Review of Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat, The

Introduction

I need a shower after watching this. It`s a sleazy enough storyline - the eponymous moggie escaping the drudgery of his mundane existence by embarking on a cat-nip-spliff trip - but being an animated cartoon makes it doubly yucky. I know it`s an adult cartoon, and there are some excellent adult cartoons out there, but this is just sleaze for sleaze`s sake. Sexism, misogynism, racism, casual drug use - there`s something in this picture to offend everybody, and very little to recommend it.

The 1974 sequel (surprise surprise) to "Fritz The Cat", the original had been directed by world-class subversive animator Ralph Bakshi from characters created by equally subversive cartoonist Robert Crumb. Crumb had not wanted anything to do with the project and sued to have his name taken off the film, after Bakshi and producer Steve Krantz had discovered Crumb`s wife had his power of attorney and had bought the rights to Fritz behind his back.

Video

Presented in 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, the image is rather grainy and fuzzy and generally lacking in the pin-sharp clarity one expects from the mainstream animation studios. Wear and tear is evident. As with many Arrow releases, I was not impressed by the stability of the authoring - the image tending to pixellate if fast forward was applied.

Audio

The movie comes with a surprising Stereo (DD2.0) mix - surprising in that 1974 was a year that virtually all movie sound mixes were mono.

Features

There is a trailer for the main movie and trailers for three other "Umbrella Entertainment" titles presently available - of which "What`s Up Tiger Lily" looks the best bet. There are no subtitles or closed captions, and the title is region-free PAL system.

Conclusion

"The Simpsons" do subversive animation a lot better. "Nine Lives" is just plain sleazy, lacking any genuine wit.