kkinne

I was really looking forward to seeing this program when it first came out, if for no other reason than to see a female action hero in a genre which has so very few of them. The animation, by Warner Brothers, is as good as one would expect, and the voice acting is above average, but I really was disappointed by how the character of Jane was handled. First of all, she uses a bull-whip instead of a gun, apparently since American animators have a problem depicting female characters using deadly weapons. Never mind the fact that going into a gunfight armed with a whip would only get her killed. I mean, the real Jane used a Winchester. Also, the animators further dilute Jane's believability by making her just too strong. She should win fights (after all, she IS the heroine) but having her KOing baddies and sending them flying across a room with a single punch all the while without ever taking a punch herself is just too much of a stretch. But then again, animators in the US seem to have a hard time realistically depicting a female fighter who has neither magic nor superpowers to fall back upon. Depicting Jane as an almost-superhero tends to diminish the real legend.

Way back in 1972, before consummate bad-boy Ralph Bakshi became terminally embittered by Hollywood's numerous betrayals (both real and imagined), he created this masterful piece of adult animation, which was based upon his very own underground comic. In the story, Fritz, a young cat with neither purpose nor direction in his life, tries to find both through a series of meaningless sexual encounters and carefree drug use. He wanders through the chaos that was the 60s, getting involved in all kinds of mayhem. Bakshi's trademark irreverence shows in many ways, for example, depicting black people as crows, and police as pigs. Fritz gets caught up in many life-threatening situations, including getting involved with a violent group of radicals. There is plenty of violence, sex, drug use, and even an implied rape that in my opinion was not necessary and which did not help the story's general feel. In the end, despite coming close to death, Fritz finds neither the purpose nor the enlightenment that he sought. Only more mindless hedonism.

I would consider this film to be among the top 10 American-produced animated films of all times, although I definitely would steer curious kids away from it. It's only weakness lies in it's very topicality, which sadly dates the film. On the other hand, the sequel to Fritz the Cat, the nearly-impossible-to-find Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat, is just aimless and way too mild to be anywhere as good as is the original. It's too bad that Mr. Bakshi's creative talent has never been replicated in today's rather milquetoast animation community.