Now, having witnessed Cool World for myself, I understand the frustration. The titular Cool World of Cool World—that is, an all-animated Toontown dimension —is so chaotic and confusing, it's akin to a fatal brain fever. Its cartoon denizens bend, stretch, and distort with no adherence to storyboard guidance. They morph into bizarre, mismatched shapes. They're always hitting each other. Worst of all, they litter too many frames of the film. The wacky toons parade around during important story moments, causing constant distractions. Cool World is a paint factory explosion.
There's a bigger question, however, of who is more at fault: director Ralph Bakshi or producer Frank Mancuso, Jr. Cool World has one of those classic studio interference tales attached, where Mancuso lorded over production and Bakshi had to sacrifice his movie's integrity. He wanted Cool Worldto be a cautionary tale about the dangers of casual sex. Paramount wanted to make as much money as possible. Go figure.
Cool World begins in the live action world of 1945 Las Vegas. Frank Harris (Brad Pitt) gets off the plane after World War II to the delight of his happy mama (Janni Brenn). He is all too eager to take her for a ride on his new motorcycle, an event that, this early in a movie, must end one horrible way.
Broken and injured after an accident, forced to stare at his dead mother's face, Frank has a tough enough hand dealt to him. Then Doc Whiskers, a cartoon scientist (voice: Antonio Hoyos) accidentally pulls Frank into 'the Cool World. I'm thinking about the phenomenon of the brain releasing DMT upon death. Cool World might be the frightful opposite of that.
Flash forward to 1992. Frank looks like the same Brad Pitt, but he is now a noir detective character. He doesn't seem too concerned with pursuing crimes, especially not the cartoon violence occurring around him in every scene. His one case involves checking up on an animated sex symbol named Holli Would (v: Kim Basinger)
Picture Jessica Rabbit if she looked like Sharon Stone, and there is a general idea of Holli. She oozes sexuality, a trait aided by her being the only toon—or Doodle, as they are called in Cool World—with any thought given to her movement. There is a scene where Frank warns Holli to “keep [her] legs crossed.” In defiance, she parts her thighs to centerfold levels. Cool World, if it weren't obvious, pushes its PG-13 rating about as far as anyone could have dreamed in 1992.
Holli yearns to escape to the other world and become flesh, the ultimate high and definition of being alive. The way to achieve this is (interspecies?) sex with a Noid. But Cool World, and subsequently ours, balances existence with one rule: Doodles don't 'make it' with Noids (as in, humanoids.)
To that end, Holli is trying to seduce another Noid, Jack Deebs (Gabriel Byrne). Jack is on his last day of prison for a murder we don't hear much about, and his Cool World comic book has filled his commissary money account. Jack thinks he created Cool World, only to find he was channeling it onto paper after Holli pulls him into the Doodle dimension.
Inevitably, Holli makes it with Jack. Cue apocalyptic cartoon riot as orgasm metaphor. She materializes in the Noid Realm as the live-action Basinger, with a bewildered Jack in tow and Frank pursuing them both. It becomes clear something is wrong and getting worse when Holli and Jack develop uncontrollable cartoon superpowers.
Holli's new goal is finding a MacGuffin called the Spike of Power, the Doc Whiskers invention that pulled Frank into Cool World in the first place. The Spike of Power is supposed to make Holli really real, or give her the ultimate of ultimate orgasmic rushes, or something. This is where the movie shifts its plot into full gear but gets lazy. Aside from all the cartoon characters doing cartoon things all over Noid Las Vegas, there's little to ride on except a typical preventing-the-end-of-the-universe-story. There are missed opportunities for stuff to happen. Two curious new neighbors (Michele Abrams and Deirdre O’Connell) follow Jack and Holli around, but little is done to make them interesting.
For all of Cool World's faults, there is some beauty in this ugly mess. I like how the constant stupid animated extras reflect different eras and styles, from Fleischer to Bob Clampett to Disney. I also admire the references to watershed moments in art, such as Dogs Playing Poker, Fantasia, and so on. It all reflects Ralph Bakshi's love for animation.
Cool World shows off Brad Pitt's acting chops as well. As Doodles converse with him, he emotes and react even while talking to a coat rack or dolly cart. His nonverbal cues allow Doodles to exist with him onscreen.
Finally, Holli, bad and drawn that way, is a tragic character faced with insurmountable odds. She wants to bang—oh, yes, she does—but she wants to live, too, a privilege one finger-wagging man denies her. Is she a villain, or is a chance at life worth risking everything there, is was, and could be?
Cool World is too messy to be good but too ambitious to be bad. It lost its soul somewhere in production, and it's difficult to determine where. Who do we blame, and at what level? Alas, it’s too late. Mancuso, Jr. and Bakshi have both retired, and the Cool World we have is the one that will exist until the sun eats our planet. Proceed with caution on this one, and if possible, bring drugs.
Final Grade: C