Fritz the Cat is a 1972 American adult animated black comedy film written and directed by Ralph Bakshi in his directorial debut. Based on the comic strip of the same name by Robert Crumb, the film focuses on its Skip Hinnant-portrayed titular character, a glib, womanizing and fraudulent cat in an anthropomorphic animal version of New York City during the mid-to-late 1960s. Fritz decides on a whim to drop out of college, interacts with inner city African American crows, unintentionally starts a race riot and becomes a leftist revolutionary. The film is a satire focusing on American college life of the era, race relations and the free love movement, as well as serving as a criticism of the countercultural political revolution and dishonest political activists.
Theatrical release poster
The film was the feature debut of writer and director Ralph Bakshi.
Fritz trying to pick up a trio of young women at Washington Square Park. The background is a watercolor painting based on a tracing from a photograph, giving the film a stylized realism virtually unprecedented in animation.
Ralph Bakshi is an American animator, filmmaker and painter. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions. Between 1972 and 1994, he directed nine theatrically released feature films, predominantly urban dramas and fantasy films, five of which he wrote. He has also been involved in numerous television projects as director, writer, producer and animator.
Bakshi in January 2009
An image from Fritz the Cat, with Fritz and a trio of young women he is trying to pick up by Washington Square Park: The background demonstrates one of the film's stylistic innovations - it is a watercolor painting based on a tracing from a photograph.
Bakshi speaking at Comic-Con International on July 26, 2008