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==Plot==
==Plot==
In 1945 Las Vegas, World War II veteran Frank Harris (Brad Pitt) is transported to a traditionally-animated realm named the "Cool World" following a traffic collision with a drunk driver. Forty seven years later, detained cartoonist Jack Deebs (Gabriel Byrne) creates a comic strip named "Cool World" along with femme fatale Holli Would (voiced by Kim Basinger). Holli voices her desire to enter the real world, but is declined help from Frank, who is now a detective in the Cool World. Jack is released from prison and is at this point well-known in the real world for his "Cool World" series of comic books. One night, he is transported to the Cool World and is smuggled into a club by Holli. Frank becomes aware of Jack's presence in the Cool World and aggressively confronts him, informing him that Cool World has existed long before Jack created the comic series and warns him that "noids", humans from the real world, are not allowed to have sex with "doodles", the inhabitants of the Cool World. Without Frank's knowledge, Holli brings Jack back into the Cool World and have sex, causing Holli to transform into a noid (now played physically by Basinger).
In 1945 Las Vegas, World War II veteran Frank Harris (Brad Pitt) is transported to a traditionally-animated realm named the "Cool World" following a traffic collision with a drunk driver. Forty seven years later, detained cartoonist Jack Deebs (Gabriel Byrne) creates a comic strip named "Cool World" along with femme fatale Holli Would (voiced by Kim Basinger). Holli voices her desire to enter the real world, but is declined help from Frank, who is now a detective in the Cool World. Jack is released from prison and is at this point well-known in the real world for his "Cool World" series of comic books. One night, he is transported to the Cool World and is smuggled into a club by Holli. Frank becomes aware of Jack's presence in the Cool World and aggressively confronts him, informing him that Cool World has existed long before Jack created the comic series and warns him that "noids", humans from the real world, are not allowed to have sex with "doodles", the inhabitants of the Cool World. Without Frank's knowledge, Holli brings Jack back into the Cool World and the two have sex, causing Holli to transform into a noid (now played physically by Basinger).


While Frank attempts to mend his relationship with doodle Lonette (voiced by Candi Milo), he temporarily leaves detective duties to his assistant Nails (voiced by Charles Adler), who is soon informed that Jack and Holli have had sex and are now preparing to leave for the real world. He weakly attempts to stop them, but is quickly defeated by Holli, who goes on to enter the real world with Jack. Due to these actions, the interdimensional matrix between the real world and the Cool World is damaged, causing Jack and Holli to sporadically transform into clown-like doodles. Frank discovers that Nails has been done away with and decides to venture into the real world to pursue Jack and Holli. While contemplating their situation, Holli tells Jack about the "Spike of Power", an artifact placed on the top of a Las Vegas casino by a doodle who crossed into the real world. When Jack displays skepticism about the idea, Holli abandons Jack to search for the spike on her own. When Frank pursues Holli on the casino, Holli kills him by kicking him off the building. Holli finds and takes the Spike of Power, transforming her and Jack (now voiced by Maurice LaMarche) into doodles and releasing numerous monstrous doodles into the real world. Fighting off an increasing number of doodles as a superhero doodle, Jack returns the Spike of Power to its place, trapping him, Holli and the rest of the doodles in Cool World. Frank is reborn in Cool World as a doodle, allowing him to pursue his relationship with Lonette.
While Frank attempts to mend his relationship with doodle Lonette (voiced by Candi Milo), he temporarily leaves detective duties to his assistant Nails (voiced by Charles Adler), who is soon informed that Jack and Holli have had sex and are now preparing to leave for the real world. He weakly attempts to stop them, but is quickly defeated by Holli, who goes on to enter the real world with Jack. Due to these actions, the interdimensional matrix between the real world and the Cool World is damaged, causing Jack and Holli to sporadically transform into clown-like doodles. Frank discovers that Nails has been done away with and decides to venture into the real world to pursue Jack and Holli. While contemplating their situation, Holli tells Jack about the "Spike of Power", an artifact placed on the top of a Las Vegas casino by a doodle who crossed into the real world. When Jack displays skepticism about the idea, Holli abandons Jack to search for the spike on her own. When Frank pursues Holli on the casino, Holli kills him by kicking him off the building. Holli finds and takes the Spike of Power, transforming her and Jack (now voiced by Maurice LaMarche) into doodles and releasing numerous monstrous doodles into the real world. Fighting off an increasing number of doodles as a superhero doodle, Jack returns the Spike of Power to its place, trapping him, Holli and the rest of the doodles in Cool World. Frank is reborn in Cool World as a doodle, allowing him to pursue his relationship with Lonette.

Revision as of 08:47, 21 June 2009

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Cool World
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRalph Bakshi
Written byMichael Grais
Mark Victor
Larry Gross
Produced byFrank Mancuso Jr.
StarringKim Basinger
Gabriel Byrne
Brad Pitt
CinematographyJohn A. Alonzo
Edited bySteve Mirkovich
Annamaria Szanto
Music byMark Isham
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
July 10, 1992
Running time
102 min
CountryTemplate:FilmUS
LanguageTransclusion error: {{En}} is only for use in File namespace. Use {{lang-en}} or {{in lang|en}} instead.

