''Fritz the Cat'' is a

comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...

created by

Robert Crumb Robert Dennis Crumb (; born August 30, 1943) is an American cartoonist and musician who often signs his work R. Crumb. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contem ...

. Set in a "supercity" of

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

animals, it focused on Fritz, a feline

con artist A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibility, and greed. Researchers have ...

who frequently went on wild adventures that sometimes involved sexual escapades. Crumb began drawing the character in homemade comic books as a child. Fritz became one of his best-known characters, thanks largely to the motion picture adaptation by

Ralph Bakshi Ralph Bakshi (born October 29, 1938) is an American animator and filmmaker. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions. Between 1972 and 1992, he directed nine theatric ...

. The strip first appeared in ''

Help! ''Help!'' is the fifth studio album by the English Rock music, rock band the Beatles and the soundtrack to their Help! (film), film of the same name. It was released on 6 August 1965. Seven of the fourteen songs, including the singles "Help! ( ...

'' and ''

Cavalier The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ) ...

'' magazines, and subsequently in publications associated with the

underground comix Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...

scene between 1965 and 1972; ''Fritz the Cat'' comic compilations elevated it to one of the underground scene's most iconic features. The strip received further attention when it was adapted into a 1972 animated film of the same name. The directorial debut of animator Bakshi, it was an international hit. It was the first animated feature film to receive an

X rating An X rating is a rating used in various countries to classify films that have content deemed suitable only for adults. It is used when the violent or sexual content of a film is considered to be potentially disturbing to general audiences. Aust ...

in the United States and the most successful independent animated feature to date. Crumb ended the strip in 1972 due to disagreements with the filmmakers.

Overview

''Fritz the Cat'' was created in 1959 by

in a homemade comic book story called "Cat Life", based on the experiences of Fred, the family cat. The character's next appearance was in a 1960 story entitled "Robin Hood". By this point, the cat had become

and had been renamed Fritz, a name derived from a minor unrelated character who appeared briefly in "Cat Life". Fritz appeared in the early 1960s ''Animal Town'' strips drawn by

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

and Robert Crumb. Sometimes Fritz was accompanied by Fuzzy the Bunny, who served as an alter ego for Charles, his creator. ''Fritz the Cat'' is set in a "modern 'supercity' of millions of animals." Stories begin simply and become increasingly chaotic and complex as the narrative responds to uncontrollable forces. The look of ''Fritz the Cat'' comics was characterized by the use of the

Rapidograph Rotring (stylized rOtring) is a former German manufacturing company of technical drawing tools and writing implements. Established in 1928 as a fountain pen manufacturer, Rotring is currently a brand owned by Newell Brands after its acquisition ...

technical pen A technical pen is a specialized instrument used by an engineer, architect, or drafter to make lines of constant width for architectural, engineering, or technical drawings. " Rapidograph" is a trademarked name for one type of technical pen. T ...

and a simple drawing style Robert Crumb used to facilitate his storytelling. Crumb states that much of the comic books he enjoyed as a child were

talking animal A talking animal or speaking animal is any non-human animal that can produce sounds or gestures resembling those of a human language. Several species or groups of animals have developed forms of communication which superficially resemble verbal ...

comics, particularly those of Carl Barks. Crumb was later influenced by

Walt Kelly Walter Crawford Kelly Jr. (August 25, 1913 – October 18, 1973), commonly known as Walt Kelly, was an American animator and cartoonist, best known for the comic strip '' Pogo''. He began his animation career in 1936 at Walt Disney Studios, contr ...

's daily anthropomorphic animal comic strip '' Pogo''; Crumb did not copy Kelly's comics directly, but states that he imitated his drawing style closely; Crumb admired Kelly's storytelling style, which "seemed

o be O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), pl ...

plotless and casually done. The characters talked to each other and nothing much happened. Just a lot of foolishness takes place". Crumb said of his anthropomorphic work:

I can express something ith animalsthat is different from what I put into my work about humans ... I can put more nonsense, more satire and fantasy into the animals ... they're also easier to do than people ... With people I try more for realism, which is probably why I'm generally better with animals.

