Review of Cool World (1992) by Dan Z — 05 Dec 2010

Cool World is probably the most dividing work that Ralph Bakshi has ever produced. Some see it as his worst film, some see it as his greatest. Some say the animation and story is clever and creative, some say Paramount destroyed it.

I think we can all agree on one thing with this film: it's the biggest animated mindfuck most of us have seen in our lives. This film had even more "WTF" moments than The Beatles Yellow Submarine. Some have seen this film as a much darker version of Who Framed Roger Rabbit (and I love Who Framed Roger Rabbit). I agree. It's Who Framed Roger Rabbit on alcohol. It's Who Framed Roger Rabbit on caffeine. It's Who Framed Roger Rabbit on marijuana. It's Who Framed Roger Rabbit on steroids. It's Who Framed Roger Rabbit on.

"crack, smack, uppers, downers, inners, outers, horse tranquilizers, cow paralyzers, blue bombers, green goofers, and LSD Mach 3, with trace amounts of human urine.".

The animation is colorful and its setting is dark. Granted, Bakshi did not have the same budget at his disposal as Robert Zemckis, so some liberties were taken on animation and set design. For example, in other movies, when the camera pans, some characters are taken out of focus to allow breathing room for the audience. In this movie, every one is kept in focus with each shot. Apparently Bakshi got a cinematographer that was as into animated voyeurism as he was. Also, in some shots, the backgrounds are what helped define art Deco and surreal animation; but when the camera moves, it becomes quite obvious that the walls,.

Ceilings, carpets, pictures, furniture and appliances were reworked matte paintings. In other movies, this would expose a glaring hole in the visual effects; but in Cool World, that just adds to the charm. I mean, how would you react to a chair after you fell 40 stories into a world where babies pee on policemen, rabbits swear, cats smoke and women give out lap dances every five minutes?

Even in the main storytelling, there is always some sort of visual or verbal psychedelia that pulls down your pants and kicks you in the ass. Now that I had to mention shedding your trousers, I'll talk about what's the most controversial part of this movie-the sex. If you thought Kim Basinger was hot, wait until you see ANIMATED Kim Basinger. She's by far the character with the most interesting personality. Seeing an animated Kim Basinger make love to a live Gabriel Byrne was probably one of the first things that told us that the feelings in our drawers are okay to have (her and the lady with the three boobs from Total Recall). Unlike in The Room, the sex scenes are among the most well-animated and well-shot things in the movie. I don't know why, but I suspect the cinematographer on this movie was once a skilled pornographer before some unknown event got him a genuine A.S.C. contract.

Even though Brad Pitt isn't an animated character, he does things that a normal man would never be able to do (probably because a normal man would suspect the floor would eat him if he took off his shoes in this universe).

This isn't the worst cartoon I've ever seen, but it's by far the craziest. Come ON, Ralph Bakshi! Even though the studio tried to change your movie it's still a trip to the acid isles!

Ren and Stimpy, Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Cars, Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, Pokemon, Digimon, Yu-Gi-Oh, SpongeBob, Fanboy and Chum Chum, Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Azumanga Daioh, Phineas and Ferb, Detective Conan, the Adult Swim block, the Super Mario Bros. movie, and the 2008 Speed Racer movie are completely normal compared to Cool World!

Cool World doesn't even seem like a real film at times. It often seems like an extended 1970s music video. Paramount may have tried to cut its losses and make the film more family-friendly, but there is no way in all hell that anyone will think this is a kid's movie when they watch it. Whereas Roger Rabbit was edgy, funny, and often adult in humor, Cool World is entirely deranged and subversive on every tether of reality you may have. In Roger Rabbit, all your favorite cartoons smiled at you and waved hello. In Cool World, everything will try to kill you, have sex with you or both. It's not the worst film ever, but it's also not the best. And Cool World is definitely the closest thing you can get to an illegal substance high without actually going all they way. Until the next review, I am Kira.