nothing there. Even though there could've

@Aratlikecreature

Ай бұрын

Idk, tbh i think the first half of coolworld is really fun, def has its flaws but its still a very interesting story the second half j takes it too far into the cartoon slapstick territory, its a shame, Bakshis original darker vision for the film sounded so amazing

@timlarick2052

Ай бұрын

There are a lot of amazing things in the movie. Some scenes separate from the movie sound and look good. It's just that the movie itself as a whole doesn't feel cohesive.

I feel sorry people were hating on him for “portraying harmful substance abuse” in Mighty Mouse, using Fritz the Cat against him

As an animation student and fighting game player, every time someone mentions that animation is for kids, i want to fucking sacrifice myself to the satsui no hado and learn how to do a raging demon

@Baizhus

Ай бұрын

Oh, same. Also goes for people who claim animation is 'easy' to do or get into. :))))))

@Maxler5795

Ай бұрын

​@@Baizhus As someone who can't draw, *long, dry, sarcastic wheeze*

@noahbossier1131

Ай бұрын

I absolutely agree

I almost immediately recognized Fritz in the thumbnail.

Going off his performance when he played himself on Ren and Stimpy: Adult Party Cartoon, I do think it’d have been cool if he had done voice acting during during the stint between his show, Spicy City and his final film, Last Days of Coney Island. Like it’s mainly from just seeing him scream about the circus midgets in that one scene that became a meme. Though I do respect his decision to focus on fine art, painting, and founding the Bakshi School of Animation.

Fun fact from 11:38 to 11:53 is almost the same story on how Kingdom Hearts got made

@troin3925

Ай бұрын

Speaking of which, Wizards is a Fox movie, and in the comments section of one video one person joked about Wizards making its way into Kingdom Hearts.

Rotoscoping is actually more expensive than regular animation usually.

@darkzeroprojects4245

Ай бұрын

Huh..ironic.

@nightmarefanatic1819

Ай бұрын

And it's TIME CONSUMING. A recent movie called The Spine of Night used rotoscoping and it took like seven years to make.

Honestly after doing Bakshi, you need to do a video in perhaps the biggest failed experimental animation stuck in production hell: The thief and the cobbler.

Ralph Bakshi's filmography has some praises and critiques, but overall there's no denying how much of a legend he is as kne of the earliest independent directors in animation.

I have so much respect for bakshi for being unique and doing his own thing. While his kind of comedy may have been too dark for me, I still love that he was such a rebel in the animation industry. He’s a trailblazer for future adult animation creators.

I love the intro. It’s a great tribute to what animation is capable of. It was a nice way to segway into the topic of Ralph Bakshi

Ralph Bakshi is more of a pioneer of Indie Animation then Glitch Production

@troin3925

25 күн бұрын

That's because he was the first and he revolutionized the industry. If it weren't for him, adult cartoons wouldn't exist.

24 күн бұрын

Could you say that Glitch blew new life into it?

@WigglePup

22 күн бұрын

I could name a bazillion indie works that are more of a pioneer than Glitch.

@troin3925

22 күн бұрын

@@WigglePup I was with you until that last bit.

@WigglePup

22 күн бұрын

@@troin3925 I'm 25% of the daily sodium intake.

I was obsessed with Cool World when I was a kid. When I heard it was actually different from Bakshi's vision because of bullshittery, I became more interested in what it could have been.

@SirBlackReeds

8 күн бұрын

Shout Factory released it on Blu-ray complete with a bonus feature that clears the air on what happened. It turns out that the new leadership that a regime change at Paramount ushered in didn't get the concept.

Robert Crumb was notorious for hating his own work. He was his own worst critic, and the ensuing friction between him an Bakshi was inevitable. Theres literally no way they could have made anything he approved of.

Imagine having your creative work ruined because your producer wanted to do something "different".

I already had a lot of respect for Ralph Bakshi, but this video gave me so much more appreciation for him.

The funny thing about the original Fritz the cat, he 100% partipated in the awful shit and did not care

@Comeonfhqwhgads95

14 күн бұрын

I could understand why they wanted to make him a slightly better person considering stuff like what he originally did to Harriet in the comics…

Ah Ralph the Animator who made me love Indy Animation. The Lord of the Rings actually had a lot of tragedy when it came to filming. There was filming in Spain and some of the film was lost due to misunderstanding of what was wanted. Also my late sister was a huge fan of American Pop, thank you. I always remembered how awesome it was to see a story evolve.

Hell yeah! I was hoping you'd talk about the GOAT of independent animation!!

