History Trivia / FritzTheCat

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Now averted, thanks to the Blu-ray releases of both films. For a while, DVDs were hard to come by (interestingly, you could find [[https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA547778B7799B74B the soundtrack]] with more ease).

* TorchTheFranchiseAndRun: The whole point of the comic "Fritz the Superstar". Creator/RobertCrumb created this comic [[DisownedAdaptation in response]] to the animated film and ''specifically'' drew it to kill Fritz off because he hated the film that much.

** It took forever for Bakshi and producer Steve Krantz to find a distributor, due to its premise of being an animated film filled with sex, drugs, political themes, and graphic violence. Creator/WarnerBros had originally funded the film but backed out after Bakshi refused to cast big-name actors and tone down the sexual content. Even after he did get funding, Bakshi still wasn't safe from ExecutiveMeddling, as Krantz forced him to change the original ending where [[spoiler:Fritz would have died from the Neo-Nazis' bomb]].
*** Bakshi fondly remembers the Warner Bros representatives' utterly mortified reactions to test screenings of the film, saying that he'll remember the look on their faces until his very last breath. One man even had to [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere leave the room!]]
** Multiple animators were either fired or quit mid-production, either for political reasons (some refused to draw exposed breasts, and one didn't want to draw a black crow shooting a pig cop), or vulgar reasons (such as those who only joined to draw sleazy animal pornography). Veteran animator Ted Bonnicksen ended up dying from leukemia during production. When Bakshi relocated his studio to UsefulNotes/LosAngeles, he was greeted with praise and hate from various animators, with the latter camp even posting unwelcoming ads about him in ''The Hollywood Reporter''.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Crumb's only contribution to the film was his suggestion that Bakshi himself voice Fritz, but Bakshi thought his own voice was "too Brooklyn" and thought Fritz should sound more like a milquetoast Midwesterner being culture shocked by New York.

** Multiple animators were either fired or quit mid-production, either for political reasons (some refused to draw exposed breasts, and one didn't want to draw a black crow shooting a pig cop), or vulgar reasons (such as those who only joined to draw sleazy animal pornography). Veteran animator Ted Bonnicksen ended up dying from leukemia during production. When Bakshi relocated his studio to Los Angeles, he was greeted with praise and hate from various animators, with the latter camp even posting unwelcoming ads about him in ''The Hollywood Reporter''.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Crumb's only contribution to the film was his suggestion that Bakshi himself voice Fritz, but Bakshi thought his own voice was "too Brooklyn" and thought Fritz should sound more like a milquetoast Midwesterner being culture shocked by New York.

* ChannelHop: The film was distributed by Cinemation Industries before the rights were bought by Creator/AmericanInternationalPictures to produce the sequel, ''WesternAnimation/TheNineLivesOfFritzTheCat''. Both films are owned by MGM through AIP's legal successor, Creator/OrionPictures.

* ChannelHop: The film was distributed by Cinemation Industries, before the rights were bought by Creator/AmericanInternationalPictures to produce the sequel, ''WesternAnimation/TheNineLivesOfFritzTheCat''. Both films are owned by MGM through AIP's legal successor, Creator/OrionPictures.

* DescendedCreator: Bakshi is the more competent pig-cop.
* DisownedAdaptation: In an [[TorchTheFranchiseAndRun extreme example]], Creator/RobertCrumb hated the film so much, claiming it put words in the character's mouth that he never would have said, that he later drew the comic "Fritz the Superstar" to [[KilledOffForReal kill off the character]]! That didn't stop the producer from making a sequel, though Bakshi also didn't take part in it.

* GenreTurningPoint: ''Fritz'' is most known for being the first notable animated projects aimed at adults, but many are not aware of its other groundbreaking achievements. For example it was also the first independent animated film ever, and arguably gave birth to retroscripting, with the majority of the dialogue being improvised instead of scripted, which is a practice that has become extremely common in adult animation these days. It was also the first animated movie not from Disney to be a hit at the box office, being in the top ten box office of 1972, a feat most Disney films of the 70s rarely could achieve.
* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Now averted, thanks to Creator/PrimeVideo and the upcoming blu-ray releases of both films. If you want to buy a physical copy, though, the 2002 [=DVD=] is out of print and hasn't had a release since (interestingly, you could find [[https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA547778B7799B74B the soundtrack]] with more ease).

* TorchTheFranchiseAndRun: The whole point of the the comic "Fritz the Superstar". Creator/RobertCrumb created this comic [[DisownedAdaptation in response]] to the animated film and ''specifically'' drew it to kill Fritz off, because he hated the film that much.

** It took forever for Bakshi and producer Steve Krantz to find a distributor, due to its premise of being an animated film filled with sex, drugs, political themes and graphic violence. Creator/WarnerBros had originally funded the film, but backed out after Bakshi refused to cast big-named actors and tone down the sexual content. Even after he did get funding, Bakshi still wasn't safe from ExecutiveMeddling, as Krantz forced him to change the original ending where [[spoiler:Fritz would have died from the Neo-Nazis' bomb]].