In 1964, when he was not working at

American Greetings American Greetings Corporation is a privately owned American company and is the world's second largest greeting card producer behind Hallmark Cards. Based in Westlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, the company sells paper greeting cards, electr ...

, Crumb drew many ''Fritz the Cat'' strips for his own amusement. Some of them were later published in ''

'' and ''

'' magazines and in

. Fritz also appears briefly in Crumb's

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

''Big Yum Yum Book: The Story of Oggie and the Beanstalk'', drawn in 1964, but not published until 1975. Several characters from the anthropomorphic universe of ''Fritz the Cat'' appeared in another Crumb comic strip, ''The Silly Pigeons'', drawn in 1965 and intended for ''Help!'' In 1970, Crumb redrew an early Fuzzy the Bunny story written by Charles Crumb in 1952; it was published in ''

Zap Comix ''Zap Comix'' is an underground comix series which was originally part of the youth counterculture of the late 1960s. While a few small-circulation self-published satirical comic books had been printed prior to this, ''Zap'' became the model for ...

'' #5.

Characters

Marty Pahls, Crumb's childhood friend, describes Fritz as "a

poseur A poseur is someone who poses for effect, or behaves affectedly, who affects a particular attitude, character or manner to impress others, or who pretends to belong to a particular group.

", whose posturing was taken seriously by everyone around him. Fritz is self-centered and

hedonistic Hedonism refers to a family of theories, all of which have in common that pleasure plays a central role in them. ''Psychological'' or ''motivational hedonism'' claims that human behavior is determined by desires to increase pleasure and to decre ...

, lacking both

morals Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of cond ...

and

ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns m ...

. Thomas Albright describes Fritz as "a kind of updated

Felix Felix may refer to: * Felix (name), people and fictional characters with the name Places * Arabia Felix is the ancient Latin name of Yemen * Felix, Spain, a municipality of the province Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, ...

with overtones of

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

Candide ( , ) is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, first published in 1759. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled ''Candide: or, All for the Best'' (1759); ''Candide: or, The ...

, and

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...

." Fritz had a "glib, smooth and self-assured" personality, characteristics Crumb felt he himself lacked. According to Pahls, "To a great extent, Fritz was his wish-fulfillment ... he character allowed Robert todo great deeds, have wild adventures, and undergo a variety of sex experiences, which he himself felt he couldn't. Fritz was bold, poised, had a way with the ladies—all attributes which Robert coveted, but felt he lacked." Crumb denied any personal attachment to the character, stating, "I just got into drawing him ... He was fun to draw." As Crumb's personal life changed, Fritz's did too. According to Pahls, "For years, rumbhad few friends and no sex life; he was forced to spend many hours at school or on the job, and when he came home he 'escaped' by drawing home-made comics. When he suddenly found a group of friends that would accept him for himself, as he did in Cleveland in 1964, the 'compensation' factor went out of his drawing, and this was pretty much the end of Fritz's impetus." An early untitled 10-page story, drawn in 1964 and released in 1969 as part of ''R. Crumb's Comics and Stories'' (

Rip Off Press Rip Off Press Inc. is a comic book mail order retailer and distributor, better known as the former publisher of adult-themed series like '' The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'' and ''Rip Off Comix'', as well as many other seminal publications from ...

), depicts Fritz as a beatnik caricature who has an

incest Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adoption ...

uous tryst with his sister. In "Fred, the Teen-Age Girl Pigeon," Fritz is portrayed as a pop music star. The strips "Fritz the Cat" and "Fritz Bugs Out" portray him as a hip poet and college dropout in the hippie scene. "Fritz Bugs Out" uses anthropomorphic characters to comment on race relations, with crows representing African Americans. Fritz is portrayed as a self-conscious hypocrite, obsessed with his racism and associated guilt, while crows are portrayed as "hip innocents". "Fritz the Cat, Secret Agent for the C.I.A.," inspired by the popularity of the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

series, portrays Fritz as a member of the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

. "Fritz the No-Good" depicts him becoming involved with terrorist

revolutionaries A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

; he also

abuses Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...