I love your stills and it’s nice to see someone bring this guy back to light after… who knows how long

You know what's funny, when I was about 11 or 12 years old, I went to a store that was selling old movies from the 50s to the 80s. When I looking at the movies, I saw Ralph Bakshi's Fritz the Cat. It was so in your face with Fritz in the front, groping a female cat's breast in the front cover, I wanted to know what this movie was about. I ended up buying the DVD and watched it on an old laptop I used to have that let me watch DVDs. (Remember when that was a thing?) I was shocked, disgusted, and intrigued at the same time. I didn't get the message of the movie at first (because I was a dumb kid), but as I got older, I rewatched it multiple times and now I understand what the movie represents and what it meant at the time. It's a good movie if you are into animation and crazy shit. Don't show this to kids though. Learn from my mistakes.

@noahbossier1131

Ай бұрын

agreed. Is intrigued

Wow, LS Mark, MrEnter, and Just Stop made videos on the same day.

1:09:54 I'm surprised you didn't mention that mark Hamill was in this and in the credits they misspelled his last name

This is the one I've been waiting for! I will comment again after I've watched it all, but thanks for the cool topic

I love Ralph work, his animation is creative

You’ve inspired me. I’m currently watching all of Bakshi’s films in chronological order and watching each section of this vid after I finish each film. His films are wiiiiiild but I’m really appreciating them so far and love your thoughts too. Thank youuuuu 🙏🏻

1:03:30 even then that's an understatement. The Silmarion? It's not supposed to exist, it's an encyclopedia of a fictional world composed of the notes he had literally lying around. Vaguely recall it was his son who actually put that one out after Tolkien died. Saying "he had the room" also involved _stacking papers across surfaces_ in this context.

JS constantly redesigning his character avatar is strangely relatable.

I’ve been waiting for this video for so long and man it did NOT disappoint I did feel a little called out by the bit in the intro where Braxton mentioned he didn’t see if a movie was released on Criterion before watching it though lol, but seriously I think it would be so cool if some of Ralph’s movies got a Criterion release

Great video! I had heard of Fritz the Cat in passing but didn't know anything about Bakshi. Learning about his other films and artistic vision was so cool.

I love your longer video Just Stop. Don’t apologize for their length, their your best videos

I just finished watching the video, can't imagine the amount of effort and time that took you making it, i inmensly appreciate your work. And I must admit, i was so confused when I saw the thumbnail, the video duration, and the name Bakshi... Soo yeah, I just discovered your channel being this one the first video I've seen, and keep it up and don't stress too much 😘 (btw English it's not my primary language sorry for any mistakes).

As much as I respect this guy and his career, I don't think a movie ever made me feel as uncomfortable as Wizards. The whole time I felt "this is what drugs must be like."

Shout out to the artist James Gurney, the creator of Dinotopia, who was also a background artist on Fire and Ice early in his career, and also shout out to the late Louise Zingarelli, an artist who did a lot of production/character art for American Pop and Cool World (and the art of Cool World is its greatest strength).

@SirBlackReeds

8 күн бұрын

Conrad Vernon (Rico) and Chris Miller (Kowalski), worked on Cool World before they worked at Dreamworks Animation.

Fun fact: Cool World is known in Italy as "Escape from dreams world". Yeah, don't ask me why, they also call Cool world "Smart world (mondo furbo)" instead of "Mondo figo". At leats the italian dubbers give to the characters much more personality, especially to Brad and Gabe. XD

Ralph Bakshi is one of my favorite animators. Although I didn’t watch all these movies, I did watch the fair few like Lord of the rings and cool world. Also to go off topic, He literally punched a studio big head for changing his script. He It’s probably one of the most Balzy workaholic I’ve ever Heard about and I love him!

One of the best videos I've seen a while.

The video I have been waiting for!

11:39 Jerry Gross is literally the perfect name for a Grind house film producer.

Bakshi is one of those directors where I’m more fascinated by his films than I like them. Sometimes he goes a bit too wacky, but man is it interesting how unhinged he could be.

i've watched the Fritz movies idk like 3 or 4 times each and so ive watched it when i was a kid, when i was in college, and now while im grinding between the gears of the great societal machine and each time i get something else out of it and each time i see my worst habits in the main character but in new uncomfortable ways that force me to be more mindful of my own shortcomings.

Did he just name South Park as a show for kids that never cussed before the movie and is thus media for edgelords in the first 3 minutes?! SURELY deserving of so many views.

Wizards holds a special spot in my heart i got the cover art on my arm ❤

@darkcrydotmrihavetoomanyst1440

Ай бұрын

My dad was a fan of that movie (he named a cat after one of the characters, Avatar)

This video had me watching American Pop. It's free on KZread right now, and it was a great watch. I was a low key Bakshi fan, having been into animated films since I was young, but it was honestly one I never heard anyone talk about. Maybe it's because of the forgettable title? It's a shame because it's probably one of my favorites, hitting the grimy realism while still being a character focused story. I highly suggest to anyone with the time.

