Line #2 Trivia/FritzTheCat


1	!!Comic Book
2	* ReferencedBy: In ''ComicBook/TheSimpsonsFuturamaCrossoverCrisis'', a ''Fritz the Cat'' comic can be seen on Nerdanus XII.
3
4	!!Film
5	* BreakthroughHit: For Creator/RalphBakshi.
6	* 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 Amazon through MGM through AIP's legal successor, Creator/OrionPictures.
7	* TheDanza: Humorously inverted. Bakshi voices the nameless partner of the rookie cop named Ralph.
8	* DescendedCreator: Bakshi is the more competent pig cop.
9	* DisownedAdaptation: In an [[TorchTheFranchiseAndRun extreme example]], Creator/RobertCrumb hated the film so much, claiming it put words in the character's mouth that he would never 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.
10	* ExecutiveMeddling: Steve Krantz objected to the original ending in which [[spoiler:Fritz would have been KilledOffForReal by the neo-Nazi's bomb]] and convinced Bakshi to give the character a happy ending. Bakshi complied and later claimed that he liked this ending better.
11	* 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, but much like ''Fritz'', it has a cult following, just not as big.
12	* GenreTurningPoint: ''Fritz'' is most known for being the first notable animated project aimed at adults, but many are unaware of its other groundbreaking achievements. For example, it was also the first independent animated film ever and arguably gave birth to retro scripting, 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.
13	* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Now averted, thanks to the Blu-ray releases of both films. For a while, [=DVDs=] were hard to come by. Interestingly, you can find the soundtrack [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9DUlrjyuuT8v-aNkZATyoZkIcOidzaqQ here]].
14	* PlayingAgainstType: Fritz is voiced by Skip Hinnant, who at the same time was Fargo North on ''Series/{{The Electric Company\|1971}}''.
15	* RealLifeRelative: The three old Jewish men in the synagogue scene are voiced by Bakshi's father and two uncles.
16	* TorchTheFranchiseAndRun: The whole point of the comic "Fritz the Superstar". Crumb 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.
17	* TroubledProduction: The film had a whale of a time getting made, mainly due to the stereotype of animation being for children clashing with this film's ''extremely'' adult nature, Crumb's hatred for the project, and Bakshi's then-inexperience at directing feature-length animated films:
18	** 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 provided funding 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]].
19	*** Bakshi fondly remembers the Warner representatives' utterly mortified reactions to test screenings, saying that he'll remember the look on their faces until his very last breath. One man even had to [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere leave the room!]]
20	** Multiple animators were either fired or quit mid-production, either for politics (some refused to draw exposed breasts, and one didn't want to draw a black crow shooting a pig cop), or vulgarity (such as those who only joined to draw sleazy animal pornography). Veteran animator Ted Bonnicksen died 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''.
21	* 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, hence Virginian Skip Hinnant.

Context Trivia / FritzTheCat