User Reviews

This film is twisted and dirty. I just wanted to get that off my chest. Now to my review. I was fascinated by the idea of an R rated cartoon, and Fritz the cat seemed the obvious choice. The film begins with Fritz' wife harassing him about the state of his life. To escape the ranting, he lights up a joint and reminiscences how he came to lose many of his lives. The film ultimately shows that Fritz has no chance to improve his life, as every opportunity he gets he sees as another chance to have sex, smoke, cheat the system, and make an idiot of himself. some trippy scenes follow in this dark movie. I would not recommend this to the faint hearted, the violent scenes of murder and assassination are examples, but if you're looking for something different, give it a look.

I think that I went into this film expecting something completely different from what the film actually represented because I was expecting something completely raunchy and funny. While I appreciated the animation, I was left pretty flat by most of the social commentary/satire. There were images and messages that I of course understood (Hitler, Kissinger, etc.) but the majority of the subject matter was fairly relevant to the present time.

Unfortunately, especially during the bizarre psychedelic freak out moments I found myself looking at the clock which is actually kind of sad considering the film was only just over an hour to begin with. Having said that however, I am glad that I finally saw this film so that I know what it was actually about, and I give the filmmakers a lot more credit for having created something that transcended novelty smut.

--Shelly

If you know me at all, you'll know that I was not a fan of Ralph Bakshi's FRITZ THE CAT. So imagine my horror when I found out there was a sequel! Well, I had to be dragged kicking and screaming to see THE NINE LIVES OF FRITZ THE CAT. By some stroke of good luck or divine intervention, it happens to be better than the original.

The film, made without Bakshi's involvement, (who was knee deep in the controversy stemming from COONSKIN) begins by finding our hero in a slum, living on welfare with a wife and child. The wife is pretty abusive (although she does have a point-you'll understand when you see the film. Fritz smokes pot to escape and imagines himself in nine other lives (hence the title)

It's actually a pretty good film. The film is less raunchy and vulgar than the first, but I know some people out there will still be offended. The film is a scathing look at society in the 70's and doesn't have the dated feel the first did. Drugs and street language are present, but it's used much more successfully here

There is one sequence that is some kind of masterpiece. A white military leader and a black militant are perched on two opposing mountains and they take turns attacking one another. Live action footage and stills run in the background. In just five minutes, they've managed to convey exactly what the racial unrest of the 70s was.

There are some flaws. The film doesn't have a very satisfying ending and the score is a little too upbeat for a film laden with such stinging social commentary. But I applaud THE NINE LIVES OF FRITZ THE CAT for taking chances; it could have been more of the same, but instead strives to be better. It's not a perfect film, but it's a good one.

*** out of four stars

The saying "sequels ain't equals" is definitely demonstrated in this completely lackluster follow-up to the earlier brilliantly witty "Fritz the Cat".

While both films portray an anthropomorphic view of 70s counterculture using animals, and both use the shock value of drugs, sex and cursing to stir up a reaction; this movie by a totally different production team completely lacks any of the charm, personality, or essential feeling that made the earlier film so appealing.

While I am not a member of this counterculture and don't relate to it personally very well, I did try to keep an open mind while watching both movies, and neither one really shocked me that much - maybe because they're getting older and I've witnessed more shock value in recent movies. With the original FRITZ THE CAT I got the impression that the "naughty" stuff was true to life, and helped make the characters real and interesting. With NINE LIVES the whole thing just felt like some very bad schoolboy joke that merely shows off the "smutty" bits for their own sake, and doesn't go anywhere with them. It all seems just a bit overdone. The take on Nazi Germany had a teeny bit of satirical value, but it hardly seemed to be worth the trouble, and the idea has been done a lot more effectively elsewhere.

Summing up: don't waste your time with this one, unless you're a fanatical completest. But go and enjoy the original FRITZ THE CAT, if you feel you can handle it.

Just a couple of thoughts after watching nine lives of fritz the cat.

First of all i think it's nothing more than a cash-in on the first movie. Second the animators are not the same, the director is not the same, actually quite a lot isn't the same as the first one, which is a bad thing, since this second fritz movie doesn't have a proper story line, or a good script, actually it doesn't have anything of the things that made the first movie so wonderful. The feeling is gone.

Still it's Fritz the Cat and all is not lost, but all through the film i get the feeling that the director just took all the ingredients of the first fritz movie and mashed them together to a lifeless pile, sticking them in here and there, maybe because that's what he thought the fans wanted (and that would make more money). Then he managed to portray Fritz as somewhat of a loser, which he may be, in some people's eyes', but i don't think that's the feeling you get from the first one. This one is more rough. It's almost abusive to the original. So my suggestion is; if you haven't seen any of the fritz movies, watch the first one only, this one isn't quite worth while. Afterwards you could try the second, but don't get your hopes up.

