American Pop Ron Thompson As an artist and animation buff, I must say this film is a work of art. I'm not a big Bakshi fan either, I simply can't ignore the truth. There are definitely things about his style that annoy me, like his attraction to larger women, so much that they are practically all he uses. His, ugly yet honest style and his grim though realistic view of society. Honestly, what makes this film look so good is the rotoscoping. Now, I'm not saying every animation studio should take it up, but since most non-Disney animated films are so badly animated maybe it would be for the best. Anyway, the dialogue is great, though some of the protagonists could have been a lot more likable. I'm not saying that storywise this film is pleasant to watch, it's a pretty sad story, and even the victorius ending doesn't alter that. But speaking as someone who has seen tons and tons of animated films, this movie is so beautifully done that you can't take your eyes away from it no matter how depressing and sometimes annoying the story might get. Now I noticed one reviewer calling this film a failure because it was supposed to be a history of music and yet it had a few flaws here and there in its facts. This movie was in no way a failure as to what it set out to do. It was about perseverence, and destiny, and it's lesson about the evolution of music in America was beautifully executed. Don't believe those other reviewers. If you love beautiful animation, dialogue, and dramatic scenes, you'll appreciate this film. Don't buy it as a cartoon babysitter for your little kids though. . . I watched American Pop for the first time after seeing a promo for it on the Anniversary Edition DVD of Heavy Metal. I loved Heavy Metal so I figured why not try this one out since it seems to be of a similar genre. Boy was I glad I did. . . I have seen so many rock magazines out there with its best rock movies list or reviews and for reasons I will never know,American Pop is rarely mentioned. Hello!!! Wake up critics! This is one of the best out there! It is the masterpiece from the artist who brought you The Lord of the rings and Fritz the cat. This is the story of 4 generations of young men trying to make it in the music industry. Taking place in New York during the early 1900's and ending in the late 1970's,each of the first 3 generations don't succeed for one reason or another with the last generation getting his big break giving this classic its happy ending. From the days of Vaudeville to the big band era to the summer of love to the punk era,this movie has it all. But to me,it is not just a rock n roll movie,it is a history book on dvd as well with such historic moments as the mobsters era,both world wars,the beatnik movement,and the drug problems of America,just to name a few. With music from legendary big band,jazz,and rock n roll legends,this dvd is for all age levels,though there might be a scene or two not recommended for the very young music lovers. This dvd may not be around long enough due to slow sales and lack of advertising so I recommend you buy this legendary and underrated animated rock dvd a. s. a. p. ! Rock on!!!!!!!! American Pop, quite obviously, is far from perfect. The reviewers here and elsewhere have taken a lot of time arguing that point, what inaccuracies there were in the timeline, the shallowness of some of the characters, which musical movements have been misrepresented and which have been completely neglected. But the fact of the matter is, Bakshi did an amazing job on this project, in the aspects of both the animation and the film's historical scope. What he actually did here, is tell the history of American popular music from the beginning of the century (Vaudeville) to the late 1970's (Punk) in 97 minutes, through the story of four generations in one family. Naturally, it doesn't cover every musical style existing in this period, and there are bound to be those who are insulted, but essentially American Pop covers all the important ground and he shows true sensitivity and understanding of the subject. Bakshi, who started his career as a strictly commercial animator throughout the 1960's, spent his rather brief highly creative period - from the mid-70's to the early
80's - continually trying to prove that the Disney way - though he obviously held it in great esteem was far from being the only way of making animation, and like Wizards, Fritz The Cat and Lord of the Rings among others (the latter two, by the way, are mediocre movies that do little justice to their source material but are fascinating artistically) in American Pop he did things never seen in animation before. These works came years before the work of independent animators like Jan Svankmajer became known in the US, and a long time before the existence and huge success of independent, artistic, commercial animators like Nick Park and Bill Plympton, and Bakshi's films, while they were firmly grounded in his commercial roots, they were also amazingly original and years ahead of their time. The differences in atmosphere and feel in the different periods of time shown in the film - from the 1920's through the 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's - are fascinating and very creative and the characters, though drawn rather simplistically, have enormous personality and emotional strength, an you are drawn into the film and moved like only few animated films can move. Like his other works, American Pop never had a hope of achieving commercial success, but today it functions both as a fantastic film and a fascinating historic artifact. It's essential, of course, for fans of Ralph Bakshi's, but is also well recommended to anyone interested in animation, be it commercial or artistic, and in animation history, as well as anyone interested in the history of pop music in the broadest sense. American Pop may be simplistic at times, but it's never dumbed down, and great care and thought was put into every word, every movement, every facial expression and mostly every musical note. A wonderful and underappreciated classic that's worth every minute. This is a great accomplishment in animation and used to be a rare film to find in print. I'm glad to add it to my collection.
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