and rapes one of the group members’ girlfriends. Fritz has an on-again/off-again relationship with a female fox named Winston; they break up at the beginning of "Fritz Bugs Out". Later in the story, she attempts to convince him not to "bug out", but eventually agrees to go on a road trip with him. When her car overheats and stalls in the desert, Fritz abandons her. Winston is also a character featured in the 1972 film, as is this storyline—Fritz's

Volkswagen Beetle The Volkswagen Beetle—officially the Volkswagen Type 1, informally in German (meaning "beetle"), in parts of the English-speaking world the Bug, and known by many other nicknames in other languages—is a two-door, rear-engine economy car, ...

dodging big rig trucks on the highway in the middle of the night and later running out of gas in the middle of nowhere. She reappears in "Fritz the Cat Doubts His Masculinity" and in "Fritz the No-Good", where they reunite after Fritz is thrown out of his wife's apartment. Fuzzy the Bunny, who appeared in the early ''Animal Town'' strips, reappears as a college student in "Fritz Bugs Out" and as a revolutionary in "Fritz the No-Good".

Publication history

'', a magazine published by former '' Mad'' editor

Harvey Kurtzman Harvey Kurtzman (; October 3, 1924 – February 21, 1993) was an American cartoonist and editor. His best-known work includes writing and editing the parodic comic book '' Mad'' from 1952 until 1956, and writing the ''Little Ann ...

, published two stories featuring Fritz, including the character's first public appearance in January 1965, "Fritz Comes on Strong". In this debut story, Fritz brings a young female cat home and strips all her clothes off before getting on top of her to pick fleas off of her. Preceding the publication of the story, Kurtzman sent Crumb a letter which read, "Dear R. Crumb, we think the little pussycat drawings you sent us were just great. Question is, how do we print them without going to jail?" Although Kurtzman agreed to publish the story, he requested that Crumb alter the final two panels; the published version depicted Fritz standing next to her. Crumb later recalled that the original ending "wasn't that dirty ... only slightly risque by today's standards". In May 1965, ''Help!'' published a second Fritz story, "Fred, the Teen-Age Girl Pigeon". In this episode Fritz is a guitar-playing pop idol and he brings Fred, a female pigeon groupie, to his hotel room and proceeds to eat her.

John Canaday John Edwin Canaday (February 1, 1907 – July 19, 1985) was a leading American art critic, author and art historian. Early life and education John Canaday was born in Fort Scott, Kansas, to Franklin and Agnes F. (Musson) Canaday. His family m ...

's '' New York'' magazine review of ''Head Comix'' describes this

punch line A punch line (a. k. a. punch-line or punchline) concludes a joke; it is intended to make people laugh. It is the third and final part of the typical joke structure. It follows the introductory framing of the joke and the narrative which sets up ...

as "outrageous brilliance

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

is rivaled only by

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...

's last lines in ''

The Loved One ''The Loved One: An Anglo-American Tragedy'' (1948) is a short satirical novel by British novelist Evelyn Waugh about the funeral business in Los Angeles, the British expatriate community in Hollywood, and the film industry. Conception ''The ...

''." "Fritz Bugs Out" was serialized in ''

'' from February to October 1968. In the summer of 1968, ''Fritz the Cat'' strips appeared in the

Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim and then acquire ...

compilation titled ''Head Comix'', which focused exclusively on Crumb's material. In 1969,

Ballantine Books Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann in 1998 and remains ...

paid Crumb a $5,000 advance for the publication rights to a compilation of three stories featuring Fritz. Crumb used the money to purchase a three-acre lot. In 2017, Crumb's original cover art for the Ballantine collection sold at auction for $717,000, the highest sale price to that point for any piece of American cartoon art. Crumb abandoned the character the same year as the Ballantine collection, but previously unpublished stories appeared in ''Promethean Enterprises'' No. 3 and 4 in 1971 and ''Artistic Comics'' ( Golden Gate Publishing Company) in 1973. "Fritz the Cat 'Superstar'" — featuring the death of the character — was the last new story released; it was published in ''The People's Comics'' (Golden Gate) in 1972. In 1978, Bélier Press published ''The Complete Fritz the Cat'', which brought together all the published stories featuring Fritz, as well as previously unpublished drawings and unfinished comics. At the artist's request, a 10-page story drawn in 1964 and previously published in ''R. Crumb's Comics and Stories'' (Rip Off Press) in 1969 was excluded from this collection. In April 1993, Fantagraphics Books published ''The Life & Death of Fritz the Cat'', compiling nine major strips, including the 1964 story previously excluded from ''The Complete Fritz the Cat''. ''Fritz the Cat'' strips also appear in ''