** Multiple animators were either fired or quit mid-production, either for political reasons (some refused to draw exposed breasts, and one didn't want to draw a black crow shooting a pig cop), or vulgar reasons (such as those who only joined to draw sleazy animal pornography). Veteran animator Ted Bonnicksen ended up dying from leukemia during production. When Bakshi relocated his studio to Los Angeles, he was greeted with both praise and hate from various animators, with the latter camp even posting unwelcoming ads about him in ''The Hollywood Reporter''.

* GenreTurningPoint: ''Fritz'' is most known for being the first notable animated projects aimed at adults, but many are not aware of its other groundbreaking achievements . For example it was also the first independent animated film ever, and arguably gave birth to retroscripting, with the majority of the dialogue being improvised instead of scripted, which is a practice that has become extremely common in adult animation these days. It was also the first animated movie not from Disney to be a hit at the box office, being in the top ten box office of 1972, a feat most Disney films of the 70s rarely could achieve.

* NamesTheSame: Blue Bunny shares his name with a popular, long-running, American brand of ice cream. And no, it's unlikely that the latter is laced with drugs, no matter how addictive it is to eat.

* DisownedAdaptation: In an extreme example, Creator/RobertCrumb hated the film so much, claiming it put words in the character's mouth that he never would have said, that he later drew the comic "Fritz the Superstar" to [[KilledOffForReal kill off the character]]! That didn't stop the producer from making a sequel, though Bakshi also didn't take part in it.

* DisownedAdaptation: In an [[UpToEleven extreme]] example, Creator/RobertCrumb hated the film so much, claiming it put words in the character's mouth that he never would have said, that he later drew the comic "Fritz the Superstar" to [[KilledOffForReal kill off the character]]! That didn't stop the producer from making a sequel, though Bakshi also didn't take part in it.

* GenreTurningPoint: ''Fritz'' is most known for being the first animated project aimed at adults, but many are not aware of its other groundbreaking achievements . For example it was also the first independent animated film ever, and arguably gave birth to retroscripting, with the majority of the dialogue being improvised instead of scripted, which is a practice that has become extremely common in adult animation these days. It was also the first animated movie not from Disney to be a hit at the box office, being in the top ten box office of 1972, a feat most Disney films of the 70s rarely could achieve.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Now averted, thanks to Creator/PrimeVideo. If you want to buy a physical copy, though, the 2002 [=DVD=] is out of print and hasn't had a release since (interestingly, you could find [[https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA547778B7799B74B the soundtrack]] with more ease).

* TroubledProduction: The film had a whale of a time getting made, mainly due to Crumb's hatred for the project, and Bakshi's then-inexperience at directing a feature-length animated film:

* GenreTurningPoint: ''Fritz'' is most known for being the first animated project aimed at adults, but many are not aware of its other groundbreaking achievements . For example it was also the first independent animated film ever, and arguably gave birth to retroscripting, with the majorly of the dialogue being improvised instead of scripted, witch is a practice that has become extremely common in adult animation these days. It was also the first animated movie not from Disney to be a hit at the box office, being in the top ten box office of 1972, a feat most Disney films of the 70s rarely could achieve.

* DisownedAdaptation: In an [[UpToEleven extreme]] example, Creator/RobertCrumb hated the film so much, claiming it put words in the character's mouth that he never would have said, and later drew the comic "Fritz the Superstar" to [[KilledOffForReal kill him off]]! That didn't stop the producer from making a sequel, though Bakshi also didn't take part in it.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Now averted with streaming available from Amazon. If you want to buy it, though, the 2002 [=DVD=] is still out of print and hasn't had any other release since (interestingly, you could find [[https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA547778B7799B74B the soundtrack]] with more ease).

* TheDanza: Humorously inverted. Creator/RalphBakshi plays the nameless partner of the rookie cop named Ralph.
* DescendedCreator: Creator/RalphBakshi is the more competent pig-cop.

* FollowTheLeader: A slew of quickly-forgotten animated films for adults (mostly dubbed versions of foreign language films) which weren't much more than cartoon porn came (no pun intended) in the wake of this film's success, many of which had taglines that read as some variation of "IF YOU LIKED ''FRITZ THE CAT'', THEN YOU'LL LOVE..!" ''WesternAnimation/DownAndDirtyDuck'' was probably the most well known of these films, but much like ''Fritz'', it has a cult following, just not as big.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Now averted with streaming available from Amazon. If you want to buy it, though, the 2002 [=DVD=] is still out of print and hasn't had any other release since (interestingly, you could find the soundtrack with more ease).

* PlayingAgainstType: Fritz is voiced by Skip Hinnant, who at the same time was Fargo North on ''Series/TheElectricCompany1971''.
* RealLifeRelative: The three old Jewish men in the synagogue scene are voiced by Ralph Bakshi's father and two uncles.
* TroubledProduction: The film had a whale of a time getting made, mainly due to Robert Crumb's hatred for the project, and Ralph Bakshi's then-inexperience at directing a feature-length animated movie:
** It took forever for Bakshi and producer Steve Krantz to find a distributor, due to its premise of being an animated film filled with sex, drugs, political themes, and graphic violence. Warner Bros. had originally funded the film, but backed out after Bakshi refused to cast big-named actors and tone down the sexual content. Even after he did get funding, Bakshi still wasn't safe from ExecutiveMeddling, as Krantz forced him to change the original ending where [[spoiler:Fritz would have died from the Neo-Nazis' bomb]].