This was a film which was so crude but so funny! It's super to have a change from animals to humans and it is very satirical about how folk in the southern areas of the states react to those of the northern states, and how persecuted one feels if they are just a little bit different from anyone. The animation was very impressive as it creates the environment of the where the characters live as indicated by the dodgy folk and dilapidated apartments of the USA. The film has a well composed, slick and catchy sound track which really gives this film a very arty and zooty name. And the highlight of this film was to show how many chances one gets in this precious life and how important the lessons are to us when we look back at them. If one sees this film in a DVD store, get it out and watch it! It's the satirical laugh!

WTF? This is one messed up movie. I guess I should have expected that with anything remotely related to Robert Crumb, but this movie redefines the boundaries of tastelessness for me. I was sometimes incredulous, often distgusted, and never amused. The only value to this movie is as a historical record (made in 1974) of a sick and twisted mind. I like subversive material as much as the next guy, but come on!

Rated R for Language,Drug Use,Sexuality,Nudity and Some Strong Violence.

I had heard about the Fritz The Cat movies and wanted to see them.I haven't read the original comics or seen the first Fritz The Cat film.So I saw this one today and I was a bit disappointed.It was not very funny though there were some funny parts,and it was a bit boring.The animation was pretty good for its time and the storyline is decent.There are some very trippy scenes in this movie and I imagine that this movie would be fun to watch while high.Anyway I heard the first film took place in the 1960's.This one takes place in the 1970's.Fritz now has a wife and kid.His wife yells at him because he does nothing and Fritz just reminisces about his eight lives(eight because Crumb the creator of the comics killed Fritz off in the final comic).In his eight lives he is an astronaut,a nazi,a messenger and just normal "Fritz".The film has some funny scenes and was probably good for its time but I think its dated as of today and I find this film just mediocre.

I watched this puppy baked last night. I felt like the loser at a game of chicken, daring each scene to be more twisted and vile then the last, and being ultimately pulled down and run over by a movie that actually dared to go farther then me. Put this 70's blaxploitation, hitler, porno, acid-fest cartoon on the shelf between Meet The Feebles and Story Of Ricky. This movie has all the things to needed to be great after a bong session including an unfollowable plot, and deja vy. Put this genuinely bizarre freakshow of a movie on for someone who's never seen it and tell them that it's Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas. As is this movie is equally neuroticly addictive. If you enjoy way way off beat humor that's just on the border line of a buzz killer bad bake find this. Some might view it as racist (which it probably is) but we all need to laugh at ourselves. The less you know about this movie the better it will be baked. Kind of reminds me of a cartoon version of Street Trash.

This movie has some really cool art, cool music and can be very funny at times, but it has the problem of an overuse of sex and sexist jokes (most of them not funny at all).

I find this movie like watching a Kevin Smith comedy, with cartoon characters and lots more of raunchy jokes.

I'll give it ** out of *****

To start this off, I love the original, I think it is brilliant social satire, plus I'm a huge Ralph Bakshi fan. So, even though I knew Bakshi wasn't involved with this sequel I'd figured I'd give it a chance. Well it was pretty bad, instead of making a social comment most of Fritz's Nine Lives just degenerate into dumb slapstick, and gross out gags. The film is dumb, lifeless, and not very funny. Oh and just a note if you're going to use live action footage as your background, make it less interesting than the animated foreground(something this film does horribly). Ultimately the whole movie seems pointless and dumb. However the animation is good and the soundtrack is decent, even though the soundtrack of the original is really good. To those "Wizards" fans Bob Holt the voice of Avatar is a number of voices in this film, he's even credited as "Many Voices", look for him with his Avatar voice as a cigar smoking astronaut.

You'd have to be pretty stoned to enjoy the Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat. Besides the dreadful animation, the non-stories and the incredibly dated dialogue, the (arguably?) racist depictions of African Americans are incredibly offensive. The only bright spot is the psychedelic trip sequence which may have inspired the similar segment in Beavis and Butthead Do America. Watch it at your own risk---you'll feel dirty afterwards.

It does have its problems, but I liked it, and I do think there are worse sequels out there. I enjoyed Fritz the Cat and was all for a sequel, and I got a pretty good film. The story structure is episodic and there are moments that I would deem strange, but along the way I noticed some improvements as well. While I loved the unique look of Fritz the Cat, the animation here is really good here as well, even more colourful and vibrant than before. Plus the pacing I felt was much more secure first time around. The script is witty and funny, the soundtrack is hip and cool, the voice acting is good and Fritz still has both his hypocrisy and likability. Some of the supporting characters aren't as likable, and don't get enough screen time to shine though. Still, it is a pretty good film. 7/10 Bethany Cox

The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat succeeds in being offensive, but that's about all it does. Unlike the South Park movie, which came out in 99 and had a lot of comparisons to the Fritz the cat serious, Nine lives is neither smart nor funny. It's disgusting, just like Crumb's comics. Pederasts and serial killers need only apply.

