History WesternAnimation / HeavyTraffic

->''"Its animation--but it's not a cartoon. It's funny--but it's not a comedy--its Heavy. Heavy Traffic."''

* AxCrazy / MamaBear: Ida, Michael's Ashkenazi Jewish mother, who is really overzealous about keeping him out of the influence of Angie, his Italian Roman Catholic father, who is part of the mafia and frequently cheats on her. She and Angie actively fight to try and kill each other! [[spoiler: She even tries--and fails--to stop Shorty from killing her son.]]

* DerangedAnimation: The whole film is a surreal fantasy loaded with metaphors and symbolism and a load of topical and biographical undertones. And besides the rugged and sometimes bizarre designs, the animation really does get pretty crazy, especially [[spoiler: the scene where Michael gets shot, and its nightmarish aftermath.]]

* HoneyTrap: Carole poses as a prostitute [[spoiler: in order to set up a businessman for Michael to kill, so they can both make off with his money.]]

* BareYourMidriff: Carole, as seen in the above pic.

[[quoteright:313:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Heavy_Traffic_3325.jpg]]

** After Carole briefly walks out on him, Michael jokingly remarks "[[Music/TheRollingStones Mick Jagger]], I'm not."

Creator/RalphBakshi cites ''Heavy Traffic'' as his favorite film in his career. This was originally to be Ralph's first film; however, it was [[DevelopmentHell "put on hold"]] because the producer believed that he couldn't sell this film due to Bakshi's inexperience as a film director; the success of ''WesternAnimation/FritzTheCat'', the first animated film to be [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids rated X]] in the United States, [[SavedFromDevelopmentHell saved the production]] of ''Heavy Traffic''. In a sense, the film could be seen as an animated companion piece to Creator/MartinScorsese's ''Film/MeanStreets''.

* PantyShot: Carole pulls one on purpose during a gig as a Taxi dancer, and to an old man, who literally has a heart attack from the sight, which predictably costs Carole her job.

* {{Streetwalker}}: Micheal and Carole meet up with a quartet of these, three of which suggest the taxi dancer job. Carole is even mistaken for one.

* HeadInOven: Angie wants his son to succeed him as a mob enforcer, while Ida wants a better, legitimate life for Michael. At one point, Ida conks Angie with a skillet, then stuffs his head and shoulders into the gas oven. Fortunately, Angie regains his senses and extricates himself from the oven.

* AllJustADream: [[spoiler: After Michael gets shot in the head at the climax, it turns out the films animated sequences were all in his head as the film switches to a real-life Michael for the last several minutes. And given it happens after Michael loses a game of pinball (a recurring symbolism piece) and how closely his real-life parallels that of the cartoon fantasy, and not to mention the films POV driven nature was constantly foreshadowed throughout the film (with the frequent mixing of animation and live-action, and film literally starting with a real-life Michael playing the pinball game) this twist actually comes off as very well thought out.]]

* GeorgeJetsonJobSecurity: It's clear that Carole, with her stubborn, no-nonsense attitude, just can't hold a job. She quits her first job as a bartender right after bickering with her boss over not protecting Snowflake from being beaten up by a patron and gets fired from her second job shortly after starting it by flashing her gams at an old man (which gave him a heart attack). [[spoiler: She and Michael eventually turn to forming a racket so they can make enough money to move out to California. And after the films ending switches to real life, we find out the real Carole has no luck holding a job either.]]

* StealthPun: [[spoiler: In the films ending, Michael gets shot in the head by Shorty, and after the nightmarish death sequence, snaps back to reality in a pinball arcade. In other words, the whole film was "All in his head."]]

* YourHeadAsplode: [[spoiler: Michael gets shot in the head by Shorty, and it is depicted in very gruesome detail, all filmed in slow motion. Then it turns out that's just an animated metaphor for Michael losing a game of pinball in real life--and given the films recursive symbolism, losing a game of real life in general.]]

* HypocriticalHumor: Angie constantly tries to see his son get laid and is outraged when he dates a black woman. [[spoiler: After accidentally arousing the Godfather's wrath, he's so distressed he ends up spending an entire night having sex with Snowflake, a black gay crossdresser, and his brothers.]]

* AllJustADream: [[spoiler: After Michael gets shot in the head at the climax, it turns out the films animated sequences were all in his head as the film switches to a real life Michael for the last several minutes. And given it happens after Michael loses a game of pinball (a recurring symbolism piece) and how closely his real life parallels that of the cartoon fantasy, and not to mention the films POV driven nature was constantly foreshadowed throughout the film (with the frequent mixing of animation and live action, and film literally starting with a real life Michael playing the pinball game) this twist actually comes off as very well thought out.]]