Cool World is a 1992 live-action/animated hybrid film directed by Ralph Bakshi, and starring Kim Basinger, Gabriel Byrne, and Brad Pitt. It tells the story of a cartoonist who finds himself in the animated world he created, and is seduced by one of his characters, a comic strip vamp who wants to be real. Cool World marked Bakshi's return to feature films after nine years. The film was originally pitched as an animated horror film about an underground cartoonist, who fathers an illegitimate half-human/half-cartoon daughter, who hates herself for what she is and tries to kill him.

During production, Bakshi's original screenplay was scrapped by producer Frank Mancuso Jr. and heavily rewritten by screenwriting duo Michael Grais and Mark Victor, best known for writing Poltergeist and Poltergeist II: The Other Side, and an uncredited Larry Gross. The film received mostly negative reviews from film critics.[1]

Plot

In 1945 Las Vegas, World War II veteran Frank Harris (Brad Pitt) is transported to a traditionally-animated realm named the "Cool World" following a traffic collision with a drunk driver. Forty seven years later, detained cartoonist Jack Deebs (Gabriel Byrne) creates a comic strip named "Cool World" along with femme fatale Holli Would (voiced by Kim Basinger). Holli voices her desire to enter the real world, but is declined help from Frank, who is now a detective in the Cool World. Jack is released from prison and is at this point well-known in the real world for his "Cool World" series of comic books. One night, he is transported to the Cool World and is smuggled into a club by Holli. Frank becomes aware of Jack's presence in the Cool World and aggressively confronts him, informing him that Cool World has existed long before Jack created the comic series and warns him that "noids", humans from the real world, are not allowed to have sex with "doodles", the inhabitants of the Cool World. Without Frank's knowledge, Holli brings Jack back into the Cool World and the two have sex, causing Holli to transform into a noid (now played physically by Basinger).

While Frank attempts to mend his relationship with doodle Lonette (voiced by Candi Milo), he temporarily leaves detective duties to his assistant Nails (voiced by Charles Adler), who is soon informed that Jack and Holli have had sex and are now preparing to leave for the real world. He weakly attempts to stop them, but is quickly defeated by Holli, who goes on to enter the real world with Jack. Due to these actions, the interdimensional matrix between the real world and the Cool World is damaged, causing Jack and Holli to sporadically transform into clown-like doodles. Frank discovers that Nails has been done away with and decides to venture into the real world to pursue Jack and Holli. While contemplating their situation, Holli tells Jack about the "Spike of Power", an artifact placed on the top of a Las Vegas casino by a doodle who crossed into the real world. When Jack displays skepticism about the idea, Holli abandons Jack to search for the spike on her own. When Frank pursues Holli on the casino, Holli kills him by kicking him off the building. Holli finds and takes the Spike of Power, transforming her and Jack (now voiced by Maurice LaMarche) into doodles and releasing numerous monstrous doodles into the real world. Fighting off an increasing number of doodles as a superhero doodle, Jack returns the Spike of Power to its place, trapping him, Holli and the rest of the doodles in Cool World. Frank is reborn in Cool World as a doodle, allowing him to pursue his relationship with Lonette.

Conception

Storyboard by Louise Zingarelli based on Bakshi's original screenplay.

In the late 1980s, Ralph Bakshi, who went into semi-retirement to focus on his painting, decided that it was time to make another animated film. According to Bakshi, "I made 1,500 bucks in 10 years of painting; I thought it would be nice to pick up a piece of change. So I called my lawyer, who was still speaking to me because no one ever leaves Hollywood, and asked him where I should go to sell a movie."[2]

Ralph Bakshi originally conceived Cool World as an animated horror film,[2] and pitched his original concept to executives at Paramount Pictures. "Basically the original script I handed in was a cartoonist, live action, who goes to bed with a cartoon girl and they create a girl, a bastardized child, half live and half real."[3] The half human, half cartoon child would then travel to the real world and try to murder its irresponsible father. Bakshi states that Paramount Pictures "bought the idea in ten seconds".[4]

Production

While shooting on location, Bakshi was handed a new screenplay that was completely different from the one he had turned in.[3][4] It turned out that producer Frank Mancuso, Jr., best known for the Friday the 13th franchise, had the script rewritten in secret. In interviews at the time of the film's release, Mancusco stated a desire to move away from horror films, and wanted to produce a film "about what happens when someone creates a world, becomes defined by it, and then can't escape [...] a film about being trapped by your own creation."[2] Bakshi remembers that he got into a fight with Mancuso and "punched [him] in the mouth."[3] Paramount threatened Bakshi with a lawsuit if he refused to complete the film. "I thought if I did the animation well, it would be worth it, but you know what? It wasn't worth it."[5] Bakshi also stated that he "had a lot of animators there that I'd brought in and I thought that maybe I could just have fun animating this stuff, which I did."[3]

