Ralph Bakshi Jimi Hendrix Original Animation Cell from American Pop cartoon

Description

Original, vintage animation cell of Jimi Hendrix from the Ralph Bakshi film; American Pop.
Production
Following the production struggles of
The Lord of the Rings
,
Ralph Bakshi
decided that it was time to work on something more personal.
[6]
He pitched
American Pop
to
Columbia Pictures
president
Dan Melnick
. Bakshi wanted to produce a film with an extensive soundtrack of songs which would be given an entirely new context in juxtaposition to the visuals in a film.
[6]
While the film does not reflect Bakshi's own experiences, its themes were strongly influenced by individuals he had encountered in Brownsville.
[6]
The film's crew included character layout and design artist Louise Zingarelli, Vita,
Barry E. Jackson
, and Marcia Adams, each of whom brought their own personal touch to the film.
[6]
Bakshi once again used rotoscoping, in an attempt to capture the range of emotions and movement required for the film's story. According to Bakshi, "Rotoscoping is terrible for subtleties, so it was tough to get facial performances to match the stage ones."
[6]
The rock band
Fear
appeared in the film, Fear lead singer
Lee Ving
acted under the name Lee James Jude.
[7]
Actor
Elya Baskin
performed in the film in an early role as a tuba player.
[7]
Music
American Pop
Soundtrack album
by
Various Artists
Released
1981
Genre
Soundtrack
Label
MCA Records
Producer
Various Artists
Ralph Bakshi film soundtrack chronology
J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings OST
(1978)
American Pop
(1981)
Songs from the Cool World
(1992)
The
score
for
American Pop
was composed by
Lee Holdridge
. As the result of his reputation as an innovator of adult animation, Bakshi was able to acquire the rights to an extensive soundtrack, including songs by
Bob Dylan
,
Jefferson Airplane
,
Janis Joplin
,
The Doors
,
George Gershwin
,
The Mamas & the Papas
,
Herbie Hancock
,
Lou Reed
and
Louis Prima
, for under US million in permissions fees.
[6]
Due to music clearance issues, the film was not released on
home video
until 1998.
[8]
Track listing
Side A
"
Hell Is for Children
"
(
Neil Giraldo
,
Pat Benatar
, Roger Capps)
– Pat Benatar
"
Summertime
" –
Big Brother and the Holding Company
"
California Dreamin'
" –
The Mamas & the Papas
"
This Train
" –
Peter, Paul and Mary
"
Somebody to Love
" –
Marcy Levy
Side B
"
Purple Haze
" –
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
"
Take Five
" –
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
"
You Send Me
" –
Sam Cooke
"
Turn Me Loose
" –
Fabian Forte
"
People Are Strange
" –
The Doors
[9]
Reception
The film was a success upon its February 12, 1981, release.
[6]
Writer
Jerry Beck
called it "one of Bakshi's best films".
[8]
The film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics and currently holds 61% on
Rotten Tomatoes
.
[10]
Legacy
Slate
magazine said the film was a "rock-star epic, a cartoon movie for and about grown-ups, in both style and substance."
[11]
Michael Barrier
, an animation historian, described
American Pop
as one of two films that demonstrated "that Bakshi was utterly lacking in the artistic self-discipline that might have permitted him to outgrow his limitations."
[12]
In 2008, director
Hype Williams
and
Kanye West
paid tribute to the film in the music video for West's single "
Heartless
", which featured use of rotoscoped animation and references to scenes and backgrounds from the film.
[1]
[13]
Ain't It Cool News
head writer
Harry Knowles
wrote that
American Pop
was his favorite
Ralph Bakshi
film.
[14]
On January 12, 2014, at
The Egyptian Theatre
in
Hollywood, California
, there was a special screening of
American Pop
with actors
Ron Thompson
and
Mews Small
in attendance,
[15]
it was the first time lead actor Ron Thompson had ever introduced the film before a live audience.
[16]
At the
Aero Theatre
in
Santa Monica, California
on March 27, 2015, there was a screening of
American Pop
with director Ralph Bakshi, Ron Thompson and Mews Small attending.
[17]