* ArtShift: Only happens two times. The scenes that go into underground comic book form, and [[spoiler:the live-action at the ending climax of the film]].

* AxCrazy / MamaBear: Ida, Michael's Ashkenazi Jewish mother, who is really over zealous about keeping him out of the influence of Angie, his Italian Roman Catholic father, who is part of the mafia and frequently cheats on her. She and Angie actively fight to try and kill each other! [[spoiler: She even tries--and fails--to stop Shorty from killing her son.]]

* TheBigRottenApple: Michael lives in New York, which is presented as being very run down, seedy and run by TheMafia. Ironically, Michael draws his inspiration directly from this environment.
* BeingPersonalIsntProfessional: The reason why the Mafia refuses to honor Angie's request to off Michael, citing his reasons as being personal and not business related. Given how much Bakshi despises the Mafia, this is obviously meant to be a satire on the fickle "honor" system used by them.

* DeathByCameo: [[spoiler:A caricature of Ralph gets killed off by Michael during a racket in the movie]].

* GainaxEnding / BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: The film ends with Michael getting shot in the head by Shorty, which leads to a nightmarish death sequence...and then the film switches to the real life Michael, who, after losing a game of pinball, storms off and then meets up with the real life Carole, dancing with her in the park after bickering with her. The end.]]

* GenerationXerox: [[spoiler: Michael ends up going down a path of crime not unlike his mafioso father, but he doesn't last long in it due to his dad ordering a hit on him for dating Carole.]]
* GeorgeJetsonJobSecurity: It's clear that Carole, with her stubborn, no nonsense attitude, just can't hold a job. She quits her first job as a bartender right after bickering with her boss over not protecting Snowflake from being beaten up by patron, and gets fired from her second job shortly after starting it by flashing her gams at an old man (which gave him a heart attack). [[spoiler: She and Michael eventually turn to forming a racket so they can make enough money to move out to California. And after the films ending switches to real life, we find out the real Carole has no luck holding a job either.]]
* GratuitousItalian: Angelo actually mutters in correct Italian to himself a couple of times. The Godfather throws him some Italian insults, even telling him to [[ForeignCussWord fuck off ("vaffanculo")]].

* HypocriticalHumor: Angie costantly tries to see his son get laid and is outraged when he dates a black woman. [[spoiler: After accidentally arousing the Godfather's wrath, he's so distressed he ends up spending an entire night having sex with Snowflake, a black gay crossdresser, and his brothers.]]
* IHaveNoSon: Angie, Michael's racist father, tries to get the Mafia to put out a hit on Michael for "disgracing the family" by dating Carole, a black woman. The mafia refuses on the grounds that the hit is personal and not business related, [[spoiler: but then Angie meets up with Carole's devoted bouncer Shorty, who is jealous of Carole dating Michael and is more than willing to deliver the hit, which he successfully carries through.]]

* {{Irony}}: Angie, Michael's dad, is definitely against his son dating Carole, enough to try and order a hit on him for it. [[spoiler: It turms out he was right to be suspicious of her, but for an entirely different reason than his racism when Carole [[ToxicFriendInfluence drags Michael into running a crime racket together.]] And just when Michael starts going down a path of crime like his mafia dad before him, Shorty comes along to pull off the hit on the now corrupt Michael.]]

** Shorty for Carole's bouncer, a man who is functionally short, as he's a double amputee and possibly paralyzed and can only get around on flat wooden cart, which makes him look shorter in comparison.
* NighInvulnerable: In a possibly metaforical scene, the Godfather is suddenly riddled with bullets by his own henchmen and keeps eating his spaghetti as if nothing happened.
* NighthawksShot : The painting is homaged in a brief scene late in the film.

* OhCrap: Angelo is told to show his worth by making the protesting workers of an oil factory the Mafia owns to get back to work, but things gets suddenly chilly when he threatens to have them substituted by negroes if they don't end the strike... because the Godfather doesn't like the idea of blacks working for him. After being informed, Angie tries to calm down by lighting a cigarette but ultimately breaks down and craps his pants.

* RageQuit: [[spoiler: When the final part of the film switches to live action, Michael smashes apart a pinball machine that he lost at, and storms off.]]
* RogerRabbitEffect: Some of the scenes in this movie have animated characters over live-action backgrounds; a part has human girls in the backgrounds. However, most of the live action doesn't directly interact with, but compliments the animation.

* {{Streetwalker}}:Micheal and Carole meet up with a quartet of these, three of which suggest the taxi dancer job. Carole is even mistaken for one.

