Fritz the Cat

Fritz the Cat is the greatest animated film ever conceived via trigger-pull abortion. Robert Crumb, creator of the comic, might loathe it but that's natural during the porting of a form of printed literature to filmic properties. Alan Moore boasts his hatred as does Robert Crumb. These two men are no alike. One writes proper graphic novels lamenting political and societal importance and the other transfers his sexual deviance in the form of crude, rude drawings. Crumb is the father of underground comics while underlings attempt to catch some of his glory, namely Mike Diana. Nothing against the man but I find his artistic style dated and under the weather. After seeing his ridiculous interview in the film Affliction, I found many a bad trait within the cartoonist. With this, I begin my review of Fritz the Cat which in a way, is a review of humanity. Depressing, isn't it?


I'd been warned of the pornographic nature of Fritz the Cat upon the dawning of Netflix some odd years ago. My mother told me never to watch both The Rocky Horror Picture Show or Fritz the Cat. I heard only tales of this pornographic cartoon that brought to mind visions of Felix the Cat playing with sex toys. I really didn't know what to expect and once I hit play on the DVD remote, I knew I had a real treasure at hand. The genius of Fritz the Cat is birthed from the twisted mind of fetishist extraordinaire Robert Crumb. The story plays out as Fritz, a cat, eventually tires of the "norms" and would rather live his life by inciting riots and enjoying the power plays of the 60s by consuming tons of drugs and consummating with all the animals he can find, especially Negro bitches.


In this fantastical world that's not too far from the truth, there are two classes; cats and crows. Cats are whites, respectably, and crows are the Afro-American folks, obviously. In the vein of classic Disney, "dem" Negroes are portrayed as janky jive-talkers with crumbling shoes and cigars hanging out their shady beaks.Throughout his rebellious phase, Fritz begins to adopt a slave mentality while apologizing for the persecution of blacks and goes on about how he really feels for their suffering and how he loses sleep over the evils of the white man. All until he says "Hey boy!" while requesting an ale from the colored gentleman behind the bar. Just goes to show how hard most college level whites try to assimilate into city cultures. The only mistake this Bakshi directed imagining of Fritz the Cat makes is the self-label of "satire." In question, this so-called sardonic atmosphere is aided by real life scenarios. Had this film been live action, Fritz the White Male might as well have been a documentary on the gutter life of urban citizens. These cognizant depictions of a sub-segregated New York propel the brilliance of Fritz the Cat into unheard of extremes.


Crumb was apparently so disappointed with this "embarrassment" of a film that he promptly killed off the character in his comic strip. This was a sad and miserable day for both cinema and comic fans seeing as Fritz the Cat is a highly likable character even if he does wind up in trouble under the wing of Neo-Nazi rabbits and Negro drug lords. To some, Fritz is even a hero of both the effort of war and peace. He ventures out into a malleable world consisting of fornication, semen, titty fucking, reefer indulging, and causing a bit of widespread panic. In his quest that equates with him becoming a fugitive, you too will feel "naughty" watching this film that was unfairly rated X. To incline this gravely important animated performance upon you, the adaptation might not be honorary to the intended theme of the comic strip but in regards to the film's lifespan, Fritz the Cat remains one of the most important films to have ever been created for the sake of racial digression and promised persuasion of prejudice.

-mAQ