Why Ralph Bakshi’s ‘Cool World’ is a Total Animation Disaster!

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#7 in my ranking of Ralph Bakshi’s filmography.

The movie “Cool World” faced production issues, and to some extent, these problems can be attributed to Kim Basinger. It’s said that during the middle of filming, Basinger expressed a desire to create a film suitable for hospitalized children. However, it seems she was not familiar with Bakshi’s earlier work like “Fritz the Cat” before joining the project. Nonetheless, many elements of the film’s strangeness can be traced back to Bakshi, particularly the central idea. In this story, an artist creates his perfect woman who then pulls him into her world, and by having sex with her, she becomes real. This concept is a clear manifestation of Bakshi’s creative vision, but unfortunately, it doesn’t suggest that he was capable of producing quality work, especially when working from his own imagination.

1945 finds Frank Harris (portrayed by Brad Pitt) returning from war straight to his mother and a motorcycle he won at an Italian poker game. Tragically, they are involved in a car accident that claims his mother’s life and leaves him injured on the road. Just as fate would have it, Dr. Whiskers (voiced by Maurice LaMarche), a scientist from another realm, appears and opens a portal using The Spark (a mystical artifact serving more as a plot device than anything substantial). Frank is transported to this alternate dimension and made the first police officer in Cool World. Fast forward five decades, and Jack Deebs (Gabriel Byrne) finds himself incarcerated for a crime committed out of jealousy over his wife’s infidelity. While serving time, he creates a successful comic book series called “Cool World,” featuring his fantasy love interest Holli Would (played by Katherine Heigl). On the eve of his release from prison, Holli transcends dimensions and uses Deebs’ sketches as a gateway, momentarily bringing him into her world. The enduring popularity of “Cool World” comics remains unexplained; perhaps it resonates with women identifying with Holli, or something along those lines.

It’s frequently noted that discussions about “Cool World” often bring up “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”, partly because of the similarities and partly due to Paramount Pictures leveraging the positive reception of Robert Zemeckis’ film. However, it’s important to note that comparing the two isn’t entirely fair to Bakshi or “Cool World”. While there are some parallels, it seems likely that elements of a world blending live-action and animation were part of Bakshi’s plan for years (given his earlier work like “Hey Good Lookin'”).

However, making comparisons can be useful in understanding the differences between the two. The first key difference lies in the presentation of their respective worlds: Zemeckis’ film creates its world in a straightforward manner, while Bakshi tries to merge two realities in a way that feels overly complex and strange.

The second significant difference is in the plot structure. “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” follows traditional detective tropes, allowing audiences to easily follow along as the story unfolds while enjoying the cartoon antics. In contrast, “Cool World” has an unnecessarily convoluted and complex plot compared to its counterpart.

In essence, Frank is alerted whenever someone known as a “noid” enters Cool World, prompting an investigation. It appears he only investigates this specific breach of law, never delving into other matters. Upon locating Jack during his second visit to Cool World, Frank doesn’t apprehend him or expel him. Despite Jack’s actions potentially leading to consequences, it’s shown that such expulsion can be voluntary. Instead, he merely advises Jack against engaging in sexual activity with Holli, as that’s the sole prohibition within Cool World, noids not being allowed to have intercourse with doodles. The reasoning behind this isn’t immediately clear, but we’ll uncover it eventually. Frank doesn’t explain to Jack that such an action would transform him into a doodle and ultimately destroy the universe, as it turns out, he doesn’t need to explain that to him.

Without further ado, following some amusing incidents (and Jack frequently traveling between the real world and the animated realm for seemingly trivial reasons), Jack and Holli engage in an intimate moment, which transforms Holli into a human being. Subsequently, they embark on their journey to the real world because Holli yearns for something more, but it’s unclear exactly what she desires. To clarify, in the opening of the film, Dr. Whiskers explains that Cool World is the only reality these characters are aware of, so they consider themselves as real as anyone else in their minds. To experience what the real world has to offer? She expresses this desire, but never explicitly states what specific aspect of the real world she’s drawn to, perhaps because she already seems to have a great deal in Cool World. For the sake of clarity and to provide her with a compelling motivation, it would be beneficial to define her longing, giving substance to her decision in the final act. The vague generalizations detract from the narrative, making it less engaging.

In reality, Holli has her chance to perform at a nightclub, but as she does so, she gradually transforms into a caricatured clown version of herself. Recognizing this predicament, she concludes that the solution lies in finding The Spark, which is believed to be located high above a Las Vegas hotel. This chase eventually leads Holli to The Spark, but with disastrous consequences as the bizarre animation overtakes Las Vegas. The events that transpire are largely incomprehensible.

Throughout Bakshi’s work, there’s a perplexing aspect regarding his compositional choices that seems problematic: his framing. As animators have full autonomy over what they present and invest considerable time on individual shots, frames should never appear haphazardly crowded or misplaced. This inconsistency is evident multiple times in the film Cool World, a project that marks Bakshi’s ninth feature film. Remarkably, given his extensive industry experience, there’s an astounding lack of professional polish in much of the visual content, making it hard to believe he’s been working in this field for such a long time.

In a different phrasing:

One point to note is that this work might be Bakshi’s most impressive blend of animation throughout his career. The character Holli stands out as the best fully-animated figure he’s ever created. It’s clear that he brought in top-tier talent and focused it on the main animated character. However, the absence of any shading or shadow work (although there are about a dozen shots with animated shadows, so it’s an improvement) gives the overall effect a flat, two-dimensional feel. This is particularly noticeable when compared to real actors like Brad Pitt, who are dramatically lit, while all the animated characters appear as a single, solid shade. I can understand that the film’s budget was significantly lower than what Bakshi deemed acceptable, but he seemed unable to resist his impulses. The abundance of looped characters in the foreground of exterior shots could have been left unanimated, freeing up resources for more dimensional key animations and creating the illusion that they exist in the same space.

In addition, it’s important to point out the intricate stage designs. Instead of appearing cartoonish, they have a more theatrical feel, which is surprising given that the characters seem to be two-dimensional. However, unlike traditional cartoons where characters can change shape based on their orientation, these figures maintain their form regardless of direction. This aspect reminds me of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” where the animation was so lifelike it seemed as though Bob Hoskins was actually in a cartoon world. In contrast, here, Brad Pitt and Gabriel Byrne appear to be on real theater stages, while the flat animation feels detached and doesn’t interact realistically with them.

There’s a moment with genuine interaction, and it’s quite amusing. When Holli and Jack are about to engage intimately, Holli removes Jack’s shirt using oversized, animated gloves. This is humorous because the animation team used rotoscoping on Bassinger’s (or a stand-in’s) hands, which made her fingers appear unusually large. The humor intensifies when the following shot shows Holli removing her gloves to reveal her slender fingers in stark contrast.

To put it simply, this film seems to be more of a jumble than a masterpiece. Any suggestions I’ve heard that it’s secretly brilliant are hard to believe. The animation quality varies greatly, with the exception of Holli, who stands out. The plot is chaotic and lacks coherence. There doesn’t appear to be any primary character to identify with. It’s disorganized, difficult to watch, and somewhat perplexing. Unfortunately, it ranks among Bakshi’s least successful works.

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2025-02-13 00:46