The Complete Crumb Comics ''The Complete Crumb Comics'' is a series of collections from Fantagraphics Books which was intended to reproduce the entire body of American cartoonist and comic book artist/writer Robert Crumb's comics work in chronological order, beginning with ...

'' series. An unpublished page featuring Fritz that had been intended for ''Help!'', as well as comics featuring other characters related to the anthropomorphic universe of ''Fritz the Cat'', appeared in ''The R. Crumb Coffee Table Art Book'' in 1998.

List of appearances

These Fritz comics were intended for publication: * "Fritz Comes on Strong," ''

'' #22 (Jan. 1965) * "Fred, the Teen-Age Girl Pigeon," ''Help!'' #24 (May 1965) * ''

'' (Feb.–Oct. 1968) — two storylines: ** "Fritz Bugs Out" ** "Fritz the No-Good" * untitled Fritz is a sophisticated, up-to-the-minute young feline who lives in a modern "supercity"..." ''R. Crumb's Head Comix'' (

, November 1968) — originally intended for a never-published comic book titled ''Fug'' * "Special Agent for the C.I.A.", ''R. Crumb's Fritz the Cat'' (

, Oct. 1969) * "Fritz the Cat: 'Superstar'," ''The People's Comics'' (Golden Gate Publishing, Sept. 1972) These Fritz comics were from Crumb's sketchbooks and/or were not originally intended for publication. They are presented here in approximate chronological order of creation: * Sept. 1959–Feb. 1960: "Cat Life," ''The Complete Fritz the Cat'' (Bélier Press, 1978) — story drawn on composition notebook paper * March 12, 1960: "Robin Hood," ''

'' #1 — ''The Early Years of Bitter Struggle'' (Fantagraphics, Oct. 1987) — signed and dated"The Complete Crumb Comics #1 - The Early Years of Bitter Struggle,"
Grand Comics Database. Accessed June 1, 2018. * March 22–April 3, 1960: untitled Animal Town story Darn! That last town I got chased out of didn't have a train to New York" ''The Complete Crumb Comics'' #1 — ''The Early Years of Bitter Struggle'' (Fantagraphics, Oct. 1987) — signed * Dec. 10, 1960: "A Christmas Tale," ''The Complete Crumb Comics'' #1 — ''The Early Years of Bitter Struggle'' (Fantagraphics, Oct. 1987) — signed * May 1961: untitled Animal Town story Well, sir, after nine years of isolated study and meticulous labor"" ''The Complete Crumb Comics'' #1 — ''The Early Years of Bitter Struggle'' (Fantagraphics, Oct. 1987) * May 4, 1961: "R. Crumb's Animal Town Comics," ''Prime Cuts'' #3 (Fantagraphics, May 1987) — sign and dated * May 22, 1961: untitled Animal Town story Attention, ladies and gentlemen! Your attention please!"" ''The Complete Crumb Comics'' #1 — ''The Early Years of Bitter Struggle'' (Fantagraphics, Oct. 1987) * June 8, 1961: untitled Animal Town story What's going on here? What is this congregating on the streets?"" ''The Complete Crumb Comics'' #1 — ''The Early Years of Bitter Struggle'' (Fantagraphics, Oct. 1987) * April 1964: untitled R. Crumb's Comics and Stories" ''R. Crumb's Comics and Stories'' #1 (Rip Off Press,

une Une is a municipality and town of Colombia in the Eastern Province, Cundinamarca, Eastern Province, part of the Departments of Colombia, department of Cundinamarca Department, Cundinamarca. The urban centre is located at an altitude of at a dista ...