* TakeThat: Creator/RalphBakshi really dislikes TheMafia, and the film ''Film/TheGodfather''. Which is why the Mafia is really portrayed negatively in this and ''WesternAnimation/{{Coonskin}}''.
* ToxicFriendInfluence: [[spoiler: Carole, with her uncompromising, hardheaded attitude towards her goals, eventually drives Michael along with her into a life of crime to making the money so they can both move to California, even resorting to murder for profit.]]

* BlackBestFriend: Subverted; Carole is Michael's African-American girlfriend and she's something of a bad influence.

!This film provides examples of the following:

* AwfulyWeddedLife: Angie and Ida hate each other's guts and go so far as trying to '''kill''' each other! In one scene, Ida says, "I died the day I married a goy!"

* AwfullyWeddedLife: Angie and Ida hate each other's guts and go so far as trying to '''kill''' each other!

----
!!This film provides examples of the following:

* BareYourMidriff: Carole

* BlackBestFriend: Subverted; Carole is Michael's African-American girlfriend.

* {{Streetwalker}}:Micheal and Carole meet up with a qaurtet of these, three of which suggest the taxi dancer job.

* TheWorldsOldestProfession: Carole poses as a prostitute [[spoiler: in order to set up a businessman for Michael to kill, so they can both make off with his money.]]

* [[AllJustADream All Just A Day Dream]]: [[spoiler: After Michael gets shot in the head at the climax, it turns out the films animated sequences were all in his head as the film switches to a real life Michael for the last several minutes. And given it happens after Michael loses a game of pinball (a recurring symbolism piece) and how closely his real life parallels that of the cartoon fantasy, and not to mention the films POV driven nature was constantly foreshadowed throughout the film (with the frequent mixing of animation and live action, and film literally starting with a real life Michael playing the pinball game) this twist actually comes off as very well thought out.]]

* DomesticAbuser: Michael's parents do '''NOT''' get along with each other; Ida actively tries to kill Angie, and he fights back in turn.

* HypocriticalHumor: According to Ida's rant to an unconscious Angie, the latter denied her a divorce because "Catholics don't get divorced", yet, earlier, we see him cheating on her, while she is never shown to be cheating on him.

* MeaningfulName: The title of the film; the "Heavy" is the dilemmas of life, and the "Traffic" is the people who experience it.

* AxCrazy / MamaBear: Ida, Michael's Jewish mother, who is really over zealous about keeping him out of the influence of Angie, his Italian Catholic father, who is part of the mafia and frequently cheats on her. She and Angie actively fight to try and kill each other! [[spoiler: She even tries--and fails--to stop Shorty from killing her son.]]
* BareYourMidriff:Carol

* BlackBestFriend: Subverted; Carol is Michael's girlfriend.

* AxCrazy / MamaBear: Ida, Michael's Jewish mother, who is really over zealous about keeping him out of the influence of Angelo / Angie, his Italian Catholic father, who is part of the mafia and frequently cheats on her. She and Angie actively fight to try and kill each other! [[spoiler: She even tries--and fails--to stop Shorty from killing her son.]]

* GeorgeJetsonJobSecurity: It's clear that Carole, with her stubborn, no nonsense attitude, just can't hold a job. She quits her first job as a bartender right after bickering with her boss over Shorty initiating a bar brawl, and gets fired from her second job shortly after starting it by flashing her gams at an old man (which gave him a heart attack). [[spoiler: She and Michael eventually turn to forming a racket so they can make enough money to move out to California. And after the films ending switches to real life, we find out the real Carole has no luck holding a job either.]]

* GreenEyedMonster: Shorty hates Michael for Carole preferring a relationship with him over himself (as Carole clearly finds Shorty unpleasant to be around). [[spoiler: This makes Shorty more than willing to carry out Angie's hit on Michael at the end.]]

* JerkAss: As mentioned above, most of the characters are very callous in personality.

* JewishMother: Ida.

* PantyShot: Carole pulls one on purpose during a gig as a Taxi driver, and to an old man, who literally has a heart attack from the sight, which predictably costs Carole her job.

* DerangedAnimation: The whole film is a surreal fantasy loaded with metaphors and symbolism and a load of topical and biographical undertones. And besides the rugged and sometimes bizarre designs, the animation really does get pretty crazy, especially [[spoiler: the scene where Michael gets shot, and it's nightmarish aftermath.]]

* UndergroundComics: Michael is an underground cartoonist. He even tries to get a job at a syndicate by pitching a story to it's elderly CEO, but he literally dies upon hearing Michael's very bleak, satirical story idea.

* HandicappedBadass: Shorty, a man who is a double amputee and probably paralyzed from the waste down, but is quite fast on his wooden cart and, given his profession as a bouncer, will kick your ass with his own bare hands.

** Shorty for Carole's bouncer, a man who is functionally short, as he's a double amputee and possibly paralyzed and can only get around on flat wooden cart.