COOL WORLD

US, 1992, 102 minutes, Colour.
Kim Basinger, Gabriel Byrne, Brad Pitt, Maurice La Marche.
Directed by Ralph Bahkshi.

Cool World is an experimental animation film. It was made by Ralph Bahkshi who came to prominence with the X-rated Fritz the Cat in the 1970s. While he made some other films, of the X-rated variety, he also attempted an animation version of Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings which was successful, but not sufficiently for him to continue with the other books.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit was a successful blend of live action with animation in the 1980s. The film is in that vein except that it takes up Bahkshi’s themes from the 1970s, not quite the X-rated material but moving in that direction. One of the difficulties was that there was interference from the producer, Frank Mancuso Jr, which softened the approach of the film.
While the animation is interesting in itself, it has a femme fatale performance by Kim Basinger, voicing the animation, and then emerging into the real world. Gabriel Byrne is an intense choice for the role of the cartoonist. Brad Pitt, early in his career, is the GI returning from World War II, his experience is the death of his mother and, by an experiment, is drawn into the cartoon world. His performance is not particularly good, and the direction of his face and eyes towards the cartoon characters is not exact most of the time, which takes away from the impact.
However, the film goes into the catalogue of films which a curiosity items.

1. A different film? The blend of animation and live action?
2. The director, his career, style and animation, subjects, from X-rated Fritz the Cat to Lord of the Rings?
3. A film drawing on American comic strips? Detective stories? The atmosphere of forties story-telling? Ironies?
4. The post-World War II setting? Frank Harris returning from the war, reunited with his mother? Ordinary life, prospects, America after the war and opportunities? His buying the bike?
5. The irresponsible couple, drinking, the car, reckless driving, the crash, the death of Frank’s mother?
6. A transition to the cartoon world, the wizard and his experiments? Frank being taken from this world to the cartoon world?
7. Frank’s life in the world, the in the cartoon world, his role as policeman and detective, the forties style? The cartoon characters, Holli, singing and dancing, the femme fatale? Lonette, her attraction to Frank? The other women? The odd characters in the bars? On the streets?
8. Frank and the interactions with Holli? The attraction, but the difficulty of the cartoon and human and the union? Holli and her wanting to get out, to get into the real world?
9. The contrast with Jack, in the real world, getting out of prison, his drawings, the comic books, the publications, his fans, in the shop and the girl behind the counter? His going home? Continuing his work? Being drawn into the other world?
10. Jack in the cartoon world, moving in and out, creating it and yet absorbed by it?
11. Holli, her wiles, with Jack, getting out into the real world, her having to cope with it, in the form of Kim Basinger? Her wilfulness?
12. The pursuit, the adventures in the real world, the dangers, the Spire of Power? Holli climbing it, the cliffhanger atmosphere? The return of the power, her return to the comic world? The Doc? The effect on Jack?
13. Audiences enjoying going between the worlds? The life of the cartoon character issues compared with real life? The playing with the genres, especially the femme fatale, the detective, and the men infatuated with her?
14. The film as an avant garde animation film?