1969) * Aug. 1964: "Fritz the Cat, Ace Salesman," ''The Complete Crumb Comics'' #3 — ''Starring Fritz the Cat'' (Fantagraphics, Nov. 1988) * 1965: untitled Oh Fritz! This is marvelous! I'm in love with your car! I really am!" ''The R. Crumb Coffee Table Art Book'' (Little, Brown, 1997) — unpublished page from ''Help'' * summer 1965: "Fritz the Cat, Magician," ''Promethean Enterprises'' No. 3 (1971) * c. 1967: "Fritz the Cat Becomes a Drug Addict," ''The Complete Fritz the Cat'' (Bélier Press, 1978) Creation dates unknown: * ''Promethean Enterprises'' No. 4 (fall 1971) * ''Artistic Comics'' (Golden Gate Publishing, 1973) * "Fritz the Cat Doubts His Masculinity,"''The Complete Fritz the Cat'' (Bélier Press, 1978)

Cultural impact

Following the publication of the compilations ''Head Comix'' and ''R. Crumb's Fritz the Cat'', Crumb received increased attention and ''Fritz the Cat'' became one of the most familiar features on the underground comix scene and Crumb's most famous creation. The strip's association with the 1960s counterculture is so strong that for example the 1975 song ''Motorcycle Mama'', being a nostalgic remembrance of the 1960s, by Swedish singer-songwriter Harpo mentions Fritz the Cat among other cultural icons of the decade such as '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'',

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North Ind ...

, ''

Easy Rider ''Easy Rider'' is a 1969 American independent drug culture road drama film written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern, produced by Fonda, and directed by Hopper. Fonda and Hopper play two bikers who travel through the American So ...

'',

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aq ...

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

, and

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (born Mahesh Prasad Varma, 12 January 1918

, and according to Dez Skinn, author of ''Comix: The Underground Revolution'', the strip served as an inspiration for ''

Omaha the Cat Dancer Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...

''. Like many other of Crumb's creations, Fritz the Cat has remained not without detractors. In ''Graphic Novels: A Bibliographic Guide to Book-Length Comics'', D. Aviva Rothschild criticized the stories printed in the collection ''The Life & Death of Fritz the Cat'' as being misogynist, racist, and violent. He felt that, "They also tend to ramble, as if Crumb were making them up as he went along." Rothschild concluded that, "Even though ''Fritz the Cat'' is a classic, there are better, more coherent Crumb books around." The stories served as the basis for a pair of film adaptations produced by

Steve Krantz Stephen Falk Krantz (May 20, 1923 – January 4, 2007) was a film producer and writer, most active from 1966 to 1996. Career Born in Brooklyn, New York City, Krantz graduated from Columbia University and went on to serve in the U.S. Army Air Fo ...

, ''

Fritz the Cat ''Fritz the Cat'' is a comic strip created by Robert Crumb. Set in a "supercity" of anthropomorphic animals, it focused on Fritz, a feline con artist who frequently went on wild adventures that sometimes involved sexual escapades. Crumb began d ...

'' (1972), directed by

, and ''

The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat ''The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat'' is a 1974 American adult animated anthology black comedy film directed by Robert Taylor as a sequel to Ralph Bakshi's ''Fritz the Cat'' (1972), adapted from the comic strip by Robert Crumb, neither of whom had ...

'' (1974), directed by Robert Taylor. The first film adaptation of ''Fritz the Cat'' was ranked 51st on the

Online Film Critics Society The Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) is an international professional association of online film journalists, historians and scholars who publish their work on the World Wide Web. The organization was founded in January 1997 by Harvey S. Karte ...

's list of the top 100 greatest animated films of all time and 56th on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

's list of the ''100 Greatest Cartoons''.

Animated adaptations

In 1969, New York animator

came across a copy of ''R. Crumb's Fritz the Cat'' and suggested to producer Steve Krantz that it would work as a film. After meeting with Bakshi, Crumb loaned him one of his sketchbooks as a reference, but was unsure of the film's production and refused to sign the contract. Bakshi and Crumb were unable to reach an agreement after two weeks of negotiations but Krantz secured the film rights from Crumb's wife, Dana, who had a power of attorney. Crumb received $50,000, distributed over the course of production, and ten percent of Krantz's proceeds. ''Fritz the Cat'' was the first animated feature film to receive an

from the

Motion Picture Association of America The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distrib ...

