The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat

It is always a good idea to watch something all the way through before writing about it.

This film has some excellent sideways kicks at society and anybody who does not have the education to understand or concentration span should switch off after ten minutes.

BTW. The word "boob" means mistake what women have are breasts. To apply that word boob to a woman`s body is sexist and what one would probably expect from a redneck.

This film does not have the cutting edge of the original and although some very good moments does tend to lose its way. However, these two films were landmarks and the satire has not been equaled via cartoon until South Park arrived.

To start this off, I love the original, I think it is brilliant social satire, plus I'm a huge Ralph Bakshi fan. So, even though I knew Bakshi wasn't involved with this sequel I'd figured I'd give it a chance. Well it was pretty bad, instead of making a social comment most of Fritz's Nine Lives just degenerate into dumb slapstick, and gross out gags. The film is dumb, lifeless, and not very funny. Oh and just a note if you're going to use live action footage as your background, make it less interesting than the animated foreground(something this film does horribly). Ultimately the whole movie seems pointless and dumb. However the animation is good and the soundtrack is decent, even though the soundtrack of the original is really good. To those "Wizards" fans Bob Holt the voice of Avatar is a number of voices in this film, he's even credited as "Many Voices", look for him with his Avatar voice as a cigar smoking astronaut.

If you forget the original awesome picture, this one stands alone as a neat smorgasbord of fairly cool ideas. The combat between black and white is poignant, and the Hitler send up is frankly hilarious. The style of animation stands the test of time--- the baby seeking a test in the opening piece is cute! And his hectoring mother is as annoying as they planned. The flick really captures the gritty and occasionally gruesome quality of street life in the 1970s. And the machiavellianism of the political crowd is, sadly, reminiscent of too much African history. The soundtrack features some really good jazz, if that is your bag.

If you know me at all, you'll know that I was not a fan of Ralph Bakshi's FRITZ THE CAT. So imagine my horror when I found out there was a sequel! Well, I had to be dragged kicking and screaming to see THE NINE LIVES OF FRITZ THE CAT. By some stroke of good luck or divine intervention, it happens to be better than the original.

The film, made without Bakshi's involvement, (who was knee deep in the controversy stemming from COONSKIN) begins by finding our hero in a slum, living on welfare with a wife and child. The wife is pretty abusive (although she does have a point-you'll understand when you see the film. Fritz smokes pot to escape and imagines himself in nine other lives (hence the title)

It's actually a pretty good film. The film is less raunchy and vulgar than the first, but I know some people out there will still be offended. The film is a scathing look at society in the 70's and doesn't have the dated feel the first did. Drugs and street language are present, but it's used much more successfully here

There is one sequence that is some kind of masterpiece. A white military leader and a black militant are perched on two opposing mountains and they take turns attacking one another. Live action footage and stills run in the background. In just five minutes, they've managed to convey exactly what the racial unrest of the 70s was.

There are some flaws. The film doesn't have a very satisfying ending and the score is a little too upbeat for a film laden with such stinging social commentary. But I applaud THE NINE LIVES OF FRITZ THE CAT for taking chances; it could have been more of the same, but instead strives to be better. It's not a perfect film, but it's a good one.

*** out of four stars

This film is twisted and dirty. I just wanted to get that off my chest. Now to my review. I was fascinated by the idea of an R rated cartoon, and Fritz the cat seemed the obvious choice. The film begins with Fritz' wife harassing him about the state of his life. To escape the ranting, he lights up a joint and reminiscences how he came to lose many of his lives. The film ultimately shows that Fritz has no chance to improve his life, as every opportunity he gets he sees as another chance to have sex, smoke, cheat the system, and make an idiot of himself. some trippy scenes follow in this dark movie. I would not recommend this to the faint hearted, the violent scenes of murder and assassination are examples, but if you're looking for something different, give it a look.