Bakshi has carved out a niche for himself directing mixes of animation and live action, but he's let down here by an unconvincing script and characters.
Cool World (1992)
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Reviews Counted:31
Fresh:2
Rotten:29
Average Rating:3.1/10
Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Synopsis: This energetic blend of live-action and animation was director Ralph Bakshi's answer to WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT and marked his return to feature films after an eight-year hiatus. The story follows... This energetic blend of live-action and animation was director Ralph Bakshi's answer to WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT and marked his return to feature films after an eight-year hiatus. The story follows two humans who encounter Cool World--a parallel universe where cartoons actually exist--and tangle with the seductive Holli Would (Kim Basinger), an ambitious animated bombshell determined to escape into three-dimensional reality. Gabriel Byrne plays Jack Deebs, the comic book artist who created and then is seduced by Holli; and Brad Pitt plays Detective Frank Harris, the Cool World cop out to make sure humans don't have sex with cartoon characters, since that act can rupture the fabric between the two universes. Of course the rupturing occurs, and all sorts of freewheeling animated hell breaks loose as cartoon misfits of all shapes and sizes invade the city of Las Vegas. With a thumping techno score that includes tracks from Moby and David Bowie and such goofy touches as Holli singing "Let's Make Love" with Frank Sinatra Jr., COOL WORLD is definitely a freaky place to visit. [More]
Starring: Kim Basinger, Gabriel Byrne, Brad Pitt
Starring: Kim Basinger, Gabriel Byrne, Brad Pitt
Director: Ralph Bakshi
Director: Ralph Bakshi
Screenwriter: Michael Grais, Mark Victor
Producer: Frank Mancuso
Composer: Mark Isham
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Reviews for Cool World
A realm with precious little humor and zero pathos, to be admired only for its considerable technical achievements.
Even the eventual universe-shaking shag is an anti-climax, and by the time all hell rips loose just before the abysmally contrived happy ending, you're well past caring.
Critics often use the word 'incomprehensible' when referring to a poorly constructed movie, but nowhere is this assessment more accurate than in the case of Cool World.
Although director Ralph Bakshi’s imagination is certainly present, Cool World is too full of itself to create any magic.
Unfortunately, the film doesn’t have much else to offer beyond narrative incoherence and bad acting.
a major misfire from a deeply gifted filmmaker and artist whose career was already on the rocks
Here's hoping cartoons and noir will meet again on another, more auspicious, day.
Wanted to be the next Roger Rabbit. Turned out to be a watered down 'Fritz the Cat.'
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