1:22:06 WOAH THE AMOUNT OF HARD R'S, I'm aware that's probably what he used for "Coonskin" but JESUS

Great work, guy! Bakshi's work can be difficult to appreciate. I'm glad you were able to dig through the outer obscurity to the meaning inside.

Wayching handfuls of your videos at a time lends to the cool aspect of sesing your avatar evolve and change over time If i saw it every day i may not have noticed But im glad I did

Cool World was legitimately so close to being good.. would’ve been a wonderful finale to Bakshi’s career.. that original concept, the absolutely gorgeous concept art, the potential to be his ultimate blending of animation and live-action, everything! It was RIGHT THERE, MAN! RIGHT THERE!

@SirBlackReeds

8 күн бұрын

An animator named Steve Moore nearly worked on that movie. He recounted his meeting with Ralph Bakshi on his Flip Animation blog.

i came out of this with out newfound appreciation for this guy; love the video keep up thr good work

Hey, I really enjoyed this deep dive into his filmography! Question though. If you take suggestions on video ideas, how about one talking about the history of Video Game to Tv show adaptations?

Ralph Bakshi is a living legend

I thought I was going into a video about some guy I've never heard of or seen the work of, but it turns out I saw his adaptation of lord of the rings as a kid and was traumatized by parts of it. I still remember several bad dreams that don't make any sense, and thinking back to them, I don't Entirely know why they were scary.

A man who revolutionized animation forever

to this day I'm still very mixed on fritz the cat

Wizard and Fire & Ice are my favorite Bakshi animated movies ever, and my favorite animators of all time. Despite the flaws and controversy he's made over the years as an independent artist. He pioneered adult animated films.

Ralph is one of my heros. He inspired me like no one else!

We need the original hey good lookin. Ralph has the print.

@SirBlackReeds

8 күн бұрын

Hopefully, Criterion will add it to their collection.

So, the original concept for Cool World was inspired by Roger Rabbit and it was about an evil character half-cartoon and half-live-action. Ralph basically wanted to make "Judge Doom: The Movie".

This was just incredible. Great insights as always. As a high school graduate going on to major in animation, I strive to have this man’s ambition and spirit for creative freedom in the face of mundane corporate. Now I gotta go and actually watch these films for myself.

This video was fantastic!

I'm liking the video so far, but it would help if you provided sources for anything you've read up on Bakshi in the description and the end of the video. Bakshi is notorious for conflating stories and events, and it'd be nice to read up on additional sources to give our own perspectives. Just feels kinda sloppy when there's nothing backing up your historical points.

If anyone hasn't read it, I highly recommend reading or listening to "A Renegade History of America" by Thaddeus Russell. Thad goes into a lot of people similar to Bakshi and the very many people who aren't really talked about that help make America the way that it is. Like Bakshi, Thad goes into the very gritty history of things and people that often are misunderstood or just completely forgotten alongside showing the thought of many of the elitist people of the times and how those ideas would go on to change. One of these groups in the beginning, and has had an impact on American culture from their arrival, was the slaves (Black and Irish culture) (the Irish and Scottish came over usually as debt slaves or later during the revolution military slaves). Edit: punctuation

@ashkitt7719

28 күн бұрын

I'm curious how it compares to the Zinn book that it definitely seems to be influenced by based on the cover art and title and to a certain extent, narrative.

Recommendations: For directors of animated films, I would say Satoshi Kon (creator of Perfect Blue and Paprika) and Isao Takahata (one of the founders of Studio Ghibli, as well as director of films like Grave of the Fireflies and The Tale of Princess Kaguya, which is probably my favorite Ghibli film). For not-well known animated films, I would recommend Rock and Rule, a film that bombed very, very, VERY hard at the box office, but has since gained a cult following. For modern hidden gems, check out Blue Giant (easily one of the best films of 2023!) By the way, I loved this video! My favorite of yours would have to be the Don Bluth one. (Also, sorry if my English is somehow broken, because Greek is my main language, not English.😅)

