Well, my first taste of Ralph Bakshi wasn't too good, though it had its interesting moments. But in truth, this wasn't Bakshi's original script for this movie; supposedly, his producer took his original script that had a subtext of a warning about casual sex and got it rewritten into the mess of a plot in the movie today.

Some of the plusses about Cool World include the smooth animation quality and an interesting soundtrack. I'm not a big fan of rotoscoping in animation, but it's not like I really consider it cheating1 and Bakshi seems to make good use of it here. The one-off gags that go on constantly in the background in cool world also provide entertainment.

Unfortunately, the lame plot, poor acting2, and not very well written characters doom the movie, and I just can't normally recommend it3.

That said, I would have liked to see what Ralph Bakshi's original script would have been like, and would have like to have seen more of these types of animations made than there were. It's apparent that its not only the Japanese who can create animations that are definitely not for children, and I'd like to see more U.S. animations pushing past those boundaries and presenting much more mature themes..

Next time, I'll try to pick up one of Bakshi's older and generally more recommended4 work, like American Pop or Fritz the Cat.

1. 1. the modern equivalent would be to use motion capturing to animate 3D models
2. 2. Frankly, the live action actors just don't look convincing when interacting with the animated characters.
3. 3. "Cool World is like Roger Rabbit on acid", paraphrased from something Brad Pitt supposedly says. Unfortunately, I'd recommend Who Framed Roger Rabbit over this. Then again, I consider Roger Rabbit the best live-action/animation hybrid film, ever.
4. 4. by others