Take One (Nov 1978)

process invented by Disney wherein an actor is actually photographed going through the desired actions of a given character and whose outline is then matted into the animated surroundings. It is a process that can create life-like movements within an obviously artificial framework and save some money as well; Bakshi has made extensive use of it in Lord of the Rings, as well as nabbing the acting aristocracy of England for the voiceovers (Olivier, Gielgud, Richardson, etc.). Whether or not Lord of the Rings is successful—and at a possible running time of 2 1/2 hours, it will continue Bakshi’s audacious attempts to broaden the boundaries of commercial animation—it's director's course is set; this month, he starts shooting a feisty liveaction comedy called If I Catch Her, I'll Kill Her, for Warners. So Ralph Bakshi, confirmed junk culture junkie, popular artist and overall spunky human being, goes quietly, stubbornly about the business of putting together the pieces of what is beginning to resemble a formidable career, critical antagonism aside. Yet, in his office above Sunset Boulevard, Bakshi is a lot closer to the sky than the street, which has always provided the strong spine to support his filmed fantasies. Of course, as long as he walks it like he talks it, the special ambiance of the Brownsville subway station he grew up near shouldn't be too hard to recall. And if he should ever lose sight of those basics, and if he ever gets some spare time, well, Hollywood Boulevard and a good pinball machine are just a fifteen minute walk away. I wanted to be a cartoonist, but I didn’t think I was dull enough, so I got a job in an animation company and then I got into administration, and that’s where I found out that administration and direction are at cross-purposes, always have been, always will be. Growing up in Brooklyn, I got very heavily into fantasy artists and social satirists, people like Frazetta, N. C. Wyeth, George Grosz. I love guys that satirize, guys like David Levine and Feiffer. I guess I consider myself a satirical artist, which is why some of the bad press I get aggravates me. I mean, I don’t give a fuck, but I still care, if you know what I mean. I heard that when Ray Bradbury saw Heavy Traffic he almost fell out of the screening room, but all I’ve ever tried to do is depict life as I’ve lived it. It’s that simple; I've never tried to prove anything or reach out. Now, if I was to paint a canvas, all these things wouldn't be said. I've made films that tell my point of view about the ghetto and I feel I have the right to do that in my medium, just as Marty Scorsese did it in his. Now, I don’t want to come down on somebody like Chuck Jones, for instance, but what film has he made that actually represents him? If some of his films actually do represent him, well, my mouth drops open. I think I understand why a lot of people in the business don’t like me. As a matter of fact, I've given it a great deal of thought lately. The animation industry, unlike other forms of entertainment, has never crept up from its origins in terms of subject matter. Animation in America has never tried to change. My attempt has been to do whatever I deemed aesthetically right without getting involved with the values of the old-timers, because everything they have done in the past stemmed from one single base; Bugs Bunny and Woody Woodpecker are the same kind of creation, Bugs Bunny is just done better. Now, my stuff came out of left field— literally. It showed a definite, distinct, alternate approach, stuff that hadn’t been done before. I came out of nowhere, I didn’t rise from the traditions of animation and I don’t hang out with the guys. So I’m resented. Look, I make social comment films. I’m not down on Jews, I’m Jewish myself. People who don’t see can point their fingers at any one of my films and say, TAKE ONE / NOVEMBER 1978 35