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: R. Crumb's only contribution to the film was his suggestion that Ralph Bakshi himself voice Fritz, but Bakshi thought his own voice was "too Brooklyn" and thought Fritz should sound more like a milquetoast Midwesterner being culture shocked by New York.

* GenreTurningPoint: ''Fritz'' is most known for being the first animated project aimed at adults, but many are not aware of its other groundbreaking achievements . For example it was also the first independent animated film ever, and arguably gave birth to retroscripting, with the majorly of the dialogue being improvised instead of scripted, witch is a practice that has become extremely common in adult animation these days. It was also the first animated movie not from Disney to be a hit at the box office, being in the top ten box office of 1972, a feat most Disney films of the 70s rarely could achieve

* GenreTurningPoint:of course is most known for being the first animated project aimed at adults, but many are not aware of its other groundbreaking achievements . For example it was also the first independent animated film ever, and arguably get birth to retroscripting, with the majorly of the dialogue being improvised instead of scripted, witch is a practice that has become extremely common in adult animation these days. It was also the first animated movie not from Disney to be a hit at the box office, being in the top ten box office of 1972, a feat most Disney films of the 70s rarely could achieve

* ChannelHop: The film was distributed by Cinemation Industries, before the rights were bought by Creator/AmericanInternationalPictures to produce the sequel, ''WesternAnimation/TheNineLivesOfFritzTheCat''. Both films are owned by MGM through AIP's legal successor, Creator/OrionPictures. As of 2020, Creator/WarnerBros has acquired distribution rights for digital sales of the first film.

* GenreTurningPonit:of course is most known for being the first animated project aimed at adults, but many are not aware of its other groundbreaking achievements . For example it was also the first independent animated film ever, and arguably get birth to retroscripting, with the majorly of the dialogue being improvised instead of scripted, witch is a practice that has become extremely common in adult animation these days. It was also the first animated movie not from Disney to be a hit at the box office, being in the top ten box office of 1972, a feat most Disney films of the 70s rarely could achieve

* Genreturningponit:of course is most known for being the first animated project aimed at adults, but many are not aware of its other groundbreaking achievements . For example it was also the first independent animated film ever, and arguably get birth to retroscripting, with the majorly of the dialogue being improvised instead of scripted, witch is a practice that has become extremely common in adult animation these days. It was also the first animated movie not from Disney to be a hit at the box office, being in the top ten box office of 1972, a feat most Disney films of the 70s rarely could achieve

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: R. Crumb's only contribution to the film was his suggestion that Ralph Bakshi himself voice Fritz, but Bakshi though his own voice was "too Brooklyn" and thought Fritz should sound more like a milquetoast Midwesterner being culture shocked by New York.

* CreatorBacklash: R. Crumb hated this movie so much, it led to him [[KilledOffForReal killing off the character]]. That didn't stop the producer from making a sequel, though the original's director also didn't take part in it.

* DisownedAdaptation: Creator/RobertCrumb hated the film, claiming it put words in the character's mouth that he never would have said, and later drew the comic "Fritz the Superstar" to kill him off.

* TroubledProduction: The film had a whale of a time getting made, mainly due to Creator/RobertCrumb's hatred for the project, and Creator/RalphBakshi's then-inexperience at directing a feature-length animated movie:

* ChannelHop: The film was distributed by Cinemation Industries, before the rights were bought by Creator/AmericanInternationalPictures to produce the sequel, ''WesternAnimation/TheNineLivesOfFritzTheCat''. Both films are owned by MGM through AIP's legal successor, Creator/OrionPictures.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Good luck finding this film, other than 3rd party sellers on Amazon and eBay, as the 2002 [=DVD=] has gone out of print and it hasn't had any other release since (though, interestingly, you could find the soundtrack with more ease).

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: R. Crumb's only contribution to the film was his suggestion that Ralph Bakshi himself voice Fritz, but Bakshi though his own voice was "too Brooklyn" and thought Fritz should sound more like a milquetoast midwesterner being culture shocked by New York.

* FollowTheLeader: A slew of cheaply-produced, quickly-forgotten animated films for adults which weren't much more than cartoon porn came (no pun intended) in the wake of this film's success, many of which had taglines that read as some variation of "IF YOU LIKED ''FRITZ THE CAT'', THEN YOU'LL LOVE..!" ''WesternAnimation/DownAndDirtyDuck'' was probably the most well known of these films, but much like ''Fritz'', it has a cult following, just not as big.

* DisownedAdaptation: Creator/RobertCrumb hated the film, claiming it put words in the character's mouth that he never would have said, and later drew the comic "Fritz the Superstar" to kill him off. However, he and Bakshi are still good friends.