The artwork by the character Jack Deebs was drawn by underground comix artist Spain Rodriguez.[6]

Bakshi had originally intended to cast Drew Barrymore and Brad Pitt in the film's leading roles. Pitt was cast as Frank Harris instead, with Gabriel Byrne as Deebs and Kim Basinger as Holli.[3] The film's voice cast includes Maurice LaMarche and Charles Adler. According to Bakshi, Basinger had attempted to rewrite the film halfway into its production because she "thought it would be great [...] if she would be able to show this picture in hospitals to sick children [...] I said, 'Kim, I think that's wonderful, but you've got the wrong guy to do that with.' [...] [Mancusco] was sitting there with Kim [...] agreeing with her."[4]

Music

A soundtrack album, Songs from the Cool World, featuring recordings by My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, Moby, Ministry, The Future Sound of London, and others, was released in 1992 by Warner Bros. Records.[7] It included the track "Real Cool World", a David Bowie song written for the film. The soundtrack received stronger reviews from critics than the film itself, including a four-star rating from Allmusic.[8] Mark Isham's original score for Cool World, featuring a mixture of jazz, orchestral pieces, and electronic remixes, and performed by the Munich Symphony Orchestra, was released on compact disc by Varèse Sarabande. It also received positive reviews.[9][10]

Release and reception

File:000 1098.JPG.JPG
Jack and Holli.

Promotion and merchandising

As part of the film's promotion, the Hollywood Sign was altered to include a 75-foot-tall cutout of Holli Would. The alteration angered local residents.[11][12] In a letter to the city's Recreation and Park Board on Monday, commission officials wrote that they were "appaled" by the board's approval of the alterations and that "the action your board has taken is offensive to Los Angeles women and is not within your role as custodian and guardian of the Hollywood sign. The fact that Paramount Pictures donated a mere $27,000 to Rebuild L.A. should not be a passport to exploit women in Los Angeles."[13] Protestors picketed the unveiling of the altered sign.[13]

Several different licensed video games based on the film were created by Ocean Software and released for the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Game Boy, Nintendo Entertainment System and Super Nintendo.[14] A four-issue comic book prequel to the film was published as a miniseries by DC Comics.[15] The cover of the first issue featured an original painting by Ralph Bakshi.

Critical reception

Critical response towards the film was generally negative. Additionally, the film drew unfavorable comparisons with Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Roger Ebert wrote in his review of the film: "The DJ who was hosting the radio station's free preview of Cool World leaped onto the stage and promised the audience: 'If you liked Roger Rabbit, you'll love Cool World!' He was wrong, but you can't blame him — he hadn't seen the movie. I have, and I will now promise you that if you liked Roger Rabbit, quit while you're ahead."[16] Frank Mancuso Jr. is quoted as saying "If people come expecting Roger Rabbit, it's their mistake."[17] Film website Rotten Tomatoes, which compiles reviews from a wide range of critics, gives the film a score of 6%.[1]

Cast

Voice cast

References

  1. ^ a b "Tomatometer for Cool World". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2007-01-10. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  2. ^ a b c Diamond, Jamie (July 5, 1992). "Animation's Bad Boy Returns, Unrepentant". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-03-21. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  3. ^ a b c d e "Rotoscoped Memories: An Interview with Ralph Bakshi". DVD Verdict. 2004-08-02. Retrieved 2007-01-10. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  4. ^ a b c "Interview with Ralph Bakshi". IGN. Retrieved 2007-01-10. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  5. ^ "Who flamed Roger Rabbit?". The Guardian. 2006-08-11. Retrieved 2007-01-10. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  6. ^ "About Spain". Dies Irae. Retrieved 2007-01-10. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  7. ^ "Cool World soundtrack details". SoundtrackCollector. Retrieved 2007-03-27. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  8. ^ Mills, Ted. "Review of Songs from the Cool World". Allmusic. Retrieved 2007-03-27.
  9. ^ Carlsson, Mikael. "Cool World". Music from the Movies. Retrieved 2007-04-02. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  10. ^ Schelle, Michael (1999). The Score: Interviews with Film Composers. Los Angeles, CA: Silman-James Press. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  11. ^ Schoch, Deborah (July 6, 1992). "Hollywood Residents Can't Shroud Anger Promotion: Paramount Pictures defends attaching a movie cartoon character to the famous sign. Citizens fear a tourist invasion and say that the landmark is being commercialized". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-09-22.
  12. ^ Associated Press (July 7, 1992). "Cartoon Character Opens Landmark Rift". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 2008-09-22.
  13. ^ a b Chazanov, Mathis (July 7, 1992). "'D' as in Disagreement Cartoon Character Atop Landmark Sign Sets Off Protests". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-09-22.
  14. ^ "Cool World". MobyGames. Retrieved 2007-03-27. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  15. ^ "Bakshi gallery". Ralph Bakshi.com. Retrieved 2007-03-27. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  16. ^ Ebert, Roger. "Review of Cool World". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2007-01-10. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  17. ^ Frank Mancuso Jr., as quoted in the June 1992 edition of Cinefantastique.

External links

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