Fritz the Cat is a 1972 American adult animated black comedy film written and directed by Ralph Bakshi in his directorial debut. Based on Robert Crumb's comic strip of the same name, the film focuses on its Skip Hinnant–portrayed titular character, a glib, womanizing and fraudulent cat in an anthropomorphic animal version of New York City during the mid-to-late 1960s. Fritz decides on a whim to drop out of college, interacts with inner city African American crows, unintentionally starts a race riot and becomes a leftist revolutionary. The film is a satire focusing on American college life of the era, race relations, and the free love movement, as well as serving as a criticism of the countercultural political revolution and dishonest political activists.
Fritz the Cat had a troubled production history, with Crumb disagreeing with the filmmakers over the film's artistic direction. Produced on a budget of $700,000, the film was intended by Bakshi to broaden the animation market. At that time, animation was primarily viewed as a children's medium. Bakshi envisioned animation as a medium that could tell more dramatic or satirical storylines with larger scopes, dealing with more mature and diverse themes that would resonate with adults.
Fritz the Cat's depiction of profanity, extreme violence, sex, nudity, anti-religious humor, smoking, drinking and drug use, particularly cannabis, provoked criticism from more conservative and nationalist members of the animation industry, who accused Bakshi of attempting to produce a pornographic animated film, as the concept of adult animation was not widely understood at the time. The Motion Picture Association of America gave the film an X rating (the predecessor of the NC-17 rating), making it the first American animated film to receive the rating, which was then predominantly associated with more arthouse films.
Fritz the Cat was highly successful. It grossed over $90 million worldwide, which makes it one of the most successful independent films of all time. It earned significant critical acclaim in the 1970s, for its satire, social commentary and animations, despite attracting some negative response accusing it of racial stereotyping and having an unfocused plot, and criticizing its depiction of graphic violence, profanity, sex and drug use in the context of an animated film. The film's use of satire and mature themes is seen as paving the way for future animated works for adults, including The Simpsons and South Park. A sequel, The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat (1974), was produced without Crumb's or Bakshi's involvement.
Plot Set in 1960s Manhattan, a group of hippies gather at Washington Square Park to perform protest songs. Fritz, an anthropomorphic tabby cat, arrives with his friends in an attempt to impress three girls, who instead show interest in an anthropomorphic crow standing nearby. In their effort to connect, the girls make unintentionally condescending remarks about black people. After the crow rebukes the girls and leaves, Fritz then presents himself as a troubled intellectual and invites the girls to "seek the truth" with him.
The group arrives at a friend's apartment, where a party is taking place. Due to crowding in other rooms, Fritz drags the girls into the bathroom, where they engage in an orgy. Suddenly, two police officers—depicted as pigs—call on the apartment. As they climb the stairs, a partygoer discovers the scene in the bathroom, prompting others to join. Fritz, marginalized in the crowded bathtub, turns to marijuana for comfort. When the police enter, one begins attacking the attendees. Seizing an opportunity, a dazed Fritz grabs the officer's gun and accidentally shoots the toilet, breaking the water main and flooding the apartment. The chaos allows Fritz to flee, and he escapes into a synagogue. There, he blends into the congregation as they erupt in celebration over the U.S. decision to supply more weapons to Israel.
Fritz returns to his college dormitory, where his studious roommates ignore him. Disillusioned with academic life, he sets fire to his notes and textbooks, unintentionally igniting a blaze that consumes the entire building. Afterwards, Fritz meets Duke the Crow at the pool table of a Harlem bar. After narrowly avoiding a fight with a bartender, Duke invites Fritz out, and the pair steal a car. Fritz crashes the vehicle off a bridge, but is saved by Duke. They make their way to the apartment of Bertha, a drug dealer whose potent cannabis enhances Fritz's urge. While having sex, Fritz claims he has discovered his purpose to start an insurrection. He runs into the street and incites a riot, eventually leading to Duke being shot and killed by police. The situation escalates, with the police and New York Air National Guard called in to suppress the uprising. The violence culminates in an airstrike, with fighter jets carpet-bombing Harlem as Disney characters cheer from the sidelines.
Fritz takes refuge in an alley, where he's found by his older fox girlfriend. She insists on taking him to San Francisco. However, when their car runs out of gas in the desert, Fritz abandons her. He later encounters Blue, a drug-addicted rabbit biker, and his horse girlfriend, Harriet. The three travel to an underground bunker, where two revolutionaries—John, a hooded snake, and a female gecko known as the "lizard leader"—plan to bomb a power plant. When Harriet attempts to leave for a Chinese restaurant, Blue physically assaults her and restrains her with chains. Fritz intervenes, prompting the lizard leader to burn his face with a candle. Blue and the others then throw Harriet onto a bed and gang rape her. After the group plants dynamite at the power plant, Fritz experiences a change of heart and tries to disarm the explosives, but fails and gets caught in the resulting explosion.
