It disheartens me when I meet someone whose only exposure to Ralph Bakshi is his 1992 misfire, Cool World. Maimed by executive meddling, this is one of the few movies that I regret watching. Yes, it is so bad that it made me keenly aware that I had wasted a small portion of my life for nothing.
The plot does not exist. The "plot" is more like an outline of unfinished concepts and themes which lead nowhere. The "rules" of Cool World make no sense. Why does a doodle (animated character) having sex with a noid (live action character) lead to the doodle becoming real? Why does a noid getting killed by a doodle turn the noid into a doodle? Why did we introduce the plot MacGuffin during the final third of the movie?
The characters are about as defined as stick figures. Holly, the villain of the piece, has vague motivations which constantly shift over the course of the film. That Kim Basinger's performance consists of nothing but blank stares and cheap eroticism does not help any. Gabriel Byrne sleepwalks through his role as the ex-convict artist Holly seduces. The less said about Brad Pitt's goofy 1940s gumshoe, the better.
The integration of animation and live action is terrible. The animated characters look flat and never seem to share the same plane as their live action co-stars, and it's especially obvious in scenes where the noids and doodles touch.
The only good thing about Cool World is the background art in the cartoon world, which can only be described as surreal urban decay. They're wonderful to look at; more than can be said for the characters that populate them.
Do not watch this at all. If you're curious, then watch some clips and read the synopsis online. This is NOT worth a second of your time.
The plot does not exist. The "plot" is more like an outline of unfinished concepts and themes which lead nowhere. The "rules" of Cool World make no sense. Why does a doodle (animated character) having sex with a noid (live action character) lead to the doodle becoming real? Why does a noid getting killed by a doodle turn the noid into a doodle? Why did we introduce the plot MacGuffin during the final third of the movie?
The characters are about as defined as stick figures. Holly, the villain of the piece, has vague motivations which constantly shift over the course of the film. That Kim Basinger's performance consists of nothing but blank stares and cheap eroticism does not help any. Gabriel Byrne sleepwalks through his role as the ex-convict artist Holly seduces. The less said about Brad Pitt's goofy 1940s gumshoe, the better.
The integration of animation and live action is terrible. The animated characters look flat and never seem to share the same plane as their live action co-stars, and it's especially obvious in scenes where the noids and doodles touch.
The only good thing about Cool World is the background art in the cartoon world, which can only be described as surreal urban decay. They're wonderful to look at; more than can be said for the characters that populate them.
Do not watch this at all. If you're curious, then watch some clips and read the synopsis online. This is NOT worth a second of your time.