(MPAA). The film's distributor capitalized on the rating in the film's advertising material, which touted the film as being "X rated and animated!" Released on 12 April 1972, it opened simultaneously in Hollywood and Washington, D.C. The film became a worldwide hit, grossing over $100 million (USD) and was the most successful independent animated feature ever. Crumb disliked how the film presented the sexual content and politics, denouncing Fritz's dialogue in the final sequences of the film, which includes a paraphrased quote from

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

song "

The End The End may refer to: Films * ''The End'' (1953 film), a film by Christopher Maclaine * ''The End'' (1978 film), a comedy by Burt Reynolds * ''The End'' (1997 film), a Canadian film of 1997 * ''The End'' (1998 film), a skateboarding document ...

", as "red-neck and fascistic." Nonetheless, the film is credited with extending Crumb's reputation beyond the underground comix scene. Following the film's release, Crumb quickly produced the story "Fritz the Cat 'Superstar'," in which he satirized Bakshi and Krantz. Crumb portrayed Fritz in a script conference for ''Fritz Goes to India'', a fictional sequel to the film. Crumb's story ends with a neurotic ex-girlfriend killing Fritz. She stabs him in the back of the head with an ice pick due to Fritz's overt sexism. After the film's release, the American humor magazine the '' National Lampoon'' published a comics story written by mordant humorist

Michael O'Donoghue Michael O'Donoghue (January 5, 1940 – November 8, 1994) was an American writer and performer. He was known for his dark and destructive style of comedy and humor, was a major contributor to ''National Lampoon'' magazine, and was the ...

, and drawn by Randall Enos in a parody of Crumb's style, called "Fritz the Star in 'Kitty Glitter.'" The four-page piece portrayed the Fritz character as a jaded and complacent Hollywood star going through the motions of celebrities of the day: appearing on talk shows, commercials, and telethons mouthing vaguely liberal platitudes, before cynically guiding the conversation over to promoting his next movie. Other comics cats make appearances, including

Felix the Cat Felix the Cat is a cartoon character created in 1919 by Pat Sullivan and Otto Messmer during the silent film era. An anthropomorphic black cat with white eyes, a black body, and a giant grin, he was one of the most recognized cartoon characte ...

, Krazy Kat, and

cats Pat (from

Jay Lynch Jay Patrick Lynch (January 7, 1945 – March 5, 2017) was an American cartoonist who played a key role in the underground comix movement with his ''Bijou Funnies'' and other titles. He is best known for his comic strip ''Nard n' Pat'' and the ...

's Nard n' Pat) and

Kim Deitch Kim Deitch (born May 21, 1944 in Los Angeles, California)Donahue, Don and Susan Goodrick, editors. Deitch bio, ''The Apex Treasuet of Underground Comics'' (Apex Novelties, 1974), p. 127. is an American cartoonist who was an important figure in th ...

's Waldo. The strip ends with a nightmarish full-page vista of "Crumbland", where all of Crumb's countercultural icons have been turned into commercial commodities. In 1974, Krantz produced a sequel, ''

'', without participation from either Bakshi or Crumb.

References

External links

Fritz the Cat
–

Official Website
Fritz the Cat
at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
Archived
from the original on July 30, 2016. * Tony Sokol
"Fritz The Cat: A Look at R. Crumb's X-Rated Animation Masterpiece,"
''Den of Geek'' (Apr 12, 2018). {{DEFAULTSORT:Fritz The Cat Adult comic strips 1965 comics debuts 1972 comics endings American comic strips American comics adapted into films American comics characters Animated characters Anthropomorphic cats Comedy film characters Male characters in comics Comics about animals Comics about cats Comics adapted into animated films Comics by Robert Crumb Comics characters introduced in 1965 Comics set in the 1960s Comics set in the 1970s Fantagraphics titles Fictional anthropomorphic characters Fictional cannabis users Fictional cats Fictional con artists Fictional poets Fictional rapists Fictional revolutionaries Humor comics Satirical comics Underground comix Black comedy comics