I should perhaps point out at the beginning that, as usual, this review is nothing but my very personal take on things. Normally I would restrain myself to say that this was not my cup of tea. However, that would be an effort and after seeing this drug induced nonsense I decided that this movie was not worth any further effort on my part. Thus I say: What a load of crap! A lot of people say that this movie is not at all as good as the original first movie. Well, I would certainly hope not since this movie is BAD and clearly geared towards hippies that survived into the 70's dreaming of a comeback and wannabe drug addicts. It is an orgy in juvenile nonsense and bad taste. The best thing that can be said about this movie is that it is fairly short, only some 70+ minutes, thank god.

I cannot say that I am sorry for watching it since it was a bit of life experience (I have not seen the original and I only knew that Fritz the Cat was a bit of a cult thing when I sat down to watch this one) and, as we all know, a lot of life experiences are not that pleasant. However I am still in a bit of shock knowing that some people actually liked this depraved trash.

Even though the general concensus seems to be that the original movie was better I do not think I will make much of an effort trying to watch it. Maybe I should mention that this one was given to me as a gift.

I have not watched the original, as I have not been able to locate a copy of it. As for the comics, I found one issue at the library, four stories. I'm afraid I cannot draw many comparisons, but I am intrigued by Crumb's creation. While not everything controversial is necessarily funny or interesting, it can often point a spotlight(that we usually leave entirely switched off) at something that we actually *should* explore, and finding out where the line goes can serve to get us to reevaluate the boundaries, or at least ask the important question of "why to there, and no further?". Yes, this thing is offensive. It's primarily about drugs and sex, with plenty of nudity(some full-frontal, for both genders) throughout, there are numerous bits of bloody and brutal violence, it's disturbing, it's arguably racist, it's definitely disgusting, and it's got a moderate amount of strong language. At its best, it's biting satire, dramatic and even hilarious. I don't know if it's because I'm not American, because I wasn't born when this was made, or if the reason is to be discovered elsewhere; however, sadly, I can't claim that it attained aforementioned glory all that often. Don't get me wrong; this is never boring, the 70 minutes fly by at a marvelous pace(it gets to be frenetic at times). The animation employs style here and there, and can get creative and surreal. It's not all good, and there are those that will find it too basic on the whole, and I'm not going to claim that they're wrong; I don't go for a lot of drawn(by hand or computer) films. There are designs from the graphic novel. Live-action footage is used, mostly as background. Editing can be pretty cool, when it tries to be. There isn't really a plot to this, though several of the characters do get at least somewhat developed. There are a lot of stereotypes in this. The voice acting is great. Our title cat does deliver a little in the way of pseudo-philosophical/intellectual ramblings, an aspect I can recognize from what I read. There is slang in this(I was glad to get Danish subtitles). I recommend this to anyone who knows and/or remembers the problems of the period, as well as those who just want to experience it. Not for everyone. 6/10

but that's it. An R-rated animated film has Fritz (a cat) being told off endlessly by his wife about his drug habit, being on welfare, being bad in bed etc etc. As she screams at him, he sits there totally stoned out of his mind and drifts off into different lives. The emphasis here is on sex, vulgarity, tons of swearing, explicit violence, buckets of blood and plenty on racial issues (in one segment, New Jersey is sold to black people!). In other segments: Friz meets an alcoholic, flatuant Jesus Christ; is an assistant to Hitler and psychoanalyzes him; is an astronaut; in a pointless 30s segments and trying to cash his welfare check.

How this got an R rating is beyond me--there's enough explicit material here for a strong NC-17. The film never stops moving, the animation is very good but there's no real story. The sequences are very strange (to say the least) and take pot shots at everything from religion to race to sex and drugs--but why? There's no point or point of view. Also there are pointless psychedlic light shows with bad 70s music. They bored me silly--I fast forwarded through them. Also the constant swearing, violence and sex wore me down and got dull after a while. And the racial issues are handled quite offensively (for black and white) and are VERY 70s.

Not really worth your time. Skip it. "Fritz the Cat" was better.

The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat is a movie, or something like it, that I got to see on night late on a Showtime channel, and when I started watching, it had the material that made me want to change the channel, and maybe not. There are many weird and surreal scenes, most involving sex and marijuana, some with racism (Hitler cat), some with unique and bizarre characters, and it connected as that while Fritz the cat tries to cash a welfare check he goes over the different deaths in his life, getting blown up, getting blown up in space, getting shot in the batoot, etc. At times it's too patched together, and makes no sense in the scene where funky 70's music plays while images from the days of black and white flash by and then images pass by like an amateur Kubrick ala 2001, but it oddly works for a mature audience (kids will be freaked out if they should for some chance watch this) on the levels on comedy and of being a all out stoner/druggie flick (most of you out there who watch this will eithe rgo wow or uggh). Very satirical, very strange. B+

I really liked the first installment of Fritz, but this one was just mediocre in comparison. Not having Ralph Bakshi direct this one was a huge mistake. The plot moves forward even more jittery, is way more vulgar, and overall nonsensical compared to the first. The few pluses I got out of this film is I really like the animation style of all the characters, and the settings. That is the one thing that they didn't take away from the sequel, and I thank them for that. Obviously effort and time was put into it on that side of the equation, so that is why I give The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat a 4 out of 10.