Actually, what happened with Cool World is that Mancuso Jr. & Basinger were on board with Bakshi's concept. However, a regime change at Paramount brought in new leaders who didn't get what Bakshi was going for. One of the writers of the film confirmed that neither he nor his writing partner were involved in the writing process after the regime change, which sounds like Paramount decided to hire non-union writers to overhaul the script. Funnily enough, the original writers could never quite nail down the third act. I'm surprised that _Cool and the Crazy_ wasn't mentioned. It was nearly a cancelled project of Bakshi's and starred a pre-fame Jared Leto & Alicia Silverstone. Steve Moore (Cranium Command, The Legend of Orin, A Goofy Movie) recounted a meeting he had with Bakshi on his blog called "Flip Animation." His exact description of Bakshi's pitch for Cool World was "slow and simple, like a good storyteller. Only the story he told was not good, but absolutely bizarre - like listening to Garrison Keillor read a soft porn script." Apparently, Willem Dafoe had been tapped to play Jack Deebs at that point. He went onto describe what he heard about production from his friends as "People were fired and rehired on a daily basis. Ralph seemed to relish working in chaos." He also wasn't too impressed with _The Last Days of Coney Island._

1:03:23 I don't know if someone said it already, but Tolkien himself also had the tendency to go through long tangents.

“hey this guys movies look like that animated lord of the rings movie…..WAITTTTT” 😂

Your description of the "old run down school" in the Hey Good Lookin' segment reminded me so hard of my childhood town. It's a big old shithole, but a "pleasant" shithole, one that's nice to look back on despite the bad memories.

This is a pretty great analysis on Bakshi’s films. Top-tier video. Also, I couldn’t help but notice that you used music tracks from Persona 3 Reload. Are you a fan? I enjoyed that remake and the original, too.

@liammcnicholas918

Ай бұрын

The video opens with Kaneshiro’s palace music

44:33 getting a invitation from the KKK is crazy

@MrJoeyWheeler

Ай бұрын

It made me chuckle a bit. "Republican senators and the KKK"...so he managed to unite both sides of the aisle in wanting to talk to him, impressive.

@ashkitt7719

28 күн бұрын

Especially since he's a vaguely leftist New York Jew. Pretty much who the Klan claims is responsible for all the woes of White gentiles.

You look down on the recorder because it's associated with kids I look down on the recorder because I'm a flautist We are not the same

Honestly, I'd like to see someone tried to remake Ralph Bakshi's work into expanding the worlds and characters and going full R-Rated.

Hes the kind of animator that wouldnt be my favorite but being a sheltered kid feels as if his works are heavy intrusive exposure therapy to how crude yet still beautiful the world can be for multiple extreme view points wheather sanitized down or very crude can both exist within animation.

You missed Christmas in Tattertown.

@SirBlackReeds

8 күн бұрын

And _Cool and the Crazy._

Ooo 3 hours. I really am lucky today. Caught a video fairly fresh for once.

Little correction: although they later became republicanw, the senators at the time were "dixiecrats", which was a political movement at the time.

@ashkitt7719

28 күн бұрын

It was after 1968 so the switch more or less was underway at least by that point.

@RodrigoGarcia-ze5em

27 күн бұрын

@@ashkitt7719 wrong, although some had already become republicans that was mainly because they thought supporting Goldwater would help them fight against the civil rights act, but Nixon's goverment ended those hopes, as Nixon was the political apprentice of Eisenhower and as such he also promoted desegregation.

It's very funny to me that there really was just a point in Cool World where Bakshi just went "fuck it, just do whatever. This isn't gonna be good and we know it."

Thanks for praising the music of Wizards-it's one of my favorite aspects of the film; such a unique and varied soundtrack! Wizards is a film that I have...complicated feelings on. But there's a lot of good stuff to like, such as the solid and memorable character designs, the mostly good animation(despite some inconsistencies and hiccups), the art direction, the "They Killed Fritz!" scene, and the scenes with the fairies(so magical!), but I will say, it definitely needed a script doctor in some areas, or even as you said, a longer runtime. Definitely some missed potential, which is a bit of a disappointment to me, but I can't deny the good aspects of this film.

29:47 You have no idea how happy I am to hear Gravity Rush music somewhere else

1:22:20 oh hey it’s Good Kid (The Band)

Got some new films to watch

American Pop is a masterpiece and is in my top 20 movies of all time.

I just found out that the European title for „Wizards“ is „The world in 10 Million Years“

you described Ice and Fire as a Dungeons and Dragons campaign but to me it more seems like someone made a walkthrough for a unreleased Don Bluth video game similar to Dragon's Lair so you're not able to play it but you're able to watch the KZread video of it

I remember being introduced to this man’s work I was reading this video game magazine and they were talking about this cute game called cool cool toon and I was thinking that this game looks really cute! (And then they brought up cool world!) Because when I think of this cute rhythm game I think of a movie featuring Brad Pitt!

There has to be a Chad DarkWolf vs. Virgin Lorn meme out there…

I cant wait for a ghibli ranking

Never had a problem with the dialogue's Fire and Ice. But then again I never had a problem with George Lucase's dialogue's. The 90's X-Men animation however had atrocious dialogue's if you ask me.