Fritz is hospitalized in Los Angeles. Harriet, disguised as a nun, visits him alongside the three girls from the New York park. Believing Fritz to be nearly dying, they attempt to console him. However, Fritz revives and repeats the same speech he initially used to seduce them. The film ends with him having sex with the trio, while Harriet looks on in disbelief.
Background
Robert Crumb first created Fritz the Cat in 1959 as a teenager, and made his official debut in 1965 in Help!, a humor magazine edited by Harvey Kurtzman. Crumb's strips used anthropomorphic animals—typically associated with children's comics—to explore adult themes such as sex, drugs, and countercultural disillusionment. In the late 1960s, after Crumb moved to San Francisco and immersed in the counterculture, he began publishing his work in underground publications, emerging as a leading figure in the underground comix movement. Fritz quickly became one of his most recognizable characters, including mainstream audiences outside of the underground scene.
Ralph Bakshi began his career at Terrytoons studio in New York City in the late 1950s. He then met and formed a partnership with producer Steve Krantz to form Bakshi Productions. By the late 1960s, Bakshi felt creatively stifled and wanted to pursue more personal, ambitious projects. He developed Heavy Traffic (1973), a tale of inner-city street life. However, Krantz told Bakshi that studio executives would be unwilling to fund the film because of its content and Bakshi's lack of film experience.
Production Development While browsing the East Side Book Store on St. Mark's Place in New York City, Bakshi discovered a copy of R. Crumb's Fritz the Cat (1969). Impressed by Crumb's sharp satirical tone, Bakshi purchased the comic book and later proposed to Krantz that it could be adapted into a feature film. Convinced that Crumb's creative sensibility aligned with his own, Bakshi expressed interest in directing the adaptation. Krantz then organized a meeting with Crumb, during which Bakshi presented sample drawings imitating Crumb's style to demonstrate his ability to translate the material into animation. Crumb was sufficiently impressed by Bakshi's commitment that he provided one of his sketchbooks for reference material.
As development continued, a pitch package was assembled that included a painted cel composited over a photographic background to illustrate Bakshi's intended visual approach. Although Crumb initially responded positively, he ultimately declined to sign a formal agreement due to uncertainty about the project's direction. Fellow underground cartoonist Vaughn Bodē cautioned Bakshi against collaborating with Crumb, describing him as "slick"; Bakshi later agreed with Bodé's assessment. Krantz subsequently sent Bakshi to San Francisco, where he stayed with Crumb and his wife Dana in an attempt to secure Crumb's approval of the contract. After about a week, Crumb left the project discussions, leaving the adaptation's status uncertain. However, since Dana Crumb held power of attorney, she ultimately signed the agreement on his behalf. Crumb received $50,000 in payments distributed across production milestones, along with ten percent of Krantz's share of the film's profits. With the rights to Fritz the Cat, Bakshi and Krantz began searching for a distributor, though Krantz stated that "every major distributor turned it down", as studios were reluctant to distribute an independent animated film—especially one radically different from the family-friendly fare associated with Walt Disney Productions.
Funding and distribution In spring 1970, Warner Bros. agreed to finance and distribute the project, providing Bakshi and Krantz with their first major studio backing. Early on its production, the Harlem sequence was the first to be completed. Krantz even considered releasing this material as a standalone 15-minute short if financing fell through, although Bakshi remained committed to completing a full feature. In November, Bakshi and Krantz presented a preview reel to Warner executives that included finished sequences, pencil tests, and storyboard footage. Bakshi later described the screening as provoking a visibly negative reaction from studio staff, recalling that several executives were uncomfortable with what they saw and that one even walked out of the room. He characterized the experience as a turning point in which the studio made clear its dissatisfaction with the film's direction.
Warner Bros. subsequently requested that the sexual content be reduced and insisted on the inclusion of recognizable actors. When Bakshi refused to make these changes, the studio withdrew their financial support, forcing Krantz to seek alternative funding sources. This led to an agreement with Jerry Gross of Cinemation Industries, a distributor known for exploitation films, who agreed to finance and release the project after reviewing its provocative material. Additional financing came from Saul Zaentz, who arranged for the soundtrack album to be released through his Fantasy Records label. In Australia, the film's distribution was handled by 20th Century-Fox.
Direction