Fritz the Cat (1972)

56% of critics liked it
(18 reviews)
60% of users liked it
(6,477 ratings)

In the hands of writer and director Ralph Bakshi, a popular underground comics character was the inspiration for the first X-rated animated feature in Hollywood history, over the strenuous objections of its creator, cartoonist Robert Crumb. Fritz is a feline college student of New York City in the… More In the hands of writer and director Ralph Bakshi, a popular underground comics character was the inspiration for the first X-rated animated feature in Hollywood history, over the strenuous objections of its creator, cartoonist Robert Crumb. Fritz is a feline college student of New York City in the '60s, using hippie buzzwords and fashion to score easy sex and drugs. After smoking some strong marijuana in Harlem, Fritz hallucinates and ignites a shooting incident with the police, resulting in the death of his friend Duke. Fritz flees across country in a Volkswagen Bug with a girlfriend and encounters a heroin addict biker rabbit and bomb-making terrorist radicals, obvious references to the Hell's Angels and the Black Panthers, respectively. A trippy journey through its anti-establishment times, Fritz the Cat (1972) was viewed as a must-see novelty, a radical departure from the juvenile, saccharine type of animation with which America was familiar. Nevertheless, the film was opposed by Crumb, who felt that his work had been bastardized. The film was followed by a sequel, The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat (1974). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 17 min.
Directed By: Ralph Bakshi
Genres: Animation

In Theaters: Jan 25, 1972 Wide
On DVD: Dec 11, 2001

Critic Reviews

Variety Staff, Variety
Excellent animation and montage shore up a plot which has a few howls, several chuckles and many smiles.
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
The results, inevitably, were disappointing -- Bakshi just didn't have the money to make it right.
Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion
X-rated museum piece
, Film4
Aficionados of Crumb's work weren't enthralled by the movie when it came out, and time hasn't been kind to it.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Best observed as a cultural artifact.
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
Bawdy animated fun--a classic.
, Time Out
Despite some ingenious effects, a generally trivial exercise that never matches the punch of the original.
Staci Layne Wilson, StaciWilson.com
Cats with cleavage? I think not.
James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk
Despite the somewhat meandering nature of its plot, the film's underlying messages about social hypocrisy on all levels still has a strong bite to it, and it remains one of the more creative and daring forays in feature-length animation.
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
Full of animated, nude, cartoon animals and some of the most vitriolic racism (disguised as empowerment) ever put on film, Fritz the Cat is so bad that Crumb, after seeing the film, killed the character in one of his comics.
Kurt Dahlke, Apollo Guide
Those who consider themselves un-cool can still take pleasure in viewing this strange adult-oriented feature length cartoon, the likes of which flourished briefly in the 1970s but never became established as mainstream entertainment.
Rumsey Taylor, Not Coming to a Theater Near You
Despite the curiosity it inspires, the world's first X-rated cartoon falls flat in its first ten minutes.

Read all 12 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Lucas M

A crude, surreal and darkly comedy. Fritz the Cat it's a real classic of the underground films, with a political background, Bakshi's work presents a weird animated New York in the 60's, full of hippie fashion, free sex, marijuana culture, racism and social problems.… More
A crude, surreal and darkly comedy. Fritz the Cat it's a real classic of the underground films, with a political background, Bakshi's work presents a weird animated New York in the 60's, full of hippie fashion, free sex, marijuana culture, racism and social problems. The "stud cat" Fritz have a view of all the society and make a personal trip, in based of his on philosophy, always meeting strange characters like: a heroin addict rabbit, terrorist radicals, unprofessionals cops, intellectual New York people and etc, etc, etc... Sometimes too screwball, dumb and overblown, but Fritz The Cat is an unique and remarkable animated film with a good soundtrack. Disturbing and maddening. Fresh.
Brad W

Im not sure what this is, but I thought it was okay
AJ V

This is the classic adult animated film which made the genre more popular. Bakshi's work was really revolutionary and very cool visually. I'm a big fan of his work, and I love this movie.
Arash X

Totally dated but has moments and is the first X rated animated film so it wasn't a total waste
Cassandra M

This is a film not for everyone. Pure and simple it is offensive, and at times intentionally gross. Besides this fact, it holds the honour of the first X rated cartoon, huge box office sales and inspired by the comic book genius Robert Crumb. Unfortunately this film was made without… More
This is a film not for everyone. Pure and simple it is offensive, and at times intentionally gross. Besides this fact, it holds the honour of the first X rated cartoon, huge box office sales and inspired by the comic book genius Robert Crumb. Unfortunately this film was made without his permission and it probably would have been better had he put in his own brand of humour in it. This is not to dishonour the writers and animators who spent two years making this. This holds a place in our culture for many reasons, especially since it represented the college kids who just had to get out and rebel. That with the drug abuse, and graphic sex scenes makes the viewing of it one that should probably be engaged in alone.
Dean M

This X-rated rendition of Robert Crumb's revolutionary feline is the most outrageous cartoon every produced. It's sometimes funny and sometimes gross, but mostly just so-so.
_kelly .

According to R. Crumb (Fritz creator), he loathes this movie for its unfaithfulness to his comics. I think it's a great achievement for Bakshi, and proves that there is always art too risque to transfer to screen, even when you already plan on a smaller and specific audience.… More
According to R. Crumb (Fritz creator), he loathes this movie for its unfaithfulness to his comics. I think it's a great achievement for Bakshi, and proves that there is always art too risque to transfer to screen, even when you already plan on a smaller and specific audience. Also quite funny when intoxicated.
Bradley W

Im not sure what this is, but I thought it was okay
DOCTOR P

Very underrated, very adult. To begin with the animation here is well done, it's hard to find other animated films that look as great as this one did at its time. The story while not being straightforward is also pretty interesting to watch. Fritz is given a great voice by… More
Very underrated, very adult. To begin with the animation here is well done, it's hard to find other animated films that look as great as this one did at its time. The story while not being straightforward is also pretty interesting to watch. Fritz is given a great voice by actor Skip Hinnant who feels perfect for the character. This film does have its share of problems though, most apparent is that it can get a bit "nasty" for some viewers who might not be able to handle this kind of satire. Watch this movie if you can handle a lot of nudity or if your a huge animation fan this movie is a great watch.
Eric B

An entertaining period curiosity, but the concentration on smoking grass, free love, youth revolution and black power is crazy dated, man.
Mike T

Sexual depravity, scathing social commentary, raucous violence... and animated animals. Ralph Bakshi definitely creates something surprising with this film, and I found it to be quite insightful and very entertaining. Apparently the creator of the source material hates this rendition,… More
Sexual depravity, scathing social commentary, raucous violence... and animated animals. Ralph Bakshi definitely creates something surprising with this film, and I found it to be quite insightful and very entertaining. Apparently the creator of the source material hates this rendition, but I think it's because Bakshi took such huge liberties and transformed it into his own vision. This is an experimental animated movie that serves as a reminder that not all cartoons need to be family-oriented.
Sylvester K

Sex, Sex, Sex, Orgy, Violence, Misogyny, Cats, Crows. It's an experimental film from Bakshi, it doesn't make any sense at all, but at least it wasn't boring. Besides it's the first X rated animation film anyway, should give it some credits.
Remi L

I never knew racism was "cool" or "in style"

Read all 13 featured audience ratings

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