KABOOM CULT:
FRITZ THE CAT INCL. INTRODUCTION
March 20, 2025
In our collaboration with Kaboom Animation Festival, we present rarely-seen animation classics on the big screen, from recently restored cult titles to seldomly-screened festival hits. Animation belongs on the big screen and what better place to present it than at LAB111, where Kaboom has its offices? So grab a drink and come watch great animation with us!
Felix, Sylvester, Stimpy, Tom, Garfield, the Pink Panther: there’s no shortage of felines in animated films, but there’s only one Fritz the Cat! Based on the comic strip by Robert Crumb, which ran from 1965 till 1972, Fritz the Cat (1972) was Ralph Bakshi’s first animated feature film and remains an icon of 1960s underground culture. It also started Bakshi on a career in which he would direct nine animated feature films, including the 1978 Lord of the Rings adaptation and other fantasy classics like Wizards (1977) and Fire and Ice (1983).
Fritz the Cat’s tale of a titular tabby cat and his adventures in 1960s hippie New York went through a torturous production process. Robert Crumb supposedly hated the result so much that it caused him to end the comic strip on which it was based. Yet, despite its messy plot, Fritz the Cat was also a film ahead of its time. Fritz’ easy crossing of the then still very much prevalent race barrier between different neighborhoods in New York, makes the film a plea for racial integration.The film’s use of actual, unrehearsed dialogue in some scenes is reminiscent of John and Faith Hubley’s experimental animated films in its documentary recording of people’s mactual lives at the time.
Ahead of its upcoming festival edition devoted to the theme of provocation, Kaboom Animation Festival (21-30 March in Utrecht and Amsterdam), in collaboration with LAB111, presents a one-time chance to see this unique film on the big screen.
