Cinemation Industries released the Ralph Bakshi film Fritz the Cat on 12 April 1972. It’s best known for being that animated feature that got an X rating from the MPAA.

You might think that would mean it was pornographic. But it isn’t, of course. It’s just the usual nonsense of the MPAA trying to save us all from seeing anything upsetting. That this: upsetting to a middle-class middle-aged white person who never had an original idea in a lifetime of opportunity.

What’s most interesting about Fritz the Cat is that despite its trappings of the counterculture (sex, drugs, and profanity), it’s actually quite a reactionary film. I don’t especially blame it. This seems to be the natural result of filmmakers who have never thought seriously about politics who are determined to be “edgy.”

It’s always easy to mock the silly people who are part of a group. But that doesn’t result in good satire. “Many people are silly” is not a brilliant insight. Normally, satire needs to come from the inside so that the creator understands the group well enough. Bakshi comes at the subject from a sneering outsider.

But the execution is exceptional. I like Wizards more. But it too has thematic problems. But I’m a big Cheech Wizard fan and Avatar is clearly a rip-off of him. Also, there’s Susan Tyrrell’s amazing voice! But today, it is Fritz the Cat! And here’s a good print to enjoy:

Other April 12th Anniversaries

Filmmakers:

• Ann Miller (1923-2004)
• Alvin Sargent (1927-2019)
• Charles Napier (1936-2011)
• Ed O’Neill (1946-)
• Tom Noonan (1951-2026)
• Andy García (1956-)
• Magda Szubanski (1961-)
• Shannen Doherty (1971-2024).

Films:

• Black Friday (1940)
• Dr Cyclops (1940)
• House of Seven Gables (1940)
• Dead Men Walk (1943)
• Jack and the Beanstalk (1952)
• Cat’s Eye (1985)
• Ladyhawke (1985)
• Fear (1996)
• Frailty (2002)
• Cave Women on Mars (2008).

---

Fritz the Cat (1972) poster via Wikipedia under Fair Use.